European Union

On 20 June 2018, the Coreper (the EU's committee of permanent representatives) endorsed an agreement on a draft regulation to establish a single digital gateway to provide access to online information and procedures, assistance and problem solving services to citizens and companies.

On 20 June 2018, the Coreper endorsed an agreement between the Council and the European Parliament on new measures to bring the enforcement of competition rules in line with the digital age and to tackle illegal competition practices in the EU.

A meeting between Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron was meant to foster a breakthrough on possible eurozone reforms. But the declaration brokered on Tuesday (19 June) is full of language that leaves a lot of room for interpretation. EURACTIV Germany reports.

The Macedonian parliament ratified on Wednesday an agreement signed last Saturday with Greece that ended a 27-year dispute of the name of the country. The main opposition VMRO-DPMNE party boycotted the vote. Under the deal, the country will be named 'North Macedonia' and will renounce irredentist claims on the Greek Macedonia region, but a Macedonian language and ethnicity will be recognised by Greece.

Millions are fleeing war or persecution worldwide. As we commemorate their strength and courage on World Refugee Day, we try to be calm quoting the record high number of 68.5 million displaced people – 3 million higher than the total population of the UK – 25.4 million refugees, 40 million internally displaced and 3.1 million asylum seekers, writes Luca Jahier.

The European Commission on Wednesday (20 June) adopted counter-measures in response to US steel and aluminium tariffs Brussels deems illegal. The EU will begin charging import duties of 25 percent on selected US products, such as jeans and motorbikes, starting Friday. The EU will put duties on €2.8bn-worth of US products, some chosen to target the states of Republicans who are facing elections in November.

The European Commission will hold an informal working meeting with EU leaders on migration and asylum issues on 24 June in a bid to find a European solution to the refugees crisis at the EU summit on 28 and 29 June.

Written by Carla Stamegna (1st edition),

© ibreakstock / Fotolia

In 2012, the Commission proposed to recast the 2000 Insolvency Regulation in order to address the cross-border aspects of insolvency in the EU. Adopted in 2015, the recast regulation introduced clear rules on the jurisdiction and law applicable to a debtor’s insolvency proceedings and made mandatory the recognition of those proceedings in other EU Member States. Its remit was expanded to include not only bankruptcy but also hybrid and pre-insolvency proceedings, as well as debt discharges and debt adjustments for natural persons (consumers and sole traders).

In late 2016, as a further step and a follow up to the Insolvency Recommendation of 2014, the Commission proposed to adopt a directive on business restructuring, which would provide new legal tools to rescue viable businesses in distress and give honest but bankrupt entrepreneurs a second chance. The proposal focuses on three key elements: common principles on early restructuring tools, which would help companies to continue operating and preserve jobs; rules to allow entrepreneurs to benefit from a second chance through a discharge of debt; and targeted measures allowing Member States to increase the efficiency of insolvency, restructuring and discharge procedures. The initiative is a key deliverable under the capital markets union action plan. It will also contribute substantially to addressing the high levels of non-performing loans in banks’ balance sheets. The draft report was presented to the Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) in September 2017. In May 2018 the Council reached agreement on part of the proposal.

Versions

• June 2018: ‘New EU insolvency rules give troubled businesses a chance to start anew‘ (1st edition)

Proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on preventive restructuring frameworks, second chance and measures to increase the efficiency of restructuring, insolvency and discharge procedures and amending Directive 2012/30/EU Committee responsible: Legal Affairs (JURI) COM(2016) 723
22.11.2016 Rapporteur: Angelika Niebler (EPP, Germany) 2016/0359(COD) Shadow rapporteurs:

 

  Sergio Gaetano Cofferati (S&D, Italy)
Kosma Złotowski (ECR, Poland)
António Marinho E Pinto (ALDE, Portugal)
Jiří Maštálka (GUE/NGL, Czech Republic)
Joëlle Bergeron (EFDD, France) Ordinary legislative procedure (COD) (Parliament and Council on equal footing – formerly ‘co-decision’) Next steps expected: Vote in committee on the draft report

In theory, the EU policy decision-making process is based on the principal that excellence, independence, accountability and efficiency in science or evidence-based advice should inform political choices.

Europe's reconstruction and development bank is excited about investing in Kazakhstan under the announced third stage of the country’s modernisation, always looking to combine investment with policy reform and technical advice, the head of the bank’s Brussels office said on Tuesday (19 June).

German Chancellor Merkel and French President Macron met on Tuesday at the chancellor's retreat Schloss Meseberg, where they agreed on reforms for the EU - including a Eurozone budget. Commentators note that the meeting was overshadowed by Germany's row over refugee policy, but draw different conclusions as to the impact this will have on the Franco-German motor.

Two positions in Europe's refugee policy appear to be growing increasingly irreconcilable: the appeal for countries to assume humanitarian responsibility on the one hand and the demands for secure borders on the other. The rift is apparent not just across Europe and within individual governments, but also in the commentary sections.