European Union

Plenary sessions : Parliament's economic, social and single market priorities for 2016 were adopted on Thursday in three separate resolutions. MEPs gave their input to the upcoming March economic summit, focusing on the implementation of the Stability and Growth Pact, its social aspects and how to further exploit the economic potential of the single market.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : A law to revamp the European Employment Services (EURES) network with an EU-wide database of job seekers and vacancies was approved by Parliament on Thursday. The aim is to help fight unemployment by better matching labour market supply and demand. Updated rules, already agreed with the Council, will also pay more attention to cross-border regions and young people.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : A law to revamp the European Employment Services (EURES) network with an EU-wide database of job seekers and vacancies was approved by Parliament on Thursday. The aim is to help fight unemployment by better matching labour market supply and demand. Updated rules, already agreed with the Council, will also pay more attention to cross-border regions and young people.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

This is the Thursday edition of our Brussels Briefing. To receive it every morning in your email in-box, sign up here.

Mr Orban announcing Hungary's migration referendum in Budapest on Wednesday

Now it’s Hungary’s turn. Viktor Orban, the polarising Hungarian premier, announced yesterday that his country would be holding a referendum on whether it should be forced to take in refugees as part of EU policies to relieve Greece and other overwhelmed frontier countries suffering the biggest influxes of migrants from the war-torn Middle East. By our count, that would make five countries holding referenda on EU policies in the course of about a year: Greece’s “oxi” on a the terms of a third eurozone bailout; Denmark’s “no” on opting-in to EU policing and judicial policies; an upcoming April Dutch referendum on the EU integration deal with Ukraine; Britain’s June plebiscite on EU membership; and now Mr Orban’s migration poll.

Throw in two more referenda – an Italian one in October on a non-EU domestic reform issue, and the always referendum-happy (but non-EU member) Switzerland – and you have a continent that seems to have gone delirious for direct democracy. As Tom Nuttall, the Economist’s Brussels-based Charlemagne columnist, pointed out in January, it’s not as if referenda are a new phenomenon. But when political leaders begin applying it to EU policies – which are always the product of multilateral horse-trading in Brussels – it could grind the already slow-moving European legislative machine-work to a halt.

In some ways, the rash of referenda is a bit of birds coming home to roost. Founders of the European project were overtly elitist about how they went about integration. “I thought it wrong to consult the peoples of Europe about the structure of a community of which they had no practical experience,” Jean Monnet, the intellectual godfather of the EU, once famously said. In more recent times, referenda results were either worked around – after France and the Netherlands rejected the EU’s “constitutional treaty” in 2005 it was largely rebranded the “Lisbon treaty” with tweaks that made plebiscites unnecessary – or re-run. Ireland voted twice on both the Nice and Lisbon treaties after rejecting them the first time around.

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Despite its undoubted transformative potential, there still exists large swathes of people in the Brussels Bubble who just ‘don’t get’ Twitter. As a social strategist I sometimes find that pretty frustrating; there are so many great things which industries, associations and individuals could be doing, but there is just such little appetite for them. The challenge is to demonstrate to the bubble just how easy, accessible and effective Twitter is.

Although everybody knows that Twitter should be part of a successful public affairs strategy, many just don’t know how. To understand, we need to stop viewing it as this newfangled, modern tool and realize that it’s the same as other broadcasting platforms which we’ve been using for years. To explain, here are 3 similarities between Twitter and radio which demonstrate just how easy it is to build a successful social media strategy for your clients.

1. Stations with a clear direction are the most successful

In Radio, the most popular stations are often those with a clear and accessible offering. Popular stations are successful in part because they are synonymous with certain values, messages and content and they are consistent in the way they communicate all of these things. The same is true for Twitter. Too many accounts are run without a clear objective and so don’t stand out. Users who have a clear “brand” are typically successful and that’s because they have identified what works for them and have repeated it.

