European Union

Less than a week after suffering their worst defeat in a generation, Labour party staff were warned on Wednesday that hefty job cuts are set to be made at party headquarters. The party, which is at the start of an...

Ireland’s Emily O’Reilly has been approved as the European Ombudsman by MEPs in Strasbourg, after fending off competition from Estonian Judge Julia Laffranque. O’Reilly secured 320 votes and will serve her second term in the post, in which she is...

A group of member states opposed to retaining external convergence in the next Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), have criticised the Finnish Council presidency for not even considering scrapping the concept.

The Belgian army is in trouble after 44 of their armoured reconnaissance vehicles, which were undergoing an upgrade of more than €31 million, became unsafe to use, according to the Ministry of Defence’s internal documents. The issue was raised by...

MEPs backed a resolution on Wednesday (18 December) expressing concern “about the integrity and credibility of the investigations into the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia” and that as long as Malta’s PM Joseph Muscat is in office, a risk to...

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.