European Union

Finland's EU commissioner, Jyrki Katainen told EUobserver in February his cabinet members "always" takes notes when he meets lobbyists. They did not on at least seven occasions, when talking about artificial intelligence.

Frans Timmermans confirmed on Wednesday (10 October) that he wants to succeed Jean-Claude Juncker as president of the European Commission next year, dismissing concerns that he has made too many enemies to stand a fighting chance of succeeding his current boss.

With reports continuing to reveal the extent of the environmental and social damage caused by fast-fashion, not-for-profit organisation H&M Foundation believes the industry is now on the cusp of a radical sustainability shift towards the circular economy. EURACTIV's media partner edie.net reports.

“The Shift Project”, a non-governmental group, passes on solutions for environmental renovation that are implemented in some European countries. EURACTIV France’s media partner La Tribune reports.

MEPs sitting in the European Parliament's Legal Affairs committee voted down an important clause in a draft opinion on Tuesday (10 October), backing the notion that data capture during the operation of autonomous vehicles should be subject to copyright rules.

Actress Pamela Anderson joined animal rights campaigners in Paris Wednesday (10 October), posing inside a cage to protest the caging of animals in European farming.

As the need for climate action gets more urgent, new labels give motorists a clearer picture of fuels’ and cars’ eco-friendliness, writes Emmanuel Desplechin.  

Kazakhstan got praise today (10 October) for hosting for the sixth time the Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, which traditionally issues messages of peace, mutual respect and tolerance. A few religious leaders however defended their countries controversial policies.

Main agenda items, approximate timing, public sessions and press opportunities.

European Union Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said on Wednesday an agreement with Britain could be "within reach" next week, calling for decisive progress in the talks in time for a summit of all 28 EU leaders.

Written by Laura Puccio (1st edition),

© AnastasiiaUsoltceva / Fotolia

The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) was created in 2006 to finance active labour market policies targeting workers who have lost their jobs because of trade adjustment. The fund was subsequently modified in 2009 to cover major structural changes triggered by the economic and financial crisis. The rules of the EGF are laid down in EU Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013, which stipulates that the fund will continue to be financed until 31 December 2020. In May 2018, the European Commission submitted a proposal to reform the EGF and maintain it as a special instrument outside the MFF ceiling. The proposal introduces modifications to the eligibility criteria, the co-financing rules and the mobilisation procedure.

Versions

• October 2018: ‘Reform of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund‘ (1st edition)

Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) Committee responsible: Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) COM(2018) 380 final
30.5.2018 Rapporteur: Maria Arena (S&D, Belgium) 2018/0202(COD) Shadow rapporteurs:

 

  Tom Vandenkenlaere (EPP, Belgium)
Arne Gericke (ECR, Germany)
João Pimenta Lopes (GUE/NGL, Portugal)
Monika Vana (Greens/EFA, Austria)
Laura Agea (EFDD, Italy)
Mara Bizzotto (ENF, Italy) Ordinary legislative procedure (COD) (Parliament and Council on equal footing – formerly ‘co-decision’) Next steps expected: Vote in committee

Malta says its 'Golden Visas' scheme attracts families that want to become "proud Maltese citizens". Meanwhile the sales to Russian nationals, and others, have generated over €700m in revenue.

In an attempt to bury a three-decade-long dispute with Greece over the country's name, Macedonia's referendum has thrown open as many issues as it sought to overcome.

The European Union’s ERASMUS+ programme, funded by the European Commission to support education and training, has awarded €3 million for a transnational advanced Master course relevant to defence called EMIMEO: 'Erasmus Mundus on Innovative Microwave Electronics and Optics'.
 
EDA contributed with data analysis to the application which was put forward by a consortium led by the Université de Limoges in France to access ERASMUS+ funding. 

EDA’s support to EMIMEO is justified by the fact that it addresses analog RF Photonics and Microwaves which are in the critical defence technologies list and also part of the Capability Development Plan (CDP) where they are considered as enablers for advanced radars and electronic warfare systems. The European defence industry and research institutes are looking for engineers and researchers with skills and competences in this complex field.

Under its activities related to Key Strategic Activities (KSA) in defence meant to identify key domains for European strategic autonomy, EDA has selected the area of RF Photonics as a relevant sample case. The EMIMEO Master course will contribute to support European skills and competencies in this domain, as well as the competitiveness and non-dependence of the European high-tech industry (including defence and space) in the development of Photonics and Microwave applications.
 
The international partnership (encompassing industry, universities and associations in 6 Member States) includes the following participants:

• Università di Brescia (Italy), Universidad Del Pais Vasco/ Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (Spain), Aston University (United Kingdom), Universitatea Tehnica Cluj-Napoca (Romania);
• Altran Italia SpA and Hitachi Rail Italy SpA in Italy;
• GMV Aerospace and Defence SA, and TTI Norte SL in Spain;
• Oclaro Technology Ltd in United Kingdom;
• European Microwave Association in Belgium;
• Alcatel-Lucent International Sas, Amcad Engineering, Competitiveness cluster Alpha-RLH, Callisto France, III-V Lab, Inoveos, NOKIA, CNES, Thales Alenia Space France, Thales SA and United Monolithic Semiconductors SAS, Zodiac Aerospace  in France.

This successful case is another example of the importance of ensuring consistency and coherence between European defence priorities and EU funding opportunities. Against this backdrop, EDA will continue to serve its Member States' Ministries of Defence, research centres, universities and industries in an integrated manner on all relevant dimensions: R&T, key skills and competencies, industrial supply-chain.
 

For more information:

• Capability Development Plan (CDP)
• Key Strategic Activities in Defence (KSA)
• CapTech Technologies for Components and Modules
• European Funding Gateway for Defence
• Erasmus+ for Defence.

Two legal cases made waves yesterday. One in the Netherlands, the other in Berlin. They might not be directly linked but both decisions show how vital justice has become in order to compensate the absence of national leadership on climate change and air pollution. 

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said on Wednesday (10 October) the murder of journalist Viktoria Marinova was of purely criminal nature and lashed out against what he called “European pressure”, warning that he would raise the issue at EPP level....

German police have detained a Bulgarian national on suspicion of the weekend murder of journalist Viktoria Marinova, Bulgarian authorities said Wednesday. They have not linked Marinova's killing to her work, but Bulgarian prosecutors on Monday froze €14m held by GP Group, a construction firm suspected of defrauding EU funds, in a case prompted by Marinova's investigative reporting. Senior EU officials praised Bulgaria's "swift and intensive efforts".

U2 rockstar Bono hailed EU institutions in Brussels on Wednesday and called on artists to engage more, at a time when "people are questioning Europe". "Europe is a thought that needs to become a feeling and as an artist, I'm in the service of that," he said after meeting European Parliament president Antonio Tajani. Bono added that he will be "romancing the idea of being a European".

Members of the European Parliament's environment committee agreed on Wednesday on amendments to a new bill that would ban certain plastic items. A majority said that oxo-degradable plastics and food containers made out of polystyrene should also be banned, on top of what the European Commission proposed. The committee also agreed that makers of cigarettes and fishing gear that contain plastic should make consumers aware of their environmental effects.

Poland has added heavy coal use to the list of issues, including rule of law and migration, set to divide a new hard-right axis from the EU mainstream after next year's European Parliament elections. "The emergence of people [a hard-right grouping] who will have a different view on ... environmental protection could change EU approach to energy policy," Grzegorz Tobiszowski, Poland's deputy energy minister, told the Bloomberg news agency.