In the presence of Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni, EESC President Luca Jahier voices full support for Commission COVID-19 recovery package on eve of make-or-break EU summit: “Let there be no backtracking” President Jahier expressed criticism for the recent EU Council proposal to give national governments the power to veto a country’s reform programmes under the package…
Parliament discussed with Chancellor Angela Merkel and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen today the strategy and goals of the German Presidency in the coming six months. Under the motto “Together for Europe’s recovery”, the German Presidency is determined to tackle the huge challenge posed by the pandemic, Mrs Merkel said. She highlighted five areas…
We welcome the announcement by the UK government that EU citizens from Poland will continue to enjoy the same democratic rights in Britain as they did prior to Britain leaving the European Union. (Poland, UK sign bi-lateral voting rights treaty, Polandin.com This decision is long overdue and follows similar announcements in relation to the rights of Spanish,…
Today is the 70th Anniversary of the signing of the Schuman Declaration, which was originally presented by French foreign minister Robert Schuman on 9 May 1950. The Declaration proposed the creation of a European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) between France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, to enable these countries to pool…
The Foreign Affairs Committee Chair, delegation chairs and standing rapporteurs for the Balkan countries confirm the EU’s commitment to continue transforming the region. In a joint statement, the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee David McAllister MEP, the standing rapporteurs and the chairs of delegations of the European Parliament for Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo,…
The ECA works on the basis of multi-annual strategies. Its 2018-2020 strategy, adopted in July 2017, focuses on fostering trust in the EU through independent audit and providing insight into what works in the EU and what does not. In 2019, a team of peers from the Supreme Audit Institutions of Estonia (Riigikontroll), Denmark (Rigsrevisionen), the Netherlands (Algemene…
The true scale of the death toll due to the corona virus in Northern Italy may never be known but it has already far out-stripped the capacity of the regional authorities to be able to respond to the crisis. In the city of Bergamo, the local mayor Giorgio Gori has said that “many of the elderly…
After the Council’s decision to open accession negotiations, the Chair of the European Parliament’s Delegation to the EU-North Macedonia Joint Parliamentary Committee Andreas Schieder MEP (S&D, AT) said: “It is with great pleasure that I congratulate North Macedonia and all its citizens on this much-awaited decision. This is excellent news for the region and for…
Council president Charles Michel, speaking after the failure of the EU summit to reach a deal on the next long term EU budge. said, “The last weeks and the last days, we have worked very hard in order to try to reach an agreement regarding the next European budget. Unfortunately, today we have observed that…
Ahead of the extraordinary European Council on the next Multiannual Financial Framework, SMEunited President Alban Maggiar has “reminded” European leaders on the priorities ahead. Maggiar says Europe will only be able to provide welfare to its people, if it invests in future competitiveness, based on a greener and digital economy. Therefore, Maggiar urges the European…
