European Commission

CommuniqEU Dispatch – Environment

This article by Keith Zahra appeared first on Diplomatique.Expert (Edition 23) and is compiled by CiConsulta for Corporate Dispatch The European Commission has announced an investment exceeding €100 million to support a…

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Brussels Viewpoint – Our Slice of Pie

This article by Denise Grech appeared first on Diplomatique.Expert (Edition 23) and is compiled by CiConsulta for Corporate Dispatch Last Thursday, EU member state leaders met in Brussels to decide on the…

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Corporate Dispatch Europe Explained – The Week Ahead

A quick glance at the main forthcoming events in the European Union including EU Council, Commission and Parliament meetings and other EU-related conferences and events. Events for the week of…

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The EU Budget – Are the differences too big to bridge?

Wide differences remain, particularly between the wealthy countries that are net contributors to the budget and others that are net recipients of EU funds, and it is unclear when leaders…

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EU commission instruct staff to use Signal app to increase security of its communications

The European Commission has told its staff to start using Signal, an end-to-end-encrypted messaging app, in a push to increase the security of its communications. The instruction appeared on internal…

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Opinion – Tech Sovereignty for true Digital Transformation

Opinion piece by European Commission President - Ursula Von Der Leyen I am a tech optimist. My belief in technology as a force for good comes from my experience as…

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Europe Explained – The Week Ahead

A quick glance at the main forthcoming events in the European Union including EU Council, Commission and Parliament meetings and other EU-related conferences and events. Events for the week of…

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Von der Leyen and I are ‘like the two popes’ – Juncker

Former European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said he and his successor, Ursula von der Leyen, were "like the two popes in the Vatican." Politico reports that "on closer consideration, I'm von der…

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European Commission refers Portugal to the Court for discriminatory legislation on car registration tax

The European Commission decided to refer Portugal to the Court of Justice of the European Union for taxing used cars that are imported from other Member States more heavily than…

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EU Commission expecting Maltese economy to continue to moderate but still fastest-growing in Europe

The European Commission is expecting the Maltese economy to continue to grow in 2020 and 2021 at the fastest pace amongst its EU peers, on the back of investment growth…

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Future relation between the EU and the UK discussed in European Parliament

Barnier told the European Parliament that the EU will grant equivalence to particular sectors of its financial services industry but he said that there will not be “general, open-ended” equivalence in…

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Drive by the European Commission for active involvement of citizens and civil society in Cohesion Policy

The European Commission decided to launch two new pilot actions to involve citizens more when rolling out cohesion projects on the ground. The aim is to support active involvement…

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New accession methodology adopted by EC College of Commissioners

The College of the European Commission has adopted a proposal for a new methodology for the accession negotiations today. “The whole process needs to be more credible, more predictable, more…

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Macron says that Poland, Germany and France will lead post-Brexit Europe

French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday called for closer ties with Poland in shaping the European Union without Britain, in European security and relations with Russia.Poland's controversial judicial reforms, which…

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European Commission takes first step to launch negotiations with the United Kingdom

The European Commission has today issued a recommendation to the Council to open negotiations on a new partnership with the United Kingdom. This recommendation is based on the existing European…

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Brexit – What happens next? – Your questions answered

The EU and the United Kingdom have conducted intensive negotiations to agree on the terms of the UK's withdrawal and create legal certainty once EU law ceases to apply to…

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Opinion: A new dawn for Europe

As the night draws in this evening, the sun will set on more than 45 years of the United Kingdom’s membership of the European Union. For us, as Presidents of…

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Brussels Viewpoint – US president Donald Trump meets Von der Leyen

The big news this week takes us to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, where US President Donald Trump met EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen for the first…

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EU names first Head of Delegation for post-Brexit UK

The EU named veteran diplomat Joao Vale de Almeida as the "first Head of the future EU Delegation" in London on Friday. Vale de Almeida is set to take office…

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European Commission and Council Presidents sign Brexit Agreement

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel this morning signed the agreement on the withdrawal of the U.K. from the EU. The agreement was…

