#EUElections XCHARX How many MEPs will each country get in 2019?

     The distribution of seats in the Parliament is set to change after the next European elections as a result of Brexit. On 13 June MEPs gave their consent to a draft decision by the European Council based on an earlier Parliament proposal. It will leed to a reduction in the overall number of […]

How is #OLAF fighting illicit cigarette market?

The illicit trafficking of tobacco is a multibillion-dollar business today, fuelling organized crime and corruption, funding terrorism and robbing governments of much needed tax money. So profitable is this trade that tobacco is the world’s most widely smuggled legal substance. This global phenomenon, results in an annual loss of more than €10 billion in public […]

Reception conditions for #AsylumSeekers agreed between MEPs and Council

Asylum-seekers will get access to the EU labour market more quickly, under an informal deal between Europeann Parliament and EU ministers, which also foresees strengthened protection for minors. The main aim of the revised Reception Conditions Directive is to ensure equivalent reception standards in all EU countries, with the aim of reducing “secondary movements” within […]

Spring 2018 Standard #Eurobarometer: One year ahead of European elections, trust in Union and optimism about future is growing

According to a new Eurobarometer, a majority of Europeans think the situation of the economy is good and are optimistic about the future. Trust in the Union is on the rise and support for the Economic and Monetary Union is at its highest level. More and more citizens feel they have benefited from key Union […]

More member states sign up to digital co-operation initiatives on #Supercomputers, #ArtificialIntelligence and innovation

Several member states have signed recent co-operation declarations demonstrating their commitment to work together at EU level in digital policy areas. This morning Finland and Sweden signed the EuroHPC Declaration, signalling their willingness to join European co-operation on supercomputers. Austria has signed the same declaration and so has Lithuania. Altogether 20 countries have joined this […]

Artificial intelligence: Commission appoints expert group and launches #EuropeanAIAlliance

The Commission has appointed 52 experts to advise the Commission on artificial intelligence (AI) and set up a collaboration platform to help build a community of stakeholders – the European AI Alliance. The expert group will help the Commission implement the European approach on AI presented on 25 April (press release, Q&A and factsheet). More specifically […]

Europe leads global #CleanEnergy transition: Commission welcomes ambitious agreement on further renewable energy development in EU

An ambitious political agreement on increasing renewable energy use in Europe was reached last week between negotiators from the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council. The deal means that two out of the 8 legislative proposals in the Clean Energy for All Europeans package (adopted by the European Commission on 30 November 2016) have […]

MEPs to vote on overhaul of #EURoadTransport rules in July

MEPs have decided to vote on the proposals for drivers’ rest periods, posting of drivers and rules to tackle illegal practices in road transport in the July plenary session. MEPs will hold a full debate and vote on proposals on the application of posting of workers’ rules to the road transport sector, improving rest conditions […]

Silvio Berlusconi aínda é unha persoa clave en #Italian Politics

O presidente Berlusconi dirixiu unha carta ao xornal italiano "Corriere della Sera" describindo a reorganización do partido Forza Italia. A festa fundada en 1994 que foi considerada varias veces como morta pero que volveu das cinzas liderada polo presidente Berlusconi. Será de novo o mesmo, pero non será [...]

A estraña forma de pasar as leis británicas mantén a espera de Bruxelas en #Brexit

É un vello dito de que as leis son como salchichas, nunca debería ver como se fixeron. As palabras adoitan atribuírse a Bismarck, pero isto é pouco probable xa que a lexislación alemá, como a fabricación de salchicha alemá, é xeralmente de maior calidade. Aínda que un descenso catastrófico nos seus estándares legais nos 1930 e 1940 levou aos alemáns [...]