European Union News

The European Parliament approved a report that opposes the drastic cuts to EU development aid for Latin-America proposed by the Commission. According to the MEP responsible for the report, Ricardo Cortés, MEPs do not support the radical approach proposed by the Commission, which is based solely on economic criteria and would deprive countries like Ecuador, Colombia and Peru of EU aid.

The European Parliament approved a resolution to recognise the skills and knowledge gained by volunteers to help them find jobs or be recognised as part of their training. MEPs also support the creation of a "skills passport" to validate this experience and call for more funding for voluntary activities.

The recommendations presented on the CARS 21 report include actions such as providing EU financing for research, managing the sector's costs by applying the principles of smart regulation and supporting the internationalisation of EU industry. On the other hand, the report sets out a complete vision for the automotive industry in 2020 providing recommendations for rapid progress on important subjects such as electro-mobility or road safety.

The European Court of Auditors’ (ECA) performance audit presented that assessed the progress achieved to date on the reform of the common organisation of the market in wine makes a set of recommendations to the European Commission. The Court considers among other things that the aid rates were set at too high levels and that the scheme could therefore have been more efficient by achieving more significant results with the resources made available.

The European Commission announced a special measure to support Syrian population and refugees. The special measure amounts to a total of €23 million and its focus will be put on projects implemented by partners with a solid track record in the country and in the region.

The conclusions adopted by the Council on the proposal for a 7th EU Environment Action Programme call for an ambitious and compelling 2050 vision for an inclusive, green and competitive European economy, safeguarding the environment and health for present and future generations. At the Council meeting, the European Commission confirmed its intention to present a proposal for a 7th EAP before the end of 2012.

Eurostat published its latest date on progress in reducing early school leaving and increasing graduates in Europe. According to these data, Member States are making progress, but wide disparities remain and it is far from certain that the EU will meet its 2020 goals. These goals are to reduce early school leaving rates to less than 10% and increase the share of young people with degree-level qualifications to at least 40%.

The European Commission on behalf of the EU signed an agreement with China in order to give a new impetus to their partnership and bring mutual benefits by establishing a stronger and closer relationship in agriculture, so that we tackle bilateral and international challenges more effectively together.

With only a few weeks to go before the United Nations holds its second conference on sustainable development, Rio+20, the Committee of the Regions (CoR) argues that sustainable cities be placed at the heart of roadmap for sustainable development and be one of the global post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The European Commission welcomed the general approach reached by Ministers on airport noise. It particularly thanked the Danish Presidency for its energetic management of the Better Airports proposals. Among other things, the new rules will more clearly identify all actors in the noise assessment process with their respective rights and obligations. The proposal must still be voted by the European Parliament in first reading, and then to be approved by the Council.

In a statement published on 9 of June, the Eurogroup highlighted its support to the Spanish authorities to address the restructuring of its financial sector. Also, it confirmed that the financial assistance would be provided by the EFSF/ESM for recapitalisation of financial institutions; and the loan amount is estimated that would be €100 billion in total.

The European Commission adopted a course of action to ensure that Single Market rules work better in practice. Among the measures proposed, it is also proposing measures to improve the way the services sector works because is vital as the Services Directive accounts for more than 45% of EU GDP. In addition to this, it suggest to focus efforts on sectors with the largest growth potential, which would be services and network industries in 2012-2013.