European Union

Ryanair v Commission (Italie; régime d’aide; Covid-19)
State aid
The General Court annuls the Commission’s decision to approve an aid measure consisting in subsidies paid by Italy to Italian airlines in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

Emmentaler Switzerland v EUIPO (EMMENTALER)
Intellectual and industrial property
The term ‘emmentaler’ cannot be protected as a European Union trade mark for cheeses

Meta Platforms Ireland v Commission
Competition
Competition: The action brought by Meta Platforms Ireland (Facebook group) against a Commission request seeking disclosure of documents identified by means of search terms is dismissed

The study "African Union integration and relations with the EU" analyses the dynamics that shape African political integration as well as foreign and security cooperation, identifying areas of convergence and divergence in the various cooperation formats between the African and the European Unions.
The EU has long paid significant diplomatic, financial and institutional attention to its relationship with the African Union (AU). Engagement between the two organisations has steadily risen in scope and complexity over recent years. The EU remains the AU's principal partner, notably in the domain of peace and security. This study recommends that the EU adapt its funding arrangements, cooperation formats and multilateral engagement with the AU to remain in tune with the pace and direction of political integration in Africa.

The study was requested by the Committee on Foreign Affairs and commissioned by the Policy Department for External Policies. It will be presented on 24 May 2023, 15.35 - 16.30 in ANTALL 4Q2.
The African political integration process and its impact on EU-AU relations in the field of foreign and security policy
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

On 24 May 2023, the Committee on Foreign Affairs will hold a hearing on the EU relations with Latin America, a region of strategic importance for the EU with long-standing history of shared common values and cultures. In the recent past the relations have faced some hurdles, which have enabled other global actors such as Russia and China to step in and promote their agendas.
Members will discuss with experts the geopolitics of the region against the backdrop of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, its internal dynamics and influences by China and Russia, and how to make a qualitative leap in the EU-Latin America strategic bi-regional partnership.
Draft Programme
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

Budapest previously delayed ratifying Finland's application, and has cited grievances with criticism from both Helsinki and Stockholm of Viktor Orbán's domestic record on democracy and the rule of law.

Austria, France, Ireland and the Netherlands want to tighten EU rules regulating polluting private jets.

The European Parliament's Bureau, a political body composed of the president and its vice-presidents, decided to slash payouts from the fund by 50 percent, freeze automatic indexations, and increase the pension age from 65 to 67.

In a world where cultural clashes and sectarianism seems to be on the increase, Spanish novelist Javier Cercas (b.1962) takes the opposite approach. He cherishes both life in the big city and in the countryside.

The UK has always been a huge navy power, Ukraine has 10 years of combat experience, and Poland is a major power in Europe.

The new legislation on seizing criminal assets would ensure fast and efficient freezing operations everywhere in the EU, and quicker compensation for victims.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

The new legislation on seizing criminal assets would ensure fast and efficient freezing operations everywhere in the EU, and quicker compensation for victims.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

We, the undersigned members of the US Congress and the European Parliament, address this letter to the president of the United States, the president of the European Commission, the secretary-general of the UN, and the executive secretary of the UNFCCC.

European states and international organisations have developed technologies to detect migration patterns and predict the number of people from third countries seeking asylum in the EU. But doubts have been raised about the effectiveness and desirability of using predictive technologies.

The current situation in Ukraine has led to severe supply chain disruptions, contributing to a sharp increase in food and commodity prices globally and the limitation of fossil fuel imports from Russia to the EU. Moreover, to end Europe's dependence on semiconductor suppliers from Asian countries, it is necessary to take immediate action of a structural nature, involving all EU Member States and all participants in regional supply markets. The overall aim of this study was to identify drivers of and barriers to building up open strategic autonomy at EU level, before recommending coordinated solutions and addressing supply chain resilience in four critical areas: food security, energy security, semiconductors and satellite communications. This research seeks to contribute to the European Parliament's future work by providing insights into how to protect the European agricultural sector, ensure energy security and the technological sovereignty of semiconductor production, and improve satellite communications.
Study : ENAnnex 1 : EN
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

The Subcommittee on Security and Defence holds exchange views on chemical weapons and their non-proliferation and disarmament on 23 May. Members and the EU Special Envoy for Non-proliferation and Disarmament, Ambassador Marjolijn van Deelen, and the Chair of the WG preparing the fifth review conference of the Chemical Weapons Convention, Ambassador Lauri Kuusing, will discuss the outcome of the conference and measures to prevent and deter state and non-state actors from using chemical weapons.
In last 25 years 99,4 % of the global declared stockpiles of chemical weapons were destroyed. However, recent Russian use of chemical weapons in the United Kingdom and Syrian attacks against its civilian population have underlined concerns about the re-emergence of the use of chemical weapons.
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

Two years after the Porto social summit, what progress has been made in the EU-27? Has it been enough? This Saturday, different stakeholders meet again to answer those questions.

On 25 May 2023, the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on International Trade will hold a hearing on the implementation of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement that has been in force since 1 May 2021. Members will discuss with four expert speakers how unprecedented arrangements with a third country have been implemented so far.
Their valuable expertise will feed in the preparation of a joint implementation report on the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement that the two Committees are preparing.
Location : Antall Building - Room 4Q2
Poster
Draft programme
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

On 24 May 2023, the Committee on Foreign Affairs will hold a hearing on the EU relations with Latin America, a region of strategic importance for the EU with long-standing history of shared common values and cultures. In the recent past the relations have faced some hurdles, which have enabled other global actors such as Russia and China to step in and promote their agendas.
Members will discuss with experts the geopolitics of the region against the backdrop of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, its internal dynamics and influences by China and Russia, and how to make a qualitative leap in the EU-Latin America strategic bi-regional partnership.
Location : Brussels - Antall 4Q2
Draft programme
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

"This [decision] might not mean much for people's rights. In practice, it would mean that actually Facebook would have to do nothing, because they would have a new legal basis under which the data can move to the US."