European Union

French president Emmanuel Macron called on Sunday for closer ties between Germany and France, saying Europe "has the obligation not to let the world slip into chaos". Europe must not "become a plaything of great powers," he said in a speech to the German Bundestag, on the annual day of mourning for victims of war, while also urging larger defence spending.

Five members of Theresa May's cabinet are attempting to lobby the prime minister to make amendments to the UK's withdrawal agreement to leave the European Union, while EU ministers will be in Brussels on Monday (19 November) for what the prime minister has termed "an intense week of negotiations".

French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday (18 December) urged a Franco-German push to make Europe a stronger and more confident global player that could prevent "chaos" on the world stage.

Women in Europe are still dying because doctors refuse to perform abortions. Caroline Hickson explains why moral concerns should not stand in the way of the primary goal of any healthcare system, to care for and protect its patients by providing quality care for all.

The deal agreed between the United Kingdom and the European Union has detonated the biggest political dispute in British politics since Neville Chamberlain came back from Munich in 1938 waving a leaf of paper and proclaiming he had won “Peace in our time”, writes Denis MacShane.

Markets for raw materials have recovered from the 2008 financial crash, fuelled by the continued digital transformation of the economy and the rapid deployment of green technologies. Is the world on track for a repeat of the resource boom seen in the early 21st century?

Representatives of the Brazil government and of the Brazil soy supply chain are planning to engage in renewed discussions with EU stakeholders and policy-makers in Brussels this week, writes Nathalie Lecocq.

The European Union first adopted a raw materials strategy in 2008, at a time when commodity prices were at an all-time high and fears were running high of a global scramble for natural resources. The financial crash that followed conveniently swept the issue under the carpet. But this may have only been temporary.

Lignite has been the driving force of the Greek economy for the last six decades and the government intends to keep it that way, even though this most polluting of fuels is now becoming uncompetitive, writes Nikos Mantzaris.

European Union members will have to recycle at least 70% of packaging by 2030, under new rules brokered earlier this year. But there are complex mechanisms behind the recycling curtain and not all countries are ready yet to keep up with the pace.

The EU now has a whole raft of rules, both finalised and pending, geared towards increasing the effectiveness and, perhaps more importantly, profitability of recycling. But beyond the headline targets, how are countries going to stick to the rules?

Those who report corruption, criminal acts and breaches of public trust must be protected, writes Martin Jefflén, who calls for lowering the barriers when it comes to reporting wrongdoing in the corporate sphere.

With European elections coming up in May 2019, you probably want to know how the European Union impacts your daily life, before you think about voting. In the latest in a series of posts on what Europe does for you, your family, your business and your wellbeing, we look at what Europe does for Supporters of value-driven trade policies.

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If you, like many Europeans, are concerned about the impact of EU trade policies on other parts of the world, the EU addresses your concerns in various ways.

© corlaffra / Fotolia

First, the EU often includes rules on sustainable development and human rights in its trade agreements. This supports workers’ rights and environmental objectives in other countries. The EU is also a member of various important conventions that commit it to international cooperation in this area. One example is its membership of the 1973 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, which protects more than 35 000 species of flora and fauna.

The EU also, meanwhile, has its own laws to deal with specific concerns. Since 1996, for example, EU rules on trade in wildlife have determined which animals and plants can be imported and exported. More recently, in 2016, the EU updated legislation banning the export of goods that can be used for capital punishment or torture. This helps prevent EU exports from contributing to human rights violations abroad. In 2017, the EU also adopted new rules to outlaw conflict minerals mined in unstable countries by armed groups and sold on international markets. The EU’s rules aim to halt the abuse of local miners, and prevent conflict minerals from being exported to the EU and ending up on your dressing table. A final example concerns a new law currently being drafted by the EU on the illegal import of cultural goods. It seeks to ensure that unique items that are part of a country’s cultural heritage cannot be exported illegally to the EU to finance criminal activities.

Further information

• EPRS publication on ‘Fighting trade in tools for torture and executions’, 2017 http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2017/599275/EPRS_BRI(2017)599275_EN.pdf
• EPRS publication on ‘Regulating imports of cultural goods’, 2018 http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2018/614697/EPRS_BRI(2018)614697_EN.pdf
• European Commission’s Directorate General for Trade website, http://ec.europa.eu/trade/
• European Commission’s Directorate General for Environment website, http://ec.europa.eu/environment/index_en.htm

The EU issued a declaration on the latest developments in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi.

The European Intervention Initiative (Initiative européenne d'intervention, EI2/IEI) was first proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron in his Sorbonne keynote in September 2017 and nine members signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) to begin work on 25 June 2018. France's motivation to establish this, and other European military projects, is to support its operations in the Sahel which it is struggling to maintain alone.

The ultimate aim of the EI2 is a shared strategic culture that would enhance the ability of its members to act together on missions as part of NATO, the EU, UN or other ad-hoc coalitions. The project is intented to be resource neutral and makes use of existing assets and other joint forces available to members. EI2 seeks for enhanced interaction on intelligence sharing, scenario planning, support operations and doctrine.

Launch
The starting point of the EI2 is the speech on Europe delivered on September 26, 2017 at the Sorbonne by President Macron during which in the field of defense, he "proposes now to try to build this culture. in common, by proposing a European intervention initiative aimed at developing this shared strategic culture. [...] At the beginning of the next decade, Europe will have to have a common intervention force, a common defense budget and a common doctrine to act ". The French will was to constitute a "hard core" ready to act very quickly in case of need as was the case in Mali where France mounted Operation Serval. in a few days. Not all IEI Member States will necessarily participate in each operation.

