Photo by Matt Brown on Unsplash There is something fundamentally depressing about the forthcoming Euro elections, writes Lord Richard Balfe. The first that the UK will not be involved with. Yet in a way we will be involved because the outcome will shape our relations with each other. The EU Commission has recently outlined a youth mobility programme…
Photo by Guillaume Périgois on Unsplash The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) will open its doors to the public for its traditional Open Day on Saturday 4 May from 10am to 6pm. Informing and enthusing people about the EESC and the upcoming European elections, the Committee will organise a number of activities at its headquarters (the Jacques Delors building in Rue Belliard 99-101 1040…
Photo by Glen Carrie on Unsplash The European Parliament has launched the second phase of its communication campaign, highlighting the “importance of voting and safeguarding democracy.” Between 6 and 9 June 2024, more than 370 million people across 27 Member States are called to vote in the European elections. To further inform EU citizens and encourage them to…
Photo by Fons Heijnsbroek on Unsplash EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson has called for an effective policy on labour migration. The official was speaking at the April plenary session of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in a discussion on the EU Talent Mobility Package. Johansson called for a ‘team Europe’ approach to labour migration with a broader European…
Photo by Yellow Cactus on Unsplash From CAP to Iran – MEPs face a packed programme in the last plenary of the current term The Greens/EFA Group says it objects to the Commission’s proposal to re-open the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The group says this will weaken the CAP’s environmental conditionality rules and “remove essential ecological and agronomic…
Photo by Julie Ricard on Unsplash Some MEPs have heavily criticised the result of a key EU political agreement on the Pact on Migration and Asylum. The attack from the Greens and Left Group comes after the European Parliament adopted the Migration and Asylum Pact. The Commission says the draft law “puts in place clear, reliable rules with more solidarity and…
Photo by Kyle Cleveland on Unsplash The EU says it is financing the purchase of new firefighting planes to increase its aerial firefighting capabilities. Some €600 million in EU funds will be used to purchase 12 new planes, which will be hosted across 6 EU Member States: Croatia, France, Italy, Greece, Portugal, and Spain. The new planes will…
Photo by Ivan Nedelchev on Unsplash Bulgaria and Romania have become the latest Schengen members. The Schengen rules will apply in both Member States; the issue of Schengen visas and controls at the internal air and sea borders will be lifted. The European Commission said it “strongly welcomes this achievement”. The Schengen accession of the two will, it…
Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash The EU and its member states have reached a deal which aims to strengthen EU member state cooperation in the cross-border investigation of traffic offences. To prevent reckless driving while abroad, the updated rules will expand the list of traffic offences committed by non-resident drivers that trigger cross-border assistance possibly resulting in…
Photo by Visit Greenland on Unsplash The EU has inaugurated its new office in Nuuk, underlining what it says is “Europe’s concrete presence in Greenland and in the wider Arctic region.” It was opened by President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, Prime Minister of Greenland Múte Bourup Egede and the Prime Minister of Denmark Mette…
