On 24 December 2020, the UK and EU agreed a new Trade and Cooperation Agreement to govern the future trading and security relationship now that the UK has left the EU. President Ursula von der Leyen spoke about the “long and winding road ” that led to an agreement. However, it is also clear that there is much…
The European Parliament has approved urgent contingency measures to avoid No Deal Brexit chaos on 1st January 2021. Ciarán Cuffe, Green MEP for Dublin has been working on these measures as part of his role as coordinator for the Greens in the European Parliament’s transport committee. Such contingency measures provide common rules for six months to…
British MPs have called for more clarity for EU students about their status in the UK. The UK government has said that it wants to continue to attract high numbers of EU students to the UK in the future. Yet as MPs learned at a meeting called by the All-Party Parliamentary group on Citizens Rights, many EU…
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg threatened to pull Facebook’s investment from the UK in a private meeting with Matt Hancock, the bureau of investigative journalists reveals. In response, Hancock appears to offer to water down regulation. The minutes of the meeting (attached below), from a technology conference in Paris in May 2018, were released after a…
Dogs Trust gave evidence at a special session of The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee this afternoon (Tuesday 24 November) on puppy smuggling. EFRA announced the one-off evidence session at the end of last week. It explored how demand for dogs in the UK has surged as a result of Covid-19 lockdown measures, further…
An increase in the number of female firefighters has been welcomed by the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), but more progress needs to be made in this area. The latest figures published by the Home Office – covering the period from April 1st 2019 to 31st March 2020 – focusses on a range of workforce areas across…
The Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR) said it welcomes the long-awaited New Migration and Asylum Pact’s ambition towards a sustainable, effective and humane response to migration and asylum management through a more holistic and solidarity-based approach. It sees the decision to overhaul the much criticized Dublin regulation and introduce a broader and more flexible framework for…
Leuven, Belgium, has been named the 2020 European Capital of Innovation for its use of innovation to improve residents’ lives. The €1 million cash prize, which every year recognises cities’ innovative solutions to social challenges that empower its citizenswas awarded to Leuven in a ceremony with EU Commissioner Mariya Gabriel during the EU Research and Innovation Days in…
The cities alliance engaged in regulating Short Term Holiday Rentals (STHR), met last week with the European Commission Executive Vice-President, Margrethe Vestager. The mayors and representatives of cities want stronger regulations on the STHR market in order to counter the harmful impact of STHR on the housing market and make neighbourhoods more liveable. The rise…
The Greens have sent a letter to the EU calling for urgent action to help victims of the migrant camp fire in Greece. It was sent to Vice-President Margaritis Schinas Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson Federal Minister for the Interior, Horst Seehofer It reads, “After Moria burnt down, more than 12.000 people are now…
