European Union

According to data put out by the Russian Statistics Service 22.6 percent of Russian households aren't connected to a sewer system, most of them in rural areas. Russian commentators are divided about how vital an achievement modern toilets are.

The debate in the EU on responsible business conduct has evolved significantly in the past 5 years. Before the European elections in May, it is time to take stock of where the EU is.

EU commissioners are touring Europe to reach out to citizens ahead of the May elections - but some are also running for office. Frans Timmermans visited Leiden in his native Netherlands, but managed to not mention his own party once.

Plenary and committee meetings, Brussels

Source : © European Union, 2019 - EP

British prime minister Theresa May has gambled on talks with opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn to avoid a no-deal Brexit - but risked a party rebellion to do so.

Switzerland, where gun culture has deep roots, has managed to avoid the charged national debates over firearm ownership that have consumed other countries.

Written by Clare Ferguson,

European Union, EP

The first item on Parliament’s agenda in April is – unsurprisingly given the paralysis in the United Kingdom regarding which direction to take on Brexit – Council and Commission statements on the United Kingdom withdrawal from the EU. The agreement, endorsed at EU leaders’ level back in November, would ensure an orderly UK withdrawal from the EU at the end of the Article 50 extension period. Alongside that agreement, the political declaration sets out the main parameters of the future EU-UK relationship, but this is no closer to finding approval in the UK Parliament. The statements on Brexit are followed on Wednesday afternoon with the penultimate debate in the series on the Future of Europe, this time with the Prime Minister of Sweden, Stefan Löfven.

On Wednesday evening, Parliament will debate a text agreed in trilogue on applying internal market rules to gas pipelines entering the EU from countries outside the EU. With ongoing controversy over the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, the tightened rules will ensure that, while the EU Member State on which such a pipeline arrives is responsible for the application of EU law, the Commission will have to authorise negotiations on such projects, must be kept informed of their progress and must authorise the signature of any such agreement.

Parliament will then decide whether to grant approval to a Multiannual plan for the fisheries exploiting demersal stocks in the western Mediterranean Sea, which aims to protect vulnerable stocks of fish and crustaceans living on the sea bottom from over-exploitation. The plan involves Italy, Spain and France cooperating to ensure that their fishing fleets’ activities are sustainable.

Later on Wednesday evening, Members will also vote on a proposal to curb the fraudulent use of EU citizens’ identity and residence documents, of which there are many different types in circulation. Parliament’s Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee wishes to strengthen the proposal so that all Member States recognise EU national identity cards, that there are clear rules on validity, and that only authorised staff may handle the biometric identifiers involved. The changes should make it harder for criminals and terrorists to use EU identity papers.

Following Council and Commission statements on EU-China trade relations, a joint debate will be held on Wednesday night on customs in the EU. The final file on the agenda on Wednesday is that of road infrastructure safety management, where proposals to improve safety have been made with the aim of reducing fatalities and serious injury on EU roads. Parliament will decide whether to formally adopt the text agreed with Council. On Thursday lunchtime, Members are expected to return to the transport-related files debated during the last plenary session, to vote on the proposals on rules for posted workers in the road transport sector and on working conditions for drivers.

On Thursday morning, Members will debate two files with a direct effect on EU citizens’ lives. The first is a provisional agreement on the proposal to create a pan-European personal pension product (PEPP) – a new framework for voluntary pension contributions aiming to tackle the shortfall in pension provision in our ageing society. The PEPPs are expected to offer greater choice in savings plans, including a switching service and a default option with a guaranteed return of at least the sums contributed. The file is also the subject of a vote on the tax treatment of pension products, scheduled for Thursday afternoon. The second proposal, on work-life balance for parents and carers is a proposal to redress the gender balance in the workplace. Introducing a right to two weeks paternity leave, while maintaining current maternity leave arrangements, the work-life balance package aims at permitting parents and carers the flexibility to care for their family by affording greater choice in who takes a break

The data economy is a top EU priority under the digital single market. On Thursday lunchtime, Members will vote on an agreement to improve access to valuable existing public sector information, such as land registries and statistics that can be used to help grow the economy, or develop artificial intelligence, and help administrations themselves to face the challenges of modern society. The four main changes proposed include making the data available in real time, making re-use of documents free of charge or at limited cost, preventing exclusive arrangements that favour commercial companies, and increasing the supply of high-value public data.

The president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, on Tuesday in Rome urged its coalition government to do more to boost Italy's ailing economy. "I hope that the Italian authorities will make additional efforts to keep economic growth alive," he said. Rome is set to present its economic forecasts on 10 April, after an earlier clash with the EU commission over proposed budget deficit spending.

Facebook's chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday told Irish national broadcaster RTE that the company cannot guarantee a European election in May without any outside interference. "I don't think anyone can guarantee in a world where you have nation states that are trying to interfere in elections, there's no single thing we can do and say okay we've now solved the issue," he said.

France is set to overshoot the EU's deficit limit this year following a €10bn stimulus package announced in December by president Emmanuel Macron to help quell the 'yellow vest' protests. France's finance ministry on Wednesday now forecasts the country's deficit will rise to 3.2 percent of gross domestic product, above the EU's 3.0 percent limit.

Germany's government said greenhouse emissions in 2018 dropped by 4.2 percent, the largest drop since 2009. Warmer weather and more expensive fossil fuels were behind the fall, it said. NGOs such as Greenpeace criticised the lack of German government policy behind the emissions drop. "A warm winter cannot substitute successful climate policy. Germans simply used their heating less," said Greenpeace.

A preferential UK tax scheme designed to attract multinational companies partially violated EU state aid rules, the European Commission concluded on Tuesday (2 April), calling on British authorities to recover the undue tax breaks, only a few days away from Brexit.  

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (2 April) his pressure on NATO nations to pay more for their defence is leading to tens of billions of dollars more in contributions, but the allies may need to boost their budgets even more.

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Mainstream political groups, such as the EPP and S&D, are going to have to kick out their illiberal members.