At this week’s plenary session in Strasbourg MEPs welcomed the fact that the error rate for payments – as estimated by the ECA – had reached an all-time low of 2.4%. However, they raised some concerns about how testing samples were selected. MEPs are worried about the mounting payments backlog, which reached a new record of…
The investment backed by EU cohesion policy 2014/2020 is improving the life of millions of citizens across Europe, focusing on those who are weaker. But more should be done to ensure that the European Structural and Investment (ESI) funds over the next decade are more flexible and effective to counter the worrying trend of regional…
Cyprus emerged as the number one issue on the international political arena recently, writes Leyla Tavsonoglu. The Greek Cypriot Government, enjoying the full benefits of being the sole EU member of the island, disregarding the Turkish Cypriot side, in partnership with Israel and Egypt, continues drilling for natural gas and oil on the Cypriot continental shelf. …
The Board of Directors of the European Investment Bank (EIB) has this week approved a total of €2.4 billion of new financing to improve public services, upgrade infrastructure and strengthen private sector investment. · €905 million new financing for rail and road transport projects across Europe · €1 billion for business investment and corporate…
Cyprus has long been a bone of contention between Turkey and Greece and the third guarantor power of the island, the UK, writes Leyla Tavsanoglu. I don’t want to delve into Cypriot history as it has been repeated time and time over. My aim is to understand whether the parties involved on the island’s problems…
The European Commission has revealed the finalists of the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Awards and the Award for Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning (SUMP). The EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Awards showcase local authorities that demonstrate significant efforts in promoting sustainable urban mobility, while the SUMP Award recognises outstanding sustainable urban mobility planning. The finalists for the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Award 2018 for larger municipalities…
Georgia is ranked number 41 alongside Spain and Latvia, writes James Wilson. This is according to the Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perceptions Index 2018 published last month, – a slight improvement in the country’s ranking compared with 2017. The biggest improvements in tackling corruption were made by former President Mikhail Saakashvili, whose reforms helped…
It was in September 2018 that Mr. Uner Kirdar, the Former Senior United Nations official and the main architect of UNDP Development Study Programme, said: ‘True development can only be achieved through a process that places ‘people’ at the centre of all concerns, writes Hande Bozatli. This process must aim at the maximum release of…
Could Theresa May’s Brexit deal pass into law but with the implementation date delayed to allow time for a new referendum? Two Labour MPs, Peter Kyle and Phil Wilson, are working for just such an outcome, and there is growing cross-party support for an amendment to the Withdrawal Agreement bill that would allow for a…
The Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR) said it “welcomes” the European Parliament’s decision to adopt the Common Provisions Regulation Report on future investment in EU regions, which represents a positive step towards a strong, reformed Cohesion policy after 2020. In particular, the CPMR supports the Parliament’s decision to remove from the report the link…
