European Union News

The Council agreed measures granting Greece an additional two years to correct its excessive budget deficit, following an agreement reached between the Greek government and the "troika" of international creditors. On the other hand, the Council closed excessive deficit procedures for Malta, confirming that it has reduced its deficit below 3% of GDP.

The European Commission announce that 48 countries worldwide will join forces since 5 December to increase international cooperation for the fight against child sexual abuse online. During the launching meeting that will take place on 5 December, the participating countries will make political commitments to pursue a number of goals for making this fight more effective.

The European Commission warned that it will launch infringement procedures against member states for all the Functional Airspace Blocks (FABs) which are not yet fully compliant with all legal requirements. It will also present a new package of legislative measures in Spring 2013 to accelerate reforms and ensure the full delivery of a Single European Sky.

The political agreement already reached between the European Parliament and the Council to reform the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) has been officially ratified by the Council. The main objectives of the reform are to increase the efficiency of OLAF's investigation, to strengthen cooperation between the office and the competent authorities of the member states and third countries, and to increase OLAF's accountability.

The European Commission announced that the Access City Award 2013 to the city of Berlin. The prize, which aims to encourage cities to share their experience and to improve accessibility for the benefit of all, has been awarded in recognition of Berlin's comprehensive and strategic approach to creating an accessible city for all.

The Council conclusions on renewable energy adopted on 3 December set out a set of priorities among which included the internal electricity market opening, a better market integration of renewable energy sources, more cooperation and trade between member states, and the adoption of the energy infrastructure package as soon as possible.

P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, the European Ombudsman, reported that the overall rate of compliance by the EU institutions with his suggestions was 82% in 2011. The best performers were the EU Agencies with a 100% compliance rate.

The European Commission's proposal for a Directive on the accessibility of public sector bodies' websites that would introduce mandatory EU standardised accessibility features, from the end of 2015, for 12 types of websites, was presented on the International Day of People with Disability.

Ana from Spain, Elena from Italy, Ilona from Poland and Larkin from Malta, will join EU leaders in Oslo for the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. These four young Europeans won the drawing and writing contest organised by the EU institutions, in partnership with the European Youth Forum.

The Permanent Representatives Committee of the Council endorsed the agreement reached with the European Parliament on 27 November 2012 on the regulation on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure. To enter into force it still needs formal approval in the Parliament (early 2013) and in the Council (after the plenary vote in the Parliament).

The Permanent Representatives Committee (COREPER), which is composed of the ambassadors of the 27 EU member states, endorsed on the 30 November a "draft package" agreement on the 2013 EU budget and draft amending budget nº 6 for 2012. However, the European President Martin Schulz, stressed that there can be no talk with the Council of an agreement on the EU budget 2013 at this stage.

The Neighbourhood Civil Society Facility that was first set up by the European Commission in 2011 with the aim to reinforce capacities of civil society organisations (CSOs) in the Neighbourhood region, starts its second phase. The Facility will receive a new budget allocation of €45.3 million for 2012-2013.