European Union News - 16 April 2013

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.