The Council today adopted a decision authorising the opening of negotiations for a new partnership with the UK, and formally nominating the Commission as EU negotiator. The Council also adopted negotiating directives which constitute a mandate to the Commission for the negotiations. The Council has adopted a clear and strong mandate for our negotiator, Michel Barnier. This confirms our readiness to offer an ambitious, wide-ranging and balanced partnership to the UK for the benefit of both sides. The EU is...

From 24 to 28 February 2020, the first European Cooperation week of the year gets underway at EUIPO. This important forum brings together IP experts from all over the EU with the common goal of implementing the European Cooperation Programmes within the current Strategic Plan 2020 at EUIPO. Experts from the European Union Intellectual Property Network (EUIPN) will meet for the 8th European Cooperation Projects (ECP) working group meetings, the EUIPN Point of Contacts (PoCs) meeting and the Classification working group meeting on trade marks and designs. The meetings are...

Today, the Commission unveils its ideas and actions for a digital transformation that works for all, reflecting the best of Europe: open, fair, diverse, democratic and confident. It presents a European society powered by digital solutions that put people first, opens up new opportunities for businesses, and boosts the development of trustworthy technology to foster an open and democratic society and a vibrant and sustainable economy. Digital is a key enabler to fighting climate change and achieving the green transition. The European data strategy and...

MEPs underlined that Parliament will only give its consent to a budget that meets the European Union’s ambitions, in a debate on EU funding for 2021-2027. Talking about the budget means talking about the EU’s future, MEPs said in a key plenary debate with Nikolina Brnjac, Croatian State Secretary for Foreign and European Affairs, representing the Council, and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The debate on Wednesday came ahead of a special EU summit starting on 20 February, where member...

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published seven opinions on position limits  regarding commodity derivatives under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive and Regulation (MiFID II/MIFIR) today. ESMA’s opinions agree with the proposed position limits regarding: ICE Endex Dutch TTF Gas contracts EEX Phelix DE Base Power contracts EEX Capesize TC5 Freight contracts EEX Spanish Power Base contracts MEFFPOWER  Baseload contracts ESMA found that the proposed position limits are consistent with the objectives established in MiFID II and with the methodology...

Today, the European Commission put forward a proposal to drive forward the EU accession process, by making it more credible, with a stronger political steer, more dynamic and predictable. Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi, commented: “The European Union enlargement to the Western Balkans is a top priority for the Commission. We are working on three tracks: Firstly, today we propose concrete steps on how to enhance the accession process. While we are strengthening and improving the process, the goal remains accession...

Josep Borrell, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission (HR/VP), will travel to the United States on 6 and 7 February. This will be the first visit of Josep Borrell to the United States in his capacity as HR/VP. During his stay in Washington DC, he will meet with United States Secretary of State, Michael R. Pompeo, with the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, with National...