European Union

Farmers' markets have spread across Italy in just a few years and they offer a great economic and social opportunity, precisely because they allow direct contact between producers and consumers, EURACTIV’s partner Sicilia Agricoltura reports.

Predictive management and process optimisation in water utilities mean less usage of chemicals, which results in a positive environmental footprint as well as less operational costs for the industry, an expert told EURACTIV.com.

For the European defence efforts, getting rid of the UK's torturous approach toward a common defence policy presented an opportunity the governments and European institutions eagerly seized this year. But there is little time to rejoice.

Russia has tested a "hypersonic" missile capable of a nuclear strike anywhere in Europe, in what Russian president Vladimir Putin called "a great New Year's present for the country".

The murder of two Scandinavian backpackers in the Atlas mountains before Christmas shocked the EU. In recent years, Morocco established partnerships with many EU member states to prevent terrorism: France, Spain, Germany, and the UK in particular.

Marleen Stikker, a veteran of several EU 'expert groups', is fighting the idea that the EU's adoption of self-driving technology is inevitable. "We have no idea yet," she warns.

With European elections coming up in May 2019, you probably want to know how the European Union impacts your daily life, before you think about voting. In the latest in a series of posts on what Europe does for you, your family, your business and your wellbeing, we look at what Europe does for watersports enthusiasts.

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European rivers, lakes and seas offer plenty of opportunities to practise watersports. Swimming is by far the most popular activity, but you can also dive, surf or sail, or paddle in a canoe or on a stand-up board.

None of these activities would be enjoyable without clean water. Thanks to EU rules, the vast majority of sites in the EU boast good or excellent bathing water quality.

© KarlGroße / Fotolia

Diving and boating also provide a unique opportunity to enjoy nature and observe marine wildlife such as birds and fish. To preserve this natural heritage, the EU has established the ‘Natura 2000’ network of protected areas that allow for the coexistence of wildlife with human activities.

To have an enjoyable and safe watersports experience, you need the right equipment, from swimwear to boats and paddles. Thanks to the EU internal market, you have a wide choice, as a product available in one EU country can be sold in all the others as well. Furthermore, under EU law, defective products must be repaired or replaced within a legal guarantee period of two years, without cost to the consumer.

When you venture out in a boat or with diving gear, your life and safety depends on the equipment. EU rules require watercraft and personal protective equipment sold in the EU to bear the CE label which shows that they conform to safety standards. For the safe and effective use of watersports equipment, such as life vests, it is essential that you understand the instructions. That is why EU rules require the manual to be available in the language of the country where you buy the equipment.

Further information

• European Commission website on bathing water quality, europa.eu/environment/water/water-bathing/
• European Commission website on Natura 2000, europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/
• European Commission website on CE marking, https://ec.europa.eu/growth/single-market/ce-marking_en

Eberhard Zorn, the chief of the German army, has said it might in future recruit doctors and IT specialists from other EU countries, especially eastern European ones, to fill personnel gaps. The idea was "one option", he told the Funke Mediengruppe, a German newspaper syndicate, on Wednesday. The proposal was first floated in 2016 and would need Germany to change a 1956 law on the nationality of service personnel.

The Spanish government is to publish contingency plans for a no-deal Brexit in January, focusing on aviation, citizens' rights and banks, Spanish daily El Pais reported. Spanish airline Iberia is part of British aviation group IAG, while one of Spain's top banks, Santander, has branches all over the UK, leaving them vulnerable to fallout. Some 300,000 British citizens reside in Spain, while 116,000 Spaniards live in the UK.

Bill Browder, a British campaigner for sanctions on Russia, has said Moscow had applied for an Interpol alert for his arrest in an "abuse" of the international police agency based in France. The move marks the seventh time Russia has sought his detention and extradition. Its previous requests were deleted on grounds that they were "politically motivated", but one of them led to Browder's brief arrest in Spain last year.

Germany's EU commissioner, Gunther Oettinger, has said a no-deal Brexit would cost Germany "in the mid-three digit range" of hundreds of millions of euros in EU budget top-ups to cover lost UK income, but added that he believed British MPs would endorse the withdrawal accord in January. "There is certainly no majority for a disorderly Brexit or for a new referendum," he told Germany's Funke Media Group on Wednesday.

The European Research Council, an EU agency in Brussels, has granted €1.5m to Carme Font, an academic at the Autonomous University of Barcelona in Spain, to bring to light the work of women writers between 1500 and 1780. "These were women without formal education ... There are everyday texts, about family problems, marital problems, sexual issues and abuse, and about their personal frustrations," Font told The Guardian, a British newspaper.

