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Rethinking Education
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In order to reduce the potential amount of information on a subject like “rethinking education” to a manageable size and to highlight the issues at stake, the Commission’s November ’12 Communication (Procedure 2013/2041 (INI))...
EU minority languages: in danger
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Taking the official definition of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages into account, there are approximately 60 regional or minority languages (RML), also referred to as lesser used languages (LUL) in Europe. Some ha...
The week on the EP Library’s blog: On Planet Plenary
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‘Are you going to Strasbourg?’ is a frequent question raised in the EP, also for librarians. Yes, we go! A team of four spreads out from the newspaper lounge to the reading room offering library services in Strasbourg. At the heart of our...
Turkey’s regional power aspirations
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The rise to power of the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP) in 2002 has prompted the emergence of a new Turkish foreign policy doctrine. Its principles emphasise a policy of “zero problems with neighbours&rdquo...
Indication of origin marking on products
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Non-food products imported into the EU currently require no labelling or marking of the country from which they originate. The European Commission (EC) recently withdraw a 2005 proposal which would have introduced country of origin marking of certain...
The notion of ‘consumer’ in EU law
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The notion of ‘consumer’ is a key concept delimiting the application of consumer-protection rules. However, not only is there no consistent and uniform definition in EU law, there are also divergences amongst the Membe...
Growing up under siege: “War Childhood” by Jasminko Halilović
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By MEP Doris Gisela Pack (DE/EPP) What was it like to grow up in a Sarajevo under siege? Now that we are some years on from the terrible events of the early nineties, I thought it was time for some reflection. In cooperation with Mr Dino Elezović...
Vers une utilisation intelligente et durable de l’eau dans l’agriculture européenne
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L’agriculture est une grande consommatrice d’eau: plus d’un tiers de la consommation d’eau en Europe est lié à l’agriculture. Les agriculteurs sont conscients qu’il est important de trouver de nouvell...
Discarding fish under the Common Fisheries Policy: Towards an end to mandated waste
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Fishermen not only catch what they are interested in or authorised to fish. The unwanted part of their catches is discarded back at sea, often dead. This is seen by many as an unacceptable waste of resources. The importance of discards varies but in...
Blue growth: Sustainable development of EU marine and coastal sectors
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In September 2012, the European Commission put forward a blue growth strategy for the EU. Elaborated in the context of the EU’s Integrated Maritime Policy, the initiative focuses upon the potential of the EU’s marine and maritime sectors...
Analysis of EU-US trade
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The European Union and the United States (US) are the two largest economies in the world in terms of GDP and are each other’s major partners in trade of goods, services and investment. To further improve these relations the European Commission...
Syrian refugees: facts and figures (updated)
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One of the direct implications of the civil war in Syria is the ever growing flow of people leaving their homes to escape the bloodshed. This information dossier compiles sources about Syrians seeking refuge in their neighbouring countries as well as...
Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries
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In the wake of the protracted internal armed conflict in Syria, growing numbers of refugees, predominantly women and children, have sought refuge in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt. Reception conditions vary considerably, and the unabated inf...
Asset recovery for Arab countries in transition
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Since the ousting of Hosni Mubarak and Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the EU has frozen assets of 67 people suspected of concealing abroad state funds misappropriated in Egypt and Tunisia. But despite high-level political declarations supporting the r...
Mutual recognition of protection measures in civil matters
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According to the Stockholm Programme, natural persons moving around the EU should have the same level of protection in all Member States (MS), within the common area of freedom, security and justice. The principle of mutual recognition has recently b...
Application of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive
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Audiovisual media services are as much cultural services as they are economic ones. Their growing importance for democracy, education and culture accounts for the application of specific rules across the EU. The first Commission implementation report...
The EU-US Trade and Investment Partnership
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On 13 February 2013, European Union (EU) and United States (US) leaders announced the start of procedures for the launch of negotiations on a transatlantic free trade deal. The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) would address a bro...
Bosnia and Herzegovina: reactions to the Commission’s 2012 progress report
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In its latest progress report on Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), the European Commission concluded that BiH made very limited progress towards EU membership in 2012. EU institutions as well as the Bosnian government have endorsed the findings of the Co...
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Seventh EU progress report towards accession: what has changed
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In October 2012, the European Commission reiterated its recommendation on the launch of accession negotiations with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). However, the absence of progress on the name dispute with Greece is still hampering...
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Seventh EU progress report towards accession: what has changed
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In October 2012, the European Commission reiterated its recommendation on the launch of accession negotiations with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). However, the absence of progress on the name dispute with Greece is still hampering...
