Blame game is to blame – EUbusiness Week newsletter 840 – EUbusiness.com

EUbusiness Week 840 top stories: States who violate rule of law could lose EU funds: MEPs; Brussels urges end to Member State veto on tax decisions; New EU rules on occupational pension funds into force; MEPs propose to improve pesticides approval procedure; Commission consults on EU equal pay guarantee; 14,500 young people get free EU travel passes

Publisher’s Note

In a week of more apoplectic Brexit headlines, MEPs’ strong support for a European Ombudsman report to improve the transparency and accountability of national governments’ legislative work in Brussels may have passed you by. Yet a demand for transparency in the Council of Ministers is apposite. Much of what EU governments do is behind closed doors, most Council documents are stamped ‘restricted’, so when things go wrong, Member States are easily able to turn the public against Brussels and the Parliament, whose decisions are fully public.
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Regards,

Nick Prag
Publisher, EUbusiness

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1. States who violate rule of law could lose EU funds: MEPs

Governments who interfere with courts or fail to tackle fraud and corruption will risk suspension of EU funds, according to a draft law endorsed Thursday by MEPs.
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2. Brussels urges end to Member State veto on tax decisions

The Commission has begun a debate on ending the requirement for unanimity among EU states on taxation policy, to avoid delays and ‘sub-optimal’ policies on key tax initiatives.
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3. New EU rules on occupational pension funds into force

The revised directive on occupational pension funds, which came into force 13 January, aims to increase savers’ trust in work pension funds regardless of where they are based.
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4. MEPs propose to improve pesticides approval procedure

The Parliament has put forward plans to make the EU approval procedure of pesticides more transparent and accountable, including granting public access to studies used in authorisation.
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5. Commission consults on EU equal pay guarantee

The Commission has launched a public consultation to gather information on the impact of EU rules on equal pay and how to better implement and enforce the EU equal pay principles.
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6. 14,500 young people get free EU travel passes

More than 14,500 18-year-olds have been selected from almost 80,000 applications to receive a DiscoverEU travel pass, the EU initiative giving young people the opportunity to travel around Europe.
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EUROPEAN LAW

Google: search engine operators need to guarantee the ‘right to be forgotten’ to users inside the EU but not to users globally, the EU’s Advocate General said in an Opinion.
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Court annuls Commission block of UPS buy of TNT
Latest news from the European Court of Justice
EU law firms
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Inside the EU Institutions

Council Watch

CO2 emission standards for cars and vans stricter limits – EU to help boost exports of generic pharmaceuticals – Joint letter of President Tusk and President Juncker to Theresa May, UK Prime Minister – Opening ceremony of the Romanian Presidency – Euro celebrates its 20th birthday
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Commission Watch

InvestEU – EU humanitarian assistance record budget – EU – ACP Partnership Agreement talks – decision-making in EU tax policy – DiscoverEU
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Parliament Watch

Promoting rule of law & fundamental rights – EU integration: MEPs want to end permanent opt-outs from EU law – Human rights breaches in Azerbaijan and Sudan – EU fundamental rights under threat in several member states – priorities for European Central Bank and banking union – “InvestEU”: MEPs support new programme to boost financing for jobs and growth – European Fund for Transition to support more workers made redundant – MEPs want to EU to invest more in young people – Preferential tariffs to help Western Sahara to develop – EU Elections: new rules to prevent breaches of data used to influence elections – Brexit: the time has come for the UK to clarify its position
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EU diary

21 Jan: Eurogroup
21 Jan: Foreign Affairs Council
21-25 Jan: European Parliament Committee Meetings
22 Jan: Economic and Financial Affairs Council
22-23 Jan: 11th conference on European space policy
23 Jan: 1st Transport cybersecurity conference
24 Jan: Blue Invest in the Mediterranean 2019
24 Jan: Forum on the future of learning
24 Jan: Conference on sustainable corporate governance
The Week Ahead
Long-term diary