European Union

General : European Parliament President Antonio Tajani officially opened the House of European History (HEH) on Thursday in a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony held in the presence of former EP president Dr Hans-Gert Pöttering (chair of the Board of Trustees) and Professor Wlodzimierz Borodziej (chair of the HEH Academic Committee). The museum will be open to the public as of this Saturday 6 May.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

General : European Parliament President Antonio Tajani officially opened the House of European History (HEH) on Thursday in a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony held in the presence of former EP president Dr Hans-Gert Pöttering (chair of the Board of Trustees) and Professor Wlodzimierz Borodziej (chair of the HEH Academic Committee). The museum will be open to the public as of this Saturday 6 May.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

General : Parliament opens its doors to the public in Brussels this Saturday from 10.00 to 18.00 CET. It's an opportunity to explore the plenary chamber, join a guided tour and take part in debates. In addition visitors enjoy the chance to be among the first to visit the House of European History, a new museum that is opening its doors on the same day.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

General : Parliament opens its doors to the public in Brussels this Saturday from 10.00 to 18.00 CET. It's an opportunity to explore the plenary chamber, join a guided tour and take part in debates. In addition visitors enjoy the chance to be among the first to visit the House of European History, a new museum that is opening its doors on the same day.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

General : "Cooperation between our two parliaments has emerged stronger from this Tunisian week", said European Parliament Vice-President David-Maria Sassoli as the event closed on Thursday. "We must now give concrete form to the shared experiences and good practices, to benefit all our citizens", he added.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

General : "Cooperation between our two parliaments has emerged stronger from this Tunisian week", said European Parliament Vice-President David-Maria Sassoli as the event closed on Thursday. "We must now give concrete form to the shared experiences and good practices, to benefit all our citizens", he added.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Good afternoon. I am very pleased to welcome Prime Minister Erna Solberg today. In times like these, it is more important than ever to have a strong and close partner, like Norway. A partner who shares the same values, and with whom we can work together on common European challenges.

The European Union's relations with Norway are close and are continuing to evolve. The European Economic Area - of which Norway is a key member - has proved its value and strength over the past 25 years. It serves both the EU and Norway well, and will continue to do so.

Today, the Prime Minister stressed the importance of having a close dialogue in view of the upcoming Brexit talks. I reassured the Prime Minister that, as one of the EU's closest partners, we will have a close dialogue with Norway throughout the talks. That's what partners do.

We also discussed energy and climate cooperation. Our close cooperation is crucial for energy security and for the Energy Union objectives. And, above all, we are both determined to implement the Paris Agreement.

Let me make one comment as we wait for the confirmation from Washington regarding the US commitment to a better environment, including fighting climate change in line with the Paris Agreement. There are many ways in which nations can contribute to this fight, and they depend on national choices. No-one proves it better than Norway: how it is perfectly possible and rational to combine being an important supplier of gas and oil as well as being a front-runner in renewable energy. The Norwegian example should provide encouragement to our American friends, as the climate challenge we all face can only be addressed by common global action.

Today we confirmed our strong commitment to the transatlantic relationship, and to further strengthening security cooperation, including between NATO and the EU.

Prime Minister Solberg and I also discussed the conflict in Ukraine, and our relations with Russia. We remain firm and consistent in our approach towards Russia. We know who the victim is in this conflict, and we will continue working together to advance reforms and development in Ukraine. And we also cooperate when it comes to sanctions towards Russia.

And finally, let me make a general remark about Brexit. These negotiations are difficult enough as they are. If we start arguing before they even begin, they will become impossible. The stakes are too high to let our emotions get out of hand. Because at stake are the daily lives and interests of millions of people on both sides of the Channel. We must keep in mind that in order to succeed, today we need discretion, moderation, mutual respect and a maximum of good will. Thank you.

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Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

will take place on Thursday 8 June 2017, 9.00-12:30 in Brussels.

Organisations or interest groups who wish to apply for access to the European Parliament will find the relevant information below.

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Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

AMENDMENTS 1 - 36 - Draft opinion A Space Strategy for Europe
Committee on Foreign Affairs

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Report on private security companies
Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

To say that the past week has been a poor one for Article 50 would be something of an understatement: the fall-out from last Wednesday’s ‘Brexit-supper‘ culminated yesterday with Theresa May holding a press conference in front of Number 10, claiming that some Europeans were deliberately interfering in the General Election.

It would be easy to say that this is the world gone mad, but as ever, I think we have to assume that things like this do not happen lightly, but with thought and consideration.

First then the EU. The leaking of the Brexit-supper to FAZ was actually the second step of the Commission’s response, after Juncker had called Merkel next morning, leading to her comments about British ‘illusions’. But the FAZ piece was not a full-scale fingers-up: it was only available in German and in print, and took some days to filter through. This is not to say that there wasn’t intent behind it: the butter-wouldn’t-melt responses from the various Commission individuals present at the meal during this week only underline that.

Instead, it comes across as an attempt to a) demonstrate the Commission’s willingness to exploit its powers within the process, and b) nudge the British to adjust their positions to fit better with the architecture of the negotiations that the Commission has been building. If you’re being benign about it, the Commission worries that the UK hasn’t understood how things are and needs to shift itself. But that overlooks the manner in which it was done.

And this brings us to May. Even the casual observer would know that May is very flexible in her positions, at least rhetorically (see Simon Cox’s excellent thread) and that she certainly doesn’t respond well to this kind of pressure. Again, assuming the Commission knew this, then we might need to consider that they were trying to goad her into a retaliation. Which they then got.

May essentially had two options: de-escalation or ramping-up. The former would mean laughing off the matter (the ‘we don’t recognise this/Brussels gossip’ approach), but looking like she had been out-played: The latter  would mean damage to the relationship, but potential gains.

My thinking here is that May feels she might be able to disconnect the public and the private rhetoric. Recall that there are no substantive talks right now and won’t be until 9 June: note also that today – 4 May – is polling day in the UK, so TV and radio coverage of this issue is not happening, providing a natural firebreak. May gets her headlines this morning – polling morning – while she opens her back channels to Brussels to say something on the lines of “you don’t mess us about and we won’t mess you about”. Tough public rhetoric, more constructive private negotiation.

It’s a calculated risk.

Whether it works is another matter. If the past week has told us anything, then it is that these will be very public negotiations, so the disconnect will be minimal, especially once the substantive issues pile up. as Jonathan Portes points out, the matter of UK/EU nationals is now set up as another bear trap for the UK, and many more will follow.

The prognosis at this stage has to be that the process has been compromised by Brexit-supper-gate (as no-one is calling it), so the key question is how much do the different sides want to make it work. Here, the assumption still remains that no one really gains from failing to reach a deal – consider May’s comments at the end of her presser on the need to avoid an economically disastrous exit – so someone’s going to have to cede substantive ground at some point in the not-too-distant future.

Of course, there still remains the abyss option. I know it remains unlikely, but there is an outside chance that May is pushing hard on making Brexit highly problematic, precisely to derail it: we hang by our fingernails over the abyss, to be gratefully rescued by a passing strong and stable leader. Oddly, May’s recent behaviour has put this back in my mind: she appears to feel so unconstrained that she might consider what would be a political play to last down the ages. Maybe that bank holiday walk produced more than one bright idea.

The post May’s rhetorical Brexit trap appeared first on Ideas on Europe.

El Dakkak and Intercontinental
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
The obligation to declare any cash sum over €10 000 applies in the international transit areas of airports located in the territory of EU Member States

El Dakkak and Intercontinental
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
The obligation to declare any cash sum over €10 000 applies in the international transit areas of airports located in the territory of EU Member States

Commission v Luxembourg
Taxation
Luxembourg has transposed in too wide a manner the rules in the VAT Directive on independent groups of persons

Commission v Luxembourg
Taxation
Luxembourg has transposed in too wide a manner the rules in the VAT Directive on independent groups of persons

Vanderborght
Approximation of laws
A general and absolute prohibition of any advertising for the provision of oral and dental care services is incompatible with EU law

Vanderborght
Approximation of laws
A general and absolute prohibition of any advertising for the provision of oral and dental care services is incompatible with EU law

Pešková and Peška
Transport
A collision between an aircraft and a bird is an extraordinary circumstance which may exempt the air carrier from its obligation to pay compensation in the event that a flight is delayed significantly