European Union

Intersectionality is the concept that overlapping identities - disability, gender, race and sexual-orientation for example - create forms of discrimination that can go unaddressed. But many EU leaders are wary of the kind of identity politics that intersectionality implies.

Viktor Orban is threatening to block the coronavirus recovery fund and the next EU budget if rule-of-law conditionalities are not to his liking. But a lack of EU funding would threaten the very fundamentals of his system and his cronies.

Nigerian finance ministrer Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala picked up crucial backing from the EU on Monday (26 October), sources said, giving her bid to become the first African head of the WTO a major boost.

UN secretary general, António Guterres, discusses the Covid-19 crisis and the challenges the pandemic poses for the global community in a live meeting with Nordic Council party groups and prime ministers. Live on EUobserver today from 18:00 (CET).

“NEETs in Entrepreneurship” is nowadays one of the most relevant projects in Romania, as economic and workplace environments are under tremendous pressure of digital transformation, and a good number of SMEs face closure or an urgent need for reorganization.  Ștefania...

Italian officials faced a backlash on Monday (26 October) after imposing coronavirus restrictions aimed at "saving Christmas" as other hard-hit countries enforced curfews in a bid to avoid fresh national lockdowns.

The Internal Market Committee proposed a series of measures to strengthen consumer protection and enhance product safety and sustainability.
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety
Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

The Internal Market Committee proposed a series of measures to strengthen consumer protection and enhance product safety and sustainability.
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety
Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

Written by Katarzyna Sochacka and Clare Ferguson,

© European Union 2020 – Source : EP / Emilie GOMEZ

During the second October 2020 plenary session – the first at which Members were able to speak remotely, and not only vote, from the Member States – the European Commission presented its 2021 work programme, which Members largely welcomed. Members also discussed the conclusions of the 15‑16 October 2020 European Council meeting, EU measures to mitigate the social and economic impact of Covid‑19, police brutality within the EU, the sale of EU passports and visas to criminals, the State of the Energy Union and aligning the Energy Charter Treaty with the European Green Deal. Parliament announced that its 2020 Sakharov Prize will be awarded on 16 December to the Belarusian opposition, in particular the Coordinating Council, for ‘an initiative launched by courageous women’.

Joint debate on the common agricultural policy

Members conducted an important joint debate on the Commission’s package of three legislative proposals to overhaul the common agricultural policy (CAP) for 2021‑2027. While Parliament supports the modernisation of the CAP, it warns against moves to introduce budget cuts, particularly in view of the challenges of restructuring this vital sector to help farmers protect the environment, and distribute funds more fairly. The proposals seek to establish a new delivery model by combining interventions under the two pillars of the CAP in strategic plans drawn up by Member States; improving financial management, with Member States allocated greater responsibility for conformity and control of agricultural support spending; and introducing amendments to five regulations, including on the common market organisation (CMO) in agricultural products (including controversial issues concerning, for instance, authorised wine grape varieties and the labelling of plant and dairy-based meat substitutes). Parliament adopted its position for negotiations with the Council following votes on a series of amendments to all three Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) Committee reports. However, some Members and stakeholders felt that the final compromise does not go far enough towards protecting the European Green Deal’s ambitions and climate goals.

Joint debate on digital services

Following important debates on the need to regulate digital services and artificial intelligence to ensure that they maximise benefits to people in the EU while also minimising the risks, Members adopted three own-initiative resolutions, of which two are legislative. Parliament has long called for revision of the outdated EU online services framework, particularly in the light of large discrepancies in application of the rules between EU countries. In advance of the expected Commission proposal on a Digital Services Act package, Parliament adopted its initial position on the revision, set out in three committee reports. Members approved an Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) Committee legislative-initiative report calling on the Commission to amend its proposals to ensure that the rules apply to all goods and services providers, wherever they are located, and better protect EU consumers against fraud, targeted advertising, and automated decisions. Members also approved the parallel Legal Affairs (JURI) Committee legislative-initiative report recommending standards to which platforms should be held and the application of different approaches to ‘legal ‘and ‘illegal’ online content. The report seeks to balance protection of both users’ rights and their right to freedom of speech. Finally, Members approved, by a large majority, a Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) Committee own-initiative report echoing the same concerns and calling for improved cooperation between service providers and national supervisory authorities, as well as the creation of an independent EU body with the power to place sanctions on online operators.

Joint debate on artificial intelligence

During the same debate, Members also considered the implications – both positive and negative – of harnessing the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, for the lives of people in the EU. In advance of the Commission proposal expected in 2021, Parliament voted with large majorities on three reports from the Legal Affairs (JURI) Committee, on ethics, civil liability, and intellectual property in artificial intelligence, setting out Parliament’s positions. The first legislative-initiative report deals with the requirements for a framework of ethical principles for the development, deployment and use of AI, robotics and related technologies, which will be vital to ensuring innovation also protects people’s rights. The second legislative-initiative report sets out recommendations for a legal framework for civil liability that identifies a hierarchy of risks, and measures to compensate for harm caused by the technology. A third own-initiative report highlights the need to foster the free flow, access, use and sharing of data, while also protecting intellectual property rights and trade secrets.

