European Union News

The agreement reached between the Council and the European Parliament on the so-called "Two-Pack" is an essential step towards ensuring fiscal stability in view of the 2014 budget cycle. Once these measures have been approved by the Parliament in plenary session, the European Commission stress on the need to take next steps in the short term in order to complete the Blueprint for a Deep and Genuine EMU.

The European Parliament has approved new EU legislation that will allow European consumers to access faster and cheaper ways to solve their disputes concerning the goods and services traded within the single market. These new rules aim to avoid customers the need to engage in long and costly legal procedures which are particularly cumbersome in cross-border or on-line shopping.

The selection of the first pre-seleted sites to receive the European Heritage Label is reserved in 2013 to Austria, Estonia, Denmark, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, who did not take part in the previous intergovernmental and have expressed their will to participate in the new Label.

Ministers meeting at the General Affairs Council reached a political agreement on the draft regulation aimed at strengthen the conditions and procedures for action by customs authorities in the EU in order to protect intellectual property rights. Among other measures, the draft regulation provides for a simplified procedure that will to facilitate the destruction of counterfeited and pirated goods seized by customs authorities.

From 11 March, it enters into force the last deadline to phase out animal testing for cosmetic products in Europe, which consist in that cosmetics tested on animals cannot be marketed any more in the EU.

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) conference on "Towards a more responsible use of the internet: The European civil society perspective" was organised to discuss if and how a balance can be struck between online freedom of expression and the protection of personal dignity and privacy. At the conference, many participants came out in favour of industry self-regulation, which they argued was better-suited for ensuring the protection of users online than stringent, binding regulations.

The Joint Research Centre (JRC) hosted a round table on the potential applications of quantum science and the development of new technologies in the areas of computation, simulation, communication, metrology and sensing. Dominique Ristori, JRC Director-General, stressed the potential of new quantum developments to boost growth and jobs in the EU.

The political agreement reached by the Council and the European Parliament's negotiators was formally adopted by the Council on 8 March. The regulation will apply to protection measures ordered with a view to protecting a person when there exist serious grounds for considering that that person's life, physical or psychological integrity, personal liberty, security or sexual integrity is at risk all over the European Union.

Statistics concerning judicial activity in 2012 regarding the Court of Justice, the General Court and the Civil Service Tribunal show that a slight decrease in the overall number of cases brought before the three courts. These statistics also show that the duration of proceedings before the Court of Justice and the General Court continues to decrease significantly.

Civil Society Day organised as part of the European Year of Citizens by the European Economic and Social Council (EESC) brought together over 250 civil society representatives which agreed that European leaders can no longer rely solely on elected politicians to pass on messages from their citizens. Participants also called on the EU institutions to stop putting procedures before results.

Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs and Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht announced to have joined forces to help secure a WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement as part of global efforts to increase trade's contribution to development. Trade facilitation refers to measures aimed at simplifying, modernising and harmonising merchandise import, improving tax collection at the border, export and transit procedures, especially customs requirements.

The European Commission published the results of an Eurobarometer that show over three quarters of respondents said that getting more women into leading roles in developing countries would improve respect for human rights. In addition, MEPs and MPs in a joint meeting with women professionals appealed for a stronger gender dimension in all policy-making in response to the economic crisis which hits women harder than men.