European Union News

The cooperation between Europol and other EU Member States achieved to break up an international organised crime network, responsible for the large-scale production and trafficking of synthetic drugs. Europol initiated ‘Operation Fire’, working together with several European law enforcement agencies, in order to dismantle the organised crime network and stop the large-scale production and trafficking of synthetic drugs within the European Union.

According to the European Ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, the European Commission needs to ensure that the computerised "Early Warning System" (EWS), an internal mechanism, which identifies persons deemed to pose a threat to the financial interests of the European Union, respects fundamental rights, such as the right to be heard.

The European Border Breakers Awards (''the EBBAs") ceremony took place on 11 January at the Eurosonic Noorderslag music festival in Groningen (The Netherlands). The biggest winner of the night was Belgian star Selah Sue, who scooped the public choice award. The event was broadcast live via YouTube and will be screened on TV throughout Europe in the coming weeks.

The Green Paper consultation adopted by the Commission seeks the views of stakeholders on how to create a secure and transparent integrated payments environment throughout the EU which could create more efficient, modern and safer means of payments. The deadline for submitting contributions to the consultation is 11 April 2012.

The European Medicines Agency launches a public consultation aimed at evaluating the revised guideline which provide advices and information on all stages of clinical drug development for the treatment of malignancies, including drug resistance modifiers or normal tissue protective compounds.

The European Commission presented an action plan aimed at doubling the volume of e-commerce in Europe by 2015. In particular, the Communication presents 16 targeted initiatives for doubling the share of e-commerce in retail sales (currently 3.4%) and that of the Internet sector in European GDP (currently less than 3%) by 2015.

The European Commission takes the Council to the Court of Justice for failing to adopt the Council Regulation on the annual adjustment to the remuneration and pensions of EU staff as anticipated in the Staff Regulations. The main problem is the adjustment on salaries and pensions of EU officials. Both follow an increase or decrease regarding the national civil servants salaries and pensions.

MEPs at the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee agreed that the proposed new legislation to strengthen budgetary oversight of Eurozone countries should allow as much economic governance as possible to take place within the normal EU system, rather than outside it through international agreements.

After a moderate labour market recovery which lasted until the middle of 2011, European employment is down again in December 2011, according the statistics published by the Commission. In addition, there are rising social concerns across Europe. The Commission also reminds the results of a recent study which shows that on-going fiscal consolidation measures may aggravate further the situation of the most vulnerable.

The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) published his strategic planning document for 2012 called the Inventory, which focuses in the cornerstones of his consultation work for 2012, while not neglecting the importance of other legislative procedures where data protection is concerned.

The European Commission investigates whether the websites offering consumer credit are offering consumers the information to which they are entitled under EU consumer law before signing a consumer credit contract. According to the results published by the Commission, 70% of sites will need a further investigation in relation to about suspected irregularities.

The European Environment Agency (EEA) published two reports which shows that European governments could simultaneously reduce income tax, increase innovation and cut pollution by introducing well-targeted environmental taxes and recycling the revenues back into the economy.