European Union

European commissioner Vera Jourova, responsible for data protection, has told US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross America needs to finally appoint a permanent ombudsman, to deal with complaints from Europeans whose data is processed by American firms. The ombudsman is a requirement of the EU-US Privacy Shield agreement. Jourova said in a letter, seen by the FT, that there is "little reason for the delay" and set an October deadline.

A Downing Street spokesman has denied press reports that the British army would need to be deployed on the day the UK leaves the EU in a 'no-deal' scenario, to distribute fuel, food, and medicines. "There are no plans to involve the army in this," the prime minister's office said on Monday, adding that it is in both the UK's and the EU's interest to secure a deal.

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 people who exercise outdoors.

You do not need to be a member of a gym to exercise. City streets, parks and green belt areas offer plenty of space to walk, run, practise yoga or do other bodyweight exercises. We cannot influence the weather, but there are other ways in which the public space can be made more inviting for people who want to exercise outdoors. One is by offering more and better purpose-built facilities, such as protected cycle paths, athletics tracks, pull-up bars and outdoor ice skating rinks. The other is by improving air quality, which can be a significant disincentive to exercising outdoors in urban centres.

Twitter Hashtag #EUandME

© baranq / Fotolia

Local and national authorities take the urban planning decisions that shape facilities in public parks and the space given to walkers and cyclists, but the EU does influence those decisions by promoting greener urban planning through sustainable urban transport plans, including by handing out annual prizes and offering detailed guidance on how to improve city transport networks, step by step. The EU’s urban air quality standards are among the strictest in the world, allowing less than half as much nitrogen dioxide as the US or Canada. By encouraging people to switch to exercise-intensive transportation like cycling, and by attracting people outside with cleaner air, the EU is helping people who want to exercise outdoors.

Further information

• EPRS publication on cleaner air for Europe, 2017, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2017/603237/EPRS_BRI(2017)603237_EN.pdf
• EPRS publication on moving cycling forward, 2016 http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/IDAN/2016/582033/EPRS_IDA(2016)582033_EN.pdf
• EPRS publication on EU sport policy, 2015 http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/IDAN/2015/565908/EPRS_IDA(2015)565908_EN.pdf
• EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service: www.epthinktank.eu

A no-deal Brexit is not an option for Britain’s car industry, given the costs and disruption that carmakers and consumers would suffer, the head of the country’s automobile industry group said today (31 July). Mike Hawes, chief executive of the...

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt will visit Paris and Vienna this week to discuss Brexit and warn of the costs to Britain and the European Union of failing to reach a transition deal, his office said on Tuesday.

Romanian police on Monday confiscated the number plates and driving licence of a man who registered his car in Sweden with letters featuring an obscene insult to the left-wing ruling party.

Agriculture will be part of the negotiations between the United States and the European Union, whether Brussels wants to discuss it or not, US Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said Monday (30 July).

Macedonia's parliament yesterday (30 July) set 30 September as the date for a referendum on changing the country's name to the Republic of North Macedonia, a high-stakes vote aimed at resolving a long-running row with Greece and clearing the path to join NATO and the EU.

US President Donald Trump traded smiles, handshakes and compliments with Italy's populist leader Giuseppe Conte Monday (30 July), as the two rightists presented a united front on everything from Russia to immigration.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has included Morroco's pending demands of resources for border management, in a letter addressed to the European Commission requesting further emergency assistance to tackle the surge in migrant arrivals.

The Council has extended the mandate of the EU training mission until 19 September 2020 and expanded its scope.

The Council extended the mandate of EUNAVFOR Somalia Operation Atalanta until 31 December 2020. It relocated the OHQ to Rota (Spain) and the MSCHOA to Brest France, and appointed Vice Admiral Antonio Martorell Lacave as new Operation Commander as of 29 March 2019.

The meeting of the European Council will take place on 18 October 2018 in the Europa building in Brussels. The press centre is located in the Justus Lipsius building.

The headquarters of the EU’s anti-piracy missions off the coast of Somalia will be moved from the UK to France and Spain next year as the latest consequence of Brexit.

Written by Agnieszka Widuto (1st edition),

© Thomas Reimer / Fotolia

The European Commission adopted the proposal on the establishment of the Reform Support Programmeon 31 May 2018, as part of the package for the upcoming multiannual financial framework for 2021-2027. The programme will provide financial and technical support for Member States to implement reforms aimed at increasing the resilience and modernising their economies, including priority reforms identified in the European Semester.

The overall budget for the programme is €25 billion. It comprises three elements: a reform delivery tool (financial support); a Technical Support Instrument (technical expertise, building on the current Structural Reform Support Programme 2017-2020); and a convergence facility (preparation for adopting the euro). The Reform Support Programme will be open to all Member States on a voluntary basis, with no co-financing required.

In the European Parliament, the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) and Committee on Budgets (BUDG) will work jointly on this file under Rule 55 of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure. The next step is the publication of the draft report, expected in autumn 2018.

Versions:

• July 2018: Reform Support Programme 2021 2027 (1st edition)

Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment of the Reform Support Programme Committees responsible:

Rapporteurs:

 

  Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) and Budgets (BUDG) (jointly under Rule 55)

Caroline Nagtegaal (ALDE, the Netherlands)

Eider Gardiazabal Rubial (S&D, Spain)

  COM(2018) 391 of 31.5.2018

2018/0213 (COD)

Ordinary legislative procedure (COD) (Parliament and Council on equal footing – formerly ‘co-decision’) Next steps expected: Publication of draft report

 

EU states have decided to move the HQ of their Atalanta anti-piracy mission from the UK to Spain and France due to Brexit.

While Twitter and EU bubble publications are flooded with photos of protesting crowds and "chains of light" in front of the presidential palace, the Law and Justice-controlled senate has adopted a law restructuring the electoral code for 2019's European elections.

The Macedonian parliament adopted on Monday the question for the referendum on 30 September on the agreement with Greece about the country's name: "Are you in favour of European Union and NATO membership by accepting the agreement between the Republic of Macedonia and the Republic of Greece?" Under the agreement, signed in June, the country's official name will be North Macedonia.

The implementation of a 2016 cybersecurity directive - meant to protect vital services - is facing delays.

Acceleration of technological development provides huge opportunities for qualified employees. In an interview with EURACTIV Poland, Christian Bodewig from the World Bank Group explains how non-routine skills and competences not yet possessed by machines become increasingly relevant.