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Commissioner Moscovici in London
Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs Union, Pierre Moscovici was in London on 23 and 24 November, where he gave a keynote speech at the "Best of British" conference organised by JP Morgan. He also attended a dinner hosted by the Centre for European Reform and TheCityUK. On 24 November, Commissioner Moscovici took part in a Policy Network lunchtime seminar, in conversation with former European Commissioner, Mr Peter Mandelson. The Commissioner repeated that there can be no negotiation before notification of the triggering of article 50 and that the Commission will have a single negotiator. He spoke about the need to tackle the reasons for the backlash against globalisation: this requires support to those who consider themselves losers from globalisation and engagement with a range of economic, social and political issues. To succeed in this, the Commissioner argued that the EU would need to become more political, with a strong Eurozone at its heart. He added that protecting the EU's citizens is essential and that building the EU's economic and democratic legitimacy is central.
Commissioner Moscovici's interview with Bloomberg
European Commission-OECD report: "Health at a Glance: Europe 2016"
On 23 November, the European Commission and the OECD jointly published their "Health at a Glance: Europe 2016" report showing that life expectancy now exceeds 80 years in most EU countries. However, this record-high life expectancy is not always matched by healthy life years. Around 50 million people in the EU suffer from several chronic diseases, and more than half a million people of working age die from them every year, representing an annual cost of some €115 billion for EU economies.
The report also shows that the UK has one of the lowest rates of avoidable admissions related to diabetes, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma. The UK also has one of the lowest suicide rates. The report also states that the UK has made good progress in developing a rich information infrastructure (known as the Quality and Outcomes Framework) to underpin quality monitoring and improvement in primary care. The volume and detail of information collected within this Framework is impressive, and it is one of the most advanced quality monitoring systems developed across the European Union. In 2013, the UK had the highest death rates from respiratory diseases among EU countries.
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Violence against Women: No, thanks – say two-thirds of Europeans
Two-thirds of people in all but one EU member state (Lithuania) think forcing a partner to have sex should be illegal. A stunning 98% of people in the UK say forced sex is unacceptable. The data comes from an EU-wide Eurobarometer survey published to coincide with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, 25 November.
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West Highlands project wins a 2016 European Broadband Award
A UK project to bring high speed internet to the rural areas on the West Coast of Scotland won one of the 2016 European Broadband Awards. The RemIX project which gives people of the West Highlands quality access to the global network took the prize in the 'Future-proof and quality of service' category. Together with 4 other projects from Italy, the Netherlands, Austria and Poland it will serve as an exemplary best practice for anyone planning broadband development in Europe.
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Michel Barnier meeting with David Davis
On 21 November, Michel Barnier, European Commission Chief Negotiator in charge of the preparation and conduct of the negotiations with the United Kingdom met with Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, David Davis. Mr Barnier tweeted this was a "courtesy visit from @daviddavismp at his request. No negotiation without notification. My work is now focused on EU27. #Brexit."
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