The spotlight had already been on Romania’s prison conditions due to a report earlier this year by the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), writes Dr Charles Tannock. There was further international scrutiny as commentators wondered how Liviu Dragnea, the leader of country’s Social…
Defence ministers have shared their expectations and views ahead of the presentation of the first full Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD) Report which will be delivered to the Steering Board in November 2020. Ministers took the opportunity to highlight their expectations and share success factors they deem important ahead of delivery of the first full…
The Council adopted a crisis management concept for a new civilian CSDP Advisory Mission in the Central African Republic (EUAM RCA). The mission will support the reform of the internal security forces to enable the CAR authorities to mitigate the current security challenges in the country. EU experts will support the Ministry of the Interior and the internal security forces,…
Newly elected President of the EPP Donald Tusk gave a wide ranging speech las week to mark the start of the new academic year at the College of Europe in Bruges – and a farewell to his role as President of the European Council On Brexit, he said he “did everything in my power to avoid…
A breakthrough has been achieved for a new labelling scheme for car and truck tyres aims to increase consumer awareness and fuel savings, improve safety and decrease noise pollution. The legislation was informally agreed by MEPs from the Industry and Research Committee and the Finnish Presidency of the Council last week. Under the new rules,…
EU finance ministers are set to discuss the state of play of their work on digital taxation and the ongoing reforms in the framework of the G20 and OECD. These international reform efforts aim to regulate where and how much taxes companies pay, thereby bringing tax laws into the digital age, limiting tax competition and ensuring…
Europe’s regions have outlined “key” messages that they say should be a baseline for the forthcoming negotiations between the EU and the UK on a post-Brexit fisheries agreement. They set out the demands on 14 November, on the occasion of the 30th General Assembly of the Atlantic Arc Commission (AAC). Regions of the Atlantic Arc adopted a…
Currently the EU tyre labelling regulation is being negotiated. Tyres are one of the main sources of microplastics in the environment. More than 500.000 tonnes/year of microplastics are the direct result of tyre abrasion in the EU. On Wednesday, the second and most likely final trilogue meeting will be held. Parliament, Commission and Council agree…
The European Parliament President David Sassoli has hit out at the failure to five the green light to EU accession talks starting with Albania and North Macedonia. North Macedonia, in particular, had strongly lobbied recently for talks to start. But EU leaders at the summit in Brussels failed to agree. Sassoli, an Italian Socialist, told this website…
The Commission has called on EU Heads of State or Government to provide political guidance and new impetus to the negotiations in order to reach an agreement on a “fair, balanced and modern” long-term EU budget for the period 2021-2027 before the end of this year. It comes just ahead of the European Council meeting…