2. The key is being able to cut through the noise

Having a clear direction is the starting point, but it is increasingly not enough. In radio, there are a plethora of stations which occupy the same space, playing the same music and interviewing the same artists. Popular stations have to find a way to stand out. Twitter users are faced with the same problem. As I mentioned in my last post (and as our team constantly say to clients) in 2016 it’s not enough to just write tweets. Just like the best radio stations use quizzes, phone-ins and features to stand out, so Twitter users need to be bolder and more creative when it comes to communicating.

3. it’s essential to know your audience

The best radio stations are those that develop content which speaks to their own niche audience. If a station which specialized in classical music suddenly started playing Kanye West, their audience would quickly lose interest- no matter how good Ye’s songs may be. As I’m sure you’ve guessed by now, this also applies for Twitter. Interaction with an audience is useless unless it’s targeted and tailored to suit their needs. Otherwise they won’t be interested in what you say and if they’re not interested in what you say then you may as well not be tweeting to them at all.

As you can see, the similarities are as simple as they are obvious. Despite this, the majority of Twitter accounts in Brussels lack direction, produce little to no cutting edge content and fail to target their audience.

So, next time you’re typing out a tweet, think about how you can learn from your favourite radio station. If you do, you’re more likely to achieve your objective- and that’s always a good thing.

 

 

Alex Burchill

Business minister, Anna Soubry, the most enthusiastic pro-EU member of the government’s cabinet, has sent a letter to UKIP leader, Nigel Farage, with three vital questions.

She posed the questions after Mr Farage made clear that he didn’t want Britain to remain in the Single Market of Europe if the referendum resulted in a ‘leave’ decision. Instead, said Mr Farage, he wanted Britain to be “a fully independent country” (although it’s not quite clear what that means).

Subsequently, Ms Soubry sent these three questions to Mr Farage:

1. Was he happy that his policy would increase the costs for business because the UK would face the EU’s common external tariff, which stands at 10% for cars and 15% for food?

2. How long would it take for the UK to renegotiate trade deals with more than 50 countries with whom the UK trades on the basis of EU deals?

3. Did Farage accept that the UK would have to accept many EU regulations, in order to trade with the EU, while having no say over how they were drawn up?

Ms Soubry also asked Mr Farage:

“I suspect you will claim that these consequences are avoidable by our negotiating a new ‘free trade deal’ with the EU. If so, can you set out precisely the terms you would expect and any evidence that they are credible and achievable? If not, your response will be taken as a sign that you want only to cover up the serious consequences of Britain leaving Europe.”

An answer is awaited from Mr Farage.

Footnote: What interests me is why any answers from Mr Farage should be taken seriously? He is not in power. He is not a Member of Parliament. He is not in government. His party only has one MP who most often disagrees with Mr Farage on Britain’s possible Brexit terms.

If Britain decides on 23 June to leave the EU, Mr Farage still won’t be in power. What difference will his answers make (assuming he can answer at all)?

* Join the discussion about this article on Facebook.

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Other stories by Jon Danzig:

• UKIP’s fantasy island
  
• What does Brexit look like? Nobody knows
• Who do you think you are kidding, Mr Farage?
• List of the latest articles by Jon Danzig

To follow my stories please like my Facebook page: Jon Danzig Writes

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• Share and join the discussions about this article on Twitter:

#EUReferendum 3 questions for @Nigel_Farage by #UKgov minister @Anna_Soubry See my Facebook: https://t.co/mL8IUSA513 pic.twitter.com/cFXwJ92wS2

— Jon Danzig (@Jon_Danzig) February 24, 2016

 

The post Three questions for Nigel Farage appeared first on Ideas on Europe.

On Wednesday, Vienna hosted nine countries – and 18 ministers – to discuss the migration crisis in the western Balkans. Despite the size of the diplomatic shindig, a few names were left off the list.

