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Europe Daily Bulletin No. 12405

17 January 2020
Contents Publication in full By article 19 / 30
EXTERNAL ACTION / Enlargement
Mr Várhelyi defends opening EU accession negotiations with Skopje and Tirana by spring
Brussels, 16/01/2020 (Agence Europe)

During his first trips abroad, the Commissioner for Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi visited North Macedonia on Wednesday 15 January and Albania on Thursday 16 January, in order to reiterate the Commission's support for opening EU accession negotiations as soon as possible.

“We will still continue to defend the opening of negotiations this spring”, he told the media. The aim is to open negotiations ahead of the EU-Western Balkans summit in Zagreb, scheduled for early May. The Commissioner...

Contents

INSTITUTIONAL
FUTURE OF EU: MEPs decide on composition of steering group for Conference on Future of Europe
PARLIAMENT: Greens/EFA group in European Parliament remains divided on inclusion of 5-Star MEPs
UNITED KINGDOM: Mrs von der Leyen and Mr Varadkar reiterate EU red lines for future negotiations with London
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT PLENARY
BIODIVERSITY: European Parliament calls on EU to set binding targets to set an example at COP15 in Kunming
RULE OF LAW: situation in Hungary and Poland has deteriorated, worrying the European Parliament
VENEZUELA: European Parliament calls for new targeted sanctions against Maduro regime
BURUNDI: European Parliament strongly condemns restrictions on freedom of expression in run-up to May elections
NIGERIA: European Parliament condemns recent terrorist attacks and repeated violations of human rights
DEFENCE: EU needs strategic autonomy, say MEPs
HUMAN RIGHTS: European Parliament calls for making EU’s defence of human rights more effective
FINANCE: European Parliament ready to refrain from all contact with Adam Farkas if he takes up his post at AFME
BUDGET: MEPs call for an end to conflict of interest involving Andrej Babiš
OMBUDSMAN: European Parliament calls on European Ombudsman to work for more transparency in EU Council
SECTORAL POLICIES
JUSTICE: Member States call for a broader review of GDPR Regulation
TRANSPORT: EU national experts to discuss review of air passenger rights, a matter of urgency says Commission
TRANSPORT: EU car market up by 1.2% in 2019
DIGITAL: proposals on European data area in March
CONSUMERS: MEPs in favour of a mandatory EU-wide Nutri-Score are speaking up yet again
EXTERNAL ACTION
ENLARGEMENT: Mr Várhelyi defends opening EU accession negotiations with Skopje and Tirana by spring
UNITED STATES: it may take until after presidential elections to put positive EU/Washington agenda back on table, warns Phil Hogan
MERCOSUR: Greens/EFA group in European Parliament paints alarming picture of expected impact of EU/Mercosur trade agreement
ECONOMY - FINANCE - BUSINESS
EUROGROUP: decisions on deepening of EMU postponed until March at earliest
STATE AID: Commission consults on one-year extension of State Aid rules for agriculture and fisheries
STATE AID: Commission approves prolongation of Greek bank guarantee scheme until end of May 2020
COUNCIL OF EUROPE
POLAND: Council of Europe experts recommend rejection of judicial reform under discussion in Polish Senate
NEWS BRIEFS
SOUTHERN AFRICA: EU mobilises €22.8 million in emergency aid for populations hit by drought
COMPETITION: Commission refers to Netherlands assessment of creation of a joint venture by NS and PON group
COUNCIL OF EUROPE: Syrian paediatrician wins Raoul Wallenberg Prize
ENERGY: German officials agree on plan to phase out lignite by 2038
IRAN: first meeting between High Representative of the Union and Iranian Foreign Minister