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Agenda Europe 20th – 26th January 2020

A quick glance at the main forthcoming events in the European Union including EU Council, Commission and Parliament meetings and other EU-related conferences and events. Events for the week of…

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Public spaces facial recognition might be suspended according to EU’s AI draft white paper

The EU's new leadership, which took office in December, announced it would initiate legislation for AI technology within its first 100 days in office, hoping to make the bloc the…

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Drought in southern Africa: EU releases over €22 million in humanitarian aid

The European Commission is mobilising a humanitarian aid package of €22.8 million to help address emergency food needs and support vulnerable people in Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The…

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EU launches ‘fair minimum wage’ initiative

The EU Commission has started talks with businesses and trade unions to ensure a fair minimum wage for all EU workers. However, the body said that they are not aiming…

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European Commission ramps up legal pressure against Poland

The European Commission on Tuesday turned to the Court of Justice of the EU to rein in Poland's judicial changes, asking it to order Warsaw to suspend the functioning of…

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European Commission announces the Green Deal’s ‘Just Transition Mechanism’ towards a climate-neutral economy

Ursula Von der Leyen announced that the mobilisation of at least €1 trillion, will show the direction and unleash a great investment wave. “People are at the core of the…

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Ilze Juhansone to replace Selmayr as European Commission’s secretary-general

Ilze Juhansone will be the European Commission's secretary-general. This has been said by POLITICO which quoted two Commission officials. These officials said that the College of Commissioners will appoint her…

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Less than half of EU travellers are aware of EU Passenger Rights

The European Commission today released the results of a Eurobarometer survey on passenger rights in the European Union (EU). According to the survey, 43% of EU citizens who have travelled…

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EU unveils new consumer protection rules for digital economy

The EU launched the "New Deal for Consumers" aimed at reining in "rogue traders and online tricksters." "The new rules will increase protection for consumers in (the) digital world, which…

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EU, Britain, France, Germany and Italy meeting to discuss Libya

An EU spokesman confirmed the the European Union's top diplomat Josep Borrel and the foreign ministers of Britain, France, Germany and Italy will meet on Tuesday afternoon in Brussels to…

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How European leaders reacted to Trump’s decision to kill an Iran general

EU foreign ministers will hold an extraordinary meeting in Brussels on Friday to discuss the situation in the Middle East after earlier this week, the world woke up to the…

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CiConsulta Geopolitics 2020 Forecast – The EU will become more outward looking, but just a little bit

For the first time in a long time, the new European Commission will look to flex its muscles outside of Europe’s borders by becoming a truly ‘geopolitical commission’. The problem…

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Doubts on post-Brexit transition period – EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan

Boris Johnson will dump his pledge to end the post-Brexit transition period by December 2020, EU trade commissioner Phil Hogan claimed, in a sign of deepening Brussels scepticism that talks…

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European subsidies cannot support sectors or technologies harmful to the environment – Von der Leyen

European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen expressed her views on the future of Europe in an interview with the French news outlet Les Echos. "I feel that a period…

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Post-Brexit UK always welcome back in EU, says Timmermans

Britain has been unnecessarily damaged by Brexit and “more will follow”, the vice-president of the European commission has written in a “love letter” to the British people in which he…

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Booking.com commits to align practices presenting offers and prices with EU law following EU action

Following dialogue with the European Commission and national consumer authorities, Booking.com has committed to make changes in the way it presents offers, discounts and prices to consumers. Once these…

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Weber accuses Macron and Orban of committing an attack on democracy in Europe

Former European Commission president nominee Manfred Weber has accused French President Emmanuel Macron of committing an "attack on democratic Europe" together with Hungary's Viktor Orbán, POLITICO reports. Weber told the…

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Ukraine-Russia gas deal should put Nord Stream criticism in ‘perspective’ – Šefčovič

A new gas transit deal between Russia and Ukraine should assuage fears over the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, European Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič said. Ukrainian and Russian officials reached…

