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EU NEWS YOU CAN USE
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European Commission in Ireland
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In this issue
- 14 December
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Top News
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Brexit: European Commission recommends sufficient progress to the European Council (Article 50)
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The European Commission last Friday recommended to the European Council (Article 50) to conclude that sufficient progress has been made in the first phase of the Article 50 negotiations with the United Kingdom. It is now for the European Council (Article 50) on 15 December 2017 to decide if sufficient progress has been made, allowing the negotiations to proceed to their second phase. The Commission's assessment is based on a Joint Report agreed by the negotiators of the Commission and the United Kingdom Government, which was endorsed by Prime Minister Theresa May during a meeting with President Jean-Claude Juncker.
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Statement by Phil Hogan on Brexit negotiations
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In a statement welcoming the agreement between the EU and the UK and the assessment of President Jean Claude Juncker that sufficient progress has been to move to phase two of the Brexit negotiations, EU Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Phil Hogan said: "Today's agreement is an important milestone along the road, but there is still a long road to be travelled before we reach agreement on the future EU-UK relationship. The provisions relating to North-South cooperation fully vindicate the Irish government's position and reflect the solidarity which the European Union has consistently shown for Ireland since the UK's decision to leave. The unity of purpose, understanding and support for Ireland shown by the other 26 Member States was particularly welcome."
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UK's commitment gives us an effective guarantee to avoid a hard border: Michel Barnier
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Speaking last Friday on the Joint Report from the Negotiators of the EU and the UK Government, the EU's Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier said: "We both remain determined to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland. The UK's commitment today gives us an effective guarantee to avoid such a hard border. Unless another solution is found, the UK firmly agreed that Northern Ireland will maintain full alignment with EU internal market and Customs Union rules which support North-South cooperation, the all-island economy, and the protection of the Good Friday Agreement. The Good Friday Agreement in all its dimensions and North-South cooperation under that Agreement will be protected. Residents of Northern Ireland who are Irish citizens will continue to enjoy their rights as EU citizens."
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Commissioner Navracsics leads Citizens' Dialogue on the Future of Europe
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As part of a series of "town hall" meetings across the EU, EU Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport led an Irish event with Minister of State for European Affairs, Helen McEntee TD yesterday in the Royal Irish Academy, Dublin. The event was moderated by UCD and RTE's Aoibhin Ní Shúilleabháin. To a packed audience, the Commissioner explained the importance of making the functioning of EU institutions understandable and transparent to citizens. Participants raised a wide-range of questions, particularly in relation to the future of the European Union and education, including EU initiatives such as Erasmus. Specific issues included what could be done to support language learning and concerns that young people were taking the EU for granted. The Minister concluded by encouraging participants to get involved in the Government's Citizens’ Dialogues on the Future of Europe. Click on the link below to see the video of the event on our Facebook page.
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Commissioner Navracsics at Irish launch of the European Year of Cultural Heritage
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Creative Ireland Forum and Conference 2017 launched the European Year of Cultural Heritage in Ireland this week. The Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Tibor Navracsics, was there. He praised Creative Ireland's programme for the year and its focus on young people: "I want the European Year to focus on children and young people. By encouraging them to discover, explore and understand Europe's Cultural Heritage, through a wide range of activities and programmes, we are enabling them to become the protectors and guardians of our cultural heritage for the future generations."
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EU and Japan finalise Economic Partnership Agreement
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Discussions on the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) have been successfully concluded. This is the biggest bilateral trade agreement ever negotiated by the European Union and will open huge market opportunities for both sides. The Agreement will, among other things, scrap duties on many cheeses and allow for increased EU beef exports to Japan. Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Phil Hogan said: "This agreement represents the most significant and far reaching deal ever concluded by the EU in agri-food trade. It will provide huge growth opportunities for our agri-food exporters in a very large, mature and sophisticated market." It is hoped the Agreement will enter into force before the end of the current mandate of the European Commission in 2019.
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2018 fishing quotas in the Atlantic and North Sea
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EU Fisheries Ministers this week agreed the 2018 fishing opportunities for the main commercial fish stocks in the Atlantic and the North Sea. The overall package is worth €266 million to the Irish fleet. The number of fish stocks managed at maximum sustainable yield (MSY) levels will increase next year to 53, 9 more than in 2017. Due to the bad state of seabass stocks in the Celtic Sea, Channel, Irish Sea and southern North Sea, there will be some limits to fishing of these stocks including a two month closure to protect spawning aggregations.
