European Union

Poland's Supreme Court said on Thursday (2 August) said it was suspending the forced early retirement of judges over the age of 65, and judges who want to should stay in place until EU's top court decides whether measures that will effectively allow the government to choose the court's staff breach EU law.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said Thursday it is conducting a review of the health effects on patients of a widely used blood pressure medication recalled around the world last month.

After a widely shared video of guards beating an inmate shocked the country, Alexander Zarechnev is one of a growing number of Russians to break their silence over violence and torture in Russian prisons.

British Prime Minister Theresa May heads to President Emmanuel Macron's "summer Elysee Palace" on the Mediterranean coast on Friday, seeking to soften resistance to a Brexit plan which has upended her government while failing to win over sceptical EU negotiators.

Asylum and refugee policies came in second-to-last in the list of seven choices in terms of importance for Germans in a poll carried out by Infratest-Dimap "Germany Trend" poll for August. Only 39 percent rated it as "very important", compared to 97 percent for health care and care for the elderly, 95 percent for pensions and social benefits, and 90 percent for crime.

The British prime minister is meeting French president Macron in his seaside retreat. She will try to convince him that her plans for EU-UK relations are "mutually beneficial".

The EU and China are more on the same page when it comes to Iran, climate change and preserving the UN system than with the US.

The Spanish island of Mallorca has declared Matteo Salvini, Italy's far-right interior minister, persona non grata given his attacks against immigrants and minority groups like the Roma. A motion put forward by left-wing Podemos party to not welcome Salvini was approved by local authorities. A Podemos spokesperon told local media that Salvini was "distilling a very serious and worrisome xenophobia and an obvious disregard for human life and dignity."

With European elections coming up in May 2019, you probably want to know how the European Union impacts your daily life, before you think about voting. In the latest in a series of posts on what Europe does for you, your family, your business and your wellbeing, we look at what Europe does for breastfeeding mothers.

If you recently gave birth and are breastfeeding your baby, you may be wondering how you are going to reconcile the need to go back to work with the desire to continue breastfeeding. As mother’s milk is known to be very important for infants, the EU supports breastfeeding, including in the workplace, by means of legislation, information campaigns, and funding for projects and research.

Twitter Hashtag #EUandME

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EU law forbids discrimination against breastfeeding mothers, especially in the work place. Their health and safety is the highest priority and EU countries must comply with minimum standards. If working conditions could harm the breastfeeding mother, the employer must adjust them to ensure her well-being. If that is not possible, she must be given leave. EU law also gives protection against night work for a period following childbirth. All the while, the mother’s employment rights must be upheld.

Although there has been a significant progress regarding the protection of breastfeeding mothers on their return to work, there is room for improvement. The EU is currently working on more detailed rules to facilitate successful transitions between maternity leave and employment, including breastfeeding facilities at the work place and breaks during working hours. The EU believes that mother-friendly practices and child welfare should be a public health priority across Europe.

Further information

• EPRS publication on work-life balance, 2018, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document.html?reference=EPRS_BRI%282018%29614708
• EU-funded “Together” Pilot project for pregnant and breastfeeding women, https://ec.europa.eu/health/sites/health/files/nutrition_physical_activity/docs/ev_20151211_ag_en.pdf
• EU legislation on the safety and health at work of workers who are pregnant, have recently given birth or are breastfeeding, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:01992L0085-20140325
• EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service: www.epthinktank.eu

EUobserver has obtained internal documents and emails from within the European Commission that outline questionable contracts with outside suppliers who appear to be overcharging for goods and services.

Britain and the EU can have a trade agreement of unprecedented scope after Brexit if each retains control over their laws and there is a deal how to avoid a physical border in Northern Ireland, a top EU official said.

European equities markets were in the red on Thursday as trade war fears ratcheted higher after the United States said it was looking at more than doubling threatened tariffs on a range of Chinese imports.

Facebook has deleted 32 purportedly fake pages and accounts in an attempt to prevent manipulation in the run-up to the US midterm elections. The origin of the pages remains unclear. The social network compared the process with the presumed Russian interference in the US presidential elections in 2016. Can FB get the problem under control?

The French government has lowered the speed limit on two-lane motorways from 90 to 80 km/h in a bid to reduce the number of accidents and fatalities. Austria, meanwhile, is racing in the other direction: the government in Vienna wants to raise the speed limit on motorways from 130 to 140 km/h. Commentators agree that slow is the way to go.