European Union News

The European Parliament has made public this year's nominees for the 2011 Sakharov Prize. They are Izzeldin Abuelaish (Palestinian Territories), a group of five activists from the Arab world, Dzmitry Bandarenka (Belarus), Boris Pahor (Slovenia) and the San José de Apartadó Peace Community (Colombia).

The European Commission has approved a policy paper which sets goal of training 700,000 legal professionals in EU law by 2020. The objective is helping to build mutual trust between Europe's different legal systems and improve the implementation of European legislation. This will benefit people and businesses in Europe, who will be able to rely on swift decisions and proper respect for the rules.

According to the latest EU interim forecast, GDP growth is now expected to remain subdued in the second half of the year, coming close to standstill at year-end. Although the soft patch predicted in the spring forecast is now likely to deepen, it will not result in a double dip. Moreover, the current outlook is uncertain, and the balance of risks to this forecast is to the downside.

In all cases of domestic violence, the European Union law does not preclude a mandatory injunction to stay away being even if the victim wishes to re-establish cohabitation with the offender. While the right to be heard must give the victim, that procedural right does not confer on victims any rights in respect of the choice of form of penalties to be imposed on the offenders in accordance with the rules of national criminal law nor in respect of the level of those penalties. A measure of protection under criminal law against acts of domestic violence is intended to protect not only the interests of the victim but also the more general interests of society.

Parliament approved a resolution that urge EU-wide sanctions against corruption because it costs the EU economy €120 billion per year, almost as much as the EU's annual budget. Also, MEPs requested enhancing transparency in order to prevent and fight corruption that infiltrates in politics and the media.

According to a latest data issued by Eurostat, Euro area annual inflation stable at 2.5% in August, unchanged compared with July. With regard to the EU annual inflation was 2.9% in August 2011, also remains unchanged compared with July.

MEPs approved a resolution that demands stricter rules to reduce emissions of fluorinated gases. They also stated at the resolution that European climate policy often focuses on carbon dioxide whereas tougher measures against other greenhouse emissions could be relatively cheap and deliver quick results.

The European Commission has launched a public consultation to find out how the European research environment can be improved. The European Commission wants the scientific community and other interested groups and individuals to contribute to this consultation in order to redefine the research landscape in Europe. This will enable researchers, research institutions and businesses to circulate, compete, and co-operate across borders, increasing growth potential.

The European Commission adopted to reduced interest rate margins and extended maturities for loans to Ireland and Portugal in two proposals. These proposals are expected to be approved by the Council in the coming weeks in order to enhance liquidity and contribute to the sustainability of both countries.

The European Parliament in plenary session adopted new rules in order to prevent abuses in wholesale energy trading, and thus protect end consumers. Thanks to this Regulation, wholesale trading will now be monitored independently across the EU, to enable Member States to prevent and punish anti-competitive behaviour. Once the Regulation is agreed by the Council formally at first-reading it will enter into force 20 days after its publication in the EU Official Journal.

The yearly report on Alternative Methods to Animal Tests in the Field of Cosmetics presented by the European Commission to the European Parliament and Council stresses the continued commitment to find alternative approaches. Despite this commitment and progress in research finding alternative methods for testing these remaining complex endpoints will not be possible by the 2013 deadline.

The SME Envoys met in Brussels to shape a strategy aimed at freeing the growth potential and competitiveness of SMEs. They agreed in some key points such as making possible to start a company in 3 days for less than €100, increasing access to finance and public procurement and reducing bureaucracy, including by introducing an SME-friendly test for all new legislation at EU and Member State level.