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Other news
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EU farm policy rules to be further simplified
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Major improvements to EU agriculture rules will come into force on 1 January 2018 following the adoption of the agriculture and rural development part of the Omnibus regulation. Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Phil Hogan welcomed the news saying: "The Omnibus regulation simplifies & strengthens EU rules on a wide range of food & farming issues from risk management to support for young farmers."
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EU to support Niger with €1 billion
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Overall EU development assistance to Niger will amount to €1 billion for the period 2017-2020. The funding will go towards strengthening State capacities and the delivery of social services. It will also help to boost job creation and economic growth as well as increase food security and resilience and fight against climate change. A particular focus will be put on gender equality, girl's empowerment and education.
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Commissioner Hogan warns of environmental impact of increased food prodction
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Speaking to the FoodWise conference last week in Dublin, EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan said: "Ireland needs to wake up, and fast, to the reality that we are part of a European Union that has assumed the role of global leader in the climate challenge. Donald Tusk said that in relation to Brexit, we are all in this together – ní neart go cur le chéile. That is equally true of the climate challenge. Yet in the recently published Climate Change Performance Index, Ireland fell 28 places to 49th out of 56 countries. Of course, I accept that is not a reflection of any one sector, not least the agri-food sector. But, all economic sectors must play their part and policies, including those relating to the agri-food sector, need to play some serious catch-up to ensure that targets are met."
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One Planet Summit: A modern economy and a fair society
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At this week's One Planet summit in Paris, the Commission presented an Action Plan for the Planet, which includes 10 transformative initiatives for a modern economy and a fair society. At the Summit, the EU Climate Action and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete announced climate-relevant investments in three targeted areas - sustainable cities, sustainable energy and connectivity and sustainable agriculture, rural entrepreneurs and agribusiness. These targeted areas are expected to generate up to €9bn investments by 2020.
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Towards a European Defence Union
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Twenty-five EU Member States, including Ireland, agreed this week to work together on a first set of 17 collaborative defence projects in the framework of Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO). Permanent Structured Cooperation in the area of security and defence policy was introduced by the Lisbon Treaty. It foresees the possibility of a number of EU member states working more closely together in the area of security and defence. President Juncker said: "Europe cannot and should not outsource our security and defence. The European Defence Fund that the European Commission proposed will complement these efforts and act as a further incentive for defence cooperation – including potential funding for some of the projects presented today."
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Space policy: Galileo constellation continues to grow
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One year after Europe's satellite navigation system Galileo started offering initial services to public authorities, businesses and citizens, four additional satellites were successfully launched into orbit this week, bringing the constellation to 22 satellites. The high-precision global satellite navigation system supports emergency operations, provides more accurate navigation services, offers better time synchronisation for critical infrastructures and ensures secure services for public authorities.
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More transparency in EU decision-making: new register of delegated acts
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A new online register will make it easier to find and track EU decisions taken in the form of delegated acts. The new Interinstitutional Register of Delegated Acts offers a complete overview of the lifecycle of this process. It allows users to search and follow the development of delegated acts from the planning stage conducted by the European Commission, up until the final publication in the Official Journal.
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EU agrees to make parcel delivery more affordable
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EU negotiators have reached a provisional agreement to make prices for cross-border parcel delivery services more transparent and affordable and to increase regulatory oversight of the EU parcel market. The provisional agreement now needs to be finally approved by the Parliament and the Council. It is expected to formally enter into force at the beginning of next year and it will be fully applicable in 2019.
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Irish companies top in the EU for online sales
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New Eurostat figures show that 26% of Irish businesses sold on the web in 2016, highest in the EU where the average was 16%. Romanian businesses had the lowest share at 7%. Web sales include both sales to individual consumers and to other enterprises. Of the Irish companies selling online, 95% sold to the domestic market while 51% sold to other EU countries and 41% sold to non-EU countries (3rd highest share in the EU).
