European Union

The Goldman Sachs Group v Commission
Competition
The General Court confirms the fines of over €300 million that the Commission imposed on the main European and Asian producers of (extra) high voltage power cables for their participation in a worldwide cartel

Growth in the EU is slowing down, the European Commission said in its summer forecasts published Thursday. Growth is expected to be 2.1 percent this year and 2 percent next year - compared to the 2.3 percent and 2.0 percent forecasted in May. Finance commissioner Pierre Moscovici pointed out at "the impact on confidence of trade tensions and policy uncertainty, as well as rising energy prices."

The regional court of Schleswig-Holstein, in Germany, ruled on Thursday that Catalan former separatist leader Carles Puigdemont can be extradited to Spain. Judges said however that he could be sent back only for embezzlement charges, not for 'rebellion', another charge put on him by Spain's prosecutor. The final decision to extradite Puigdemont, who remains free, will be taken by the German federal prosecutor.

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The Informal Meeting of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers is held on 12 and 13 July 2018 in Innsbruck, Austria. The meeting starts on 12 July with the home affairs working sessions. On 13 July there is a working breakfast, attended by the justice and home affairs ministers of the current EU Trio Presidency, namely of Estonia, Bulgaria and Austria, and those of the Eastern Partnership, namely of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. The informal meeting of EU justice ministers, dedicated to the topics of e-evidence, enhancing judicial cooperation in civil matters and mutual recognition in criminal matters, follows this working breakfast.

Download this video here.

Tjebbes and Others
Citizenship of the Union
Advocate General Mengozzi proposes that the Court should rule that the automatic loss of Netherlands nationality, which leads to the loss of citizenship of the EU, for minors living outside the EU is incompatible with EU law

Banger
Citizenship of the Union
Where an EU citizen returns to his Member State of origin, that Member State must facilitate the entry and residence of the non-EU partner with whom that citizen has a durable relationship

Austria v Commission
State aid
The General Court confirms the decision by which the Commission approved the aid provided by the UK in favour of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station

The outcome of EDA’s project on Additive Manufacturing (AM, better known as 3D printing), launched in 2016, is now available:  a report on the impact of AM on the defence and a video covering the various project activities.

The main objectives of EDA’s ’Additive Manufacturing Feasibility Study & Technology Demonstration’ project were to assess the areas where AM technologies can have a positive impact on defence capabilities and to demonstrate their feasibility.

The project, initiated in the framework of the CapTech Materials & Structures within the EDA Research & Technology domain, was organized around three work-strands: (i) a desktop study to place AM and its potential in a defence context, (ii) a technology demonstration of the feasibility of deploying these technologies in support of a military operation, (iii) an exhibition to senior military staff which took place in Spain in September 2017.

The ’Additive Manufacturing: State of the Art and Strategic Report’ describes the different additive manufacturing technologies and identifies existing capabilities in Europe. Issues related to a potential use of AM in defence, such as gaps in the value chain, IPRs (Intellectual/Industrial Property Rights), standardization and certification, test and evaluation, skills and education are also addressed, as well as an analysis of the future needs in these areas. Three value chains for implementation of AM in the most promising defence areas were developed, identifying the main limitations for AM implementation and providing solutions to overcome the existing barriers. EDA’s contractors for this project, the research centre Fundación Prodintec and defence company MBDA France, worked together to support the activities described and helped to strengthen the links between research activities, industrial development, and the armed forces.

The EDA Additive Manufacturing in Defence final video, also published today, summarizes the three work-strands of this innovative project.

 

 

More information:

• EDA’s “Additive Manufacturing Feasibility Study & Technology Demonstration” project page

Nato has asked Macedonia to join the Western bloc, with US leader Donald Trump giving Russia little to smile about so far.

German interior minister Horst Seehofer said on Wednesday that he remains optimistic about reaching a deal with his Italian counterpart Matteo Salvini to return migrants to Italy by the end of July. Salvini, however, said that a broader strategy to protect Europe's borders was needed first, when the two met in Austria ahead of an EU interior ministers meeting in Innsbruck on Thursday and Friday.

European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi has linked a spike in Irish property prices to "the search for yield by international investors", Irish Times reported, based on answers to Sinn Fein MEP Matt Carthy in the European Parliament. Irish house prices rose 12.3 percent in the first quarter of 2018 compared to first qarter of 2017. On average EU property prices grew 4.7 percent, according to Eurostat. .

The Czech parliament on Thursday gave its backing to a new minority government headed by billionaire prime minister Andrej Babis, becoming the first Czech government since the 1989 to rely on votes from the communist party. The vote ended a nearly nine-month struggle to secure a parliamentary majority behind the new government, which is composed of Babis' ANO party and the Social Democrats.

NATO leaders will seek to dampen a febrile atmosphere as their summit wraps up Thursday with talks on Afghanistan and Ukraine, after US President Donald Trump stung allies with a shock demand to double defence spending.

While climate change takes a toll on agriculture and land use contributes to warming the planet, soils still find little attention from policymakers in their climate strategies.

As expected, Macedonia received an official invitation to join the NATO alliance yesterday (11 July), a month after it reached an agreement with Athens on its new name.

Beer drinkers like clear, consistent, honest communication. That’s why Europe’s brewers have voluntary committed to providing consumers with the list of ingredients and nutrition information in full accordance with EU law, a decision welcomed by policymakers and NGOs alike.

A milestone in EU-Azerbaijan relations was reached in Brussels yesterday (11 July), with the end of negotiations of the EU-Azerbaijan Partnership Priorities in the presence of President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, and the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev.

As Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic start phasing out coal, campaigners argue that all actors – including small entrepreneurs, communities and civil society – must be part of the process.

The European Commission has rejected the European Court of Auditors’ recommendation to strengthen surveillance of EU member states with high levels of public debt.

An article in the Daily Telegraph wrongly claimed that European citizens who currently reside in the UK will not be subject to international criminal checks after Brexit. EURACTIV.com looks into the story as part of the “Fact or Fake” series, in partnership with France 24.