The Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) is responsible for the EU’s economic policy, taxation issues and the regulation of financial services, as well as for issues regarding the euro and the coordination of EU positions for meetings at international level and the financial aspects of international negotiations on measures to tackle climate change. On […]
Tomorrow will mark the International Day of Zero Tolerance against Female Genital Mutilation. A day in which States are called to raise awareness and educate people about the dangers of FGM. Female genital mutilation comprises all procedures that involve altering or injuring the female genitalia for non-medical reasons and is recognized internationally as a violation of […]
Negotiations on key chapters on Serbia’s European path could be opened as early as June. The EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Johannes Hahn, on Wednesday confirmed that Serbia had made progress on Chapter 24, adding that if further progress is made on reforming the judiciary, Belgrade could open both chapters by mid-year. Chapters 23, on the judiciary […]
The European Parliament called for the European Commission to table a communication on a new strategy for gender equality and women’s rights 2016-2020 as soon as possible and deliver on its political commitments. “The Commission has a clear responsibility to launch policies on equality between women and men and to address important issues such as […]
The refugee crisis and border checks, both at EU external borders and within the Schengen passport-free area still raise concerns. This week, the Plenary has discussed the future of Schengen with Commission First Vice-President Frans Timmermans and the Migration and Home Affairs Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos. Indeed, on 27 January, the European Commission, after the verification of the application […]
Yesterday, the European Parliament’s Plenary adopted recommendations to the European Commission on the ongoing ‘Trade in Services’ (TiSA) agreement. Negotiations for a Trade in Services Agreement, under way since April 2013, aim to establish global minimum requirements for trade in sectors such as financial, digital and transport services. Participants now include 23 WTO members, who […]
Yesterday was a historic day for the automotive industry, overwhelmed by the scandal emission. The EP decided not to veto plan to temporarirly raise NOx emission limits for diesel cars after the European Commission promised a review and tabled a long term legislative proposal to revamp the EU car approval regime. The proposal to reject the […]
Today, the European Parliament approved a proposal to establish a European Platform in order to tackle the issue of the undeclared work. Defined as “any paid activities that are lawful as regards their nature but not declared to public authorities, taking account differences in the regulatory systems of the Member States”, undeclared work represents a […]
Yesterday, the European Parliament discussed the European Commission’s plan to tackle the corporate tax avoidance, which currently costs European countries between 50 -70 billions in lost revenue a year. New rules are needed to align the tax laws in all 28 EU countries in order to fight aggressive tax practices by large companies efficiently and […]
On Wednesday the European Parliament, convened in Strasbourg, will debate on the British forthcoming in-out referendum. The President of the EC, Jean-Claude Juncker, and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bert Koenders, on the behalf of Dutch Presidency of the EU, will participate in the talks. Last week, Cameron was in Brussels to meet with […]
