European Union

Written by Ionel Zamfir,

© radekprocyk / Fotolia

The recent large-scale flows of refugees and migrants have brought to the world’s attention more forcefully than ever the plight of persons who are forced to flee their homes due to war, insecurity or persecution. They have also exposed how ill-prepared the international community has been to deal with this challenge and how disproportionate the distribution of the burden of caring for such people has been among countries.

In 2016, to enhance preparedness for refugee crises, improve the situation of refugees and relieve the burden on host societies, the UN member states convened in New York and adopted a declaration paving the way for a non-binding international compact on refugees. They annexed to this declaration a comprehensive refugee response framework that spelled out a series of short and longer-term measures to address refugee crises. The framework has been applied in several pilot countries and the lessons learnt have fed into a global compact on refugees, which is being drafted by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) through broad consultations with various stakeholders. The second draft was published at the end of April; consultations on it took place from 8 to 10 May 2018. A third draft was published on 4 June.

The global compact focuses on international-, regional- and national-level mechanisms for achieving a fairer distribution of the responsibilities related to refugees, and on areas where action can be improved. It has been criticised, among other things, for its non-binding character and for excluding victims of natural disasters from its scope.

Read this briefing on ‘Towards a global compact on refugees: Strengthening international cooperation to ease the plight of refugees in the world‘ on the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

A huge cross-border personal pension fund is being prepared by the EU - in the wake of suggestions from the world's largest asset fund manager BlackRock.

EU migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos says "regional disembarkation schemes" would be set up in countries around the Mediterranean - although none have expressed a desire to participate.

The high seas make up nearly two-thirds of the world’s ocean, but less than 1 percent is currently protected. All this could change this September, when governments come together at the United Nations for an intergovernmental conference to negotiate a new treaty that would create a mechanism for protecting these ocean areas, writes Liz Karan.

The EU needs a quick fix, because it’s going down. The 28-29 June summit could end up indirectly sinking Angela Merkel, which means European policies might do what internal German ones failed to achieve.

If an organisation breaks EU lobby rules, it should not be able to continue accessing policy-makers in Brussels. That requires a comprehensive “no registration, no meeting” rule, which the Parliament and Council seem unwilling to adopt, and until they do so, the Commission will not extend it internally, writes Margarida Silva.

The aim of this proposal is to improve access to work-life balance arrangements, such as leave and flexible working arrangements for parents and carers.

The Council agreed its negotiating position (general approach) on the directive on transparent and predictable working conditions.

On 21 June 2018, the Eurogroup commemorated its first meeting 20 years ago in Luxembourg.

The EU and Armenia issued a joint press statement on the occasion of the 1st meeting of the Partnership Council held in Brussels on 21 June 2018.

On 21 June 2018, the Council adopted a directive that will require EU member states to carry out a proportionality test before establishing new requirements for professions.

The directive aims at ensuring fair wages and a level playing field between posting and local companies in the host country whilst maintaining the principle of free movement of services.

The Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) ruled on Thursday (21 June) that Germany had breached EU law by allowing an excessive use of manure as a fertiliser, thus violating the limits set out in the EU’s nitrates directive which aims to reduce water pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s opponents from left and right have contested the recently signed agreement between France and Germany for the creation of a budget for the euro area in 2021. EURACTIV.fr reports.

The member states are expected to vote next week on whether to open accession talks with Albania, as the Commission has recommended. The Balkan country has made progress in improving the rule of law but its EU prospects remain vague as several EU capitals have called for caution in planning the bloc's next enlargement.

Europe’s river-dwelling creatures are threatened by traces of cocaine in some of the continent’s most well-known rivers, according to a new study. Migratory animals like the eel are particularly at risk.

EU nationals living in the UK will have until June 2021 to apply for permanent residency at a cost of £65 per person, under a proposed scheme unveiled on Thursday (21 June).

EU states at the Council level this week decided not to confirm some EU asylum reforms because they want them signed off as a single package. There are seven such reforms under discussion. Of those, the council had discussed this week the qualification regulations, the reception conditions directive, and an EU resettlement agreement. An EU source said they prefer treating the files "as a package".

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The EU has forged constructive political dialogue with members of the Cooperation Council for Arab States of the Gulf (GCC). These countries are Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the UAE. The Cooperation Agreement, which was concluded in 1988, forms the basis for the relationship that aims at: strengthening the stability in the strategically important region; facilitating the political and economic relations; broadening economic and technical cooperation; further broadening cooperation on energy, industry, trade and services, agriculture, fisheries, investment, science, technology and environment. Cooperation between universities, business and the media also form part of the EU-GCC agenda.

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We should stop focusing on economy over health when it comes to pesticides, said MEP Eric Andrieu, the president of the PEST committee in the European Parliament. But in the case of toxic copper, he urged member states to keep in mind that the viability of organic winery is at stake and that alternatives to copper are very limited.