Comuniq.Eu

CDEIU‘s Comuniq.eu is the only Malta-based platform offering a one-stop shop for EU-affairs, from research to in-depth analysis of developments and the dissemination of news related to the European institutions and their activities.

Through its research arm, it constantly looks for the latest developments from across the EU institutions through various channels, whether contacts within the institutions themselves, international media agencies and portals, and local representatives and offices of the said institutions.

The team at Comuniq.eu looks beyond the news which makes the media headlines, understanding the stakes at play, the positions being taken, the likely scenarios and the potential impact on the Maltese economy and businesses.

After identifying how developments, such as proposed legislation or regulation can affect your business, we also support you in makign your voice heard should it be in your business’ interest to support or challenge such proposals. We also look at the positions being taken by international organisations and other countries thereby allowing our clients to strengthen their position where possible.

Over the past months, Comuniq.eu has extensively looked into all facets of Brexit, and is supporting local business in understanding the impact of this important change on their operations and supporting them in identifying the right channels to get their concerns across. Similarly, Comuniq.eu raises advance note of legislative and regulatory processes which are still in the pipeline at EU level, which would have barely made news portals, to allow businesses to react at an advanced stage to such developments.

Comuniq.eu also disseminates EU-related news, both sourced through its exclusive arrangements with interntational news agencies as well through its own research and networks. It also produces exclusive content on matters related to EU affairs.

Parties to Iran nuclear deal to meet on Sunday – EU

Parties negotiating a revival of the Iran nuclear deal will hold a formal meeting in Vienna on Sunday, the European Union said on Saturday. Iran and six world powers have been negotiating in Vienna since April to work out steps for Washington and Tehran to take. The United States withdrew in 2018 from the pact, under which Iran accepted curbs on its nuclear programme in exchange for a lifting ...

EU warns Lebanon’s leaders of sanctions over ‘home-made’ crisis

The European Union's foreign policy chief told Lebanon's leaders on Saturday they were to blame for the country's political and economic crisis and some could face sanctions if they continue to obstruct steps to form a new government and implement reform. Speaking after what he called a "frank exchange" with President Michel Aoun, Josep Borrell said he was bringing a firm message that the ...

UPDATE – First plenary session of the Conference on the Future of Europe

The EP Plenary Sessions on Conference on the Future of Europe, an unprecedented, open and inclusive European democratic exercise, kicked off today. During his opening statement, Parliament’s Co-Chair of the Executive Board, Guy Verhofstadt, said, “I see the Conference as a relay race. Citizens participating in panels will start it by defining their wishes and recommendations. Then, over sever...

Pope puts Robert Schuman, a father of Europe, on sainthood path

Pope Francis on Saturday put 20th century statesman Robert Schuman, one of the founders of modern Europe, on the path to sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church. A Vatican statement said the pope approved a decree recognising the "heroic virtues" of Schuman, who died in 1963. The recognition is one of the earliest stages of the long process that can lead to canonisation. Schuman's work w...

EU reaches deal on Belarus economic sanctions, according to Austria, diplomats

The European Union is set to ban new loans to Belarus after reaching a deal on Friday for economic sanctions on Minsk as punishment for forcing down a flight to arrest a journalist, the Austrian foreign ministry and three diplomats said. Broad economic sanctions would be the EU's strongest response yet to the forced landing of a Ryanair flight in May by Belarusian authorities to arrest an ...

EU sets out potential criteria for Lebanese sanctions

Criteria for European Union sanctions being prepared for Lebanese politicians are likely to be corruption, obstructing efforts to form a government, financial mishandling and human rights abuses, according to a diplomatic note seen by Reuters. Led by France, the EU is seeking to ramp up pressure on Lebanon's squabbling politicians after 11 months of a crisis that has left Lebanon facing fi...

Britain must restore trust, but approach welcome -EU’s Sefcovic

Britain needs to restore trust by fully implementing the protocol governing trade for Northern Ireland, European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic said on Friday, while welcoming a British bid to cooperate over sausages. Britain should show "unwavering commitment" to implementing the Northern Ireland protocol, rather than "continually putting it into doubt", Sefcovic said in a speec...

