Новости за 21.11.2017

War of words continue in the run-up to next week's final vote on whether to renew the licence for the herbicide glyphosate, a chemical in Monsanto's Roundup.

War of words continue in the run-up to next week's final vote on whether to renew the licence for the herbicide glyphosate, a chemical in Monsanto's Roundup.

Angela Merkel's failure to form a coalition government has raised concerns in Europe that the EU's most powerful country will send the block into paralysis.

David Miliband heads the US-based International Rescue Committee, an international aid organisation. In an interview with EUobserver, he says the EU should take over 500,000 refugees.

Online retailers will no longer be able to discriminate against potential customers based on their location in the EU, but the phrase 'this video is unavailable in your region' will remain a common sight in Europe.

The EU trains the Libyan coastguard and set up a monitoring mechanism to ensure they respect the human rights of migrants. But the mechanism only requires Libyans to file reports about themselves.

Polish environment minister Jan Szyszko has said authorities have stopped logging in Bialowierza, a primeval forest, after a European Court of Justice order. "We will fulfil the suggestions in the EU's temporary injunction 100 percent … we do not risk any fines," he said on Tuesday. He said Warsaw has 15 days to reply to the court's arguments and that the logging project was "fully compatible with the law".

The EU Commission said Tuesday its proposals to overhaul the euro area are on track to be unveiled on 6 December despite its largest economy, Germany being plunged into an internal turmoil after its leading parties failed to agree on a coalition. "Europe will not pause in this period," a Commission spokesman said, adding that the EU executive's chief Jean-Claude Juncker spoke to German chancellor Angela Merkel on phone Monday.

Peter Altmaier, chancellor Angela Merkel's right-hand man in the CDU party, has appealed on German TV for the centre-left SPD party to reconsider its refusal to join a new grand coalition. "We must give the SPD a chance to think", he told the ZDF broadcaster on Tuesday. He said parties would talk for another three weeks to avoid fresh elections, adding that the coalition fiasco risked harming Germany's stable image.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in an interview that he will replace austerity by pro-business reforms if he is elected, and will encourage foreign investment to create growth and jobs.

The Slovenian government is at risk of collapse over the fate of a Syrian refugee who faces deportation to Croatia under EU rules.

Negotiators meet this week to discuss new rules to prevent emissions cheating, but EU states want only a mild overhaul of the system.

The European Medicines Agency's executive director Guido Rasi expressed satisfaction with the EU's choice for a new location for this agency, which needs to move out of London after Brexit. "Amsterdam ticks many of our boxes," Rasi said in a press release. "My staff and I are very honoured that so many member states showed an interest in hosting EMA." Nineteen states competed to host EMA, although three pulled out.

A group of influential German business figures have launched a campaign to keep the UK in the European Union. The alliance, dubbed a New Deal for Britain, includes three ex-presidents of the Federation of German Industry. "Basically, we want the EU to offer the deal David Cameron was looking for before the referendum," Hans-Olaf Henkel, a senior German MEP and one of the leaders of the initiative said.

EU national governments, MEPs, and the European Commission agreed on Monday evening to ban discrimination by online shops based on a consumer's location, a practice known as geo-blocking. However, the new rules do not apply to audiovisual content, like films or music. "With the new rules, Europeans will be able to choose from which website they wish to buy, without being blocked or re-routed," said Commission vice-president Andrus Ansip.

Catalonia may be given the power to collect and manage its own taxes, similar to a system enjoyed by the autonomous Basque country, reported the Guardian. Meanwhile, jailed Catalan separatist leaders are awaiting trial at the High Court on charges of rebellion while Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy has called an election in Catalonia on 21 December, which he hopes will lead to a unionist majority in the regional parliament.

The Democratic Pensioners Party (DeSUS) in Slovenia threatened on Monday to pull support for liberal prime minister Miro Cerar, should Syrian refugee Ahmad Shamieh be allowed to stay in Slovenia under a so-called 'Aliens Act' - instead of being deported to Croatia according to EU's Dublin rules. The Syrian was stuck in Slovenia on his way to Austria in 2015 and is considered a model example of successful integration.

Curtailing NGOs and threatening judicial independence are the hallmarks of developing-world dictators and authoritarian strongmen, not a free and pluralistic European Union.