login
login
Image header Agence Europe
Europe Daily Bulletin No. 13184
Contents Publication in full By article 37 / 39
NEWS BRIEFS / Mercosur

Paraguayan President criticises EU environmental demands for EU/Mercosur agreement

17/05/2023 (Agence Europe) –  “We are in favour of this agreement”, said Paraguayan President Santiago Peña during a visit to Brasilia on Tuesday 16 May. However, he qualified his enthusiasm: “We also share Brazil’s position that certain restrictions, mainly on the environment, are very difficult to accept for a region of the world that needs to develop”. The European Commission is currently negotiating an additional protocol to the agreement with the Mercosur countries, which specifies the sustainable development constraints in the agreement (see EUROPE 13148/21). Both sides hope to conclude discussions for the EU/Latin America summit on 17 and 18 July (see EUROPE 13180/23). (LM)

Contents

Time off: Ascension Day
COUNCIL OF EUROPE
COUNCIL OF EUROPE: Council of Europe member states meeting in Reykjavik with Ukraine agree on a “strong and robust” Final Declaration
REGIONS: EU local and regional authorities want to play key role in implementing decisions of Council of Europe summit
ECONOMY - FINANCE - BUSINESS
CUSTOMS: European Commission proposes an in-depth reform
ECONOMY: inflation up slightly to 7% in euro area, but down to 8.1% in EU in April
MONEY LAUNDERING: Nigeria and South Africa added to EU list of high-risk third countries
COMPETITION: European Commission expresses reservations about Korean Air’s acquisition of Asiana in preliminary opinion
COMPETITION: fuel distribution in Slovenia, European Commission clears acquisition of OMV Slovenija by MOL, subject to conditions
EXTERNAL ACTION
FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Ukraine, Western Balkans and Horn of Africa on agenda of ‘Foreign Affairs’ Council on Monday 22 May
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA: Olivér Várhelyi confident in role of EU-Bosnia and Herzegovina High-Level Political Forum in accelerating country’s accession to EU
MALI: EU calls on Mali to bring to justice those responsible for violence in Moura
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: China remains most worrying country on intellectual property rights according to European Commission report
SECURITY - DEFENCE - SPACE
DEFENCE: military support for Ukraine, increase in European Peace Facility and cooperation with NATO on table of European Defence Ministers
SECTORAL POLICIES
COMPETITIVENESS: ecodesign, long-term competitiveness, raw materials, research and space on agenda of internal market ministers
COMPETITIVENESS: 40% target for production of ‘net zero’ technologies does not make sense, according to Bruegel and I4CE
HEALTH: EU and US pledge to expand cooperation in fight against cancer and global pandemics
HEALTH: two world-class centres of health excellence will be created in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: EU Member States are against extension of mandate of EUIPO Executive Director, at this stage
JUSTICE: EU Member States comment on European Parliament’s proposals on protection of environment through criminal law ahead of inter-institutional negotiations
ENERGY: EU ambassadors’ discussions on Renewable Energy Directive postponed
ENERGY: industry sector was mainly dependent on fossil fuels in 2021
CLIMATE: more than 272 million allowances to be placed in ETS market stability reserve for 2022
CLIMATE: according to Eurostat, GHG emissions from EU economic activity decreased by 4% between 2021 and last quarter of 2022
DIGITAL: GDPR poorly enforced against ‘Big Tech’, says Irish association
INSTITUTIONAL
BUDGET: European Parliament Committee on Budgetary Control finds persistent shortcomings in respect of rule of law in Hungary
EDUCATION - YOUTH - CULTURE - SPORT
EYCS: EU ministers reaffirm importance of an effective European education area and of promoting reading
COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EU
CONSUMERS: a consumer who has withdrawn from an off-premises contract is exempt from any obligation to pay if they have not been informed of this right of withdrawal
JUSTICE: according to EU Court of Justice, a request for a preliminary ruling does not prevent referring court from continuing main proceedings in part
Russian invasion of Ukraine
STATE AID: European Commission approves extensions to Greek aid scheme for non-residential electricity consumers
NEWS BRIEFS
AGRICULTURE: European Commission approves registration of an Italian product as a PDO
CHINA: EU renews anti-dumping duty on certain Chinese steel plates
CLIMATE: Frans Timmermans to meet elected local officials in Poland on 18 May to discuss fair ‘European Green Deal’
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS: EU honours LGBTQI+ rights on International Day Against Homophobia
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: EU and UAE are working to deepen their relationship
EMPLOYMENT: first meeting of EU-US ‘Talent for Growth’ task force
FINANCE: European Commission adopts draft Memorandum of Understanding to enhance EU/UK regulatory cooperation in financial services
MERCOSUR: Paraguayan President criticises EU environmental demands for EU/Mercosur agreement
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: EU27 agree to hold European Parliament elections from 6 to 9 June 2024
RESEARCH: European Commission to propose €122 million to strengthen and connect European innovation ecosystems