European Union

On 30 November 2016, the Permanent Representatives Committee (Coreper) confirmed the agreement reached by the Slovak presidency with the European Parliament on the Directive on combatting terrorism. Today, 5 December, the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs also confirmed that agreement. This confirmation paves the way for the final formal adoption of the directive in the coming months.

To respond to the evolving terrorist threat, the Directive strengthens the EU's legal framework in preventing terrorist attacks by criminalising acts such as receiving training  for terrorism and travel for terrorist purposes, as well as organising or facilitating such travel. It also reinforces the rights for the victims of terrorism. 

Lucia Žitňanská, minister for Justice of Slovakia said: "The agreement we have reached is the right balance between the need to effectively combat new forms of terrorism - in particular foreign fighters - while at the same time safeguarding individual rights and reinforcing protection and rights of victims of terrorism. However, it is just one side of the story. It is a common understanding between the Parliament, the Council and the Commission that a comprehensive response to the evolving terrorist threat have to include effective measures on prevention of radicalisation and an efficient exchange on information on terrorist offences." 

The Directive strengthens and updates the existing Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA, in particular, as it criminalises: 

• Travelling for terrorist purposes, to counter in particular the phenomenon of foreign terrorist fighters. The compromise reached between the institutions will ensure that for example travel to conflict zones with the purpose to join the activities of a terrorist group or travel to a EU Member State with the purpose to commit a terrorist attack will be made punishable. 
• The organisation and facilitation of such travels, including through logistical and material support, for example the purchase of tickets or planning itineraries;
• Receiving training for terrorist purposes,  e.g. in the making or use of explosives, firearms, noxious or hazardous substances mirroring the already existing provision of knowingly providing such a training ;
• Providing or collecting funds with the intention or the knowledge that they are to be used to commit terrorist offences and offences related to terrorist groups or terrorist activities;

The Directive will also complement the current legislation on rights for victims of terrorism. In this respect, the compromise text includes a catalogue of services to meet the specific needs of victims of terrorism, such as the right to receive immediate access to professional support services providing medical and psycho-social treatments, or to receive legal or practical advice, as well as assistance with compensation claims. The emergency response mechanisms immediately after an attacks will be also strengthened. 

The Directive envisages also enhanced rules for exchange of information between the Member States  related to terrorist offences  gathered in criminal proceedings. 

Next steps

With the political agreement confirmed by both institutions the text will now go to revision by lawyer linguists before the final adoption by the Parliament and the Council early next year.

Background 

The proposal was presented in the context of the Renewed EU Internal Security Strategy and following the call of the Council for accelerated action in the aftermath of the Paris attacks of 13 November 2015. It takes into account the requirements stemming from several international texts: 

• The UN Security Council Resolution 2178 (2014) and the Additional Protocol to the Council of Europe (CoE) Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism, aimed at countering the phenomenon of foreign terrorist fighters;
• The standards of the Financial Action task Force (FATF) regarding the financing of terrorism.

 

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By Arthur Beesley

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EU Finance Ministers of the eurozone meet in Brussels on 5 December 2016.

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At the moment there is a lot of buzz about the ‘4th Industrial Revolution’. But what we need to address is something that is even bigger – the beginning of the end of the industrial age and our gradual entry into the digital age.

The 4th Industrial Revolution is only one part of that much bigger story.

Today’s Europe is to a very large extent a product of an industrial revolution that started in Europe and then gradually spread across the world. If the different parts of the global economy didn’t differ too dramatically in terms of wealth up until then, it was with the industrial revolution that the ascent of Europe and the wider West – with the United States coming somewhat later – really started.

What has evolved into today’s European Union started as an economic community centred on the two basic commodities of that phase of the industrial age: coal and steel. Integrating the coal and the steel industries of France and Germany would make war between them less and less likely. That was the foundation thought of what has since emerged as the EU.

Industrial production – still often dependent on steel – will remain an important part of our future economies. But gradually we see not only the rise of new sectors of the economy based on information and data and the profound transformation of classical sectors of our economy based on the processing of data.

The huge container ships crossing the oceans with their goods, often between the huge ports of East Asia, America and Europe, remain the symbols of the age of globalisation. And it remains critical to the development of our economies to safeguard the ‘choke points’ of these enormous flows, such as the Suez Canal or the Gulf of Aden.

But gradually, things are changing. While growth in trade has been far less robust since the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, data flows between continents and countries are exploding. A study by McKinsey estimates growth by a factor of 45 between 2005 and 2015 (and it will have, in all probability, accelerated further in the last year).

“The future is, plainly speaking, up for grabs. And Europe must wake up.”

A glance at how the list of the 20 or so most valuable companies in the world has changed during the last decade illustrates the magnitude of the digital transformation. Companies like Alphabet, Amazon and Alibaba are now driving important parts of the global economy.

The industrial age started around the coal fields of England. The emerging digital age has its epicentre in California’s Silicon Valley, but its impact is spreading far and fast, to every corner of the global economy. It’s impossible to predict who will be the winners and losers five years from now. The future is, plainly speaking, up for grabs.

And Europe must wake up.

A digital single market is obviously a must. It is on the agenda of the European Commission, but progress has so far been slow and cumbersome.

Also critical is the free flow of data between countries and continents – the lifeblood of the emerging new economy. Already we see how important global digital value chains are becoming, and it is important to create conditions for them that are as free and clear as possible.

The now moribund Trans-Pacific Partnership was the first major agreement that included provisions to this effect, and it is important that any forthcoming Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership deal between Europe and the United States continues along this road. But other arrangements, like the EU-US Privacy Shield are also of great importance in safeguarding an integrated and free transatlantic marketplace in the new digital age.

I co-chaired, with former US Ambassador to the EU William Kennard, an Atlantic Council task force on transatlantic digital issues. Our report called for a US-EU digital council – based in the White House and at a senior level in the European Commission – to provide the necessary heavyweight EU-US coordination on the rapidly increasing range of digital issues.

In our view, this digital council should seek to proactively shape interoperability policies in the digital space, including on data protection, cybersecurity efforts, the internet of things, broadband development, open data flows, blockchain possibilities, encryption policies, privacy concerns and regulations. And these are just some of the issues that will require close coordination across the Atlantic.

At the moment, we are in a somewhat uncertain situation, with responsibility for some of these issues in the European Commission not clear, and an American administration that will be in a state of transition for months to come.

But perhaps this would be the right time to launch this initiative. There will be a large number of issues that will require coordination, and a council of this sort would help to facilitate the process.

The report from the Global Commission on Internet Governance, which I chaired and which delivered its final report this summer, outlines a broad agenda of issues that must be tackled if we should be able to fully harness the potential of the digital revolution.

“The freewheeling and dynamic spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship that has made the internet the most important infrastructure in the world”

We must also be very aware of the fact that there is a silent war going on for control of our digital future. There are regimes – not too difficult to identify – that want to enshrine ‘digital sovereignty’ in international treaties and make as much as possible subject to strict state or multinational control.

The risks here are enormous.

It has been the freewheeling and dynamic spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship that has, within a couple of decades, made the internet the most important infrastructure in the world (and soon the infrastructure of all other infrastructures). The multi-stakeholder model has allowed the technical community, academia, governments, business and civil society all to have their voice in the expanding biosphere of internet governance. The experience has been extremely positive.

But advocates of ‘digital sovereignty’ want something very different.

Here, it is important that the EU, preferably in close cooperation with the US and in partnership with important nations like India and Brazil, formulates a clear global cyber strategy. At the end of the day it’s about setting the frameworks and the rules of the rapidly emerging digital age based on our values of open societies and open economies.

The transformations at the heart of the 4th Industrial Revolution will obviously be profound. We have seen the impact on the media and entertainment industries, and we see the rapid development of e-commerce in all its different forms. Soon autonomous vehicles and the robot revolution, in combination with the internet of everything, will take us into a far more revolutionary phase of the transition.

Europe must not be left behind. We must seek to be among the leaders. But we should recognise that we are not there yet – and so we better speed up.

IMAGE CREDIT: Prasit Rodphan/Bigstock.com

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The rule of law in cyberspace is at risk.

Criminal justice authorities need to be able to secure electronic evidence, including on servers in the cloud, to protect society and individuals against crime online. The powers to obtain such evidence must to be subject to data protection and other safeguards. Proposals to move ahead are now available.

Offences against computer systems and data are increasing. They include the theft of hundreds of millions of users’ data, to computer intrusions and denial of service attacks against critical infrastructure, media, civil society or public institutions – including, at the end of November, the European Commission.

But few of these offences are ever reported to criminal justice authorities. Of these, only a very small number of cases are successfully prosecuted. The same applies to offences by means of computers, from fraud and other types of financial crime, to online child abuse, xenophobia, racism and other forms of hate speech contributing to radicalisation and violent extremism.

Computer systems also host evidence in relation to crimes: ransom emails in cases of kidnapping or extortion, data on deals between drug traffickers, on corrupt arrangements, on the grooming of children, or data on terrorists conspiring to carry out an attack. However, many investigations are abandoned because of lack of access to such evidence.

Governments have an obligation to protect society and individuals against crime, but when it comes to cyberspace, their ability to meet this obligation remains limited. Progress has been made in Europe and other regions in terms of policies, legislation and criminal justice capacities. But this progress is often overtaken by the sheer scale of cybercrime, the number of devices, users and victims involved, and technical hurdles such as encryption or anonymisers.

Obtaining electronic evidence for use in criminal proceedings is essential for the rule of law. As I wrote for Europe’s World last year, “the ability of governments to ensure the rule of law in cyberspace will remain limited unless they can overcome impediments to accessing data and thus electronic evidence for criminal justice purposes. No data means no evidence, no justice and thus no rule of law.”

The challenges to securing electronic evidence are compounded by cloud computing. While data may be stored on, moving between or fragmented over servers in foreign, multiple or unknown jurisdictions – or hidden under multiple layers of service providers in various jurisdictions – the powers of criminal justice authorities are restricted to their specific territory.

So we need solutions allowing authorities to secure electronic evidence in the cloud.

The question of jurisdiction in cyberspace was a priority of the Dutch Presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2016. It resulted in a set of Council conclusions in June 2016. The European Commission has been asked to submit concrete proposals by mid-2017.

At the Council of Europe in 2014 the parties to the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime – currently comprising 41 European states as well as Australia, Canada, Dominican Republic, Israel, Japan, Mauritius, Panama, Sri Lanka and USA – established a working group to identify ‘solutions on criminal justice access to evidence stored in the cloud and in foreign jurisdictions’.

The results are now available. In November 2016, the Cybercrime Convention Committee – representing the parties to this treaty – discussed the recommendations of its ‘Cloud Evidence Group’. They include the following:

1. Parties should implement a set of practical measures to render mutual legal assistance more efficient – for example, through allocation of resources, streamlining of procedures or the establishment of emergency procedures. There are doubts that MLA is suitable to secure volatile electronic evidence. Nevertheless, it remains the most widely accepted means to obtain evidence from other jurisdictions while protecting the rights of individuals and the sovereignty of states.

2. Domestic production orders to request subscriber information directly from service providers should apply not only to those providers with a seat in the territory of a criminal justice authority but also those based elsewhere who offer a service in that territory. The main difficulty is to determine when a service provider is sufficiently connected to a territory to bring the provider under the jurisdiction of the authorities of that territory. The rationale is that subscriber details are the information that is the most often sought in a criminal investigation. European authorities are already sending more than 100,000 requests a year directly to companies such as Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter or Yahoo on an uncertain legal basis, raising data protection and other concerns.

