European Union

Plenary sessions : Women often face harassment online, ranging from insults to threats of rape or physical violence. Various measures to tackle this and to encourage more women to work in the ICT sector are set out in the report "Gender equality and empowering women in the digital age". MEPs debate it on Wednesday 27 April and vote on it the following day. We talked to report author Terry Reintke, a German member of the Greens/EFA group, about how to make internet and the ICT sector more hospitable to women.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : Women often face harassment online, ranging from insults to threats of rape or physical violence. Various measures to tackle this and to encourage more women to work in the ICT sector are set out in the report "Gender equality and empowering women in the digital age". MEPs debate it on Wednesday 27 April and vote on it the following day. We talked to report author Terry Reintke, a German member of the Greens/EFA group, about how to make internet and the ICT sector more hospitable to women.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Welcome to Wednesday’s edition of our daily Brussels Briefing. To receive it every morning in your email in-box, sign up here.

Dijsselbloem, in orange tie, with his Finnish, Belgian and Spanish counterparts last week

Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the Dutch finance minister who chairs meetings of his 18 eurozone counterparts, had threatened to bring his eurogroup back to Brussels tomorrow for this year’s first unscheduled meeting on Greece – but only if bailout negotiators agreed on a new set of austerity measures with Athens beforehand. Last night, Mr Dijsselbloem announced that more time was needed to reach a deal, raising the risk that Greece’s bailout standoff could once again be headed for a period of bitter brinkmanship.

Many signs of a repeat of last year’s Grexit drama are present: irreconcilable differences between Athens and its bailout creditors; a looming July debt payment owed to the European Central Bank; angry denunciations by embattled Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras. The risk of a rerun was underlined by reports last night that Mr Tsipras was due to call Donald Tusk, the European Council president, this morning and demand a special summit of eurozone leaders to hash out a way forward.

It’s unlikely eurozone heads of government will want to take up the Greek crisis right now, with a drop-dead deadline still months away and the prospect of another eurogroup meeting looming as early as next week. But differences between the major players in the Greek drama remain deep, and a deal among mid-level negotiators remain stuck on two primary issues:

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General : How European Muslims deal with radicalisation and the role that women can play in countering it and promoting de-radicalisation were discussed in a conference held in the European Parliament on Tuesday. Projects on the ground and what to do to confront the phenomenon at national and EU levels were also debated with leading-edge experts.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : How European Muslims deal with radicalisation and the role that women can play in countering it and promoting de-radicalisation were discussed in a conference held in the European Parliament on Tuesday. Projects on the ground and what to do to confront the phenomenon at national and EU levels were also debated with leading-edge experts.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Pappalardo and Others v Commission
Fisheries policy
The General Court dismisses the action for damages brought by Italian fishermen following the Commission’s early ban on bluefin tuna fishing in 2008

Pappalardo and Others v Commission
Fisheries policy
The General Court dismisses the action for damages brought by Italian fishermen following the Commission’s early ban on bluefin tuna fishing in 2008

Pappalardo and Others v Commission
Fisheries policy
The General Court dismisses the action for damages brought by Italian fishermen following the Commission’s early ban on bluefin tuna fishing in 2008

Plans to update EU type approval rules and emission limits for internal combustion engines in non-road mobile machinery (NRMM), such as lawn mowers, bulldozers, diesel locomotives and inland waterway vessels, were backed by the Environment Committee on Wednesday. These plans had already been agreed with the Dutch Presidency of the Council. NRMM engines account for about 15% of all NOx and 5% of particulate emissions in the EU.
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plans to update EU type approval rules and emission limits for internal combustion engines in non-road mobile machinery (NRMM), such as lawn mowers, bulldozers, diesel locomotives and inland waterway vessels, were backed by the Environment Committee on Wednesday. These plans had already been agreed with the Dutch Presidency of the Council. NRMM engines account for about 15% of all NOx and 5% of particulate emissions in the EU.
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

On 28 April 2016, the Council gave its green light for new rules that aim to improve domestic rail passenger services in the EU. It endorsed the deal concluded by the presidency with the European Parliament on 19 April.

"During the negotiations the interest of travellers always came first. Together we have been able to reach an ambitious agreement. The quality and efficiency of railway services will improve because of this package".

Sharon Dijksma, Dutch Minister for Infrastructure and the Environment

Opening national rail markets to competition

The revised rules - known as the 4th railway package market pillar - will open up domestic rail passenger markets in the member states. Railway companies will have non-discriminatory access to the network across the EU provided that public service contracts are not compromised. This means that it will be easier for new operators to enter the market and offer their services. For the award of public service contracts competitive bidding will become the rule, although exceptions to this rule are still possible.

Quality of service, for instance the punctuality and frequency of trains, will have more of an influence on the award of contracts to operators. For public service contracts - which currently account for over 90% of EU rail journeys - direct award will continue to be allowed provided it leads to better quality of service or cost-efficiency.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

On 20 April, SEDE exchanged views with Florence Gaub, EUISS, and Anar Valiyev, ADA University, Baku on how to combat ISIL in the Eastern and Southern Neighbourhood Countries. The attacks in Paris and Brussels have demonstrated the recklessness and tenacity of the terror organisation "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)". Their jihadist ideology has become the blueprint for aspiring terrorist groups and organisations in the Eastern and Southern neighbourhood of the EU.
Further information
Draft agenda and meeting documents
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : The European Parliament hosted a conference in Brussels on Tuesday 26 April, focussing on the role of women in tackling radicalisation and promoting de-radicalisation in Europe. Participants also assessed national and European strategies on the ground and held an open discussion on the way forward.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : The European Parliament hosted a conference in Brussels on Tuesday 26 April, focussing on the role of women in tackling radicalisation and promoting de-radicalisation in Europe. Participants also assessed national and European strategies on the ground and held an open discussion on the way forward.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

The European Commission's proposal for automatic exchange of corporate tax information among national tax authorities was welcomed by Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee MEPs on Tuesday as a positive step in the fight against aggressive corporate tax planning. But MEPs also advocated adding further safeguards in the text to ensure that competition in the single market is not distorted by advantageous national tax deals with multinationals.
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

The European Commission's proposal for automatic exchange of corporate tax information among national tax authorities was welcomed by Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee MEPs on Tuesday as a positive step in the fight against aggressive corporate tax planning. But MEPs also advocated adding further safeguards in the text to ensure that competition in the single market is not distorted by advantageous national tax deals with multinationals.
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP