European Union

Plenary sessions : The EU Commission should go on negotiating with the USA to remedy “deficiencies” in proposed “Privacy Shield” protection for EU citizens’ data transferred to the US for commercial purposes, Parliament says in a non-legislative resolution passed on Thursday.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : The EU Commission should go on negotiating with the USA to remedy “deficiencies” in proposed “Privacy Shield” protection for EU citizens’ data transferred to the US for commercial purposes, Parliament says in a non-legislative resolution passed on Thursday.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

The Council agreed on a general approach on a draft regulation aimed at ensuring the cross-border portability of online content services in the internal market.

The agreement enables the Council to start negotiations with the European Parliament, once the Parliament has set its negotiating position, under the ordinary legislative procedure.

The president of the Council and minister for economic affairs of the Netherlands, Henk Kamp, made the following comments: "This initiative will make life easier for European citizens when they travel, by allowing them to keep accessing online content they have legally acquired or subscribed to in their home member state when they are temporarily in another member state. This means that citizens who are in another member state for purposes such as holidays or business trips can enjoy for example music, films, games or sporting events just like at home".

Travelling with subscriptions to online content services

The increased use of portable devices such as tablets and smartphones facilitates access to the use of online content services regardless of the consumers' location.

There is a rapidly growing demand on the part of consumers for access to content and innovative online services not only in their home country but also when they are temporarily abroad. Therefore, barriers that hamper access and use of such online content services within the single market will be eliminated.

Current obstacles to cross-border portability of online content services stem from the fact that the rights for the transmission of content protected by copyright and/or related rights such as audiovisual works as well as rights for premium sporting events are often licensed on a territorial basis.

Under the general approach, the regulation would apply to online content services which are provided against payment of money. Free to air services, such as public broadcasters, would be able to benefit from the regulation provided that they verify the country of residence of their subscribers.

The Commission presented the original proposal in December 2015. It is among the first initiatives of the digital single market strategy put forward with the objective of creating an internal market for digital content and services.

Plenary sessions : Parliament approved aid on Thursday worth €6,468,000 for 557 redundant workers from the “Larissa” supermarket in Greece and €5,146,800 for 2,132 former drivers for the road haulage and delivery firm MoryGlobal SAS in France. The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) aid will still need to be approved by the Council of Ministers on 6 June.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : Parliament approved aid on Thursday worth €6,468,000 for 557 redundant workers from the “Larissa” supermarket in Greece and €5,146,800 for 2,132 former drivers for the road haulage and delivery firm MoryGlobal SAS in France. The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) aid will still need to be approved by the Council of Ministers on 6 June.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : The EU must quickly take further measures to stabilize milk prices and bring relief to struggling dairy farmers, urged MEPs in Thursday's plenary debate with Commissioner Phil Hogan and Dutch deputy farm minister Hans Hoogeveen. These measures should include an EU-wide lid on milk production to boost prices, a more efficient intervention system, to enable the EU to react more swiftly, and balancing the supply chain to enable farmers to earn fair returns, they said.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : The EU must quickly take further measures to stabilize milk prices and bring relief to struggling dairy farmers, urged MEPs in Thursday's plenary debate with Commissioner Phil Hogan and Dutch deputy farm minister Hans Hoogeveen. These measures should include an EU-wide lid on milk production to boost prices, a more efficient intervention system, to enable the EU to react more swiftly, and balancing the supply chain to enable farmers to earn fair returns, they said.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

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

What halted the main wave of Europe’s epoch-making migration crisis? Was it the fences of the western Balkans route? Or a transformative deal with Turkey? That is more than just an academic question as Europe wrestles with how to deal with Ankara, and the other policy dilemmas that stem from a world on the move.

This chart, inspired by some conversations with officials in Brussels, attempts to differentiate the two:

The first two lines show the political chain reaction triggered by the Austrians and others imposing quotas on their borders and effectively closing off the western Balkans route migration route.

