European Union News - European Union

Enikő Győri, Hungarian Minister of State for EU Affairs stated that EU must preserves and protects the major achievement of the free movement of persons in the Schengen area even if at the same time, the EU assists Member States that were affected by the mass influx of North African refugees.

European Parliament gave their backing to plans for a joint register of lobbyists and other interest groups seeking access to Parliament and the Commission. Parliament also endorsed a proposal for a "legislative footprint annex" to reports drafted by MEPs. This annex would list all the lobbyists whom lead MEPs met while a legislative report was being drafted.

MEPs chose to water down the Commission's proposal that would have allowed it to review national bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and, if warranted, withdraw its authorization from them.

The European Parliament approved the discharge for almost all EU organizations (thirty-nine reports in total were put to the vote) except the Council of Ministers, the European Medicine Agency and the European Police College (CEPOL) which have been postponed.

The Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB), the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund welcome the economic and financial adjustment programme which was agreed by the Portuguese government.

On 4 May 2011, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution in which the EU will have its voice at this Assembly. The new status means that it will allow senior EU representatives to present the common positions of the Union to the Assembly.

On 9th of May of 1950, Robert Schuman, French Foreign Minister gave a speech that marked the beginning of the road towards the EU. For this reason, on May 9 we celebrate Europe Day as well as the 61st anniversary of the birth of the European Coal and Steel Community. In order to celebrate this day, the European institutions open their doors to show their work to the citizens.

the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy and José Manuel Barroso, the President of the European Commission will represent the European Union at the G8 summit which shall take place in Deauville (France) from 26 to 27 of May.

The EU and Croatia has reached an agreement on two more chapters during the twelfth meeting of the Accession Conference with Croatia at Ministerial level which was held on 19 of April in Brussels. With these two, there are provisionally close 30 of 35 chapters opened in October 2005. In particular, these chapters, chapter 11 -Agriculture and rural development- and Chapter 22 -Regional policy and coordination of structural instruments-, are key for preparing future negotiations.

The European Parliament's Economics Committee debated on the "six-pack" set of laws revamping economic governance proposal. Political groups differed mainly as to how much emphasis to place on fiscal austerity and on the need to devise a set of rules which also gave Member States breathing space to continue their spending on growth-promoting investments. 

The European Commission decided to revise its Code of Conduct for Commissioners including some changes which will reinforce the ethical framework by strengthening and clarifying several of the previous provisions.