European Union

The European Court of Justice has struck a second blow against churches' rights to hire and fire people based on their beliefs.

EU leaders are preparing to hold a special summit on Brexit in mid-November in order to sign the divorce deal with Britain, as it is no longer expected a deal can be agreed before their regular summit on 18-19 October. The biggest obstacle remains how to avoid police and customs checks at the border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic, once the UK leaves the EU in March 2019.

Around one million people marched in the streets of Barcelona on Tuesday to mark Catalonia's national day, the Diada, and to show continued support for regional independence. The turnout was roughly the same as last year, reported the BBC. Catalonia last October held a referendum on independence despite Spain's Constitutional Court ruling that it breached the Spanish constitution.

Every year, air pollution causes about 400,000 premature deaths in the EU and hundreds of billions of euros in health-related external costs, a report from the European Court of Auditors has found, adding that people in urban areas are particularly exposed ."Air pollution is the biggest environmental risk to health in the European Union," said Janusz Wojciechowski, member of the European Court of Auditors and responsible for the report.

Poland's former leader and the current EU Council president, Donald Tusk, has more trust (42.7%) among Polish people than either Polish president Andrzej Duda (40.8%) or prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki (40%), according to a new poll by Ibris for the Onet.pl news website. The survey comes ahead of Polish elections next year, where Tusk may try to stage a comeback against Duda and Morawiecki's nationalist-populist Law and Justice party.

Greece’s center-right New Democracy party said yesterday (12 September) that it would vote in favor of Sargentini report to activate Article 7 against Hungary.

Written by Tarja Laaninen (1st edition),

© krisana / Fotolia

On 1 February 2018, the European Commission published a proposal for a recast of the Directive on the quality of water intended for human consumption (the Drinking Water Directive). The proposal responds to the European Citizens’ Initiative, Right2Water, and builds on a fitness check which concluded that the 20-year old directive is fit for purpose, but needs updating. The main elements of the proposal consist of updating the water quality standards, introducing a risk-based approach to the monitoring of water, improving and streamlining the information provided to consumers, harmonising the standards for products in contact with drinking water, and imposing obligations to improve access to water. In the European Parliament, the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) considered the draft report on 7 June 2018; the vote in committee is planned for 10 September 2018.

Versions

• September 2018: Revision of the Drinking Water Directive (1st edition)

 

Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the quality of water intended for human consumption (recast) Committee responsible:

Rapporteur:

Shadow rapporteurs:

 

 

 

 

 

  Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI)

Michel Dantin (EPP, France)

Rory Palmer (S&D, United Kingdom)

Jørn Dohrmann (ECR, Denmark)

Ulrike Müller (ALDE, Germany)

Lynn Boylan (GUE/NGL, Ireland)

Benedek Jávor (Greens/EFA, Hungary)

Eleonora Evi (EFDD, Italy)

Sylvie Goddyn (ENF, France) COM(2017) 0753 of 1.2.2018

2017/0332(COD)

 

Ordinary legislative procedure (COD) (Parliament and Council on equal footing – formerly ‘co-decision’) Next steps expected: Vote in ENVI committee on draft report

 

 

 

Russia hopes for a peaceful resolution of the situation in Syria's rebel-held province of Idlib but believes it is up to Turkey to separate Islamist militants from the moderate opposition, Russia's Syria envoy said on Tuesday (11 September).

Following an EU call to reformulate food products to tackle rising obesity across Europe, the Association of Greek Soft Drinks Industries (SEVA) recently launched an initiative to reduce sugar in its products by 10%.

Around one million people filled central Barcelona on Tuesday to celebrate Catalonia's commemorative day and boost a bid for independence which has left deep divisions almost a year after it brought Spain to a constitutional crisis.

Poland's presidency on Tuesday (11 September) named a new acting head of the Supreme Court as Warsaw presses ahead with an overhaul of its judiciary that critics, including the EU, say undermines the rule of law in the ex-communist state.

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Tuesday (11 September) he would visit Macedonia before the 30 September referendum on changing the country's name, also expressing concern about suspected Russian interference in the vote, which Moscow denies.

Weber, the head of the centre-right EPP group, has said he would back triggering Article 7 on Hungary, in what Orban dubbed an attack on Hungarian people.

Mostly out of pragmatism, the European Commission has adopted a rather tolerant approach to “capacity mechanisms” – national schemes that remunerate back-up power plants – accepting that EU countries face different challenges in the energy transition.

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who also leads the far-right League party, said on Tuesday (11 September) he wants the new European Commission to be led by conservatives and populists.

The European Commission’s proposed quota for the very fragile Eastern Baltic cod stock significantly surpasses scientific recommendation, warns Lasse Gustavsson, reminding that overfishing isn’t just bad for the environment, it’s bad for the economy too.

While moves towards greater international cooperation are welcome, the EU’s growing number of new free trade deals must be scrutinised. And in the case of the Japan-EU free trade agreement, the deal’s impact on the fight against illegal timber is a pressing concern, writes Perrine Fournier.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is expected to propose today (12 September) a bigger role for the euro in international markets and more efficient decision-making in EU foreign policy in his state of the union speech, European diplomats said.

The Vostok 2018 (or Orient-2018) military exercise, between 11-17 September, will mobilize for four days no less than 300 000 soldiers (virtually all forces of Central and Western Russian military districts of Russia), 36 000 armored vehicles and more than a thousand aircraft (planes, helicopters and drones).

The Chinese and Mongolian armed forces will be invited. There will be an air of Zapad-81 (in 1981 with 100.000 soldiers, a hard message to the West and to the revolted Poland), but more imposing in a way.

Tag: Vostok 2018

The European Parliament held a highly incendiary debate about Hungary on Tuesday (11 September), ahead of a vote on whether to trigger Article 7 against the country, exposing serious internal divisions in the European Peoples’ Party, which includes Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's party.