Discharge decisions

Members voted by a large majority to refuse to discharge the 2018 EU general budget for the European Council and Council, and for the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), following Budgetary Control (CONT) Committee re-examination of the files. Parliament has refused to grant discharge to the European Council and Council since 2009, due to a lack of cooperation on accountability and transparency. Parliament’s decision also reflects a lack of accountability, budgetary control and good governance of human resources at the EESC in relation to serious misconduct by one of its senior members.

European Globalisation Adjustment Fund

Parliament approved, by an overwhelming majority, the decision to mobilise €2 054 400 from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund to support workers who have lost their jobs as a result of financial difficulties at two shipyards in Galicia (Spain).

Implementation and governance of Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO)

In view of the strategic review of PESCO taking place this year, Members adopted, by a large majority, a Foreign Affairs Committee (AFET) report on the implementation and governance of Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), the EU’s Treaty-based military and defence cooperation mechanism. Under PESCO’s binding commitments, participating Member States aim at achieving a competitive European defence industry through collaborative projects. While Parliament has long supported the creation of PESCO, it is critical of certain shortcomings, including project coherence and strategic justification. Parliament also calls for increased scrutiny powers, including for national parliaments.

Relations with Belarus

Parliament endorsed AFET committee recommendations on relations with Belarus, calling for an end to the violence and fresh elections. While endorsing the overall EU stance towards Belarus following the disputed August 2020 elections, Parliament calls for solidarity, support for the population and sanctions against the regime. Parliament declines to recognise Lukashenka as the legitimate president of Belarus, recognises the Coordination Council, and calls for a peaceful resolution to the standoff.

Global deforestation

Members voted by an overwhelming majority in favour of imposing mandatory EU rules to fight global deforestation. Parliament calls on the European Commission to take regulatory action, following the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) Committee legislative-initiative report proposing to prevent products associated with deforestation or forest degradation from entering the EU market. The ENVI committee proposes a new EU framework to protect forests worldwide, guaranteeing that commodities imported into the EU are legal and sustainable.

Opening of trilogue negotiations

Members confirmed two mandates for negotiations: from the Transport and Tourism (TRAN) Committee on the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on a European Year of Rail (2021); and jointly from the Budgets (BUDG) and Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) Committees on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the public-sector loan facility under the Just Transition Mechanism.

Read this ‘at a glance’ on ‘Plenary round-up – October II 2020‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Adding another element to the current food labelling debates in the EU, stakeholders have called for an EU origin label to be taken into consideration, saying this would encourage consumers to support the European livestock sector.

During the Media4Europe conference, held on October 14th, 2020, the Stars4Media results were unveiled. This project supports innovation in the media sector, through training and cross-border cooperation: 21 Initiatives were co-financed, involving 105 media professionals from 42 media outlets in 17 countries.

Illegal resettlement is a gross violation of the norms and principles of international humanitarian law and constitutes a war crime, writes Gulshan Pashayeva.

By Thursday, when EU leaders will hold their online summit to discuss the coronavirus situation, we could take a guess at how many of them will already be COVID-positive. The second wave, which was predicted but not averted, is sweeping through European societies and taking its toll.

The European Commission “will not stand in the way” of countries that choose to build new nuclear power stations, said EU climate chief Frans Timmermans, who warned, however, about the life-cycle costs of the technology, “which means that you will be stuck with it for a long, long, long time”.

The situation on the Greek islands following the destruction of the Moria refugee camp will be the focus of a debate in the Civil Liberties Committee on Tuesday afternoon.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

The situation on the Greek islands following the destruction of the Moria refugee camp will be the focus of a debate in the Civil Liberties Committee on Tuesday afternoon.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

Japan will join the EU in aiming for net zero emissions by 2050, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced on Monday (26 October).

France believes that regulation on online content as part of the upcoming Digital Services Act (DSA) should not be restricted solely to illegal material, but should also cover areas such as disinformation and harmful content, documents obtained by EURACTIV reveal.

Over the last few days, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced they have begun a “rolling review” process on COVID-19 vaccines from AstraZeneca in collaboration with Oxford University, Moderna and from Pfizer in partnership with BioNTech. The announcements are indicative...

As the coronavirus crisis continues to have a devasting impact on people’s lives and livelihoods, all eyes are on scientists to deliver on a COVID-19 vaccine. It is widely accepted that a safe and effective vaccine represents our best chance...