European Union

The EU executive rejected a report by the Court of Auditors that said its monitoring of fiscal policies was too lax and failed to produce results.

The UK finally revealed its hand on Thursday, publishing a 104-page White Paper that looks awfully like continued membership of the single market and customs union. Just don’t call it that, whatever you do.

In the wake of two cabinet resignations on the issue, UK government publishes its long-awaited vision for the future relationship with the EU, which would revolve around a free trade agreement on goods, but would end free movement.

The UK outlined plans for a Ukraine-style association agreement with the EU on Thursday (12 July) as it published its long-awaited White Paper on relations with the EU after Brexit.

The ocean provides us with everything we need: food, oxygen, inspiration and jobs. It also regulates the climate. Despite its vital importance, between 4.8 and 12 million tons of plastic enter the ocean every year.

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Together, the EU and the USA have the largest bilateral trade and investment relationship in the world, roughly 31% of the world trade and over 49% of the world GDP. In keeping with the evolving political and legal personality of the EU, there is active cooperation across a host of sectors: cooperation in justice and home affairs, energy and energy security, environment, science & technology, education & training. On 14 June 2013, the Council of the European Union adopted negotiating directives  for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the US.

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Austria's far-right interior minister Herbert Kickl on Thursday told reporters following a meeting with counterparts from other EU states that "many" supported the idea of setting up migrant return centres outside the EU. "We discussed this idea, many member states think that this would make sense, that this would increase the scope of what we can do with rejected asylum applications," he said.

The world community has taken action against climate change but it must "triple its efforts" to reduce emissions and Europe needs to take the lead, COP21 President Laurent Fabius said ahead of the crucial United Nations’ annual conference (COP24) in December.

Greens in the European Parliament have filed a formal complaint to the EU Ombudsman over the refusal by the Commission and Council to publish minutes of meetings relating to the 'Dieselgate' scandal over faked vehicle emission tests. MEP Bas Eickhout called it "unacceptable" that members of the key emissions in the automotive sector committee were denied access to documents beyond a closed reading room and promise of secrecy.

A European Union court on Thursday (12 July) dismissed a case brought by Austria against EU-approved subsidies for a new nuclear power plant in Britain.

A German court ruled Thursday (12 July) that deposed Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont may be extradited to Spain, but only for alleged corruption and not on the more serious charge of rebellion.

Orphaned children's faces in Libyan detention camps tell story of urgent "humanitarian crisis", which has been mislabelled as a "migration crisis" by EU leaders.

Following the shock resignations of both Boris Johnson and David Davies over the Prime Minister's Chequers proposals, Environment Secretary Michael Gove has re-affirmed that environmental standards will not "slip lower" than those of the EU post-Brexit. EURACTIV's media partner edie.net reports.

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday (12 July) he was able to squeeze an additional $33 to 40 billion for defence from his allies and, as a result, was delighted that NATO had become “much much stronger” in two days.

The UK government published Thursday its contentious white paper on Britain's future relationship with the EU . It proposes a free trade area for goods with "a new facilitated-customs arrangement" to ensure "no tariffs on any goods", as well as a dispute-resolution mechanism. It wants the UK to stay free "to chart its own path in the areas that matter most for its economy," mainly services and digital.

The European Commission cut expected EU growth for this year by 0.2% compared to its forecast less than three months ago, as output was weaker than expected during the first semester and external risks, especially the trade war, are on the rise.

As the European elections and the change of Commission loom next year, the Commission is in a hurry to get its last proposals out and parliamentarians are keen to complete their scrutiny before the campaign trail beckons, writes Christian Verschueren.

Written by Krisztina Binder, graphics: Giulio Sabbati,

© chris / Fotolia

Negotiations on an EU-Japan trade agreement were officially launched in March 2013. Following the political agreement in principle reached in July 2017, a final accord on the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) was announced in December 2017. On 18 April 2018, the European Commission proposed to the Council of the European Union to sign and conclude the agreement. The Commission expects that the EU-Japan EPA can be signed in July 2018, and aims to have the agreement come into effect before the end of its mandate in 2019, following approval by the Council and the European Parliament.

The EU-Japan EPA will establish a free trade area with a combined market of around 640 million consumers that accounts for roughly a third of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP). The 2016 Trade Sustainability Impact Assessment (Trade SIA) of the agreement indicated that EU exports to Japan could rise by up to 34 %, and according to a more recent Commission estimate, European companies would save up to €1 billion in customs duties per year as a result of the EU-Japan EPA.

In addition to exploiting the untapped potential of bilateral trade, the agreement is also of strategic importance, conveying a strong message of the parties’ commitment to promoting a free and fair trading system based on rules, and to reject trade protectionism.

Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and Japan, of the other part Committee responsible: International Trade (INTA) Rapporteur: Pedro Silva Pereira (S&D, Portugal)

Read the complete briefing on ‘International Agreements in Progress – EU-Japan trade agreement: a driver for closer cooperation beyond trade‘ on the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

US president Donald Trump said Nato member states agreed to further increase defence spending after reportedly threatening to pull out of the alliance. "I let them know that I was extremely unhappy," he told journalists on Thursday. Trump had said earlier that he wanted allies to spend 4 percent of GDP on defence. French president Emmanuel Macron later denied that allies agreed to go beyond the current 2-percent target.

European Commissioner for Social Affairs, Marianne Thyssen, (CD & V) will end her political career upon completing the current mandate in Brussels, after 28 years of involvement in European politics.