European Union

This week, together with the European Data Protection Supervisor Wojciech Wiewiórowski, we look at data protection issues, including the regulation concerning the detection and removal of online child sexual abuse material, as well as Frontex’s handling of migrants’ data, and the recent news regarding the European Commission's violation of data protection rules in its use of Microsoft.

Divisions over migration policy within the European Commission have opened ahead of the European elections.

There are more than 6,000 rare diseases, with 27 different healthcare systems governed by diverse rules and principles, with differences for orphan drugs payments. The new Pharma Package aims on bridging regulatory gaps, but stakeholders warn of the risk of amplifying uncertainties.

When done abusively to cut costs and circumvent regulations, subcontracting is detrimental to both the subcontracted workers and local workforces who end up approaching the negotiating table from weaker positions, says a leading European trade unionist.

Europe needs a Bio Act according to MEP Pernille Weiss (EPP). Weiss and other expert speakers at the European High-Level Summit on Biosolutions said failing to develop an effective biosolutions framework will lead to a stifling of innovation and growth.

EP and Council negotiators agreed on the creation of a European Health Data Space to ease access to personal health data and to boost secure sharing for the public interest.
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

EP and Council negotiators agreed on the creation of a European Health Data Space to ease access to personal health data and to boost secure sharing for the public interest.
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

Israel is moving ahead with plans to invade Rafah in southern Gaza despite US pressure, as the EU says "famine" has arrived in northern Gaza.

The EU’s recent push to encourage the private sector to step in to finance critical investment - especially through the revival of Capital Market Union (CMU) plans -  is both unrealistic and misguided, experts warned.

The European Commission requested information on Thursday (14 March) from nine big tech platforms on their use of targeted ads and generative artificial intelligence (AI) to gauge compliance with the Digital Services Act (DSA).

After tabling just a small part of the promised overhaul of legislation on animal welfare, the Commission told the European Parliament plenary on Thursday (14 March) that a revision must rely on a strategic dialogue with stakeholders.

If there is one point of agreement between the US intelligence community and the space policy community, it's the seemingly low confidence in recent warnings about Russia readying a nuclear weapon for orbit.

Panama is increasingly becoming the hub of illicit tobacco trade, costing the country massive loss of public revenues and at the same time, raising questions over the policy response to this phenomenon.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen is expected to start an “intensive” EU election campaign in May with several “thematic” events across Europe, a source familiar with the matter from the European People’s Party (EPP) headquarters in Brussels told Euractiv.

Airdrops and a maritime corridor will not be enough to substitute humanitarian aid transported by trucks into Gaza, where people are on the verge of famine, European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič said on Thursday (14 March).

The EU’s Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius is touring Paraguay, Bolivia, and Ecuador this week to address concerns related to the implementation of the world’s first ban on deforestation-linked products, a measure criticised as protectionist by some of the bloc’s trade partners.

When I think about the Russian elections, particularly the presidential one taking place this weekend, I cannot help but remember the totalitarian voting in which I participated as a youngster.

The European Defence Agency (EDA) and the European Union Satellite Centre (SatCen) signed a bilateral agreement on 14 March 2024 to initiate a new phase of cooperation within MARSUR, the maritime surveillance information exchange system crafted by EDA. 

Launched in 2005 as a network for sharing open-source maritime information, MARSUR has since matured into a multi-faceted information exchange platform. The multinational initiative resulting from this effort now encompasses 22 European navies. Out of this pool, under the EDA framework, 16 EU navies are developing a capability for the automatic exchange of maritime surveillance information and decision-making support. 

MARSUR’s wide scope of services allow for information exchange, coordination and support to decision-making, aiming to improve the common ‘Recognised Maritime Picture’. The network plays an important role as a defence layer of the EU framework for exchanging information and maritime situation awareness, known as the Common Information Sharing Environment (CISE). 

Now in its third stage of development, which is known as MARSUR III, the project is upgrading its technology and capabilities. That will soon include the exchange of classified information.  The bilateral agreement will provide the operational basis for the exchange of relevant data between SatCen and the MARSUR community through a secure network. 

“This bilateral agreement is a unique mechanism introduced under the MARSUR III project to involve SatCen in EDA ad hoc activities under the control and funding of the contributing Member States,” said EDA Chief Executive Jiří Šedivý. “I am pleased to sign it today on behalf of the MARSUR III contributing members,” he said. 

SatCen has aligned its efforts with EDA to define requirements and support maritime situational awareness with satellite data and analysis. SatCen joined the initiative in 2017 and in May 2021 signed the MARSUR III project arrangement for 2021-2026 and the way ahead. 

SatCen Director, Ambassador Sorin Ducaru, said: “I look forward to intensifying the excellent inter-agency collaboration by concluding this agreement, which will solidify the SatCen collaboration within MARSUR over the long term, and I would like to thank all actors involved, in particular the Member States as well as the teams of SatCen and EDA.”  

MARSUR III will now benefit from SatCen’s expertise, particularly in terms of governance, as it takes a role as permanent chair of the Technical Advisory Board, in training of operators and technicians, exchanging information and products, and connecting to CISE with its bridging node. 

SatCen will in turn connect its resources to the information held by European navies. SatCen will also welcome two MARSUR maritime surveillance experts, funded by the MARSUR community.

During the signing ceremony, Commander Joachim Weidmann, Chairperson of the MARSUR Management Group and representing the participating nations, said: “The bilateral agreement between EDA and SatCen is a milestone, and it is important that both organisations show the willingness to succeed in ensuring that relevant operational maritime information is shared in the required time.” 

EDA's wider role   

EDA supports its 27 Member States in improving their defence capabilities through European cooperation. Acting as an enabler and facilitator for Ministries of Defence willing to engage in collaborative capability projects, the Agency has become the hub for European defence cooperation with expertise and networks allowing it to the whole spectrum of defence capabilities.   
  
Member States use EDA as an intergovernmental expert platform where their collaborative projects are supported, facilitated, and implemented. For more details, please see here.                             

The European Parliament has confirmed that it will sue the European Commission over the release of €10.2bn in frozen funds to Hungary, following a meeting of the assembly's leadership on Thursday (14 March) in Strasbourg.

Animal welfare is one of those rare issues that is neither left nor right. Across the political spectrum and irrespective of nationality, you’ll always find politicians who care about the plight of animals; it is certainly not the exclusive domain of the Greens and the Left.