The Pulse of the Union This Week

Highlights of events and news in the EU in the week ending on 7 October

 

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

The Members of the European Parliament (‘MEPs’) held plenary sessions this week in Strasbourg. Main decisions, proposals and concerns:

- They regretted that no progress has been made on key points of the issues under negotiation between the EU and the UK: the rights of Union citizens in Britain after Brexit; the status of Northern Ireland (UK) in terms of free movement with the Republic of Ireland (EU); the financial obligations of Britain towards the EU.

- Opinions of MEPs widely differed on the use of violence by the national police during the Catalan referendum and on whether Rule of Law and respect for the individual freedoms and rights were observed by Madrid. The right, or not, of Catalunya to declare independence under the Spanish constitution was debated. The conclusion was to call on both sides to engage in a dialogue.

- The MEPs rejected a legislative proposal by the European Commission, which aimed at exempting some chemicals in pesticides from having to be tested before their use could be authorised. Such chemicals are suspected of disrupting the endocrine function in humans and animals. The World Health Organisation (‘WHO’) in a recent report provided evidence that they can cause adverse reproductive effects (infertility, cancers, malformations) and could also hamper thyroid function, brain function, cause obesity, and affect insulin production, thus facilitating the on-setting of diabetes on healthy individuals.

- The EP gave its green light to establish a new independent body, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (‘EPPO’), headquartered in Luxembourg, with the authority to investigate and prosecute EU fraud and other crimes affecting the financial interests of the Union. In 2015 fraud caused a loss of €637.6 million to the EU budget. Twenty member states have confirmed their participation, but other countries may opt-in in the future. The office has been mostly opposed by the UK, Ireland and the Scandinavian states.

- Following Ryanair’s recent massive cancellation of flights, affecting 400,000 passengers, the Parliament has urged the Council to review the legislation on passenger rights. Ryanair is currently refusing to pay any compensation to the stranded passengers.

- The MEPs issued a resolution to combat child marriages in developing countries and induce such countries to implement measures that enhance education, economic empowerment, participation of women in decision-making, and give better access to services on sexual and reproductive health.

Data in the possession of the Parliament reveal that:

- One in every three girls in developing countries is married before turning 18

- Complications in pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death for girls aged 15 to 19 in low- and middle-income countries

- 60% of child brides in developing countries have no formal education

COMMISSION

Competition Policy

- The European Commission has decided to refer Ireland to the European Court of Justice, in accordance with Art. 108 (2) TFEU, for failing to recover from Apple a state aid which Dublin had granted over several years to the U.S. company in the form of tax exemption. The state aid is worth up to €13 billion.

- The Commission is working on measures to be taken against Luxembourg, should the member state does not recover the amount of €250 million from Amazon. The U.S. company has profited between 2006 and 2014, according to the Commission, from undue tax benefits, which gave it unfair economic advantage in respect to other businesses.

Commissioner Vestager

“[With the legal action against Ireland and the ruling on Amazon in Luxembourg] we have come a long way [on implementing the state aid provisions of the TFEU]. A number of EU countries have made an effort to comply with EU state aid rules by changing their ruling practices”, said Competition Commissioner Magrethe Vestager (DK) at a press conference on 4 October.

GREAT BRITAIN

UK PM Theresa May

- The ruling party is going through tough times. After a speech to the annual conference of the members of the Conservatives, there is growing uncertainty about Theresa May’s leadership style and her ability to keep the troops together in such critical time—the difficult negotiations with the EU on the modalities of the Brext. There were on Friday rumours of a possible ‘palace revolution’ among Tory MPs to force the Prime Minister to resign.

- Criticism has been going on for months, but Theresa May’s speech reinforced the belief of her opponents within the Party, and negatively influenced even some of her moderate backers, that she does not have ‘what it takes’ to lead the Kingdom out of the Union.

- She ran, indeed, into problems during her address to the members, but the whole incident seems to have been exaggerated by the media. A large number of UK journalists and broadcasters have been antagonistic to Brexit and to her, personally, since last year. She may have not been brilliant in handling this event, indeed. For the common observer, this can be a lesson on public speaking.

Murphy’s law proved once more valid:

“If anything can go wrong, it will.”