Google’s adtech business set to face formal EU probe by year-end

Alphabet unit Google could face its biggest regulatory threat, with EU antitrust regulators set to open a formal investigation into its lucrative digital advertising business before the end of the year, said people familiar with the matter. It would mark a new front by the EU competition enforcer against Google. It has in the last decade fined the company more than 8 billion euros ($9.8 bi...

Diplomats say EU reaches technical deal on Belarus economic sanctions

The European Union reached on Friday a technical agreement on economic sanctions on Belarus after Austria lifted its objections, including a ban on new loans to Belarus, two diplomats told Reuters. The agreement still needs political approval but experts tasked with drawing up sanctions have agreed on an EU ban of exports to Belarus of any communications equipment that could be used for spying...

UPDATED: AstraZeneca says EU loses legal bid for more vaccine supplies by end-June

AstraZeneca said on Friday the European Union had lost a legal case against the pharmaceutical firm over the supply of COVID-19 vaccines, with a court in Brussels rejecting an EU request for more deliveries by the end of June. But European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Friday's ruling supported the EU's view that AstraZeneca -- against which the bloc has recently launched a se...

Demands of copyright trolls must be reasonable, EU’s top court rules

Copyright trolls can turn to EU rules to demand compensation for infringed works on peer-to-peer networks but only if their requests are proportionate, Europe’s top court said. Claims by so-called copyright trolls have been rising as more individuals and companies aggressively pursue compensation for infringement of their rights. The ruling on Thursday by the Court of Justice of the Eur...

UK seeks further three-month ‘grace period’ in EU sausage spat

Britain asked the European Union for a further three months to resolve a dispute over whether chilled meat products such as sausages, produced in the mainland United Kingdom, can continue to be sold in Northern Ireland. Under post-Brexit trade rules agreed last year, the British province of Northern Ireland is effectively treated as part of the EU for customs purposes under a protocol to a...

Top EU lawyer says Poland is pressuring lawyers illegally

Polish government pressure on lawyers is incompatible with EU law, an adviser to the European Union’s top court said in an opinion that follows earlier condemnation of Warsaw by the court for interfering in the judiciary. The eurosceptic ruling coalition in Poland has been at odds with the European Union’s central authorities over changes it has been introducing to the appointment and remo...

EU drug regulator EMA records 415 cases of possible rare blood clotting

The EU drug regulator said on Thursday it has received reports of 415 possible cases of rare blood clotting with a low platelet count in the European Economic Area, out of more than 50 million people who have received AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines. There have been 10 possible cases among just under 6 million people who received J&J's shot in the EEA, and 405 cases...

EU states back personal data flows with ex-member Britain

European Union member states have agreed that British standards for the protection of personal data are sufficently high that such information can continue to flow between the EU and its former member, the European Commission said on Thursday. Their backing will allow the Commission to adopt two adequacy decisions before the end of June to allow a seamless transition at the end of a six-month ...

Deal reached on EU fund to help regions and businesses adapt to Brexit

EU legislators reached an agreement on Thursday on the 5 billion euro Brexit Adjustment Reserve, paving the way for a first payment by December. With a budget of 5 billion euro (in 2018 prices - 5.4 billion euro in current prices), the Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR) will focus on countries and sectors worst affected by the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. A first instalment of 1.6 billion euro...

European Commission endorses recovery and resilience plans of Greece, Spain and Portugal

The European Commission has adopted positive assessments of the recovery and resilience plans of Greece, Spain and Portugal. This is an important step towards disbursing funds under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) to these Member States. This financing will support the implementation of the crucial investment and reform measures outlined in each Member State's recovery and resilien...

Spain gets EU approval for $84 bln COVID recovery plan

Spain’s plan for recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic and transformation into a greener and more digitalised economy got European Commission approval on Wednesday, the second such green light in the 27-nation EU after Portugal. As one of the main beneficiaries of a 750 billion euro ($908 billion) European Union recovery scheme, Spain will get 69.5 billion euros in grants until 2026 to help...

EU Commision approves Portugal’s recovery plan, first grants seen in July

Portugal on Wednesday became the first EU country to have its recovery plan rubber-stamped by the European Commission, whose president Ursula von der Leyen said an initial disbursement from the bloc's COVID-19 recovery fund should come in July. "The plan clearly meets the demanding criteria we have jointly established," von der Leyen told reporters after meeting Portuguese Prime Minister A...

EU considering SURE-type unemployment instrument for post-crisis phase

The European Union sees no immediate need to prolong its SURE unemployment scheme beyond the COVID-19 crisis but is looking into similar instruments to help the jobs market in the post-emergency phase, its jobs commissioner told an Italian daily. Asked whether the programme could be extended, Nicolas Schmit told Corriere della Sera in an interview published on Thursday that SURE was a "crisis ...

Digital euro might suck away 8% of banks’ deposits – Morgan Stanley

A digital euro could suck away 8% of euro zone banks’ customer deposits, analysts at Morgan Stanley have estimated, although the share may be far higher in some of the smaller countries in the 19-nation bloc. The European Central Bank is expected to speed up work on a digital euro in the coming months and although a formal launch could be a few years away, economists are looking at potenti...

EU wants faster vaccine production in “age of pandemics”

The European Union plans to boost its early warning system and have a permanent capacity to produce about 300 million vaccines in the first six months of any new health emergency, as it prepares for “the age of pandemics”. The EU executive a set of new proposals to strengthen the bloc’s ability to react to new crises, acknowledging that its preparedness and the initial reaction to the COVI...

Better relations with Russia a distant prospect, EU chief diplomat says

There is not much hope for better relations between the European Union and Russia any time soon, the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Wednesday, roughly a week before leaders of the 27 nation bloc are to discuss its future Russia policy. "Under present circumstances, a renewed partnership between the EU and Russia, allowing for closer cooperation, seems a distant prospect," Borr...

UPDATED: EU agrees additional sanctions on Belarus after forced Ryanair landing

The European Union on Wednesday agreed additional sanctions on Belarus in response to the forced landing of a Ryanair flight in Minsk and the arrest of a dissident journalist on board in May, an EU diplomat said. The sanctions, approved by EU ambassadors and to be adopted by the bloc's foreign ministers at a meeting on Monday, target seven individuals with links to the Belarus aviation sector,...

Irish civil rights group to file privacy lawsuit over online ads

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) on Wednesday will file a lawsuit in a German court against IAB Tech Lab for allegedly breaching EU privacy rules. At issue is real-time bidding systems, the core of today's online advertising industry and through which companies such as Alphabet unit Google and publishing groups sell ads through a bidding process. The method, which collects p...

EU approval of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine delayed

European Union approval of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine will be delayed because a June 10 deadline to submit data was missed, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters, diminishing the shot's prospects in the EU's pandemic response. One of the sources, a German government official, said the failure to provide the necessary clinical trial data to the EU medicines watchdog w...

EU set to add United States to safe travel list

European Union governments agreed on Wednesday to add the United States to their list of countries from which they will allow non-essential travel, EU diplomats said. Ambassadors from the EU's 27 countries approved the addition of the United States and five other countries at a meeting on Wednesday, with the change to take effect in the coming days. Albania, Lebanon, North Macedonia, Se...

EU chief to launch recovery fund in Lisbon, Madrid

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen visits Lisbon and Madrid Wednesday where she will begin approving recovery plans submitted by nations seeking funding from the bloc's coronavirus recovery fund. "This is a historic achievement," von der Leyen told the European Parliament last week in announcing the imminent activation of the landmark 750-billion-euro ($910-billion) recovery plan w...

Hungary could be sanctioned over anti-LGBT+ law, warns EU equality chief Helena Dalli

The EU could impose funding restrictions on Hungary over legislation that bans the dissemination in schools of content deemed to promote homosexuality and gender change, the bloc’s equality chief told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Speaking shortly before Hungary’s parliament approved the ban, European Commissioner for Equality Helena Dalli said Brussels was prepared to take measures simi...

Euro zone trade surplus surges, but less than expected, in April

The euro zone's unadjusted trade surplus was almost five times higher in April than a year earlier, mainly thanks to a strong rebound in exports of machinery and cars, but was still smaller than expected, data showed on Tuesday. The European Union's statistics office said the unadjusted trade surplus of the 19 countries sharing the euro was 10.9 billion euros in April compared with 2.3 billion...

