European Union

On the initiative of a number of Members of the Court of Justice, a Liber Amicorum will be presented to Mr Vassilios Skouris to celebrate his 12 years at the head of the institution

Plenary sessions : A new EU strategy for equality between women and men beyond 2015 will be debated by MEPs on Monday 8 June. The draft EP resolution drafted by Maria Noichl states that progress in the EU has been slow and that much remains to be done over the next five years. Watch the debate live on our website on Monday 8 June from 18.00 CET and check out our infographic to see how successful member states have been in achieving gender equality.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Plenary sessions : A new EU strategy for equality between women and men beyond 2015 will be debated by MEPs on Monday 8 June. The draft EP resolution drafted by Maria Noichl states that progress in the EU has been slow and that much remains to be done over the next five years. Watch the debate live on our website on Monday 8 June from 18.00 CET and check out our infographic to see how successful member states have been in achieving gender equality.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Merkel, standing, with her finance and defence ministers in the Bundestag last month

Just when is the real deadline before which Greece has to reach a deal with its creditors to gain access to €7.2bn in bailout aid?

Its current bailout ends on June 30, and officials think that if a deal is in place by the next scheduled meeting of eurozone finance ministers, June 18, there may just be enough time for Greece to pass the necessary legislation to get the rescue disbursement before the clock runs out.

But Stefan Wagstyl, the FT’s man in Berlin, writes to point out there’s another looming deadline that could cause problems for a Greece decision, tied to the upcoming recess of the Bundestag, which must approve any aid tranche:

It could be that Greece’s real deadline is much earlier that many realise: June 14. That is the date by which German officials say Greece and its bailout monitors must complete a new agreement for the German parliament to have time to vote on it before the end of the month.

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The Permanent Representatives Committee on 4 June 2015 approved, on behalf of the Council, a compromise agreed with the European Parliament on a directive aimed at further developing an EU-wide market for electronic payments. 

The directive incorporates and repeals an existing payment services directive (directive 2007/64/EC), which provided the legal basis for the creation of an EU-wide single market for payments. 

Catering for changes in e-commerce 

The revised directive adapts existing rules to emerging and innovative payment services, including internet and mobile payments. It establishes a comprehensive set of rules with the aim of ensuring a more secure environment for payments, in particular for those using remote channels. The directive also sets up a more harmonised and effective framework for supervision by national authorities.  

Since adoption of the original payment services directive in 2007, innovative methods for the initiation of payments in the field of e-commerce have evolved. They usually form a software "bridge" between the website of the merchant and the online banking platform of the payer's bank in order to initiate internet payments on the basis of a credit transfer. These services will now be covered by the directive. They enable the payment initiation service provider (who never holds the user's funds) to give assurance to the payee that the funds necessary for a specific payment transaction are available on the account and the payment has been initiated.  

A regulatory regime to cover the activities of account information services will also be provided for. These services offer the payment service user, for example, with aggregated online information on one or more payment accounts held with one or more other payment service providers. This enables the payment service user to have an overall view of his/her financial situation at any given moment, within a secure environment.  

Secure internet payments 

At the same time, the directive promotes the strengthening of security measures for internet payments and for the use of services provided by new market players. It will ensure strong customer authentication to identify the client for each transaction. The new and strengthened supervisory regime will further increase the security level and consumer protection in this field. 

Next steps 

The Council presidency reached a compromise with the Parliament on 5 May 2015. The Council had set out its position in December 2014. The directive will now have to be approved by the Parliament at first reading, so as to allow adoption by the Council once the texts have been finalised in all languages. 

Once adopted, member states will have two years to transpose the directive into their national laws and regulations. 

In the context of EU sanctions related to the misappropriation of Ukrainian state funds, the Council decided on 5 June to extend the asset freeze for three of the four persons covered by measures applying until 6 June 2015. The measures are extended by 9 months for two of the persons concerned and by 4 months for the third. 

The 4th European Standardization Summit on 4 June served as a platform for discussions on how standardisation can contribute to a cleaner and smarter economy in Europe focusing on the construction sector.

In the context of EU sanctions related to the misappropriation of Ukrainian state funds, the Council decided on 5 June to extend the asset freeze for three of the four persons covered by measures applying until 6 June 2015. The measures are extended by 9 months for two of the persons concerned and by 4 months for the third. 

This decision was taken in the light of ongoing judicial proceedings in Ukraine with regard to these persons. EU restrictive measures focusing on the freezing and recovery of misappropriated assets now apply to a total of 17 persons. 

The legal acts are available in the Official Journal of 6 June 2015.

DRAFT OPINION on the prevention of radicalisation and recruitment of European citizens by terrorist organisations
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Charles Tannock

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Plenary sessions : Fake products are harmful to the economy, not only to those who have invested in the original products, but also to consumers, whose health and safety are at risk. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) exist to help counter these dangers. On Monday 8 June MEPs debate two reports dealing with IPR infringements and vote on them the following day. Watch it live on our website.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Plenary sessions : Fake products are harmful to the economy, not only to those who have invested in the original products, but also to consumers, whose health and safety are at risk. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) exist to help counter these dangers. On Monday 8 June MEPs debate two reports dealing with IPR infringements and vote on them the following day. Watch it live on our website.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

The 29th plenary session of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly takes place in Suva from 15 to 17June 2015. The session will be opened formally by its co-presidents Louis Michel for the European Parliament and Fitz A. Jackson (Jamaica) for the ACP.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

The 29th plenary session of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly takes place in Suva from 15 to 17June 2015. The session will be opened formally by its co-presidents Louis Michel for the European Parliament and Fitz A. Jackson (Jamaica) for the ACP.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

As the Latvian Presidency of the EU Council approaches its end, the Flagey arts centre offers a screening of the Latvian movie Modris on Monday 8 June at 20:00 as part of the 13th Brussels Film Festival. The screening will be followed by a discussion with the film’s director Juris Kursietis.