3. There should be more consistent implementation of Article 18 of the Convention, domestic rules on the production of subscriber information. Currently, rules vary greatly between parties to this treaty, including between members of the European Union.

4. Greater practical measures are needed to facilitate cooperation between criminal justice authorities and service providers across borders. Examples include online tools with information on provider policies and procedural powers, standardised request forms and regular exchanges between the Cybercrime Convention Committee and major providers.

5. Parties should negotiate a protocol to the Convention with additional options for more efficient mutual legal assistance and for cooperation with providers and with rules and limitations on cross-border access to data, data protection and other safeguards.

While these recommendations received broad support from the Cybercrime Convention Committee in its session last month, talks continue. With the European Union also addressing these issues, the Committee coordinates closely with the European Commission. It is expected that the Committee will make a final decision, including on the preparation of a protocol, by June 2017. The solutions aim to adapt the agreed framework of the Budapest Convention to meet the challenges of cloud computing.

In a fast-changing world, common solutions with clear rule-of-law safeguards are preferable to unilateral solutions – otherwise a ‘jungle’ of diverse approaches presents risks for inter-state relations and the rights of individuals.

IMAGE CREDIT: agsandrew/Bigstock.com

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It’s been more than three months since a majority of the British people voted to divorce from the EU, and the economic consequences are getting clearer. Immediate market reactions after the referendum weren’t encouraging for the European economy, or for the rest of the world. Stocks plunged globally and the pound sterling hit its lowest value in three decades. This shouldn’t have come as a surprise – the economic uncertainty that Brexit was likely to cause had been widely predicted before the referendum.

Brexit is creating shockwaves, and confidence in the British economy has suffered substantially – although the longer-term implications for the economy will be known only when Britain’s future relationship with the EU is defined. The Bank of England has rightly extended quantitative easing measures, but it remains to be seen whether they will be enough to meet the challenge.

One thing is particularly noteworthy, however: the eurozone seems to be more resilient than expected. True, in its first post-Brexit Economic Outlook, the European Commission noted that the outcome of the referendum has the potential to damage the economic recovery of the EU. Growth prospects for 2016 and 2017 have been reduced. But growth forecasts have been revised only
slightly downwards, and in July the purchasing managers’ index indicated continued recovery.

The eurozone went through several economic governance reforms after the financial crisis in 2010-12. These reforms were necessary to correct the defects of economic and monetary union (EMU) and to restore confidence in the euro.

But Brexit changes the game. Past reforms won’t be sufficient, and additional changes need to be made to stabilise EMU. Steps towards further solidarity should be matched with enhanced responsibility for member states. The conclusion of the Banking Union is the most pressing task now. But we shouldn’t forget the Capital Markets Union, which will be important for businesses’ access to finance, especially for SMEs.

These institutional reforms are important. But we should also focus on the real economy to reinforce the still-fragile recovery, and I see three issues as particularly important. First, member states should commit themselves even more seriously to economic reforms. The experiences of Spain, Ireland and Latvia provide empirical evidence of how to pursue difficult reforms successfully. Second, the European Central Bank should continue its unconventional measures to support the eurozone economy. Third, eurozone surplus economies should boost domestic demand and investment to support economic activity in the EU.

Britain will remain a close ally of the EU, and its future trading relationship can be made mutually beneficial. The question of Britain’s access to the single market will be at the core of negotiations
over its future links with the EU, not least for its financial services industry. But we cannot water down any of the EU’s four freedoms.

Brexit also calls for bold action by every member state to boost economic competitiveness. One of the EU’s undeniable success stories, and the core of its integration process, is the single market. With Brexit, we lose one of its best advocates. And for an open, export-orientated economy like Finland, it’s of paramount importance to continue ambitious efforts to remove remaining barriers, particularly in the Digital Single Market. The same goes for energy and services. Moreover, it’s important that the EU continues to work for the competitiveness of its industries and for new free trade agreements.

In Finland, which was in a slow-motion economic decline for too many years, we practice what we preach. We’ve made a broad-based national effort to restore our competitiveness through a
social contract with trade unions and employers’ organisations. Our Competitiveness Contract will reduce unit labour costs by four percent in one go, implying no wage increases for two years. Structural reforms include a major move towards company-level local agreements for negotiating working hours and other conditions of work, the liberalisation of shopping hours, and a branch-and-root reform of healthcare and regional government. At the same time, we are investing more public funds in future industrial priorities, such as the bioeconomy, clean solutions, health-tech and digitalisation.

The motivations for establishing the EU – peace and stability among nations, and the freedom and wellbeing of citizens – haven’t disappeared. On the contrary, in a globalising world in which competition gets harder and challenges such as climate change and growing instability in our neighbourhood are crossborder by nature, we need a reformed and well-functioning EU more than ever.

We in the EU, and especially in the eurozone, must minimise the harm caused by Brexit and keep the EU on the road of reform to reinforce sustainable growth and strengthen its legitimacy. The
reformed EU must focus on the essentials: safeguarding peace and security and ensuring the right conditions for jobs and growth. Most importantly, Europe must not be allowed to slide into a painful decade of political and economic turmoil due to the British vote.

IMAGE CREDIT: Angelina Panayotova/Bigstock.com

The post Brexit creates uncertainty – but with reform, the EU can prosper appeared first on Europe’s World.

General : Some 7,500 young people came to the Parliament in May 2016 to come up with ideas on how the improve the situation in Europe as part of the European Youth Event (EYE). In recent weeks a number of these participants were invited to present their ideas on anything from asylum policy to e-voting to Parliament committees. Thanking participants at the end of the hearings this week, Vice-President Mairead McGuinness said: “Your future is determined by politics, make sure you are involved in it."

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : Some 7,500 young people came to the Parliament in May 2016 to come up with ideas on how the improve the situation in Europe as part of the European Youth Event (EYE). In recent weeks a number of these participants were invited to present their ideas on anything from asylum policy to e-voting to Parliament committees. Thanking participants at the end of the hearings this week, Vice-President Mairead McGuinness said: “Your future is determined by politics, make sure you are involved in it."

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

By Arthur Beesley

It’s not a precedent any president would want to set. François Hollande is the first French head of state since the second world war not to stand for re-election. Laid low by dreadful popularity ratings, the socialist Hollande had little chance of prevailing next year against centre-right candidate François Fillon or Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Front.

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Location : Brussels JAN 2Q2Further information
Programme
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EU Ministers for Transport, Infrastructure, Energy and Communications meet in Brussels on 5 December 2016 to have a policy debate on the proposal for a regulation concerning measures to safeguard the security of gas supply, which is one of the main building blocks of the Energy Union.

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Committee and political group meetings, Brussels

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The European Union works to bring an end to the conflict and enable the Syrian people to live in peace in their own country.

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REPORT on the implementation of the Common Foreign and Security Policy
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Elmar Brok

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General : Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi, visited today the European Parliament in Brussels, where he was welcomed by Parliament President Martin Schulz. They had a meeting during which they discussed developments in Tunisia and EU-Tunisia relations. Essebsi called the visit is a "historic and highly symbolic moment" and addressed MEPs on his country's commitment to democracy and freedom.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi, visited today the European Parliament in Brussels, where he was welcomed by Parliament President Martin Schulz. They had a meeting during which they discussed developments in Tunisia and EU-Tunisia relations. Essebsi called the visit is a "historic and highly symbolic moment" and addressed MEPs on his country's commitment to democracy and freedom.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

On the face of it, Martin Schulz’s announcement that he is leaving his post as president of the European Parliament would appear to be good news for British policymakers hoping for a soft Brexit. This is because Schulz has been an outspoken opponent of making concessions to the British government to soften the impact of the UK’s departure.