EU diplomats in Bosnia have voiced sympathy for protesters against lawlessness in the Serb entity ruled by Russian darling Milorad Dodik, after demonstrations in Banja Luka left one police officer injured.

The British queen Elizabeth II has called on UK citizens to listen to one another, as the divided country heads towards Brexit. "Even with the most deeply-held differences, treating the other person with respect and as a fellow human being is always a good first step towards greater understanding," she said. It was her last Christmas speech before the UK is to leave the EU in March 2019.

Some 20 percent of respondents to a Eurobarometer poll mentioned terrorism - down from 44 percent in early 2017.

With European elections coming up in May 2019, you probably want to know how the European Union impacts your daily life, before you think about voting. In the latest in a series of posts on what Europe does for you, your family, your business and your wellbeing, we look at what Europe does for refugees.

Twitter Hashtag #EUandME

People who flee war and persecution in their own country have a right to apply for protection in another country as refugees. International refugee law obliges countries to provide access to protection and adequate reception conditions that respect applicants’ human rights.

© Andrey Popov / Fotolia

EU law upholds these principles and aims to ensure that all EU countries not only offer protection, but also have the same understanding as to who qualifies as a refugee. While the final decision to accord protection is taken at national level, EU law has shaped national provisions and added guarantees that a similar level of protection is available to refugees across the EU.

To help countries outside the EU that currently host large numbers of refugees, such as Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, the EU has also established a system for all EU countries to receive refugees directly from those countries. This is largely based on EU cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which helps to resettle refugees directly from refugee camps.

The EU also contributes through funding, both in and outside the EU. Within the EU, €7.4 billion funding is planned for 2015-2017. The EU also offers development and humanitarian aid to countries outside the EU, to help them strengthen their societies in the face of difficult times, and to support refugee reception and integration.

Further information

• European Commission, European agenda on migration, COM(2015) 240 final
• European Commission, Delivery of the European Agenda on Migration, COM(2017) 558 final
• European Commission, Lives in Dignity: from Aid-dependence to Self-reliance. Forced Displacement and Development, COM(2016) 234 final
• European Commission factsheet, The EU and the refugee crisis, July 2016

When Austria took over the EU presidency, chancellor Sebastian Kurz declared that his government - in a coalition with the far-right FPO - would use its six-months tenure to promote what he called "a Europe that protects".

From lobbying of EU commissioners, to MEPs struggle to keep their so-called 'expenses', to dodgy think-tanks, to Erdogan's torture chambers, EUobserver has proudly broken original stories on the EU institutions in 2018 - under our ethos of 'Independent. Investigative. Influential.'

With European elections coming up in May 2019, you probably want to know how the European Union impacts your daily life, before you think about voting. In the latest in a series of posts on what Europe does for you, your family, your business and your wellbeing, we look at what Europe does for people travelling with cash.

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If you are travelling to or from the EU by air, road, rail or sea with €10 000 or more in cash you must declare it to the customs authorities. This obligation is not designed to make your life difficult but to prevent money laundering, the financing of terrorism and other financial crimes. If you are travelling in a group, the €10 000 limit applies to each person individually.

© Syda Productions / Fotolia

Cash includes not only banknotes and coins in circulation all over the world but also cheques, promissory notes, money orders and traveller’s cheques. It does not include currency out of circulation, antique coins, bullion coins and casino chips. Gold, precious metals and precious stones are not considered cash yet, but they will be soon.

The Cash Control Regulation, which is currently being revised, states that people who do not declare their cash may have it confiscated and receive a substantial fine. Customs authorities can carry out individual checks and checks on baggage and vehicles. All this may inconvenience law-abiding citizens, but it is done to prevent crime. You must fill in an EU Cash Declaration Form on entering and leaving the EU, in the official language of the country concerned. There are some non-EU language versions to help you understand the form if you are not from the EU.

Your personal information will be available to the intelligence agencies that monitor financial transactions, but it will be kept confidential to protect your security when carrying cash. Be aware that individual EU countries may have their own cash control rules and limits for travelling within the EU.

Further information

• EPRS publication ‘Controls of cash movements’, 2016, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2016/593780/EPRS_BRI%282016%29593780_EN.pdf
• European Commission, website ‘Cash Controls’, https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/individuals/cash-controls_en
• The Cash Control Regulation (Regulation (EC) No 1889/2005)
  http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2005:309:0009:0012:EN:PDF

Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union on the alignment of certain third countries with Council Decision (CFSP) 2018/1656 of 6 November 2018 amending Decision (CFSP) 2017/2074 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Venezuela.