Getting the green light for placing novel foods on the EU market will become faster and cheaper while the high level of protection of human health will be preserved. That's the main purpose of a draft regulation that the Council's Permanent Representatives Committee approved on 11 November 2015. The draft regulation was voted by the Parliament on 28 October 2015. Novel foods are foods not consumed in the EU to a significant degree before May 1997. They include for instance...

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Today , the internal think tank of the President of the European Commission, the European Political Strategy Centre (EPSC) published three new 'Strategic Notes', the start of a series called"5 Presidents Report Series". Each of these notes deals with individual but interrelated reforms of the EU financial system proposed in the so-called 'Five Presidents Report on Completing Europe's Economic and Monetary Union'. The first of the pieces, entitled "Regaining Citizens’ Trust, Safeguarding Banks’ Stability: Towards a European Deposit Insurance Scheme", deals with...

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The industry committee set out its demands for a European energy union in a resolution passed on Tuesday. Among them: compliance with the Commission's recommendation concerning hydraulic fracturing, a voluntary system to collectively purchase energy, and support for the development of Europe's own energy resources. National energy mixes and a fully integrated internal market "National diversity" in energy-mix choices "must not represent a barrier to the single market", says the committee, which acknowledges "public concerns about hydraulic fracturing and its consequences"...

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On 10 November in Brussels, Vice-President Dombrovskis, Commissioner Moscovici and Commissioner Hill will participate in the EU's Council of Economic and Finance Ministers, which will be followed by a press conference, transmitted by EbS. Ministers are due to adopt conclusions on the Capital Markets Union Action Plan that the Commission presented on 30 September. The EU and its Member States have committed to scaling up the mobilisation of climate finance ahead of the COP21 which will be held in Paris in December. The Council is expected to adopt...

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A further sharp downturn in emerging market economies and world trade has weakened global growth to around 2.9% this year – well below the long-run average – and is a source of uncertainty for near-term prospects, says the OECD. In its latest twice-yearly Economic Outlook, the OECD projects a gradual strengthening of global growth in 2016 and 2017 to an annual 3.3% and 3.6% respectively. But a clear pick-up in activity requires a smooth rebalancing of activity in China and more...

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The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group has today inaugurated its representative office in Bratislava to enhance its presence in Slovakia. The EU bank has also signed a loan of EUR 350 million to Slovakia to co-finance priority projects eligible for support from EU funds within the period 2014-2020. The financing – the first tranche of an approved loan of EUR 669.6 million – will support strategic transport infrastructure investment identified in the national Transport Master Plan of the Slovak Republic. EIB...

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The European Court of Justice's ruling of 6 October on the Schrems case confirmed the Commission's approach to review the Safe Harbour arrangement with the US so that it ensures a higher level of data protection. The Commission has stepped up talks with US authorities on a new framework and issued today guidance to help companies comply with the ruling and rely on alternative transfer tools. Vice-President Andrus Ansip, responsible for the Digital Single Market, said: "We need an agreement with our...

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