European Union

After months of circling around the issue, the Finnish government finally made a political decision on how to deal with some 40 Finnish citizens in the Al-Hol refugee camp. Some 11,000 foreign women and children are being held at the...

Having passed this hurdle, the plan will now be sent to Brussels. The measures include tighter speed control on roads, electrification of taxis and boats, and a reform of housing towards more compact settling areas. The price of these measures...

Andreas Scheuer (CSU), traffic minister and subject of a parliamentary investigation into allegations that he mismanaged public funds, had promised “maximum transparency” and even personally (and publicly) handed over the necessary files to the investigators. But many of these files...

The UN hailed Wednesday (18 December) a "decisive shift" in the approach to helping surging numbers of displaced people, after a summit ended with billions in donations and concrete promises to simplify refugee integration.

Donald Trump on Wednesday (18 December) became the third US president to be impeached as the House of Representatives formally charged him with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress in a historic step that will inflame partisan tensions across a deeply divided America.

In a resolution adopted yesterday, the European Parliament called on the EU executive Commission to beef up its Pollinators Initiative, saying EU-wide mandatory pesticide reduction targets are needed to halt the decline in species.

Thousands of people took to the streets across Poland Wednesday (18 December) to protest government proposals aimed at punishing judges critical of controversial judicial reforms.

The European Union's ombudsman was re-elected on Wednesday (18 December) after six years in which she has tangled with some of Brussels' most senior officials in the name of transparency.

Iratxe García, the leader of the Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament (S&D), hopes to achieve closer collaboration with the Greens in light of upcoming legislation on the European Green Deal.

The daughter of jailed Uighur intellectual Ilham Tohti received the EU's top rights prize on his behalf Wednesday (18 December), saying she did not even know if he was still alive.

The best players in the world are producing at least 505 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year only by travelling, way over the average, a study revealed. 

Written by Cemal Karakas (1st edition),

© buffaloboy / Shutterstock.com

On 11 July 2019, the Commission presented its new legislative package on the European Institute of Innovation and Technology. The package consists of a recast of the current regulation and the new strategic innovation agenda.

Created in 2008 at the start of the seventh EU research and development framework programme, the EIT is dedicated to increasing competitiveness, sustainable economic growth and job creation by promoting knowledge triangle activities (higher education, research and innovation). It operates through eight ‘knowledge and innovation communities’ that address specific societal challenges, such as digitalisation, urban mobility, climate and raw materials and is part of Horizon 2020.

Versions

• December 2019:  ‘European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT): Regulation and new strategic innovation agenda‘ (1st edition)

a) Proposal for a regulation on the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (recast)

b) Proposal for a decision on the Strategic Innovation Agenda of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) 2021-2027: Boosting the Innovation Talent and Capacity of Europe Committee responsible: Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) COM(2019) 331
COM(2019) 330

11.7.2019 Rapporteurs: a) Marisa Matias (GUE/NGL, Portugal)
b) Maria Da Graça Carvalho (EPP, Portugal) 2019/0151(COD)
2019/0152(COD) Shadow rapporteurs: Andrius Kubilius (EPP, Lithuania), Lina Gálvez Muñoz (S&D, Spain), Susana Solís Pérez (Renew, Spain), Ijabs Ivars, (Renew, Latvia), Klaus Buchner (Greens/EFA, Germany), Robert Roos (ECR, the Netherlands), Andrea Caroppo (ID, Italy), Elena Lizzi (ID, Italy) Ordinary legislative procedure (COD) (Parliament and Council on equal footing – formerly ‘co-decision’) Next steps expected: Publication of draft reports

MEPs on Wednesday called on the European Commission to boost its pollinators initiative and to implement new effective measures to protect bees and other pollinators. Reducing the use of pesticides must also become a key objective of the future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), MEPs said in the plenary. In April 2018, the EU agreed to fully ban the outdoor use of imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam, known as neonicotinoids.

MEPs voted by 463 in favour against 107 to condemn Polish local authorities which had declared themselves to be zones "free from LGBTI ideology" in Strasbourg on Wednesday. "European funds must not be used for discriminatory purposes," the resolution added, in a threat to EU subsidies for the 80 Polish municipalities involved. "The European Parliament urges Polish authorities to condemn these acts [the anti-LGBTI declarations]," the European Parliament said.

Boris Johnson had every reason to be pleased with himself when he returned to Westminster as the all-conquering hero this week.

The EU Commission president told MEPs in Strasbourg that time is running out in the expected 11 months available to strike a future trade deal with the UK - negotiations will have to continue into 2021 too.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives and their Social Democrat partners have delayed until next year a decision on security rules for Germany’s 5G network that could bar China’s Huawei, a highly divisive issue in an unhappy alliance.

The UK would suffer the most if officials failed to meet a new December 2020 deadline to finalise a post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has warned.

US Sanctions on Nord Stream 2– especially since their imposition is officially supported by the management of Ukraine's Naftogaz – could complicate if not completely derail the negotiation process between Moscow and Kyiv on the future of gas transit, writes Danila Bochkarev.

EU Foreign Affairs chief Josep Borrell stands ready to go to Libya and help solve the ongoing crisis between the different parties, EU spokesperson Peter Stano said on Wednesday (18 December).