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Image header Agence Europe
Europe Daily Bulletin No. 13544
Contents Publication in full By article 4 / 34
SECTORAL POLICIES / Home affairs

EU Council unanimously agrees to full accession of Bulgaria and Romania to Schengen area

On Thursday 12 December, the EU Member States decided to abolish checks on persons at internal land borders with and between Bulgaria and Romania from 1 January 2025, the EU Council said in a press release.

The decision was made possible when Austria lifted its veto at a meeting in Hungary at the end of November (see EUROPE B13533A16).

“It is a historic moment to finally welcome Bulgaria and Romania as full Schengen members. Lifting checks on persons at the internal land borders with...

Contents

SECTORAL POLICIES
MIGRATION: Syrian refugee returns - Magnus Brunner calls on EU Member States to exercise caution and carefully assess situation on ground
MIGRATION: European Commission communication on hybrid threats at EU’s external borders worries some MEPs
HOME AFFAIRS: removal of online child sexual abuse material - as expected, EU home affairs ministers reject latest proposals
HOME AFFAIRS: EU Council unanimously agrees to full accession of Bulgaria and Romania to Schengen area
HOME AFFAIRS: EU Council definitively approves rules strengthening ‘API’ data collection
ANIMAL HEALTH: MEPs divided over merits of animal transport proposal
REGIONS: Raffaele Fitto calls for “reinforced and modernised” post-2027 Cohesion Policy
DIGITAL: European Commission paves way for development of use of AI in scientific research
DIGITAL: MEPs make their first reports on code of good practice for general-purpose AI
ECONOMY - FINANCE - BUSINESS
ECB: monetary institute cuts its main key rates again
EXTERNAL ACTION
BELARUS: EU announces new €30 million support package for independent voices
DEVELOPMENT: European Court of Auditors identifies several shortcomings in European Commission’s evaluation of EU’s External Action Guarantee
TRADE: members of ‘Minerals Security Partnership’ met in Brussels
SECURITY - DEFENCE
NATO: Allies must spend more, not because of Donald Trump, but because they have to, warns Mark Rutte
INSTITUTIONAL
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: European Parliament political groups agree on a list of 28 intergroups
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Transparency International warns of problems of conflicts of interest among MEPs
BUDGET: European Parliament Committee on Budgets examines recent inflation trends and their impact on EU budget
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS - SOCIETAL ISSUES
GENDER EQUALITY: Hadja Lahbib tells European Parliament Subcommittee on Public Health that equality in healthcare research is a matter of survival
GENDER EQUALITY: protecting women against digital violence, imperative for European Union
GENDER EQUALITY: 2024 index shows increase of 0.8 points, but inequalities persist across EU
COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EU
BANKS: banking resolution, Court of Justice interprets EU rules on independence of national resolution authority
NEWS BRIEFS
EU COUNCIL: updating of EU Member States’ population figures for calculating qualified majority voting in EU Council
CULTURE: Creative Europe, Commission allocates €60 million to promote European cooperation in 2025
CULTURE: European Heritage Label selects ten projects to enhance its network
SOMALIA/ETHIOPIA: EU welcomes agreement in principle reached between Ethiopia and Somalia thanks to Turkish mediation
ENVIRONMENT: directive on publication of sustainability information is not synonymous with red tape, according to WWF
ENVIRONMENT: opposed to re-approval of glyphosate, PAN Europe is bringing case before European Court of Justice after Commission refused to review its position
JUSTICE: European Public Prosecutor’s Office, Council of EU appoints two prosecutors for Poland and Sweden
DIGITAL: launch of a European initiative for AI-enabled smart cities
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: EPP Group will not impose its agenda on us, warns Iratxe García Pérez
CSDP: Bettina Patricia Boughani’s mandate as Head of EUMM Georgia extended
SOCIAL: European trade unions call for moratorium on redundancies in EU
SOCIAL: interinstitutional agreement on improving collection of business labour market statistics
SYRIA: G7 ready to support an inclusive political transition process