European Union News - European Union

According to the Commission's Annual Report on relations with National Parliaments, the European Commission's political dialogue with National Parliaments went from strength to strength in 2010. The political initiative was launched in 2006 by President Barroso and it intends to engage National Parliaments in European affairs more closely and constructively.

The European Commission proposed to close the four remaining “chapters” in the accession talks. The President of the Commission, José Manuel Barroso, stated in a statement that Croatia is now ready to move ahead. He also thanked the Croatian authorities for the hard work done over the last years.

The European Parliament approved during the plenary session that Bulgaria and Romania join the Schengen border check-free area. However, the MEPs asked to kept informed of additional measures taken in the Bulgaria-Turkey-Greece area to cope with a possible surge in migration pressure.

The inquiry opened against the Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) has been closed by the European Ombudsman after its successor, the European Banking Authority (EBA), published a list of participants in a public hearing about remuneration policies for the European financial sector.

The foundation of the European Law Institute, according to Viviane Reding, the European Union’s Justice Commissioner has the potential to bring a significant added value to European legal research, improving the implementation of EU law and helping to put it to work for citizens and businesses.

EU leaders, José Manuel Barroso, the European Commission President, Jerzy Buzek, the President of the European Parliament and Herman Van Rompuy, the President of the European Council met in Brussels with Christian, Jewish, Muslim religions as well as from the Buddhist communities. They discussed effective ways of rights and liberties with a view to build a Partnership for democracy and shared prosperity between Europe and its neighbourhood.

The 20th EU-Japan Summit ends reaffirming the close partnership between the European Union and Japan as like-minded and major economies. Summit leaders are resolved to deepen bilateral relations from a comprehensive and long-term perspective, united by a shared commitment to fundamental values and principles, including democracy, the rule of law and human rights, as well as to the market-based economy and sustainable development, and faced with common global challenges.

During the trilateral inter-institutional conciliatory negotiations over the package of six legislative proposals, which is aimed at strengthening the economic governance, the Council meeting authorised the Presidency to make a compromise proposal in the European Parliament.

The Economic and Financial Affairs Council meeting (ECOFIN) held on 17 May welcomes the decisive steps taken to strengthen bank balance sheets as part of a comprehensive approach to ensure financial stability based on a new, transparent and strengthened EU-wide stress-test exercise. The ECOFIN in this regard welcomes that some banks have already taken measures to reinforce their capital base ahead of the publication of the stress test results.

According to the Petitions Committee's annual report, EU citizens are increasingly turning to electronic petitioning, with 63% opting for an on line application rather than mailing a petition. With regard to the topics, the environment and fundamental rights continued to be of most concern to EU citizens petitioning the Parliament in 2010. Besides, EP received a total of 1655 citizens' petitions last year.

The 17 May has been marked as the International Day Against Homophobia because the same day in 1990, the World Health Organisation finally removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders. With regard this day, all European authorities made a statement.

A programme which has been negotiated with the Portuguese authorities by the Commission, in liaison with the ECB and the IMF, will provide EU financial support. Ministers concur with the Commission and the ECB that providing a loan to Portugal is warranted to safeguard financial stability in the euro area and the EU as a whole.