European Union News - 2013

The Permanent Representatives Committee of the Council endorsed the compromise reached between the Council and the European Parliament in their negotiations on a new financial and governance framework for the European satellite navigation systems (EGNOS and Galileo) for the period covered by the multi-annual financial framework for 2014-2020.

The Council recommendation that aims to ensure that all young people under the age of 25 who lose their job or do not find work after leaving education quickly receive a good-quality offer of employment, continued education, an apprenticeship or a traineeship, the so-called "youth guarantee" schemes, was approved by the Permanent Representatives Committee.

The European Commission published the EU-wide test results for horsemeat DNA and phenylbutazone made in the wake of the horsemeat scandal. The results have revealed that less than 5% of the tested products had horse DNA and that about 0.5% of the equine carcasses tested were found to be contaminated with bute.

The European Parliament adopted in plenary session a banking reform package that should spur growth, by making it easier for banks to lend to small firms that drive the real economy. This reform includes measures such as capping banker's bonuses to curb speculative risk-taking, stepping up capital provisions to help banks cope better with crises, and stiffen supervision.

The actions brought by Spain and Italy against the Council’s decision authorising enhanced cooperation in the area of the single European patent have been dismissed by the European Court of Justice because it as held to be unfounded Spain and Italy’s argument that the protection conferred by that unitary patent would not be advantageous in terms of uniformity.

The first report on trafficking in human beings in Europe, published by the European Commission, shows that 23.632 people were identified or presumed victims of trafficking in the EU over the 2008-2010 period. The Commission stressed that in order to curb these trends, the ambitious legislation and measures to address trafficking in human beings have to be adequately transposed and implemented. To date, only 6 out of the 27 EU member states have fully transposed the EU Anti-Trafficking Directive into their national legislation.

The President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, suggested to explore with the budgetary authority the possibility of frontloading future MFF assistance for Cyprus, in his letter to reply the letter he received from President of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades, regarding EU funding for Cyprus. In his letter, Mr Anastasiades suggested that Cyprus might be given increased allocations under both cohesion and rural development policy. However, Mr Barroso replied that no unallocated margin was left in these headings under the European Council approach.

The European Commission presented new EU rules to allow manufacturers to develop more aerodynamic lorries by allowing cabins with a rounded shape and with the use of aerodynamic flaps at the back the trailer. According to the Commission, these measures will considerably improve the aerodynamics of vehicles, saving approximately €5,000 per year in fuel costs for a typical long-distance lorry covering 100,000 km.

The Committee of the Regions (CoR) made it clear that demands for autonomy and independence movements on the part of a region must be seen as internal matters for the member state concerned. In addition, according to the CoR, in the hypothetical situation where such a region would become independent and wants to remain in the EU, it would have to apply to become a member of the EU like any state.

Eurostat published its figures regarding tourism in the EU in 2011. In 2011, EU residents made 1.0 billion holiday trips, of which around one quarter were trips outside the country of residence. Highest share of outbound holiday trips in Luxembourg and Belgium and Spain was the top foreign destination of EU residents.

The Eurogroup published a statement that welcomed the staff-level agreement that has been reached between Cyprus and the Troika institutions on the policy conditionality underlying the macroeconomic adjustment programme. Besides, the European Commission, ECB and IMF concluded the review mission to Greece which includes a staff-level agreement with the authorities on the economic and financial policies needed to ensure the program remains on track to achieve its objectives.

The European General Court partially annulled the European Commission's decision from 2008 prohibited 24 European collecting societies from restricting competition, in particular by limiting their ability to offer their services to authors and commercial users outside their domestic territory. According to the Court, the Commission has not provided sufficient evidence.