European Union

All eyes are on Italy as the far-right League and rebellious Five Star Movement close in on power, ringing alarm bells in Brussels as the country inches towards becoming the first EU founding member to have a euro-sceptic government.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sunday (20 May) addressed thousands of expatriate Turks in Sarajevo at his only election rally outside Turkey after other European countries banned such events.

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev used the first day of an official trip to Moscow on Monday (21 May) to try and resurrect plans for a pipeline that would bring gas directly from Russia to Bulgaria's Black Sea coast, after it was cancelled in 2014.

EU crop based biofuels are currently the primary tool in the decarbonisation of transport in Europe: no small task. Their direct displacement of oil, high sustainability; huge GHG reductions and addition of high protein animal feed to the food chain...

A coalition of activist groups on Monday announced a campaign to break up Facebook, arguing that the huge social network "has too much power over our lives and democracy."

The EU's foreign policy chief warned Monday (21 May) there was "no alternative" to the Iran nuclear deal, after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed unprecedented sanctions against Tehran following Washington's withdrawal from the pact.

This week's Clean Energy Ministerial must send clear signal on the role renewables can play in raising climate action targets, writes Jennifer Morgan.

A host of UK packaging organisations have called for more recycling collection points, tax reliefs for recycled content and a universal list of acceptable materials as part of a desired regulation reform to make it easier for consumers to recycle packaging waste. EURACTIV's media partner edie.net reports.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s meeting on Tuesday afternoon (22 May) with European Parliament leaders is “the right thing for himself” after the company’s recent data collection scandal, EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova said in an interview.

Italy's anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and the far-right League on Monday (21 May) proposed Giuseppe Conte, a little-known law professor, as prime minister to lead their big-spending coalition government.

The European Union is starting to think in earnest about how to reduce the impact of transportation on the environment. But are plans to tackle a sector whose emissions continue to grow too strict or not ambitious enough?

The European Commission wants to triple the amount of money for migration in the next EU budget. Earlier this week, EU agencies, NGOs, and the mayor of Athens gave their views at a European parliament public hearing.

It is very unlikely that the climate target of the Paris agreement can be met without a system that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere – we need negative emissions.

Based on figures from 2016, nearly 26.4% of children across the EU are experiencing, or are at risk of experiencing, poverty or social exclusion. But the EU has one potential policy development to deal with this worrying trend, write Joanna Hofman and Katie Stewart.

With great power comes great responsibility. Various versions of this quote were attributed throughout history to Churchill, Roosevelt and more recently to Spiderman.

There is a strong possibility that Poland will build a floating Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal in Gdańsk, according to Fred H. Hutchison, who says “a lot of gas” can come to Central European markets this way.

On 7 May the ‘Cities4Europe – Europe for citizens’ campaign was officially launched in partnership with the BOZAR and the city of Brussels, and with the support of the campaign's partners.

The European Commission will soon present its legislative proposal for the future EU cohesion policy, in the context of negotiations for a new long-term budget. But in order to define new financing instruments, it is important to understand if the existing ones worked or not.

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 patients getting treatment abroad.

Do you suffer from a medical condition that cannot be treated in your home country, or you have to wait too long for treatment? You might be interested to know whether you can access other EU countries’ health systems and if your home insurance will cover at least a part of the costs of getting treatment abroad.

EU rules on cross-border healthcare could come to your aid in such a situation. They grant patients the right to benefit from planned medical treatment, such as specialist consultation, surgery or treatment for a specific medical condition, in another EU country on the same terms and at the same cost as people who live in that country. While some countries may have restrictions in place for access to treatment for organisational reasons, these should not discriminate against patients coming from another EU country.

© satyrenko / Fotolia

And what about the issue of reimbursement? If the treatment is covered by your insurance, but is not available at all, or not in time, in your home country, your health insurer is obliged to reimburse your expenses up to the level of costs you would have normally incurred in your home country.

National Contact Points for planned medical treatment, either in your home country or in the country where the treatment is available, will help you identify the health provider offering the treatment you need. Your home National Contact Point also provides information about reimbursement options and about whether you need to ask for prior authorisation.

Further information

• European Commission Directorate General for Health website: https://ec.europa.eu/health/cross_border_care/overview_en
• European Commission Your Europe portal https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/health/planned-healthcare/get-more-info/index_en.htm
• Network of National Contact Points https://ec.europa.eu/health/sites/health/files/cross_border_care/docs/cbhc_ncp_en.pdf

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 people in an emergency situation.

Hopefully it will never happen to you, but many people find themselves in emergency situations while travelling abroad, because they have a car accident, need medical assistance or fall victim to a crime, for instance. The EU has set up an emergency phone number to enable you to get help quickly: 112. You can dial it anywhere in Europe for free to summon the local police, ambulance or fire brigade to your immediate assistance.

Meanwhile, since March 2018, all new cars have to comply with EU legislation and be equipped with the eCall on-board emergency call system. The system will be activated by sensors if you have a serious car accident and will automatically call the 112 number, communicating your car’s location, the time and the direction of travel, even if you are unconscious or unable to call. You can also trigger it manually by pushing a button in the car, for instance if you witness a serious accident. It is estimated that the system could save up to 2 500 lives a year.

© vchalup / Fotolia

If you fall sick while travelling in Europe, EU legislation gives you the same right to state-provided healthcare as people insured in the country concerned, and if you carry the European Health Insurance Card, you can avoid paying upfront in most EU countries.

Another example of EU provision for people in emergency situations is the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, which supplies coordinated assistance to victims of natural and man-made disasters. This can include health assistance from the European Medical Corps, who send doctors and medical equipment in response to emergencies in and outside the EU.

Further information

• European Commission’s Directorate General for Communications, networks, content and technology https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/policies/emergency-and-support-lines
• European Commission’s Directorate General for mobility and transport, https://ec.europa.eu/transport/themes/its/road/action_plan/ecall_en
• European Commission’s European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, http://ec.europa.eu/echo/what/civil-protection/mechanism_en