To the surprise and annoyance of Athens and Berlin, neither Germany (the main destination) nor Greece (the main entrance) were asked to come along. The European Commission, which has attempted to marshal the EU’s response, was not asked either.

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Plenary sessions : Leaders of the main political groups in Parliament welcomed a fair EU-UK deal as an offer to the British people to remain in the EU. But it's an "in or out" vote some said, not another phase in the negotiations. During the plenary debate on the outcome of the recent EU summit with European Council President Donald Tusk and Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, many UK MEPs voiced arguments for and against EU membership.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : Leaders of the main political groups in Parliament welcomed a fair EU-UK deal as an offer to the British people to remain in the EU. But it's an "in or out" vote some said, not another phase in the negotiations. During the plenary debate on the outcome of the recent EU summit with European Council President Donald Tusk and Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, many UK MEPs voiced arguments for and against EU membership.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : Welcoming the President of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri, the President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz pointed out that Lebanon, with its four million inhabitants, is hosting one million Syrian refugees. This deserves the “greatest recognition and greatest thanks”, particularly in light of the debate on refugees in the EU, Schulz said at the opening of the February II plenary session, adding that the European Parliament will assist the country in any way.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : Welcoming the President of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri, the President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz pointed out that Lebanon, with its four million inhabitants, is hosting one million Syrian refugees. This deserves the “greatest recognition and greatest thanks”, particularly in light of the debate on refugees in the EU, Schulz said at the opening of the February II plenary session, adding that the European Parliament will assist the country in any way.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

http://tvnewsroom.consilium.europa.eu/uploads/council-images/thumbs/uploads/council-images/remote/http_7e18a1c646f5450b9d6d-a75424f262e53e74f9539145894f4378.r8.cf3.rackcdn.com/9af27504-6c3c-11e5-8ebe-bc764e084e2e_88.14_thumb_169_1455729239_1455729239_129_97shar_c1.jpg

EU Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs meet in Brussels on 25 February 2016 to discuss migration, the reinforcement of checks against relevant databases at external borders and the European border and coast guard proposal.

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Despite high unemployment in many parts of Europe, few Europeans look for work in another EU country. This is partly because of the difficulty of finding a job abroad. The European network of Employment Services (Eures) was launched in 1993 to help with this. On 25 February MEPs approved a proposal to strengthen the Eures network. Watch the video to find out what services Eures can offer.
Committee on Employment and Social Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Despite high unemployment in many parts of Europe, few Europeans look for work in another EU country. This is partly because of the difficulty of finding a job abroad. The European network of Employment Services (Eures) was launched in 1993 to help with this. On 25 February MEPs approved a proposal to strengthen the Eures network. Watch the video to find out what services Eures can offer.
Committee on Employment and Social Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

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Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Welcome to Wednesday’s edition of our new Brussels Briefing. To receive it every morning in your email in-box, sign up here.

There are 20 European ministers in Vienna today for one of the most extraordinary meetings of the migration crisis – and there have been some pretty extraordinary meetings.

Austria has convened nine countries along the so-called western Balkans migration route. That sounds reasonable enough. Foreign and interior ministers will be present from Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia. Missing from the guestlist, though, is the main migrant entry-point (Greece) and the main destination-point (Germany). That is either a rather big oversight – or an act of mutiny.

It caps a week where the dominoes have begun to fall in south-eastern Europe. Austria’s renegade policy – imposing asylum caps while waving through Germany-bound migrants – has triggered other national responses down the line. Vienna is even considering deploying troops to the Macedonia border. It is shaping facts on the ground that are fast eclipsing the prospects for a “European solution”, if ever it were possible.

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EU and NATO coordination has started to tackle the refugee crisis and will be further deepened, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told MEPs and national MPs in the Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday.
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Subcommittee on Security and Defence

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

EU and NATO coordination has started to tackle the refugee crisis and will be further deepened, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told MEPs and national MPs in the Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday.
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Subcommittee on Security and Defence

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP