The European Commission wants a mandatory Transparency Register covering all three EU institutions – the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission. The Commission is proposing that all three institutions – including the Council - be subject to the same minimum standards for the first time. Under these proposals, lobbyists would have to register in the Transparency Register before any meetings with decision-makers. First Vice-President Frans Timmermans said: "Today's proposals for a mandatory transparency register covering the Parliament, Council and Commission are an important step in the right direction. Citizens have the right to know who tries to influence EU law-making. We propose a simple rule: no meeting with decision-makers without prior registration. Through the Register, the public will see who is lobbying, who they represent and how much they spend."
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The European Commission has signed two direct grants worth €600 million to support Syrian refugees and host communities in Turkey in the areas of education and health. The €600 million grants - €300 million for education and €300 million for health - are funded under the €1.415 billion "Special Measure". The direct grant for education means 500,000 Syrian students can receive education in the Turkish language. The direct grant in the area of health is for comprehensive health care for refugees in Turkey. Since March this year, the EU has mobilised more than €2 billion out of its total budget of €3 billion under the Facility for Refugees in Turkey.
European Commissioner Karmenu Vella (Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries) presented Galway's Marine Institute with the first Atlantic Project Award for International Cooperation earlier this week. The ceremony took place in Croke Park which hosted the Atlantic Stakeholders Conference. Presenting the award, Commissioner Vella said: "Together, we are focused on using the potential of the sea to offer new economic opportunities. Opportunities not only in emerging sectors, but also by breathing fresh air into traditional ones." The project which won the award was led by Ireland and included a number of international partners. It was funded by Horizon 2020, the EU's research fund and looked at how to implement the Galway Statement on Atlantic Ocean cooperation.
Mr Gerard Kiely will take up office as the new Head of the European Commission's Representation in Ireland on 1 October 2016. He brings over thirty years of European and International affairs experience as well as strong communication skills to this post. In recent years, Mr Kiely occupied a series of managerial posts in the Directorate General for Agriculture, including over the last six years as Head of the Unit for Pre-Accession Assistance. Barbara Nolan, who has been Head of Representation in Ireland since 2010, is returning to Commission Headquarters in Brussels to take up a management position dealing with Education Policy.
According to figures published by Eurostat to mark World Tourism Day earlier this week, Spain was the top foreign destination for Irish tourists in 2014 (18.2%), followed by the United Kingdom 13.5% and the US (8%). However, over 1 in 4 (26.7%) Irish people took staycations in 2014, although usually for short periods. The top countries of origin of visitors to Ireland in 2014 were the UK (8.3%), the US (8%) and Germany (4.6%). Older tourists (aged 65 and older) accounted for 23% of tourism nights in Ireland in 2014.
New Eurostat figures show that French (60%) is still the most popular foreign language studied in Irish secondary schools (2014 figures). German (21.4%) and Spanish (15.6%) were the next most popular foreign languages. Across the EU as a whole, English was by far the most popular foreign language with 97.3% of lower secondary students studying it. Only in Belgium (46.3%), Luxembourg (54.0%), Hungary (69.3%) and Bulgaria (87.2%) was the share of pupils learning English below 90%. French was the second most popular foreign language studied followed by German and Spanish. Russian was the most popular non-EU language studied.
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Commissioner Jourová met yesterday with Dr. Francisco Javier Garcia Sanz, Member of the Board of Management of the VW group, following her discussion with 31 consumer organisations in Brussels two weeks ago. Volkswagen committed to an EU-wide action plan to bring the affected cars back into conformity. Volkswagen agreed to inform the customers by end 2016 and to have all cars repaired by autumn 2017. Commissioner Jourová said: "Volkswagen committed to an EU-wide action plan today, which is an important step towards a fair treatment of consumers in the EU. I will closely monitor this commitment and continue to work with consumer organisations, authorities and Volkswagen." This is an important first step, which the Commission will be closely monitoring.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), represented by three of its Irish members, David Croughan (Employers' Group), Jack O'Connor (Workers' Group) and Séamus Boland (Various Interests Group) will be taking part in a debate with representatives of the Irish civil society on the European Pillar of Social Rights. The meeting will take place at The National Economic and Social Council, in Dublin, on 23 September, at 9.00 a.m.. In addition to EESC members, Graham Stull, European Semester Officer at the European Commission Representation in Ireland, will participate. The outcome from this national debate will feed into the EESC opinion on this issue.
The European Commission has announced that it has opened up two new in-depth State aid investigations, where tax treatment may have been used to give unfair advantages to particular companies. One investigation is into Luxembourg's tax treatment of GDF Suez (now Engie) a French electric utility company, and the other is into Poland's treatment of certain retail companies which may have given them selective advantage.
