EU NEWS YOU CAN USE

The European Commission launched this week infringement proceedings against the United Kingdom for not complying with significant parts of the Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland. Despite repeated calls on the UK government to implement the Protocol, it has failed to do so. This is a clear breach of international law. The aim of these infringement proceedings is to restore compliance with the Protocol in a number of key areas where the UK hasn't been implementing it properly – ultimately with the goal of protecting the health and safety of EU citizens. At the same time, the Commission is today providing additional details on the possible solutions it put forward in October 2021 to facilitate the movement of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič issued on Monday, 13 June a statement on the UK government's decision to table a bill disapplying core elements of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland.

The National University of Ireland in Galway is one of five new sites selected by the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking to host Europe's next generation supercomputers. The other four high-performance machines will be in Germany, Greece, Poland and Hungary. They will power further development of novel scientific and industrial applications in personalised medicine, development of new drugs, wind farm design modelling, and biomolecular research.

The European Parliament and the Council reached a provisional political agreement this week on a proposal by the European Commission on the extension of the EU Digital COVID Certificate by one year. The extension will allow persons to continue using their certificate to travel across the EU past the Regulation's initial expiry date of 30 June 2022 should a rise in infections make it necessary for Member States to temporarily reintroduce restrictions.

The European Commission issued guidance to member states that describes measures they can take to integrate people arriving from Ukraine into their labour market and support their access to vocational education and training (VET) and adult learning.The guidance covers both people eligible for temporary protection under the Temporary Protection Directive as well as those eligible for adequate protection under national law. Since the beginning of Russia's unprovoked war against Ukraine and its civilians, over 7 million people have fled Ukraine and reached the EU. So far, only a relatively small number of those of working age have entered the EU labour market, though the number of people wanting to do so is expected to rise.

91% of the Irish people approve of the economic sanction of the EU against Russia in response to their invasion of Ukraine. This is the fifth highest approval rating of the joint EU action among the member states. On average 8 of 10 EU citizens approve the sanctions according to the latest Eurobarometer released this week. It confirms the large support for the EU's response to the Russian aggression against Ukraine and shows that European citizens expect the EU to phase out its dependency on Russian sources of energy.

The Consumers and Environment Category of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is hosting a hybrid conference entitled "Health (One Health)" on 20 June from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The aim of the conference is to look at how the European Union can be more active in this area, especially through better cooperation among the key stakeholders. The conference will feature contributions by representatives of civil society organisations active in various Member States as well as a number of high-level speakers.

The Institute of International & European Affairs hosts an online presentation by Bertie Ahern, former Taoiseach of Ireland, entitled Reflections on the Future of Anglo-Irish Relations. This event will take place on Tuesday, 21 June 2022 at 1p.m. Irish time via the Zoom platform.

On Wednesday 22 June, European Movement Ireland and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung will host an online event, ‘Supporting Democracy and Security: The War in Ukraine’. The event will discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the implications for European security and other policy areas. It will also examine the EU’s response to the war, Ukraine’s future in Europe and arising geopolitical developments. These issues will be examined from Irish, German and EU perspectives. Speakers include Minister Simon Coveney TD, Ireland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence, and H.E. Cord Meier-Klodt, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Ireland. The welcome address will be given by Katie O’Connor, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung UK & Ireland, and the event will be moderated by Noelle O Connell, CEO, European Movement Ireland.

The IIEA will host an online presentation by Dr. Mikuláš Bek, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, entitled, Priorities of the Czech Presidency of the EU. This event will take place on Monday, 27 June 2022 at 1.00p.m. (Dublin time) via the Zoom platform.

The European Parliament Liaison Offices in Ireland and the United Kingdom are hosting an in-person discussion to mark the award of the 2021 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to the Russian activist and political prisoner Alexei Navalny. The subject of the discussion will be: "Is it Possible to Lead an Honest Life Under a Dishonest Political System?". This event takes place from 3 to 4.30 pm on Friday 1 July at Europe House, 12-14 Lower Mount Street, Dublin 2. Speakers include: Barry Andrews MEP; Maria Logan, Open Russia Foundation, Trustee to the Future of Russia Foundation and the Khodorkovsky Foundation; Sinéad Gibney, Chief Commissioner, Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission; and Caoilfhionn Gallagher QC, Barrister at Doughty Street Chambers, specialising in human rights and civil liberties. The event will be moderated by Pat Leahy, Political Editor, The Irish Times. To register, please email: events-epdublin@europarl.europa.eu.

The European Commission opened for applications the Access City Award 2023 competition. Participating in the Award is an opportunity for cities to gain European recognition and a chance to review their current accessibility situation. It also allows European cities to share experiences in a strive to further improve and become an even better cities to live and visit. The deadline to apply is 8 September 2022.

To mark the World Bicycle Day on 3 June, the Polish Embassy in Dublin has opened a cycling competition for children. The Virtual Cycling Challenge is aimed at children attending primary school in Ireland. They are asked to cycle the total distance of 15 km until 26 June.