European Union

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker will meet US president Donald Trump in Washington on 25 July, the commission confirmed on Tuesday. It said they will discuss "deep cooperation" between the EU and the US "across a wide range of priorities, including foreign and security policy, counter-terrorism, energy security, and economic growth," and that they will focus on "improving transatlantic trade and forging a stronger economic partnership."

The Vote Leave campaign has been fined and reported to the police by the UK’s elections regulator for deliberately falsifying its campaign expenses for the Brexit referendum.

Following the second EU-CELAC ministerial meeting, participants adopted a declaration.

Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission and Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, met in Tokyo for the 25th Summit between the EU and Japan and issued the following statement.

During the press conference after the summit in Tokyo, President Donald Tusk highlighted the strong relations and partnership between the European Union and Japan.

At the press conference of the summit, held in Beijing, President Tusk presented the main topics the leaders discussed during their meeting.

Written by Maria Margarita Mentzelopoulou and Costica Dumbrava (1st edition),

© nd700 / Fotolia

The European Union Code on Visas is one of the core elements of the EU’s visa policy. It lays down the procedures and conditions for issuing short-stay visas for third-country nationals.

On 14 March 2018, the Commission adopted a proposal to revise the Community Code on Visas (visa code). The main objective of the proposal is to strengthen the common visa policy while taking into account migration and security concerns, by increasing the role of visa policy in the EU’s cooperation with third-countries, as well as economic considerations, by facilitating processing of visas for legitimate travellers who contribute to the EU’s economy and its cultural and social development.

Currently, the proposal is still at the early stage of discussions in committee.

Versions

• July 2018: ‘Revision of the Community Code on Visas‘ (1st edition)

Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 establishing a Community Code on Visas (Visa Code) Committee responsible: Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) COM(2018) 252 Rapporteur: Juan Fernando López Aguilar (S&D, Spain) 2018/0061(COD) Shadow rapporteurs:

 

  Heinz K. Becker (EPP, Austria)
Helga Stevens (ECR, Belgium)
Gérard Deprez (ALDE, Belgium)
Marie-Christine Vergiat (GUE/NGL, France)
Bodil Valero (Greens/EFA, Sweden)
Ignazio Corrao (EFDD, Italy) Ordinary legislative procedure (COD) (Parliament and Council on equal footing – formerly ‘co-decision’) Next steps expected: Publication of draft report

Figure 1 – EU visa applications and granted visas (in millions)

After the Brexit referendum and Trump’s election in 2016, the French presidential campaign in 2017 was also affected by Russian interference. However, unlike the US and the UK, France managed to maintain its democratic integrity. EURACTIV.fr reports.

Icelandic Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir confirmed at last week's NATO summit that her country would launch an investigation into Iceland’s controversial whaling industry, following the killing of what is thought to be a protected blue whale.

Cypriot Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides said on Tuesday (17 July) there was new hope of resuming talks on Cypriot reunification, with a new UN envoy about to start meetings with all parties in an effort to relaunch the talks.

The agriculture ministers of France and Germany rejected the European Commission proposal to decrease the budget for the post-2020 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), claiming instead that it should remain at the current level.

The anxiously awaited meeting between Trump and Putin was a "meaningful and successful" conversation according to the Kremlin boss. The US president stressed once more that there had been no collusion before the US election and accused the FBI of damaging the US with its investigations. Commentators are relieved that the global situation has at least remained stable as a result of the summit, and unanimous on which leader was more in control.

A national football team many of whose players have migration backgrounds has brought the World Cup trophy back to France. But commentators take very different views about whether this victory can heal the country's social rifts.