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Polish Supreme Court says that Poland could exit EU over judicial reform

Poland could end up leaving the European Union because of plans by the ruling nationalists that would allow judges to be fired if they question the legitimacy of the government’s…

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Malta, one of nine EU countries push back France’s drive to change EU enlargement process

Malta together with Austria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovenia have backed a counter-proposal to France's push aimed at changing the process for taking in new members, arguing…

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Opinion – EU requires a rethink in its approach to UK’s trade talks (FT)

The EU played an indirect but critical part in last week’s electoral triumph for UK prime minister Boris Johnson — and in Brexit. It was a historic error of judgment…

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European Commission approves maritime transport support schemes in Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Poland and Sweden

The European Commission has approved under EU State aid rules five schemes to support maritime transport in Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Poland and Sweden. The schemes encourage ship registration in…

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European Commission examining EU curbs on state-backed foreign companies

Brussels’ competition chief is examining ways of curbing unfair competition from foreign state-owned enterprises, as EU member states urge closer scrutiny of Chinese investment on the continent. Margrethe Vestager,…

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Father of US Presidential Candidate Pete Buttigieg posthumously awarded on Malta’s Republic Day

A number of individuals were honoured during the 2019 Republic Day celebrations. Prof. Joseph Buttigieg, father of US presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg, was posthumously awarded the title of honorary member…

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European Commission reinforces tools to ensure Europe’s interests in international trade

The European Commission unveiled a proposal that will allow the European Union to protect its trade interests despite the paralysis of the multilateral dispute settlement system in the World Trade…

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How safe is the food you eat?

An EU investigation uncovered a case of food fraud in Georgia, where a producer was found to be adding lesser-quality ingredients to products exported to EU countries. Authorities were alerted…

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President von der Leyen on the roadmap for a European Green Deal

Do we, humans, want to continue living well and safely on this planet? Humanity faces an existential threat – the whole world is beginning to see. Forests burn from America…

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EU’s top diplomat urges bloc to step up and become real geopolitical player

The EU's new top diplomat, Josep Borrell, has urged the bloc to step up and be a real geopolitical player or risk Europe becoming just a playground for other big…

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No agreement on definition of ‘tax paradise’

A policy proposal presented by the Danish government last week calls for a wider scope in the operative definition of tax avoidance and tax evasion. The Danish position paper is…

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European Commission adopts new EU Air Safety List

The European Commission updated the EU Air Safety List, the list of airlines that do not meet international safety standards, and are therefore subject to an operating ban or operational…

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First foreign visit for von der Leyen, EU strengthens cooperation with Ethiopia

On the occasion of her first official visit outside Europe, the new President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced in Addis Ababa a significant boost to the…

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Ursula von der Leyen demands ‘thorough and independent’ probe into Daphne Caruana Galizia’s killing

The head of the European Union’s executive arm, Ursula von der Leyen, on Wednesday evening demanded a “thorough and independent” investigation into the 2017 murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.…

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Malta’s crisis coverage – International News Roundup

The head of an EU mission to Malta has called on the country’s embattled prime minister to step down immediately. European lawmaker Sophie In ‘t Veld told Euronews that there…

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Photo Story: First weekly college meeting of the new European Commission

European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen (C) pose with new EU Commissioners for the official picture during the first weekly college meeting of the new European Commission in Brussels,…

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European Commission steps up pressure on Malta IIP Programme and Scheme

The European Commission has asked Malta whether it has acted on recommendations to prevent money-laundering linked to its “golden passport” scheme set up in 2014. New Europe reports that like…

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Four European Presidents mark inauguration of their terms on 10th anniversary of Lisbon Treaty

Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel marked the inauguration of their terms Sunday by joining the presidents of the European Parliament and European Central Bank for a celebration of the 10th…

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Jean-Claude Juncker gives his last news briefing

Jean-Claude Juncker gave one last news briefing before he hands over power to Ursula von der Leyen. The Commission handover was delayed a month after parliament rejected three commissioner-candidates from…

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