European Parliamentary Research Service Blog
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The Juncker Commission’s ten priorities: State of play in autumn 2018
This publication provides an up-to-date overview and analysis of the state of play in the delivery by the European Commission of the various legislative and other political initiatives flowing from the ten priorities defined by its President, Jean-Claude Juncker, when the Commission took office in 2014. Continue reading
Summary: Panel Discussion on ‘Cost of Non-Europe’ study
Written by Kristina Svobodová and Zsolt Pataki A Panel Discussion on ‘Cost of Non-Europe: A Route to Growth without Debt?’ took place on 10 October in the EPRS Library Reading Room. The main goal was to present and discuss the Mapping the ‘Cost of Non-Europe’, 2014-19 study, focusing on the topic of whether, and to what … Continue reading
Making smart cities come true: EU funds for our future mobility and transport
During this mobility week we also would like to raise awareness on the EU funds available for research and innovation projects. You might not know, but for many years EU money has co-funded research teams to develop new modes of transport in our cities: whether we are talking about intelligent transport systems such as connected … Continue reading
NATO – road to the 2014 Summit
Last NATO Summit was held in Chicago, in May 2012. The Afghan transition, the missile defence system, and cyber defence policies were at the centre of the discussion then. Two years later, the on-going withdrawal from Afghanistan, Ukraine and Russia, Syria and Iraq, and the re-thinking of the Transatlantic Partnership will be at the centre … Continue reading
German Constitutional Court decisions on EU anti-crisis measures
In response to the financial crisis in the EU, a permanent crisis mechanism – the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) – was adopted by the euro area Member States. A number of cases, lodged with the German Federal Constitutional Court (BVerfG), aimed at blocking Germany’s participation. The BVerfG has established four requirements for German participation in … Continue reading
Roaming charges in the EU
The “roaming charge” refers to the cost of using mobile communications (typically with a mobile phone) to make and receive voice calls, send and receive data, or access other services, when travelling outside the geographical area of the user’s home network and using another network in the location they are visiting. (Eurostat) Wholesale prices refer … Continue reading
Legal protection of brands in EU Law
‘Brand’ is not a legal term. It refers to the set of functions and symbols associated with a specific mark, including its cultural, legal, political and social aspects, which contribute to its market value. From a legal point of view, a brand is an exclusive channel of communication connected with the brand exploitation rights, an … Continue reading
Arts and Culture: Is it about money and competitiveness?
A new support program for the cultural and creative sectors, Creative Europe was adopted by the European Council on 3 December 2013 and entered into force on 1 January 2014. It has two sub-programs (Culture and Media) and a cross-sectoral strand. It provides opportunities for cooperation between cultural and creative organisations from different countries and … Continue reading
Organic farming
Please note that the following is a summary of a more complete information resource The FAO recognises organic agriculture as one of several approaches to sustainable agriculture where almost all synthetic inputs are prohibited, and soil investment and crop rotation are mandated. The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements has defined “organic farming” in 2012 … Continue reading
La politique européenne de développement rural
Partie intégrante de la politique agricole commune, la politique de développement rural de l’Union européenne pour la période 2014-2020 contribue à favoriser la compétitivité de l’agriculture, à assurer un développement territorial équilibré des zones rurales et à garantir la gestion durable des ressources naturelles ainsi que la mise en œuvre de mesures visant à préserver … Continue reading
Lithuania on the way towards euro adoption
6 language versions available in PDF format Litauen auf dem Weg zur Euro-Einführung Lituania en el camino hacia la adopción del euro La Lituanie se prépare à adopter l’euro La Lituania verso l’adozione dell’euro Litwa na drodze do przyjęcia euro Lithuania on the way towards euro adoption After Latvia joined the euro area at the … Continue reading
Overcoming Transatlantic differences on intellectual property: IPR and the TTIP negotiations
Recent studies demonstrate the important contribution of intellectual property rights (IPR) to the American and EU economies. Royalties and licence fees based on IPR figure high among the exports of both, and applications, and grants, for IPR protection made by Europeans in the US and vice-versa represent an important share of the totals. The differences … Continue reading
Towards an EU-US trade and investment deal
This is an updated version of an “At a glance” note published in March 2014. 6 language versions available in PDF format Auf dem Weg zu einem Handels- und Investitionsabkommen zwischen der EU und den USA Hacia un acuerdo de comercio e inversión UEEE.UU. Vers un accord de commerce et d’investissement entre l’Union européenne et … Continue reading
The post-2015 development agenda: An innovative process for a conservative outcome?
Fruit of two different but increasingly converging processes, the post-2015 sustainable development agenda is set to become the universal framework guiding global and national efforts to support human development in conjunction with environmental durability, from 2016. As the final stage in negotiations approaches, the post-2015 agenda is taking shape in a novel institutional setting, characterised … Continue reading
European Council Conclusions: a rolling check-list of commitments to date
The European Council’s role – to ‘provide the Union with the necessary impetus for its development’ and to define its ‘general political directions and priorities’ – has developed rapidly over the past five years. Since June 2014, the European Council Oversight Unit within the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS), the EP’s in-house research service and … Continue reading
Russia’s Prirazlomnaya oil rig in the Arctic
Annual production from the Prirazlomnaya offshore oil field is estimated to amount to 6.6 million tonnes per year. Russia’s Arctic policy strongly supports further such developments, but environmental NGOs fear the result will be an ecological catastrophe from an oil spill. The European Parliament believes that increasing the use of natural resources must be done … Continue reading
Tourism in the EU economy
Tourism plays a major role in the EU and global economies. The UNWTO estimates the impact of tourism in the world economy as 9% of world GDP, while in the EU it is the third-largest socio-economic sector and has generally remained robust throughout the financial crisis. Measuring the precise impact of tourism-related activities on GDP or employment does, however, pose certain challenges. Although tourism is officially … Continue reading
Brand protection: new trends in EU case-law
At present, EU law and especially the case-law of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) provides wide-ranging protection of brands, which are considered as trademarks in law, covering such functions of trademarks as their use for the purposes of advertising, investment and communication with consumers. However, this approach causes controversy because it broadens … Continue reading
Tourism and the EU
The first week of July has been very busy with the constitutive session of the eighth European Parliament term and we will keep this pace up next week too. However, for many people, this period of the year coincides with the kick-off of holiday season. At the European Parliament Research Service (EPRS) we celebrate this … Continue reading
European trademark law and the freedom of speech
One of the most topical issues in European trademark law is the protection of the freedom of expression. There is an established case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) according to which trademark protection extends also to such uses of the trademark which go beyond its function of guaranteeing the origin … Continue reading
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