Post-Brexit the British government would like to have the economic benefits of participation in the single Europe market while getting rid of such single market obligations as free movement of EU citizens and EU economic regulations. Doing so would give Britain what many MPs would regard as the best of both worlds. However, this soft Brexit could only be achieved if the European Union were prepared to depart from its principle that the free movement of labour and obedience to EU regulations are necessary conditions of participating in the single market.

In common with President of the European Commission Jean Claude Junker, Schulz views this as Britain wanting to have its cake and eat it too. They fear that any concession to the UK would start an avalanche of demands for exemption from EU rules by other member states. They also fear it would strengthen the hand of anti-EU parties challenging national governments to reduce their commitment to the EU and encourage them to follow the UK in opting for a soft exit.

The bad news for Britain is that Schulz is not leaving European politics but throwing his hat in the ring to be a leading member of the German government after its election next autumn. Even if Angela Merkel succeeds in maintaining her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) as the largest group in the German Bundestag, she will need to form a coalition in order to retain office as Chancellor.

The Socialist Party of Germany (SPD), of which Schulz is a member, is currently the CDU’s coalition partner. Both parties are almost certain to lose seats in the Bundestag to the anti-immigration Alternative for Deutschland, but remain large enough to form another coalition government. In that case Schulz will be in line to receive the post of German Foreign Minister, which is normally reserved for the second partner in a coalition. The post will be vacant as the current SPD incumbent, Frank Walter Steinmeier, is set to become Germany’s next president.

If Schulz becomes Germany’s new Foreign Minister, his voice will be heard in Brussels in meetings where Boris Johnson will speak for Britain. He will also be a major voice in the German Bundestag and in discussions with Angela Merkel about how the European Council should respond to requests from Theresa May for concessions. The most likely alternative to a CDU-SPD coalition is a coalition between the SPD and the parties of the left.  Its current leader, Sigmar Gabriel, is just as outspoken as Schulz in opposing the British government’s desire to have an à la carte choice of EU benefits and obligations.

Schulz’s departure from the European Parliament will not change its long-standing commitment to the promotion of greater European integration. The new president is likely to be chosen by the European People’s Party, the parliamentary group from which David Cameron withdrew British Conservative MEPs on the grounds it was in favour of ever closer Union. Crucially, any agreement that the European Council struck with Britain will require ratification by the European Parliament.  If Britain were to gain substantial concessions from the European Council, it would invite hard opposition in the Parliament. The refusal of the European Parliament to approve a deal would result in Britain having a “cold turkey” exit without any benefits to cushion the transition and without any obligations. Only the hardest of backers of Brexit would welcome this.

Theresa May faces a hard choice to avoid being boxed in by opposition that Schulz might mobilize in Berlin and Brussels. In terms of British domestic politics, the softer choice is to retain few of the benefits of single market membership in order to bring back to Westminster control of EU immigration and economic regulations. The harder alternative is to accept the EU’s conditions for staying in the single market and facing a challenge to her hold on Downing Street from Conservative MPs and ministers to whom Brexit means a hard Brexit.

The post Another nail in the coffin of a soft Brexit? appeared first on Ideas on Europe.

Plenary sessions : MEPs approved €31.5 million in EU aid to repair flood damage in Bavaria in a plenary vote on Thursday. Seven people died in the May and June 2016 floods, which affected more than 47,000 people in Lower Bavaria. Over 2,000 were still unable to return to their homes two months later. Hardest hit was the Rottal-Inn district in Lower Bavaria. The aid will come from the EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF).

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : MEPs approved €31.5 million in EU aid to repair flood damage in Bavaria in a plenary vote on Thursday. Seven people died in the May and June 2016 floods, which affected more than 47,000 people in Lower Bavaria. Over 2,000 were still unable to return to their homes two months later. Hardest hit was the Rottal-Inn district in Lower Bavaria. The aid will come from the EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF).

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP