13/07/2018

Each week we sum up Commission news of particular interest for the UK. All comments welcome at COMM-UK-PRESS@ec.europa.eu

NATO summit

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, EU High-Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini and European Council President Donald Tusk participated in the NATO Summit in Brussels on 11 and 12 July. The European Union and NATO are strategic partners, cooperating to promote peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area, as reconfirmed in the Joint Declaration on EU – NATO cooperation signed by Presidents Juncker and Tusk and Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday (10 July).

EC forecasts resilient growth for the EU economy amid increased uncertainty

Growth is set to remain strong in 2018 and 2019 at 2.1% and 2% respectively in both the EU and the euro area, according to the European Commission's summer 2018 interim economic forecast released on 12 July. For the UK economy the outlook remains subdued.

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Commission takes further action to improve consumer protection against toxic substances

On 11 July, the Commission took action to restrict the placing on the market of articles containing four phthalates: DEHP, DBP, BBP and DIBP. Restrictions were already in place on the use of three of the phthalates in toys and childcare items. These will now apply to DIBP.  The new measures will also extend the scope of restrictions and limit the use of all four phthalates in any item that may be mouthed or have prolonged contact with the skin or any mucus membrane, These substances are commonly used in plasticised materials and found in a wide variety of everyday products, from toys to sport equipment. Phthalates can be dangerous for humans due to their toxic effects on reproductive health.

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The EU's External Investment Plan: first projects in Africa and the neighbourhood

As part of its External Investment Plan (EIP), the EU gave its green light to a package of financial guarantee programmes worth around €800 million on 10 July. This will help leverage an estimated €8-9 billion in public and private investment in Africa and the neighbourhood. The decision is a major milestone towards delivering investments in Africa and countries neighbouring the EU. The EIP is expected to leverage €44 billion of investments overall, through an EU contribution worth €4.1 billion. It aims to promote inclusive growth, job creation and sustainable development, thus tackling some of the root causes of irregular migration.

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All this week's key European Commission announcements can be found here

Western Balkans summit: building stronger links within the region and with the EU

Heads of Government, Foreign Ministers and Ministers of Interior from the Western Balkans, their counterparts from several EU member states and high-level EU representatives met in London on 9 and 10 July for the London Summit on the Western Balkans. The aim of the summit was to strengthen regional cooperation between the six partners of the Western Balkans, as well as between the region and the EU.

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Michel Barnier in the United States

EU Chief Negotiator for Brexit Michel Barnier was in the United States this week and spoke at the Council on Foreign Relations, the European American Chamber of Commerce and the US Chamber. He stressed that the EU is negotiating to avoid a "no deal" but warned that such an outcome cannot yet be excluded. He added that about 80% of the deal has been agreed. On the future relationship with the UK he said "We want an ambitious future relationship with the UK – not only in trade, but also in police and judicial cooperation and in foreign policy, security and defence. However, the basis for such cooperation between the UK and the 27 EU countries will necessarily be different".

Michel Barnier will also speak at Carnegie Endowment today (13 July) at 2PM BST. Watch here

Michel Barnier's full speech at the European American Chamber of Commerce

Watch Michel Barnier's speech at the Council on Foreign Relations

Latest news on the Article 50 negotiations can be found here

For upcoming events, please have a look at our newsletter

Every week, we pick out one of the week's most interesting stories or comment pieces….which does not mean we agree with everything it says:

The Factors and Figures Behind Europe's World Cup Dominance Trend by Brian Straus in Sports Illustrated

Creative Europe in the UK

Creative Europe is the European Commission programme which supports culture and the audiovisual sectors. It builds on the achievements of the previous Culture and MEDIA programmes and currently has an overall budget of €1.46 billion (£1.2 billion). It has three sub-programmes: one for culture sector initiatives which promote cross-border cooperation and literary translation; a second one for the audiovisual sector which supports the development, distribution and access to audiovisual works and a cross sectoral strand which includes a guarantee facility and transnational policy cooperation.

On 10 July, the British Council published two reports on the impact of Creative Europe in the UK. They show that in 2017 alone the UK's audiovisual, creative and cultural industries received €16.6 million (around £15 million) funding from Creative Europe. But their findings also highlight that funding by this programme greatly outweighs its monetary value by for example amplifying the circulation of UK films and cultural projects outside of the UK. On average, some 60-70 UK films receive EU support for distribution in Europe every year. UK movies that have received various types of support from Creative Europe include The King's Speech, Pride, Two Faces of January, The Iron Lady, Paddington and most recently Revolting Rhymes, an adaptation of the Roald Dahl book, and Loving Vincent, both of which were in the Oscars' 2018 selection.

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"As some are fighting on how to leave, others are working hard to get in the [European] Union," EU High-Representative Vice-President Federica Mogherini upon arrival at the Western Balkans Summit in London on 10 July.

As part of the Commission's #readytochange campaign, the European Commission dedicated this #cottonbud week to photographer Justin Hofman who "wishes this picture didn’t exist". We are #readytochange to #BeatPlasticPollution, join us

GDPR

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