Malta insists on flexibility in EU minimum wage discussions

Malta has always believed that whilst all workers are to have adequate wages, the European Commission’s proposal has to reflect national realities, and that any agreement at an EU level has to respect the autonomy of social partners as well as the principle of collective bargaining. Minister Carmelo Abela, participating at a Council meeting that was held in Luxembourg, explained that whilst M...

Quoting Irish poet, Biden ends EU trade war in renewal of transatlantic ties

U.S. President Joe Biden ended one front in a Trump-era trade war when he met European Union leaders on Tuesday by agreeing a truce in a transatlantic dispute over aircraft subsidies that has dragged on for 17 years. Quoting Irish poet W. B. Yeats at the start of his first EU-U.S. summit as president, Biden also said the wor...

Liberals say that 2030 climate package is opportunity to turn climate neutrality into EU success story

Renew Europe, the Liberal coalition in the European Parliament, has outlined five flagship messages in a letter to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen and the Executive Vice President of the Commission, Frans Timmermans. The input comes ahead of the Fit for 2030 climate package to be presented by the Commission in mid-July, with a call for the Commission to integrat...

EU agenda

Discover the latest events happening across the European insititutions: Tuesday 15 June: Health ministers will meet in Luxembourg. Ministers will exchange views on the pandemic situation. Wednesday 16 June: The European Parliament intergroup event will review the latest scientific evidence on the biodegradability of plastics from SAPEA, the consortium of European academies, and discuss the...

After NATO, Biden turns to EU for renewal of transatlantic ties

U.S. President Joe Biden will intensify his post-Trump push to renew transatlantic relations on Tuesday, meeting with European Union leaders to cool trade tensions and join forces to beat COVID-19, uphold democracy and hold back climate change. Biden's summit in Brussels with the presidents of the EU's executive and the Council that represents the bloc's 27 member states is...

EU parliament president urges EU mechanism for sea rescues

"We must go back to thinking of shared EU actions in the Mediterranean to save people, actions that take ground away from traffickers. There is the need for a European search and rescue mechanism at sea," European Parliament president David Sassoli said Monday. He was speaking at the opening of a high-level conference on migration and asylum at the European Parliament. "It is our duty to sa...

EU clears way for the EU Digital COVID Certificate

Today, the Presidents of the three EU institutions, the European Parliament, the Council of the EU and the European Commission attended the official signing ceremony for the Regulation on the EU Digital COVID Certificate, marking the end of the legislative process. On this occasion Presidents David Sassoli and Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister António Costa said: “The EU Digital COVID Ce...

Six arrested for armed robberies of jewellery shops across Europe

An organised crime group behind a sting of violent armed robberies committed across Europe has been dismantled as a result of an international investigation facilitated by Europol. A total of six individuals – all Estonian nationals – were arrested over the course of the past two years. The smash-and-grab gang, armed with large hammers and a handgun, would hold up at gunpoint the employees ...

Euro zone economy on right path but too early to debate end of ECB help: Lagarde

The euro zone economy is at a turning point but its recovery must be firm and sustainable before the European Central Bank can debate clawing back emergency support, ECB President Christine Lagarde told Politico in an interview. The ECB last week agreed to maintain an elevated pace of bond purchases to keep borrowing costs ultra low and policymakers did not even entertain questions about t...

Ex-EU Brexit negotiator Barnier: UK reputation at stake in Brexit row

Michel Barnier, the European Union's former Brexit negotiator, said on Monday that the reputation of the United Kingdom was at stake regarding tensions over Brexit. EU politicians have accused British Prime Minister Boris Johnson of not respecting engagements made regarding Brexit. Growing tensions between Britain and the EU threatened to overshadow the Group of Seven summit on Sunday, with Lo...

