EU Legislation, Initiatives, etc.
EU News: A Eurozone financial transaction tax would not only curb high-frequency and intermediary traders, but could even boost overall GDP, said financial experts at an Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee hearing last Monday. MEPs also reiterated their support for the idea, although some said that the Commission proposal needs more fine tuning.
Parliament will provide an official opinion to the Commission proposal. The draft report is to be presented in March 2012 with a committee vote tentatively scheduled for April and a plenary one for May.
EU News: A draft law to strengthen the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) was approved by Industry, Research and Energy Committee MEPs last Monday.
The new proposal would extend & strengthen ENISA's mandate to help the EU, Member States and private stakeholders develop their capabilities & preparedness to prevent, detect & respond to network and information security problems & incidents.
The new proposal would extend & strengthen ENISA's mandate to help the EU, Member States and private stakeholders develop their capabilities & preparedness to prevent, detect & respond to network and information security problems & incidents.
EU News: Since the presentation of its proposal for the next multi-annual financial framework (MFF) last June, the Commission has proposed over 120 changes to ‘simplify the rules governing EU funding for Small and Medium Enterprises, towns and regions, students, scientists and others’.
Last week's communication ‘A simplification agenda for the 2014-2020 MFF’ brings them altogether in one single document. The key question now is whether the European Parliament and the Member States are ready to make the life of EU funds' beneficiaries easier by reducing the administrative burden on them.
EU News: Foundations pursue objectives benefiting the public at large. Their activities focus on areas that are important for European citizens & the European economy. However, differences between & obstacles in national laws often make the conduct of their cross-border activities costly & cumbersome.
The Commission has presented recently a proposal for a European Foundation Statute to make it easier for foundations to support public benefit causes across the EU.
EU News: New EU rules for ‘organic wine’ have been agreed in the Standing Committee on Organic Farming (SCOF), and will be published in the Official Journal in the coming weeks.
With the new regulation, which will apply from the 2012 harvest, organic wine growers will be allowed to use the term ‘organic wine’ on their labels. Wine is the one remaining sector not fully covered by the EU rules on organic farming standards under Regulation 834/2007.
With the new regulation, which will apply from the 2012 harvest, organic wine growers will be allowed to use the term ‘organic wine’ on their labels. Wine is the one remaining sector not fully covered by the EU rules on organic farming standards under Regulation 834/2007.
EU News: The European Union is at risk of missing its 2020 targets to ‘reduce the number of early-school leavers and increase the share of students completing tertiary education’, according to a report. The crisis is severely affecting young people, with youth unemployment above 40% in some Member States.
The joint EU Council-Commission report, entitled ‘Education and Training in a smart, sustainable and inclusive Europe’ shows that quality education is a key factor in preventing unemployment, by providing young people with the skills & qualifications needed to find a job.
The Commission's proposed new programme for education, training & youth, Erasmus for All, responds to this need by opening up more opportunities for young people & teachers to increase their personal development and skills.
The Commission's proposed new programme for education, training & youth, Erasmus for All, responds to this need by opening up more opportunities for young people & teachers to increase their personal development and skills.
EU News: A 2-year reprieve for the EU's ‘Food for the needy’ programme, on which 18m of the EU's most deprived people rely, has been backed by the Agriculture Committee.
EU News: The European Commission and the US has solved one of their most longstanding WTO disputes concerning the US calculation practice of so-called 'zeroing' in anti-dumping investigations.
TUC: Attempts to undermine the employment rights of working people in the face of massive austerity could lead to the European Union losing the support of its citizens, the TUC and Foreign Policy Centre (FPC) told the EU Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs Laszlo Andor last week at an event to launch a new joint pamphlet.
The Single Market, Equal Rights? pamphlet - a series of essays by academics, trade unionists & business representatives - includes the argument that recent European Court of Justice (ECJ) cases and the eurozone crisis have left the single market unbalanced, with common laws & systems for business, but inconsistent rules on workers' rights.
EU News: European Health & Consumer Policy Commissioner John Dalli has called on Member States for immediate action to be taken at national level to ensure full & stringent implementation of the current legislation on medical devices. He has outlined his proposals for a joint plan of immediate measures in a letter written to the EU's Health ministers, asking for their full co-operation in beginning work without delay.
