European Union News - 16 November 2010

A year after two previous texts, the European Commission has adopted a new proposal seeking to strengthen the mechanism for the assessment of the correct application of standards part of the Schengen acquis. This mechanism aims to control the remaining obstacles verifying the elimination of controls at internal borders and to do more effective checks within national territory.

European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS), Peter Hustinx, and Assistant Supervisor, Giovanni Buttarelli held a press conference on 15 November about the future of the EU legal framework for data protection, addressing in particular the European Commission's recent communication on a data protection reform strategy. They highlighted the need for an ambitious reform and called for an effective data protection scheme in the European Union.

European Parliament held on 15 November a preliminary debate within the Civil Liberties Committee, about the proposal for Directive on sexual abuse of children and child pornography. MEPs stressed the need to overcome some difficulties about this regulation based on Member States' differing sensitivities and traditions, specially in aspects related to web access blockage.

Despite efforts made by the parties involved and convergence on the figures of the EU budget for 2011 and other connected items, the Council and the European Parliament did not reach an agreement on the whole negotiation package, within the Conciliation Committee. The Commission will now have to propose a new draft budget and, should not being an agreement by the beginning of 2011, the EU will have to move to provisional twelfths scheme.