European Union

The lack of a European ‘demos’ is seen as one of the obstacles for the EU project’s road to progress. But a pan-European discourse has finally taken hold on the continent, paradoxically not to take the European dream forward but to dismantle it once and for all.

The European Court of Justice ruled on 25 July that organisms obtained by mutagenesis plant breeding technique are GMOs and should, in principle, fall under the GMO Directive, in a surprising move that went contrary to the Advocate-General's non-binding opinion.

EU state ambassadors met in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss the European Commission concept papers on setting up controlled centres in EU states and disembarkation platforms in north Africa. Without fully endorsing the plans, they said it was still a basis for further work. None volunteered to host them. It will now be discussed at a UNHCR and IOM meeting on 30 July, along with some EU states.

The opinion that German arms exports are to blame that the world is unstable is widespread. Expert now have cross-checked numbers and causalities. EURACTIV Germany's media partner "Der Tagesspiegel" reports.

The European Commission is drawing up a list of $20 billion of US goods to hit with duties if Washington imposes tariffs on imported cars, trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said on Wednesday (25 July), on the eve of her boss's meeting with US President Donald Trump.

Commission v Spain
Environment and consumers
On account of its delay in implementing the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive, Spain is ordered to pay a lump sum of €12 million and a penalty payment of almost €11 million per six-month period of delay

Commission v United Parcel Service
Competition
Advocate General Kokott suggests that the Court of Justice should confirm that the Commission’s decision prohibiting the acquisition of TNT Express by UPS should be annulled due to a procedural error

European Union v Gascogne Sack Deutschland and Gascogne
Law governing the institutions
Advocate General Wahl: the Court of Justice should set aside the judgments of the General Court by which it ordered the EU to pay compensation for material damage to a number of companies as a result of the excessive length of proceedings before that court

The EU Court of Justice said Wednesday Ireland could freeze a Polish extradition demand under the European Arrest Warrant if Irish authorities assessed the suspect risked "inhuman or degrading treatment", and that the Polish judicial system had "systemic deficiencies". It declined to say if Poland met those criteria, but said a recent European Commission complaint on Polish judicial independence was "particularly relevant for the purposes of that assessment".

The European Commission on Wednesday approved an education programme for Syrian refugees in Turkey worth some €400m. The money is earmarked from the second €3bn tranche as part of an agreement between the EU and Turkey in 2015 to stem refugee flows towards the Greek islands. The Commission says the first €3bn tranche has been spent.

The European Court of Justice ruled Wednesday that organisms obtained by new mutagenesis techniques should be considered as genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and fall under EU laws on GMOs. Judges said that although the GMO directive does not apply to some techniques, "those which have conventionally been used in a number of applications and have a long safety record," can be covered by the directive.

Relations between the Visegrád countries and Ukraine have deteriorated in recent years. But from the point of view of ordinary Ukrainian citizens, Central and Eastern Europe is still a very attractive model, especially in the economic sense, analyst Kateryna Zarembo told EURACTIV.pl.

EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is due to arrive in Washington today for talks with Donald Trump in a bid to avoid a trade war between the US and the EU. Europe's media offer their advice as to how he can hold his own against the US president.

The debate following star footballer Mesut Özil's resignation from the German national team continues. After a heated public discussion over his controversial photograph with Turkey's President Erdoğan, Özil had issued a statement lambasting the German Football Association and citing the prevalence of racism and a lack of respect. The way the affair has been dealt with speaks volumes about the situation in Germany, commentators conclude.