European Union

Data breaches, intellectual property theft, attacks on IT infrastructure, and hacking of classified information could in future see the EU impose targeted sanctions on foreign entities and individuals, the Bloomberg news agency reports, citing an internal EU memo dated 6 February. The new sanctions "could target those involved in these types of cyber activity anywhere, regardless of their nationality and location," the internal proposal, under discussion by EU diplomats, said.

Negotiators are hoping to break the back on talks for the successor to the Cotonou Agreement, which expires in May 2020, between the EU and 79 countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP).

Russia's Ministry of Defence said on Thursday (7 February) that the United States should destroy its MK-41 missile defence launch systems deployed in Romania in order to return to compliance with a Cold War-era nuclear pact.

The EU council president who, a day earlier said there was a "place in hell" for Brexiteers without a plan, told May that Britain's opposition leader could hold the key to the Brexit deal.

Europe and Huawei have a lot in common, and it is in our shared interest to join hands as we step into the digital age, writes Abraham Liu.

Better working conditions: Presidency and European Parliament reach provisional agreement

Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union on the alignment of certain third countries with Council Decision (CFSP) 2018/2054 of 21 December 2018 amending Decision 2013/184/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against Myanmar/Burma

Written by Nikolina Šajn,

© Davizro Photography / Fotolia

Consumer protection rules have been improving the rights of consumers in the European Union since the 1970s. While the level of protection is today considered to be among the highest in the world, consumers in the EU are still faced with a number of issues. One in five consumers say that they have had a reason to complain in the last 12 months, a level which has remained largely unchanged since 2008.

Since 2014, efforts have been made in a number of areas, including stronger cross-border cooperation between national authorities in charge of consumer protection and market surveillance. Notably, the Commission proposed a ‘new deal for consumers’ in April 2018, to enable representative legal actions for the protection of the collective interests of consumers and to modernise EU consumer protection rules. Sector-specific efforts included: eliminating roaming charges across the EU in 2017; legislation aimed at facilitating consumer participation in the digital single market; reforms on the rules on privacy and data protection; enhancing the rights of energy consumers and passengers; and efforts to address the ‘dual quality’ of branded food products.

The EU budget for consumer protection is relatively small, because although rules in this field are made at the EU level, their implementation and enforcement are carried out by the Member States. The consumer programme has a budget of €188 million for the 2013-2020 period, or roughly €0.05 per citizen per year. This may change in the new multiannual financial framework, as consumer protection becomes part of a wider single market programme, which is expected to create synergies between its various components. Future policies could focus on longer product lifetime, labelling and quality requirements for non-agricultural and industrial products, fairer food labelling and retail financial services.

Read this complete briefing on ‘EU policies – Delivering for citizens: Protecting European consumers‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Estimated breakdown of the single market programme elements

Written by Angelos Delivorias,

© Stockfotos-MG / Fotolia

In the European Union (EU), although economic policy is the remit of each Member State, there is, nevertheless, multilateral coordination of economic policies between individual countries. This framework was put severely to the test during the global financial crisis and the European sovereign debt crisis. Partly as a result, recovery in the EU was slower than recovery in the United States, and was not achieved equally by all Member States. Furthermore, it has to a large extent been based on accommodative fiscal and monetary policies that only partly hide underlying signs of fiscal or financial fragility in some countries.

To remedy this, the European institutions began a twofold process in 2011: initiatives were taken to strengthen the current framework for economic governance, and for banking supervision in the euro area while, in parallel, discussion began on possible ways to reduce the economic divergences between Member States, provide incentives for risk reduction and risk-sharing, render the governance process more transparent and ensure democratic accountability. In this latter area, several initiatives – which did not require changes in the EU Treaties – were taken between 2015 and 2017.

In summer 2017, discussions on deepening the policy framework for economic and monetary union (EMU) intensified. This process, which was advocated in the five presidents’ report (by the heads of the relevant EU institutions) and should be completed by 2025, is now being considered at Member State level. The current state of play points towards two main orientations, dividing Member States into two groups: those that prioritise risk-sharing measures (such as France), and those that argue instead for further risk-reduction initiatives (for example, Germany). This lack of consensus has so far meant that the European Council has not been able to reach a breakthrough.

Read this complete briefing on ‘EU policies – Delivering for citizens: Economic policy‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

• Percentage of respondents who would like the EU to intervene more than at present
• Expectations for more EU action than at present: percentage points difference between 2016 and 2018
• Perception of EU action as adequate at present: percentage points difference between 2016 and 2018

After Theresa May's "robust" talks with top EU officials, London and Brussels agree to talk further - even though their opposing positions have not inched closer. European Parliament president Antonio Tajani warned "We're weeks from an economic and human catastrophe."

A meeting between the French ‘yellow vests’ and the Italian labour minister, Luigi Di Maio, has lit a fuse between Paris and Rome. The relationship between the two countries has deteriorated in recent months. EURACTIV Frace reports.

Prime Minister Theresa May has promised EU lawmakers that she had no plans to remove the controversial Irish backstop from a final Brexit deal as she met with a series of EU leaders in Brussels. But prospects of the UK's orderly withdrawal from the EU on 29 March remained bleak.

In October 2018, a dozen women started to come forward and tell stories about sexual harassment and abuse at the heart of Europe’s democracy.

Henrik Hololei, director-general for Mobility and Transport at the EU commission, riled against "old-fashioned, totally non-future-oriented taxi companies".

Although Serbian citizens will not vote in the European Parliament election in May, its outcome is certainly of interest to them because it will affect the future course and pace of the EU candidate country's negotiations with Brussels.

Euro area economy is expected to slow down more markedly than initially expected, because of the impact of increasing risks, including a disorderly Brexit, and external tensions primarily driven by the US-China trade war.

The leaders of Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia will hold the first summit of their Visegrad grouping in Jerusalem, a move which looks like a slap in the face of the EU at a time the Union tries...

The new EU executive may for the first time have Commissioners appointed by nationalists, who will be influenced by Russia. Therefore, a solution for the simmering tensions in Bosnia and Herzegovina should be found before the EU elections in May, to avoid wider risks for the Balkans, a senior diplomat said.

The Italian Ministry of Economic Development refuted claims made by "government officials" on Thursday (7 January), following allegations that the country is set to ban Chinese firms Huawei and ZTE from taking part in the implementation of Italy's 5G infrastructure. The denials come amid concerns that US officials have been putting pressure on EU member states to take a hostile stance against Chinese tech companies.

EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker and British prime minister Theresa May had a "robust, but constructive" meeting on Thursday, according to a joint statement. May asked for renegotiating the Brexit deal on the Irish backstop, which Juncker ruled out, stressing the EU-27 is open to discussing more ambitious UK-EU future relations. Negotiating teams will nevertheless continue talks. May and Juncker will meet again at the end of February.