European Union

If an organisation breaks EU lobby rules, it should not be able to continue accessing policy-makers in Brussels. That requires a comprehensive “no registration, no meeting” rule, which the Parliament and Council seem unwilling to adopt, and until they do so, the Commission will not extend it internally, writes Margarida Silva.

The aim of this proposal is to improve access to work-life balance arrangements, such as leave and flexible working arrangements for parents and carers.

The Council agreed its negotiating position (general approach) on the directive on transparent and predictable working conditions.

On 21 June 2018, the Eurogroup commemorated its first meeting 20 years ago in Luxembourg.

The EU and Armenia issued a joint press statement on the occasion of the 1st meeting of the Partnership Council held in Brussels on 21 June 2018.

On 21 June 2018, the Council adopted a directive that will require EU member states to carry out a proportionality test before establishing new requirements for professions.

The directive aims at ensuring fair wages and a level playing field between posting and local companies in the host country whilst maintaining the principle of free movement of services.

The Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) ruled on Thursday (21 June) that Germany had breached EU law by allowing an excessive use of manure as a fertiliser, thus violating the limits set out in the EU’s nitrates directive which aims to reduce water pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s opponents from left and right have contested the recently signed agreement between France and Germany for the creation of a budget for the euro area in 2021. EURACTIV.fr reports.

The member states are expected to vote next week on whether to open accession talks with Albania, as the Commission has recommended. The Balkan country has made progress in improving the rule of law but its EU prospects remain vague as several EU capitals have called for caution in planning the bloc's next enlargement.

Europe’s river-dwelling creatures are threatened by traces of cocaine in some of the continent’s most well-known rivers, according to a new study. Migratory animals like the eel are particularly at risk.

EU nationals living in the UK will have until June 2021 to apply for permanent residency at a cost of £65 per person, under a proposed scheme unveiled on Thursday (21 June).

EU states at the Council level this week decided not to confirm some EU asylum reforms because they want them signed off as a single package. There are seven such reforms under discussion. Of those, the council had discussed this week the qualification regulations, the reception conditions directive, and an EU resettlement agreement. An EU source said they prefer treating the files "as a package".

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The EU has forged constructive political dialogue with members of the Cooperation Council for Arab States of the Gulf (GCC). These countries are Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the UAE. The Cooperation Agreement, which was concluded in 1988, forms the basis for the relationship that aims at: strengthening the stability in the strategically important region; facilitating the political and economic relations; broadening economic and technical cooperation; further broadening cooperation on energy, industry, trade and services, agriculture, fisheries, investment, science, technology and environment. Cooperation between universities, business and the media also form part of the EU-GCC agenda.

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We should stop focusing on economy over health when it comes to pesticides, said MEP Eric Andrieu, the president of the PEST committee in the European Parliament. But in the case of toxic copper, he urged member states to keep in mind that the viability of organic winery is at stake and that alternatives to copper are very limited.

Germany turns out to be a major beneficiary of Greece’s debt crisis as it earned a total of €2.9 billion between 2010 and 2017. This emerges from a response of the Federal ministry of finance in Berlin to a parliamentary request from the Greens (Bündnis90/Die Grünen) in the German Bundestag obtained by EURACTIV.

The United States has terminated its membership of the UN Human Rights Council. Washington has justified its decision by saying that the Council is prejudiced - especially against Israel. Some commentators criticise the decision as a further step towards American isolation, while others show understanding for the move.