European Union News - European Union

The Council authorised the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Iraq that will mark the first ever contractual relation between the EU and Iraq. It provides a legal framework covering issues from regular political dialogue to trade relations and regulatory cooperation, and development assistance.

The Danish government has just announced its presidency work programme, presidency which starts next 1 January 2012. Besides to have as main objectives to make Europe responsible, dynamic, green and safe, to boost growth will remain top of the Danes to-do list.

The proposal for the next European Statistical Programme 2013-17 presented by the European Commission intends to get quality, timely and efficient statistics. In order to achieve this goal, the Commission proposes a budget of €299.4 million and the implementation by the European Statistical System (Eurostat and national statistical institutes) of the multiannual programme.

The European Parliament has chosen the MEPs who will represent it in the working group created by the Council to draft the new intergovernmental agreement. The delegation will pay particular attention that the new intergovernmental agreement be a response to the crisis Europe is currently facing.

On December 9th 2011, the President of Croatia, Ivo Josipovic, and the Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor signed the Treaty of Accession that will allow the country to become the 28th Member State of the European Union. This accession completes the sixth phase of enlargements in the Union.

At the end of the first working session of the European Council, European Heads of State or Government agreed on the necessity for urgent measures to be taken in the short term in order to overcome current economic difficulties. On the longer term and in the absence of unanimity, 23 Member states agreed on a new fiscal compact that would take the legal form of an intergovernmental treaty.

MEPs adopted the 2012 EU budget which was previously agreed with Member States. The European Parliament had focussed on growth, innovation, employment, border control, migration management, and support of democratic development in the Arab world. These priorities were all taken on board by the Member States in the final deal.

The European Parliament adopted its new code of conduct that sets out rules and principles which MEPs will need to follow in their contacts with outside interests, so as to avoid conflict of interests. The new rules enter into force on 1 January 2012.

The European Parliament agreed on the Commission's proposal to provide supplementary EU co‑financing to countries facing particular difficulties in managing public debt/deficit and ensuring financial stability. It is still needed the green light by the Council in order to adopt the proposal. The Member States which will benefit of this proposal are Romania, Latvia, Hungary, Greece, Ireland and Portugal.

According to the European Union, the United Nations climate change conference which will start on 28 November in Durban, must agree on a roadmap and deadline for finalising an ambitious, comprehensive and legally binding global framework for climate action by all major economies.

The Regional Development and Employment Committee debated the cohesion policy reform proposals tabled by the Commission. Among the conclusions drawn from the debate, MEPs welcomed the regulation on provisions common to the various EU structural funds as a big step forward which should enhance the efficiency with which regional policy is implemented by better integrating its components.