Read more

France v Commission
State aid
The General Court annuls the Commission’s decision classifying the unlimited implied guarantee granted by the French State to the Institut français du pétrole (French Petroleum Institute) as State aid

France v Commission
State aid
The General Court annuls the Commission’s decision classifying the unlimited implied guarantee granted by the French State to the Institut français du pétrole (French Petroleum Institute) as State aid

France v Commission
State aid
The General Court annuls the Commission’s decision classifying the unlimited implied guarantee granted by the French State to the Institut français du pétrole (French Petroleum Institute) as State aid

On 25 May 2016 Lebanon enters its third year without a President. The sovereignty, stability, territorial integrity and independence of Lebanon are important for the European Union. Lebanon remains an example of freedom, diversity and tolerance for the region, but the prolonged political crisis can only further weaken the country and its institutions in facing its many challenges. Lebanon cannot afford to wait for the region to solve its problems before it addresses this issue.

The EU again urges Lebanese political forces and all stakeholders to put partisan and individual interests aside and find a viable compromise to elect a President swiftly. The EU supports the efforts deployed by the Lebanese government under difficult circumstances to ensure that issues of dissent do not hinder completely the functioning of Lebanese Institutions, and do not compromise the delivery of international assistance. In this context the EU commends the Lebanese Armed Forces' work for the safety and security of the country. The National Dialogue and other mediation efforts are laudable initiatives to ensure communication between political forces and prevent a deterioration of the political climate. The EU welcomes the holding of the Municipal elections and the Parliamentary by-elections for a vacant Parliamentary seat, and calls on all parties to create the conditions for the holding of Parliamentary elections.

The EU is fully aware of the additional challenges that the refugee crisis poses for the stability of Lebanon. The EU commends the Lebanese people for their efforts to host refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria, and stresses the importance of respect by all parties of the right to safe and voluntary return of refugees displaced from Syria. As demonstrated by the EU's pledge at the London Conference and its initial implementation, the EU and its Member States are committed to supporting Lebanon, its host institutions and public services in addressing the growing needs of all vulnerable host communities and refugees.  The EU welcomes Lebanon's Statement of Intent presented at the London Conference, and fully supports its implementation.

The EU reiterates its commitment to the partnership with Lebanon, and reaffirms the need to work together to respond to common challenges on the basis of our common values, including human rights, democracy, and respect for diversity.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, European Council President Donald Tusk, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, French President François Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and UK Prime Minister David Cameron, made the following joint statement in the margins of the G7 Summit in Ise-Shima:

“We, the Leaders of Japan, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, in the margins of the G7 Summit in Ise-Shima welcome the view shared by the leaders of Japan and the European Union on the occasion of their meeting on 3 May 2016 to instruct their respective negotiators to accelerate the negotiations on the Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA)/Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and reaffirm our strong commitment to reach agreement in principle as early as possible in 2016.

We commend the work of our negotiators over the last 3 years, and for the substantial progress already made. With our full backing, the negotiators are entrusted to make the efforts necessary in the coming months to move forward with the negotiations, paving the way for reaching agreement encompassing all key issues including all types of tariffs and non-tariff measures, in line with the timeline committed above in a constructive manner, based on mutual trust, toward a comprehensive, high-level and balanced agreement which further consolidates our solid trade and economic partnership.

Recognizing the strategic importance of the Japan-EU EPA/FTA, we remain committed to creating a free, fair and open international trade and economic system, which will promote stronger, sustainable and balanced growth and contribute to the creation of more jobs and economic opportunity in Japan and the European Union and to the increase of our international competitiveness.”

Emanating from Russia in the east and the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the south, the EU has been increasingly hit by destabilising messages amounting – in different forms and to different degrees – to coherent hostile ‘strategic communications’ campaigns, or the processes of infusing communications activities with an agenda or plan to impact the behaviour of a target audience. Both Russia and ISIL have engaged in aggressive messaging and deceptive media campaigns, albeit with distinct narratives, targets and audiences. This paper analyses the ‘what’ and the ‘how’: the respective narratives of each actor, their specificities, their similarities and their differences. The analysis also draws attention to strategic communications efforts undertaken by the EU, which are vectored into defensive (react and respond) and offensive (probe and push) dimensions. This understanding of the present context finally allows for an evaluation of what actions can be taken to enhance the effectiveness of the EU’s own strategic communications.
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

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On 26-27 May, President Tusk attends the G7 summit in Ise-Shima (Japan). Global growth remains an urgent priority for the G7 and leaders are expected to commit to further strengthening their policy response. They are also expected to discuss the most pressing foreign policy challenges, including the situation in Syria and Ukraine and cross-cutting themes like counter-terrorism. The G7 is also expected to discuss the global migration and refugee crisis and commit to increased assistance.

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