EU gains on gender equality – EUbusiness Week newsletter 738 – EUbusiness.com

EUbusiness Week 738 top stories: EU ministers worry about draft deal with Turkey; EU slams France, Italy, Portugal for spending imbalance; EU delays weedkiller decision amid cancer uproar; German states challenge Belgian nuclear plants; Google tweaks ‘right to be forgotten’ in EU searches; Why is eurozone inflation so persistently low?

Publisher’s Note

International Women’s Day, 8 March was an opportunity to assess Europe’s progress on gender equality. Bringing out a report on gender equality, the European Commission renewed a commitment to integrating equality for women and men into every EU policy across the board.

When it comes to company boards, the report showed Europe moving in the right direction – from 11 per cent of women on boards to 17.8 per cent in 2014. However, there is clearly still a way to go. And on pay, women are still take home on average 16 per cent less than men for every hour worked, while a third of women work part-time.
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Regards,

Nick Prag
Publisher, EUbusiness

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1. EU ministers worry about draft deal with Turkey

EU ministers raised doubts Thursday about the morality of a deal governments are negotiating with Turkey to curb migrant flows to Europe as Ankara faces criticism on human rights.
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EU ‘must take 6,000 refugees a month from Greece, Italy’

2. EU slams France, Italy, Portugal for spending imbalances

The Commission on Tuesday said France, Italy and Portugal were in violation of EU rules on public spending and would be more closely monitored by Brussels.
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3. EU delays weedkiller decision amid cancer uproar

The EU has postponed a decision on whether to extend the approval of a key weedkiller ingredient for another 15 years amid an international uproar that it may cause cancer.
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4. German states challenge Belgian nuclear plants

Two western German states say they plan to file a complaint at the EU and UN against Belgium over its ageing nuclear reactors which had their lifespan recently extended to 2025.
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5. Google tweaks ‘right to be forgotten’ in EU searches

Google says it will implement changes in how it applies the so-called right to be forgotten for online searches made in Europe.
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6. Why is eurozone inflation so persistently low?

Despite a raft of different measures by the European Central Bank to kickstart sluggish consumer prices in the eurozone, inflation in the single currency bloc turned negative in February for the first time in five months.
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EUROPEAN LAW

Greek farmers: the EU’s top court on Tuesday required Greece’s farmers to repay EUR 425 million in emergency aid to Athens authorities, confirming a decision that the money was in fact an illegal state subsidy.
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EU anti-fraud chief loses immunity in corruption row
EU states seek sanctions against Russians over Savchenko
Latest news from the European Court of Justice
EU law firms
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Inside the EU Institutions

Council Watch

Brexit: Buckingham Palace has hit out at a report claiming that Queen Elizabeth II favours Britain leaving the EU, calling in the national press regulator in a rare move.
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Stephen Hawking urges Britain to remain in EU
Finnish MPs to debate euro exit after ‘Fixit’ petition
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Commission Watch

TTIP: Europe’s top trade official says talks with Washington on a trans-Atlantic trade treaty continue despite US elections which have put such deals on the firing line.
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EU extends sanctions on individuals over Ukraine to Sept
DR Congo appeals for int’l support after EU criticism
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Parliament Watch

Turkey: Euro-MPs accused the EU Wednesday of giving Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the “keys to the gates of Europe” through a migration crisis deal with Ankara.
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EP urges DR Congo to hold elections on schedule
In plenary this week, MEPs urged a single deposit guarantee scheme for a banking union; voted to curb the use of antibiotics in farming; assessed the reform efforts of Montenegro and FYROM in 2015; and condemned the worsening climate for media and free speech in Kazakhstan.
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EU diary

14 Mar: Agriculture and Fisheries Council
14 Mar: Foreign Affairs Council
14-17 Mar: European Parliament Committee Meetings
15-17 Mar: Conference on big data from space (BiDS’16)
16-18 Mar: Improving energy efficiency in buildings & smart communities
17-18 Mar: European Council
The Week Ahead
Long-term diary