On 23 June, the United Kingdom (UK) voted to leave the European Union (EU). In order to do this, it must invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which will allow the UK to start the formal and legal process of leaving the EU. Article 50 places a two year time limit on the leave negotiations, unless the European Council and the member states unanimously decide to extend this period. The exact process of leaving the EU is uncertain...

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Yesterday, a coordination centre at Eurojust supported an international action day against a criminal network involved in international VAT fraud and money laundering defrauding EU citizens of approximately EUR 57 million in tax revenues via companies selling electronic items, hardware and software. Searches of homes and premises, seizures and arrests were carried out in eight countries, starting in the early hours of the morning. The international cooperation leading to today’s joint action began in June 2015, when a German prosecutor at...

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Today, United States Trade Representative Michael Froman met with European Union Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström to take stock of the ongoing negotiations on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). After the meeting, Ambassador Froman and Commissioner Malmström released the following joint statement: "We had a good meeting where we reviewed the substantial progress being made and discussed next steps for moving forward. We have directed our teams to make as much progress as possible during the next round, scheduled...

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Well-functioning social dialogue is a key component for the successful design and implementation of reforms needed to increase the competitiveness of Europe’s economies and create more jobs. It balances workers’ and employers’ interests and contributes to both economic competitiveness and social cohesion.  The link between social dialogue and productivity and competitiveness has been the subject of much research, particularly since the advent of the economic crisis in 2008. In some countries, decentralised bargaining is part of a coordinated system, but in others key aspects of coordinated social dialogue, such...

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The 14th Dalai Lama visited the European Parliament on Thursday 15 September to meet President Martin Schulz and discuss with members of the foreign affairs committee. Upon his fifth visit to the Parliament, the Dalai Lama expressed his admiration for the spirit of the European Union because it worked for the common interest of the people. “I think this spirit of the European Union eventually should spread in Africa and further in the world,“ he added. “We are all same...

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The European Parliament endorsed the candidature of Sir Julian King as Commissioner for the Security Union. He was nominated by the UK government after Lord Jonathan Hill resigned in the wake of the Brexit vote in June. Parliament backed the appointment of Sir Julian King as Commissioner for the Security Union by 394 votes to 161, with 83 abstentions, in a secret ballot. The Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee held a hearing with the candidate commissioner on Monday evening....

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President Juncker today addressed the European Parliament in his annual State of the European Union speech. He highlighted: Europe must invest strongly in its youth, jobseekers, and start-ups. An ambitious Investment Plan for Africa – a lifeline for those who might risk dangerous journeys for a better life. We propose free wireless for every European village and city by 2020. Journalists, publishers and authors should be paid fairly for their work, wherever it's made and shared. We will defend our borders with the new...

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Since 1 August, U.S. companies have been able to sign up to the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield with the U.S. Department of Commerce, which has been verifying that their privacy policies comply with the high data protection standards required by the Privacy Shield. Already 103 have been certified. This means that these U.S. companies can receive personal data from the EU in full compliance with EU data protection rules. European companies can easily check on the Privacy Shield list whether...

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A staggering €159.5 billion in Value Added Tax (VAT) revenues were lost across the EU in 2014 according to figures released by the European Commission today. Research shows that the overall difference between the expected VAT revenue and the amount actually collected (the so-called 'VAT Gap') amounted once again to an unacceptably high yearly figure. The findings support recent calls by the Commission to overhaul the EU's VAT system to tackle fraud and make it more efficient. Member States must...

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A monetary union without fiscal union is generally considered to be incomplete. We consider three steps for increasing the centralisation of fiscal functions, and discuss the prerequisites for moving forward at each one. Above all, fiscal integration is a matter of trust, which is currently at a low level. The first step would be to complete banking union and establish a more credible no-bailout clause. The conditions for addressing the fiscal dimensions of banking union are a denationalisation of the...

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