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Security Union: Commission wants to close information gaps
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The European Commission wants to upgrade EU information systems for security, border and migration management to make them work together in a smarter and more efficient way. Currently, EU information systems do not talk to each other – information is stored separately in unconnected systems, making them fragmented, complex and difficult to operate. The measures proposed this week will plug those gaps and make sure that information provided to border guards and police is complete, accurate and reliable.
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European Fund for Strategic Investments extended
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The European Parliament this week approved the Regulation extending the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the central pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe. The EFSI 2.0 Regulation is expected to enter into force on 1 January 2018. As well as extending the timeline from mid-2018 to the end of 2020, and increasing the investment target from €315 billion to at least €500 billion, the new and improved EFSI has the following features: increased transparency, larger proportion of sustainable projects, greater focus on small projects, and more technical support at the local level.
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New tax guidelines to make life easier for cross-border investors
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The Commission has proposed new guidelines on withholding taxes to help Member States reduce costs and simplify procedures for cross-border investors in the EU. A withholding tax is a tax withheld at source in the EU country where investment income such as dividends, interests, and royalties is generated.
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Early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease
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The European Commission has published new scientific standards to help early detection of Alzheimer's disease. These newly developed standards will help to calibrate diagnostic tools for more accurate diagnosis and may facilitate the development of new drugs to fight the disease that, together with other forms of dementia, is estimated to cost €167.5 billion per year in the EU. EU Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis said: "Early diagnosis is of key importance for people with Alzheimer's, as early treatment can delay the development of the disease and help keep them autonomous for longer."
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Agenda
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Thursday 14 and Friday 15 December: European Council, Brussels
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EU leaders will look at a number of the most pressing issues, including defence, migration, foreign affairs, social issues, education and culture. The Council will also meet in an EU 27 format to review the latest developments in the negotiations following the United Kingdom's notification of its intention to leave the EU.
Leaders will reassess the state of progress in the Brexit negotiations to determine whether sufficient progress has been achieved on three specific issues: citizens' rights, Ireland and financial obligations.
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Friday 15 December: Euro Summit, Brussels
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The Euro Summit will discuss the economic and monetary union (EMU) and banking union.
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Monday 18 December: Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council, Brussels
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Ministers are expected to discuss four legislative files under the clean energy package. These are the following: regulation on governance of the Energy Union, directive on the promotion of energy from renewable sources, directive on common rules for the internal market in electricity and the regulation on the internal electricity market. The objective is to agree on a general approach for each of the files. This would allow the start of negotiations with the European Parliament under the co-decision legislative procedure.
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Wednesday 10 to Saturday 13 January: EU Stand at the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition, RDS, Dublin
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There’s so much to see and do at the European Union stand this year! Dr How’s Science Wows Needs You – Fun, interactive science with Dr. How’s Science Wows; check out a wide range of science experiments from making mini fire extinguishers to inflating balloons and making your own slime. Hands-on, educational and imaginative science. Want to learn about growing food in space? We invite you to discover the ground-breaking EDEN ISS project, which is developing food production for on-board the International Space Station (ISS) and for future human space exploration vehicles and planetary outposts. The stand includes a scaled down replica of the mission test lab.
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Competitions
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EIC Horizon Prize for Artificial Photosynthesis
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The European Commission has launched the second of six European Innovation Council (EIC) Horizon Prizes, on Artificial Photosynthesis, run under Horizon 2020, the EU's research and innovation programme. The €5 million award will go to a new solution for combining sunlight, water and carbon from the air through artificial photosynthesis that will produce sustainable fuel.
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Public consultations
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Evaluation of the EU's Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change
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The EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change aims to increase the resilience of the EU territory by enhancing the preparedness and capacity of all government levels to respond to the impacts of climate change. The Strategy commits to delivering three objectives - promoting action by Member States; ‘climate-proofing’ action at EU level; and better-informed decision-making. The consultation runs until 1 March 2018.
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Improving passenger railway security
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This public consultation has been launched to collect views of interested stakeholders on the extent to which common EU rules for the railway sector could facilitate the improvement of rail security for passengers travelling on rail services within the EU. The consultation also aims at gathering evidence and data in support thereof and the respondents are therefore welcome to expand on their answers in the text boxes foreseen for this purpose. It is open until 16 February 2018.
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This is the Newsletter of the Representation of the European Commission in Ireland.
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