It is not a matter of creating a new rapid response force prepositioned as it already exists in the framework of NATO (with the NRF) or the CSDP (with the Battlegroups), or bilaterally for example between France and the United Kingdom (with CJEF (in). The means provided will be composed to specifically meet the needs of a crisis.
According to the LoI, the initiative will focus on enhanced interaction in four key areas: strategic foresight and intelligence sharing, scenario development and planning, operations support, and fourth. feedback and doctrine. To this end, the armed forces of the signatory countries will notably carry out exchanges of officers, joint exercises of anticipation and planning, the sharing of doctrines and the writing of joint scenarios of intervention.

The French Armed Forces Staff is responsible for organizing the effective launch of the IEI by holding the first Military European Strategic Talks (MEST) and developing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) here the end of the year 2018.

Ambitions
France's long-term ambition is to create a "common strategic culture". The French Minister of the Armed Forces, Florence Parly, specifies that it is about "developing between countries at the same time militarily capable and politically voluntary" habits "to work together, to be able to prepare, if necessary to be in capacity to intervene, where they decide, at the moment of their decision, on extremely varied scenarios ". German Federal Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen adds that "the aim is to create a forum, with like-minded states, who will analyze situations, who will have discussions early, when crises will manifest themselves in a region, and which, together, will be able to develop a political will".

Participating States
The signatory states on June 25, 2018 of the letter of intent are Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom. Germany is initially reluctant for fear that this new initiative will weaken those taken since 2016 under the CSDP (notably the European Defense Action Plan and Permanent Structured Cooperation). The meeting of the Franco-German Council of Ministers on 19 June at Meseberg Castle, near Berlin, offers a positive response.

Italy participated in the preparatory meetings but the new government formed on 1 June 2018 asked for a reflection period. The participation of the United Kingdom, in the process of withdrawal from the European Union, illustrates the willingness of the British to remain leading partners in European security. Their participation, like that of Danes who are not part of the CSDP, is made possible by the fact that the EI2 is outside the institutional framework of the European Union. Finland confirmed, during the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron in Helsinki on 30 August 2018, its decision taken a few days earlier to join the European intervention initiative and its accession was validated on 7 November 2018 by the nine defense ministers of IEI member countries.

Relationship with PeSCo
The EI2 is the creation of a set of European states as prerequisites for joint operational commitments in various predefined military intervention scenarios. EI2 operationally complements Permanent Structured Cooperation (CSP or PeSCo) focused on the capability area. Based on Article 42.6 and Protocol 10 of the Treaty on European Union, PeSCp was introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009, and first initiated in 2017.

EI2 seeks some synergies with the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) that has newly been established within the European Union's (EU) Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), and PESCO projects are intended to be integrated into the EI2 where feasible. France's concern is that developing the EI2 within PESCO would result in lengthy decision times or watered down ambition. This led to some tensions regarding the project between France and Germany, with the latter concerned that it would harm the EU's political cohesion. Including the EI2 within PESCO is also seen as problematic as it prevents the participation of the UK and Denmark.

The minimum number of participating states for cooperation under PESCO, according to the Lisbon Treaty, is nine. As the IEI does not fit within the institutional framework of the CSDP the number of participants is not limited.

Comments
NATO does not need such a structure anymore. Moreover it is very anacronistic at the moment or by the BREXIT one of the most powerful European armies will leave the Union. The participation of states, member of the EU but not member of the CSDP (Denmark) shows how this initiative can be considered serious.
The need for the establishment of the EI2 is highly questionable. One more idea of the political leaders (especially French) who instead of realizing and ensuring the conditions sine qua non of the programs already launched, the strengthening and modernization of the army. Everyone tinkers with his own new initiative, promises roaring never or little done. Why the battle groups do not work have never engaged? Instead of meeting this challenge rather another program with very nebulous goals, confused with lots of bullshits.
"A common doctrine to act" should be preceded by a "common strategy", but that of the EU is far from being a real strategy.

Tag: European Intervention InitiativeEI2Initiative européenne d'interventionIEIMEST

With European elections coming up in May 2019, you probably want to know how the European Union impacts your daily life, before you think about voting. In the latest in a series of posts on what Europe does for you, your family, your business and your wellbeing, we look at what Europe does for families with mixed nationalities.

Twitter Hashtag #EUandME

Are you an EU citizen and your spouse or registered partner, dependent child or parent is a non-EU citizen?

EU law ensures that your family members can move with you from one EU country to another. Your spouse, children under 21 and some other dependent family members have the right to reside in the same country, irrespective of their nationality.

© Rob / Fotolia

Moreover, several EU policies help third-country nationals to stay in close touch with their culture and country of origin.  For example, the EU’s external aviation policy has made international travel easier, safer and cheaper, allowing to stay in touch with loved ones abroad. The EU has also made it safer and cheaper to send money to relatives in non-EU countries. New legislation will strengthen consumer rights when sending transfers and money remittances outside the EU or paying in non-EU currencies.

The EU also has one of the most extensive sets of anti-discrimination legislation in the world. The EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights prohibits discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, ethnic origin and religion or belief. The EU has passed detailed legislation that addresses discrimination in various areas of life. EU countries are also bound to use criminal law to combat public incitement to violence and hatred against people of different race, colour, religion, or national or ethnic descent.

Further information

• European Commission, website ‘The right to reside’, http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=460&langId=en
• Payment Services Directive, http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-15-5793_en.htm
• European Agency for Fundamental Rights, http://fra.europa.eu/en/theme/racism-related-intolerances

Council and European Parliament negotiators agree that further efforts are needed to conclude on the EU's budget for 2019.

Weekly schedule of President Donald Tusk 19-25 November 2018.

Main agenda items, approximate timing, public sessions and press opportunities.

Main agenda items, approximate timing, public sessions and press opportunities.