European Union

After the Novaya Gazeta newspaper released a video filmed in 2017 showing an inmate in a penal colony in the city of Yaroslavl being tortured by prison employees, the investigation into the incident, which had been closed, has been reopened. But this won't make any difference to the situation in Russia's prisons, commentators from the opposition predict.

They made a name for themselves by rescuing civilians from war zones in Syria, but now they are in danger: 422 members of the Syrian aid organisation White Helmets and their families have been rescued from the combat area in the south of Syria - by the Israeli army. The press reacts positively to the spectacular rescue of the rescuers.

At least 54 people have been killed and more than 150 injured in forest fires in the Athens area. An extended period of extreme heat and drought abetted by strong winds contributed to the rapid spread of the wildfires. The authorities have declared a state of emergency and are seeking international aid. Commentators see the state as partially responsible for the tragedy.

Italy has announced a U-turn on migrants, at least temporarily - amid other clashing noises on fiscal and foreign policy.

Western Europe is estimated to have 5,904 nationals affiliated with the Islamic State inside Iraq and Syria. Of those, around 1,765 have returned of which 47 percent are minors and eight percent are women, says a new report.

European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker will try to "de-dramatise" the trade clash with the US when he meets president Donald Trump in Washington Wednesday, but will not bring a new offer on tariffs, his spokesman said Monday. "This is an occasion to de-dramatise any potential tensions around trade and engage in an open and constructive dialogue," the spokesman said. "There are no offers ... it's an opportunity to talk."

The EU is trying to bypass president Donald Trump in dealings with the US, Irish EU commissioner Phil Hogan has said. "We have to go in at the lower level of the administrative system and the federal system, directly to the federal states, rather than having to rely ... on the White House," he said at an event in Ireland Monday, the Irish Times reports.

Irish leader Leo Varadkar has said "we cannot contemplate" a hard border with Northern Ireland if Britain left the EU with no deal. He spoke in Croatia on a short EU tour pressing Dublin's position on Brexit. Andrej Plenkovic, his Croatian counterpart, said "populists, such as "Mr Farage" (a British MEP), had tried to "meddle" in his country's EU-entry referendum. "I deeply disagree with everything they stand for," he said.

No surprise that in the last decade at least one third of top staff at the EU Commission's financial unit have either came from the financial industry or went there after their time at the commission.

With European elections coming up in May 2019, you probably want to know how the European Union impacts your daily life, before you think about voting. In the latest in a series of posts on what Europe does for you, your family, your business and your wellbeing, we look at what Europe does for tourism operators.

There is no specific EU fund for tourism but, as a tourism operator, you can apply for funding from various EU sources, such as the European structural and investment funds.

Twitter Hashtag #EUandME

© dima_sidelnikov / Fotolia

The European Union has launched various initiatives to help entrepreneurs manage tourism businesses and improve staff quality and mobility, for instance if they are restructuring or are short of qualified workers. The EU helps tourism operators to find business partners, funding and information (for instance via its Tourism Business Portal). It also helps them to go digital (for example via webinars or by offering financial support for the development of tourism-related apps), and provides guidance on starting up tourism businesses. EURES – the EU’s job mobility portal – has a dedicated section for tourism and hospitality sector skills passports. The EU also conducts surveys that help give tourism operators a better understanding of the tourism preferences of the European public.

Furthermore, the EU is helping tourism operators to attract more tourists by promoting destination Europe. It has created the visiteurope.com website and has run various campaigns (such as 2018 EU-China Tourism Year).

Lastly, the EU is engaged also in visa facilitation, while strengthening internal security. It has removed internal border controls for those travelling within the Schengen Area (most EU countries), while retaining external border controls.

Further information

• European Commission website on support to tourism businesses, https://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/tourism/support-business_en
• EPRS in-depth analysis, Tourism and the European Union: Recent trends and policy developments, 2015 http://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document.html?reference=EPRS_IDA(2015)568343
• EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service: www.epthinktank.eu

European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker heads to Washington on Wednesday (25 July) in a last-ditch effort by the EU to cool nerves and find an exit door from an all-out trade war with US President Donald Trump.

Italy agreed on Monday (23 July) to continue accepting migrants rescued at sea, at least until a broader EU strategy to address fair distribution of people can be defined.