On International Human Rights’ Day, civil society networks Alop, Cifca, Grupo Sur, Oidhaco and Protection International urged the European Union to make respect for human rights the guiding principle in its trade relations with Latin America. The European Parliament ratified trade agreements with Colombia, Peru and Central America in December 2012. This caused deep […]
Coelho, “Saving Border Lives Should Be Mandatory”
The tragedy off the coast of Lampedusa on 3 October when hundreds of refugees drowned sparked calls for a more humane approach to migration in Europe to prevent the Mediterranean becoming the “graveyard of Europe”. To achieve this, the rules for search and rescue missions conducted by Frontex, the EU’s agency for external border security, […]
Single EU Patent Protection Agreed
European Union Justice Ministers have reached agreement in record time on a European Commission proposal (IP/13/750) to complete the legal framework for Europe-wide patent protection. The proposal will update EU rules on the jurisdiction of courts and recognition of judgments and pave the way for a specialised European patent court – the Unified Patent Court – […]
Portugal Gets ‘Team Tajani’ Investment Promotion
Antonio Tajani, European Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship, was in Portugal, Friday, for a Mission for Growth with 800 entrepreneurs from Portugal, Europe and third countries. Tajani met the President of Portugal, Aníbal Cavaco Silva to address the economic crisis and discuss the need for growth policies to boost domestic demand and increase industrial competitiveness. […]
MEPs To Ban Non-EU Firms From EU Public Procurement, Unless There’s Reciprocation
A draft law that could bar non-EU firms from bidding for public procurement contracts in the EU unless their home countries allow EU firms reciprocal access to their public procurement markets was endorsed by the International Trade Committee on Thursday. The proposed “international public procurement instrument” should strengthen the EU’s hand in trade talks and […]
Reding ‘Re-Orients’ Justice Policies, Fair Trial for All Demanded
The European Commission has presented a package of proposals to further strengthen procedural safeguards for citizens in criminal proceedings. The aim is to guarantee fair trial rights for all citizens, wherever they are in the European Union. The proposals aim to guarantee the respect for the presumption of innocence and the right to be present […]
Return to Employment Boost for Redundant Danish, Finnish and German Workers
Workers in Denmark, Finland and Germany who lost their jobs received a boost from the European Parliament’s Budgets Committee this week. MEPs approved support from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGAF) to help workers return to the labour market. The decision still needs to be endorsed by Parliament as a whole and Council. The Danish wind-turbine […]
Ashton Celebrates Chanukah, The Festival Of Light
Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy participated in the “EuroChanukah 4 Peace 2013” event. Organised by the European Jewish Community Centre (EJCC) to celebrate the eight-day Jewish festival of Chanukah – which means “festival of lights” – it aimed to illustrate the message that “a small light can […]
Damanaki Harpoons Fish Rogues
Maria Damanaki, European Fisheries Commissioner harpooned Belize, Cambodia and Guinea today, following a formal warning by the Commission one year ago. Damanaki intensified the Commission’s fight against illegal fishing by identifying Belize, Cambodia and Guinea as non-cooperating third countries. Despite the Commission working closely with the countries’ authorities to set up fisheries management and effective control […]
Groote’s New CO2 Emissions Targets Agreed
An informal agreement on new rules to achieve the 2020 CO2 emission target of 95g/km for new cars was reached by EP and member state negotiators on Tuesday afternoon. The file had to be reopened after EU ministers failed to endorse a previous informal deal on it with Parliament. During the negotiations, the European Parliament […]