Belgian Court orders AstraZeneca to deliver vaccine doses to the EU – Questions and Answers

European Commission Questions and answers Brussels, 19 Jun 2021 Why did the European Commission start this Court proceeding and what did it intend to obtain? The company announced in January that it would not be in a positio...
Conference on the Future of Europe: Plenary meets for the first time

European Commission Press release Brussels, 19 Jun 2021 On Saturday 19 June, the inaugural Plenary meeting of the Conference on the Future of Europe was held in Strasbourg. Today's Plenary marks another important moment in the life of the Conference – an unprecedented, open and inclusive European democratic exercise.
Keynote speech by Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič on "EU-UK relations after Brexit" at the Mario Soares Promotion Closing Ceremony, College of Europe

European Commission Speech Bruges, 18 Jun 2021 Thank you very much, dear Lukáš (Dravecký) – srdečne ďakujem! It is truly an honour to be introduced by a fellow Slovak, repre...
Remarks by Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis at the ECOFIN press conference

European Commission Speech Brussels, 18 Jun 2021 Thank you João, good afternoon everyone. Allow me to first thank you for your commitment and support during the past six months of the Portuguese Preside...
Belgian Court orders AstraZeneca to deliver vaccine doses to the EU

European Commission Press release Brussels, 18 Jun 2021 Today, the Court of First Instance of Brussels decided to grant interim measures in the case brought against AstraZeneca by the European Commission and the 27 E...
Daily News 18 / 06 / 2021

European Commission Daily news Brussels, 18 Jun 2021 NextGenerationEU: la Commission approuve les plans pour la reprise et la résilience du Danemark et du Luxembourg La Commission européenne a adopt&...

Article - What does the European Parliament President do? (video)

Find out about the role and the functions of the President of the European Parliament in our short video. Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP
Article - EU values explained in one minute

What are the six core values the European Union is based upon and how do they translate into our daily lives? Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP
Press release - MEPs clear another hurdle for the COVID-19 recovery plan

MEPs approved three laws on implementing the EU’s Own Resources system, paving the way for its reform and the introduction of new sources of EU revenue.Committee on Budgets Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP
Press release - Enlargement reports: MEPs fully support Western Balkans' European future

Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia need to continue focusing on fundamental reforms, say MEPs in resolutions adopted on Thursday.Committee on Foreign Affairs Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP
Press release - MEPs demand safe and clean travel

EU criteria for safe and clean travel, a common vaccination certificate and an EU hygiene seal for businesses must be part of a new EU strategy on tourism, MEPs say.Committee on Transport and Tourism Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP
Press release - Empowering Africa: Parliament defines strategy for a new EU-Africa partnership

Europe and Africa must move away from a donor-recipient relationship, Parliament says, as MEPs vision for a deeper relationship between the two continents.Committee on Development Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

EUBAM Libya: Council extends mandate for a further two years

EUBAM Libya: The Council extends mandate for a further two years until 30 June 2023, amidst renewed political momentum.
Forward look: 21 June - 4 July 2021

Overview of the main subjects to be discussed at meetings of the Council of the EU over the next two weeks and upcoming media events.
Media advisory - Foreign Affairs Council of 21 June 2021

Main agenda items, approximate timing, public sessions and press opportunities.
Ethiopia: Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union

The EU issued a declaration on the next democratic elections in Ethiopia and its importance for the political transition in that country.
Media advisory - General Affairs Council, 22 June 2021

Main agenda items, approximate timing, public sessions and press opportunities.
The Council gives its consent to the revised statute of the Ombudsman to further guarantee its independence

The Council gives its consent to the revised statute of the Ombudsman to further guarantee its independence.

106/2021 : 17 June 2021 - Opinion of the Advocate General in the case C-55/20

Ministerstwo Sprawiedliwości Freedom of establishment Advocate General Bobek: the Services Directive applies to disciplinary proceedings initiated against lawyers, the result of which may affect the ongoing ability of those lawyers to provide legal services
107/2021 : 17 June 2021 - Opinion of the Advocate General in the case C-203/20

AB and Others Advocate General Kokott: European arrest warrant for the abduction of the son of a former Slovak President to be issued after revocation of an amnesty
105/2021 : 17 June 2021 - Judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-597/19

M.I.C.M. Freedom of establishment The systematic registration of IP addresses of users and the communication of their names and postal addresses to the holder of intellectual property rights or to a third party in order to enable an action for damages to be brought is permissible under certain conditions