The presidency of the Council and European Parliament negotiators reached a provisional political agreement on the draft directive on adequate minimum wages in the EU. The new law – once finally adopted – will promote the adequacy of statutory minimum wages and thus help to achieve decent working and living conditions for European employees. The […]
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Jordan-EU Association Council – 2 June 2022
The fourteenth meeting of the Jordan-EU Association Council took place in Jordan. It reviewed the state of EU-Jordan bilateral relations, focusing on the implementation of the EU-Jordan Association Agreement. The Association Council adopted the new EU-Jordan Partnership Priorities until 2027 and, during an informal discussion, held a political dialogue on regional and international issues. After […]
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Council adopts legislation entrusting new tasks to the Europol
On 24 May, the Council adopted a regulation amending the Europol Regulation. The text should be published in the Official Journal and enter into force before the end of June. Europol is an EU agency that plays a crucial role in police cooperation. On the basis of the Commission proposal, the European Parliament and the […]
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Special Address by President von der Leyen at the World Economic Forum
Thank you very much Klaus, Ladies and Gentlemen, Indeed, following your introduction, dear Klaus, it is difficult to believe that in Davos today we are talking about war. Because the Davos spirit is the antithesis of war. It is about forging ties and together finding solutions for the big challenges of the world. You might […]
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European Commission’s May infringement proceedings package against Spain
In its usual package of infringement decisions, the European Commission is taking legal action against Spain for failing to comply with its obligations under EU law in the following areas: Environmental impact assessment Maritime Spatial Planning Market Abuse Directive Internal energy market Energy efficiency Protection of workers from carcinogenic chemicals The main decisions adopted by […]
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Commission refers five Member States to the Court of Justice of the EU
The European Commission decided yesterday to refer Czechia [INFR 2020/0510], Ireland [INFR 2020/0531], Romania [INFR 2020/0555], Slovakia [INFR 2020/0563] and Spain [INFR 2020/0521], to the Court of Justice of the European Union over the failure to transpose the revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive (“AVMSD”, Directive (EU) 2018/1808), with a request to impose financial sanctions in accordance with Article 260(3) TFEU. The AVMSD governs EU-wide coordination of […]
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GCC: EU unveils Strategic Partnership with the Gulf
The last Wednsaday, the High Representative and the European Commission adopted a Joint Communication on a ‘Strategic Partnership with the Gulf’ with the aim to broaden and deepen the European Union (EU)’s cooperation with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and its Member countries. A strengthened partnership is beneficial both for the EU and for the […]
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President Metsola calls on Iran to set Ahmadreza Djalali free
At the opening of the session, President Metsola expressed Parliament’s opposition to the death penalty and called on Iran to stop the execution of Professor Djalali. Professor Djalali is a Swedish-Iranian national and a scholar at the Vrije Universiteit of Brussel and the University of Eastern Piedmont, whose execution is set to take place on […]
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Speech by Von der Leyen at the European Hydrogen Energy Conference 2022
Your Majesty, Vice Prime Minister Ribera, Dear friends of the Spanish Hydrogen Association and Hydrogen Europe, Distinguished guests, For years, science has been telling us that we must end our reliance on fossil fuels to save our planet. Now the Kremlin’s attack on Ukraine has given us yet another reason. That is to secure […]
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