European Union

What are the goals of the new EU Environment Action Plan to 2030 and what has to be done to achieve them?

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

"In the context of the exponential growth of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the President of the European Parliament has announced a number of measures to contain the spread of epidemic and to safeguard Parliament's core activities.

The current precautionary measures adopted by the European Parliament to contain the spread of COVID-19 do not affect work on legislative priorities. Core activities are reduced, but maintained to ensure that the institution's legislative, budgetary, scrutiny functions are maintained.

The meetings will be with remote participation for Members (being able to view and listen to proceedings, ask for the floor and intervene in the meeting). Other participants are invited to follow the meeting through webstreaming.

Following these decisions, the next ordinary AFET Committee meetings will take place on 14-15 July (via videoconference).

EP Calendar 2021
AFET-SEDE-DROI meetings
Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

Thousands of Europeans were keen to buy fake electronic certificates about their vaccination status and fake vaccines, according to Italian police, who broke up a cyber-crime marketplace over the weekend. Prices ranged from €110 to €130 for an "all inclusive" package of fake pass and fake vial of vaccine. "Anyone found with these fake certificates, including buyers, risks ... offences punishable by up to six years," Italian police said.

Four people were found dead on Sunday as a huge fire raged for a second day in Cyprus, razing tracts of forest and gutting dozens of homes in a blaze one official called the worst on record, Reuters reports. "Its one of the most destructive [fires] we have experienced, unfortunately, with victims," Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades told reporters from the area. The state would support all those affected, he said.

The EU is planning to tax high-polluting aviation fuels in a new package of climate-change measures due out on 14 July, Reuters writes. An aviation-fuel exemption "is not coherent with the present climate challenges and policies", the draft paper said. The minimum EU-wide tax for aircraft fuels used on trips inside Europe was to be phased in over 10 years, it added, without giving a figure for the final amount.

French health minister Olivier Veran warned Sunday that the 'Delta variant' of coronavirus was sweeping through his country. "For five days, [the infection rate] hasn't come down - it's rising again. Because of the Delta variant, which is very contagious. The British example shows that a fourth wave is possible from the end of July," he said. "We must move even faster [on vaccination]," he added.

Former Polish prime minister and EU Council president Donald Tusk has made a comeback into national politics, by taking his over his former political party, the centre-right Civic Platform opposition party. "The evil that PiS is performing is evident, shameless and permanent. It's happening every day, in almost every matter," he said in a speech in. Warsaw Saturday, referring to the ruling and nationalist-populist Law and Justice (PiS) party.

The EU will have to hit harder at Belarus' top company, Belaruskali, to influence the regime, its own workers have said.

Slovenia will give special attention to the discussion on the Western Balkan integration into the EU during the six months that it will hold the presidency of the EU Council, its prime minister Janez Janša said.

The European Parliament will debate in Strasbourg the breaches of EU law and of the rights of LGBTIQ people in Hungary, and adopt resolutions on the issues.

In the context of the exponential growth of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the President of the European Parliament has announced a number of measures to contain the spread of epidemic and to safeguard Parliament's core activities.

The current precautionary measures adopted by the European Parliament to contain the spread of COVID-19 do not affect work on legislative priorities. Core activities are reduced, but maintained to ensure that the institution's legislative, budgetary, scrutiny functions are maintained.

The meetings will be with remote participation for Members (being able to view and listen to proceedings, ask for the floor and intervene in the meeting). Other participants are invited to follow the meeting through webstreaming.

Following these decisions, the next meetings of the Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE) will take place on 12 and 13 July 2021 (online).
The meeting agenda and documents will be published here.

SEDE meetings' calendar 2021
EP calendar 2021
Press release: Sahel: Security situation from the African perspective - 12 April 2021
Press release: MEPs quizzed the head of the IAEA about nuclear non-proliferation - 16 March 2021
Press release: Exchange of views with the NATO Secretary General - 15 March 2021
Press release: Instability in the Central African Republic - 24 February 2021
Press release: Chair of the Security and Defence Subcommittee welcomes extension of the New START Treaty - 5 February 2021
Press release: MEPs to discuss security and defence priorities with Minister Gomes Cravinho - 28 January 2021
Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

AMENDMENTS 1 - 347 - Draft report The persecution of minorities on the grounds of belief or religion
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Karol Karski

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

The rights of LGBTIQ people in Hungary, the Slovenian presidency’s priorities and rule of law are some of the topics on Parliament’s agenda at the 5-8 July plenary session.

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

Plenary session, Strasbourg

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

Newsletter - 5-8 July 2021 - Strasbourg plenary session

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

Length of video : 7'29''

Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

The European Parliament’s and political groups’ spokespersons will hold a briefing on the 5-8 July plenary session on Friday at 11.00.

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

The budget conditionality regulation does not require any additional clarification to be applied and rule of law breaches must be addressed without delay, say MEPs.
Committee on Budgets
Committee on Budgetary Control

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

The past week has seen two important grace periods extended.

These periods have been used in both the TCA and WA to allow the UK and EU enough time to make necessary preparations for full implementation, or that is at least the EU’s line.

The less-remarked of the two has been the granting of data adequacy to the UK’s rules for a four-year period to 28 June 2025, meaning that data can continue to move freely across the border. However, this has come with an unprecedented sunset clause and explicit powers to revoke it should the UK change those rules, which currently remain much as they were during membership.

As such, the discussion about reforming the UK’s regime might well end up bringing adequacy back to the table sooner rather than later.

The more-remarked was yesterday’s confirmation of a three-month extension to the chilled meat products exemption for Northern Ireland (UK declaration and EU response). This is problematic in different ways from data, in that the issue has been a failure by the UK to make conspicuous movement towards full implementation and the concern that this extension might be a prelude to an effort to get a semi-permanent delay to that occurring.

As a result, the EU’s comments on conditions and expectations are worth noting.

In a sense, both cases highlight the difficult road that this relationship is following. The degrading of trust during and following negotiations leads the EU to be very attentive to compliance, even as it makes efforts to avoid looking too inflexible. In that regard, the bundling of the chilled meats extension with other work on flexibility on the Protocol is as important, even if still most promissory.

For the UK, the almost permanently aggravating behaviour of the fist half of 2021 has soften a bit. The decision to ask for the chilled meat extension, rather than just announcing one, counts as a win here. Likewise, the signing of a bilateral agreement with Germany on security points to other paths for showing good faith is possible.

However, this path will be a very long one. There are clear issues with all the remaining grace periods, plus the negotiations and reviews, in the coming six months, not least the operationalising of the new format for fisheries quotas to be completed by New Year.

And that’s not even getting into the end of the application period for EU nationals to acquire Settled Status in the UK and the scope for removals.

One swallow doesn’t make a summer, as they say.

PDF: https://bit.ly/UshGraphic65

 

The post Further grace periods appeared first on Ideas on Europe.

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
further to Questions for Oral Answer B9-0000/2021 and B9-0000/2021
pursuant to Rule 136(5) of the Rules of Procedure
on the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime (EU Magnitsky Act)
(2021/2563(RSP))
David McAllister, Maria Arena
on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP