The European Parliament’s negotiator on the e-Privacy regulation, Birgit Sippel MEP, has called for trilogue talks between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission to start as soon as possible, after years of member states blocking progress. E-Privacy rules will give citizens control over how their confidential information can be used or shared online. […]
Parliament Mobilises for Guatemala Human Rights Defenders
The European Parliament in Strasbourg has approved an urgent resolution on the situation of human rights defenders in Guatemala. Deputies expressed their concerns and acknowledged the work carried out by human rights defenders, urging the Guatemalan government to adopt measures aimed at protecting HRDs from assaults and dangers they are confronting regularly. The figures are […]
Rising Tide Of Death, As Europe Looks Inland
A year on from the Lampedusa shipwrecks, which claimed more than 500 lives, a new report by Amnesty International highlights how, what Amnesty called the “shameful inaction of European Union (EU) countries” has contributed to a spiralling death toll with thousands of refugees and migrants losing their lives in a desperate bid to reach European […]
Juncker – To Be, Or Not To Be…
Who’s going to be European Commission President for the next five years? Will European Council and Parliament respect the Lisbon Treaty? Will Europe’s votes have any impact on the final outcome? Will Jean-Claude Juncker call it a day and bow out quietly? On paper, the winner of the elections was the European People’s Party, whose […]
Parliament Votes In Favour Of Ukraine Tariff Reductions. Radical Left Rejects Aid For Ukraine
The international trade committee of the European Parliament today voted by a large majority for the abolition of trade barriers for Ukraine. Under the proposal, the tariff reductions and the elimination of trade barriers are initially limited until 1 November 2014. The spokesman for the EPP Group in the European Parliament’s international trade committee, Daniel […]
Nine Million European Women Suffer Violence in Silence
Nine million European women, equivalent to the whole Austrian population, have suffered some form of sexual violence; and one in five (22%) acknowledged that their partner, or previous partner, perpetrated violence against them. These findings were published this week by the European Union’s Fundamental Rights Agency and the European Council, to highlight International Women’s Day. The […]
Ska Keller & José Bové To Lead Greens’ Election Fight
Ska Keller and José Bové have been selected to lead the Greens in their upcoming European campaign. The two MEPs won the unique Green Primary, the first ever Europe-wide open online process to select leading candidates for the European elections. Bové and Keller will be the figureheads of the third common Green European campaign, and lead the united Green parties of […]
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 […]
EU Cyber War Capabilities, Ashton Must Clarify Says Schaake
Dutch Member of European Parliament Marietje Schaake (ALDE/D66) has called on EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, to provide clarification on the European Union’s developing offensive capabilities in cyber defence. “It looks like Ashton is aiming for European offensive capabilities to counter threats against critical European ICT infrastructure.” “While cooperation in conventional defence is lagging […]
“Banks Can No Longer Exclude Citizens From Society,” – Klute
Everyone legally residing in the EU must have the right to open a basic payment account, and this right should not be denied on grounds of nationality or place of residence, said the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee amending a draft law to this end, Monday, in Strasbourg. Fees and rules for these accounts should […]