UK to depart EU court and Euratom
UK position papers call for departure from EU court and nuclear treaty as officials prepare for second round of Brexit talks.
UK position papers call for departure from EU court and nuclear treaty as officials prepare for second round of Brexit talks.
Leading MEPs and legal watchdogs have raised the alarm on Polish judicial reforms, but the European Commission declined to speak out so far.
The EU executive has presented measures to crack down on the traffic of cultural goods as part of an effort to cut funding to terrorist groups.
To stand up to the challenges of populism and closing societies, foundations need to step up quickly.
The European Commission says the new law is discriminatory, and interferes with the freedom of association. Hungary, which accuses the NGOs of helping illegal migration, has one month to answer.
The Greek government is set to take over running services provided by EU-funded NGOs for stranded migrants and asylum seekers in August. The lack of clarity and state plans for the transition is raising alarm.
The European Commission decided on Thursday to open an infringement procedure against Hungary over a recent law on foreign-funded NGOs. It said that the law, which was adopted last month, goes against the right to freedom of association, introduces "unjustified and disproportionate restrictions" on the free movement of capital, and "raises concerns" over respect of the right to protection of private life and of personal data.
The European Commission announced on Thursday that it is taking Poland to the EU Court of Justice, because it continues to cut down trees in the primeval Bialowieza forest. The commission said the extra logging poses "a major threat to the integrity of this Natura 2000 site", an EU-wide nature protection scheme. Poland says the logging is needed to combat a bark beetle outbreak.
The European Commission decided Thursday to send Hungary a so-called reasoned opinion against a law that restricts activities of foreign universities. It says the law is "not compatible with the freedom for higher education institutions to provide services and establish themselves anywhere in the EU". The Hungarian government has a month to change the law. If it doesn't, the commission could refer the case to the EU Court of Justice.
A long-standing conflict between the US and EU on growth hormones for cattle is back, and could put European standards at risk.
Nils Muiznieks, the human rights commissioner at the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe, said on Thursday that a new law that increases political control over judges is a "major setback for judicial independence". The Polish lower chamber passed a bill on Wednesday that gives lawmakers a role in choosing members of the National Judiciary Council, the body that nominates judges. Members are currently chosen by sitting judges.
Italy has warned that Russia is competing with the EU for influence in the Western Balkans, as the bloc underlined its old enlargement pledge.
Once regarded as conservative, the catholic island of 440,000 becomes the latest EU country to allow same sex couples to marry.
Italian authorities will release a code of conduct for NGOs, which prevents them, among other things, from entering Libyan territorial waters. A draft copy of the code says NGOs will be banned from Italian ports on failure to comply.
Spanish king Felipe VI said on Wednesday that he is "confident" Spain and the UK "will be able to work towards arrangements that are acceptable to all involved," in the dispute over the status of Gibraltar. In a speech to both chambers of the UK parliament, he said that dialogue is "necessary" following comments by the EU that Spain would have a say over the British territory's future after Brexit.
French president Emmanuel Macron said that Germany "benefits from dysfunctions of the eurozone," but that it "must move" to correct them. He said in an interview with Ouest France newspaper and German media group Funke that he wants "more coherence, more convergence" in the eurozone, and that Germany must "support a boost in public and private investment." He added that France must also "move" and "reform its economy".
Paris administrative court ruled on Wednesday that the French state could not ask Google to pay out €1,115-billion in taxes. It said the US tech company cannot be taxed for the activities of its AdWords service because it has no "permanent establishment" in France, pointing out that Google's European headquarters, staff and servers are in Ireland. The exemption was based on a law from 1928.