There are lots of activities taking place around Ireland to mark EU Code Week 2016 from 15 to 23 October. The idea behind the Week is to make programming more visible, to show young, adults and elderly how you bring ideas to life with code, to demystify these skills and bring motivated people together to learn. The initiative was launched in 2013 by the Young Advisors for the Digital Agenda Europe.
The Waterford Europe Direct Information Centre, in association with the Waterford Chamber of Commerce and supported by the European Commission Representation, are organising a lunchtime session on the European Investment Plan in Waterford (Central Library, Lady Lane) on Thursday 6 October starting at 12.45 p.m.
The Waterford Europe Direct Information Centre, in association with the Waterford Chamber of Commerce and supported by the European Commission Representation, are organising a lunchtime session on the European Investment Plan in Waterford (Central Library, Lady Lane) on Thursday 6 October starting at 12.45 p.m.
The European Commission Representation in Ireland and the European Movement Ireland are hosting a half-day conference on Investing in Ireland's Infrastructure. The conference will take place on Friday 30 September in the Chartered Accountants House, 47-49 Pearse Street, Dublin 2, from 9 am to 1 pm. The keynote speaker will be the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe TD, and Ireland's new vice-president at the EIB, Andrew McDowell will also speak. The event is free to attend. Register in advance at: rsvp@europeanmovement.ie.
The European Commission Representation in Ireland and the European Movement Ireland are hosting a half-day conference on Investing in Ireland's Infrastructure. The conference will take place on Friday 30 September in the Chartered Accountants House, 47-49 Pearse Street, Dublin 2, from 9 am to 1 pm. The keynote speaker will be the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe TD, and Ireland's new vice-president at the EIB, Andrew McDowell will also speak. The event is free to attend. Register in advance at: rsvp@europeanmovement.ie.
According to new Eurostat figures, 306,000 people applied for asylum in the second quarter of 2016, up 6% on the first quarter. Almost 60% of them came from Syria (90,500), Afghanistan (50,300) and Iraq (34,300). An overall majority of them (61% or 186,745 people) applied for asylum in Germany. The next highest numbers went to Italy (27,000, or 9%), France (17,800, or 6%), Hungary (14,900, or 5%) and Greece (12,000, or 4%). In relative numbers Germany also received the highest number at 2,273 applications per million inhabitants. Less than 1% (or 450 people) applied for asylum in Ireland in the second quarter or 96 per million inhabitants. This represents a drop of 6% on the first quarter. The largest numbers applying in Ireland came from Pakistan (16%), Zimbabwe (12%) and Albania (9%).
The Commission has announced a revised draft for roaming rules and said that: "Roaming is for travellers. The new draft (rules) allow operators to check usage patterns to prevent the "Roam like at Home" mechanism from being abused." This new mechanism will be based on the principle of residence or stable links European consumers may have with any EU Member State. Examples of "stable links" include work commuters, expats who are frequently present in their home country or Erasmus students. Europeans will pay domestic prices when they call, text or go online from their mobile devices and will have full access to other parts of their mobile subscription (e.g. monthly data package).
The newly published European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs 2015 (ESPAD) shows that Irish 15-16 year olds smoke and drink less than the European average for their age group. Only 35% of Irish 15-16 year olds had drunk alcohol in the 30 days prior to the survey (compared to a European average of 48%) and only 13% had smoked (compared to an average of 21%). However, use of inhalants (11% compared to a European average of 7%) and new psychoactive substances (7% compared to a European average of 4%) was slightly higher among Irish 15-16 year olds. They were also more likely to have engaged in gambling with 16% having gambled for money at least once and 11% more frequently compared to European averages of 14% and 7% respectively. Overall, boys were more likely to have engaged in dangerous behaviour than girls. The 2015 ESPAD survey is based on information provided by over 96,000 15-16 year old students from 35 European countries, including 24 EU member states.
Did you know that Ireland had the 6th lowest share of renewables in energy consumption in the EU in 2014? Or that Ireland was the second least energy intensive economy in the EU in 2014, i.e. it used the second lowest amount of energy relative to its overall economic size (based on GDP)? Or that Ireland is the fourth most dependent country on energy imports? Eurostat's new digital publication "Shedding light on energy in the EU - A guided tour of energy statistics will answer these and a lot more questions.
On 5 October, the European Union and the government of Afghanistan will co-host the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan. This conference will gather up to 70 countries and 30 international organizations and agencies. It will provide a platform for the government of Afghanistan to set out its vision and track record on reform. For the international community, it will be the opportunity to signal sustained political and financial support to Afghan peace, state-building and development. Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, High Representative Federica Mogherini and Neven Mimica, European Commissioner for Development Cooperation, will represent the European Union.