Founding fathers of the European Union: Sicco Mansholt
Sicco Mansholt was a farmer, a member of the Dutch resistance during the Second World War, a national politician and the first European Commissioner responsi...
By: European Commission
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Founding fathers of the European Union: Sicco Mansholt - Video
After having invested in the East and the South, the European Union should turn its attention towards the North. Greenland should be a priority through a stronger financial investment of the European Union in its Partnership Agreement with this strategic Arctic territory.
MP Andr Gattolin is Vice-Chair of the French Senates Finance and European Affairs Committees. He recently authored areporton the Arctic and is completing another one on Greenland.Dr. Damien Degeorges is a Reykjavk-based internationalconsultantand the author of a doctoral thesis on The Role of Greenland in the Arctic.
In May this year, in its conclusion on developing a European Union Policy towards the Arctic region, the Council (supported) strengthening the partnership between the European Union on the one hand, and Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark on the other which aims at promoting the sustainable development of Greenland and the diversification of the economy.
Greenland, which was part of the European Communities from 1973 to 1985, is facing political and economic difficulties. Even though the Self Rule Act, which entered into force in 2009, made Greenlands independence legally possible, such a perspective remains far away. One thing is to declare independence, another is to have built a solid economy and a well-educated society. These two challenges are precisely ones where the European Union is assisting Greenland through its Partnership Agreement, for which EUR 217.8 million. have been allocated for the 2014-2020 period.
Unexpected elections, lessthan two yearsafter the last ones, are to be held in Greenland on November 28th. The internal campaign of Greenlands current largest party,Siumut, which in the 1980s led the campaign to leave the European Communities, brought an unexpected topic back in the political debate: the eventuality for Greenland to rejoin the European Union.
The interesting part is that the question was brought back in the debate by a former Education Minister. Education is a central soft power instrument of the EU in its relationship with Greenland. During the 2007-2013 period, the European Union allocatedno less than EUR 25 million annually for the Greenland Education Programme, as part of its Partnership Agreement with Greenland.
Link:
Greenland: On its way back towards the European Union?
5 hours ago
The European Union's environment agency says the bloc's greenhouse gas emissions dropped by nearly 2 percent last year, putting the EU very close to reaching its emissions target for 2020.
That goal is to reduce emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases by 20 percent compared to 1990 levels.
The European Environment Agency said Tuesday that emissions already have fallen 19 percent, meaning the 28-nation bloc is likely to achieve a larger reduction than it aimed for.
The EEA projected that 2020 emissions will be 21 percent or 24 percent lower than they were in 1990, depending on whether planned climate action is implemented in full.
However, some countries weren't on track to meet their individual targets through domestic action, including Germany and Spain.
Most scientists agree the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation are the main cause of climate change.
The EEA said the EU as a whole also was on track to meet its goals on getting 20 percent of its energy from renewable sources such as wind, solar and hydropower by 2020, and of improving energy efficiency by 20 percent.
Nine member statesCroatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Britainare on track to meet targets for all three climate and energy policy objectives.
Just last week the EU set new goals for 2030: 40 percent emissions cuts, 27 percent renewables and a 27 percent reduction in energy consumption.
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Emissions drop puts EU just shy of 2020 goal
European Union border control officials are to meet in Brussels today to discuss how best to deal with an increase in the number of migrants trying to reach Europe.
The conference is taking place as Italy prepares to hand responsibility for patrolling the Mediterranean to a new EU force called Operation Triton.
The European Commission said the operation will help but not replace "continued substantial efforts" by Italian authorities.
Italy has long demanded more help from other European countries to help with increasing number of migrants making the dangerous crossing in flimsy and crowded boats, as they flee conflict and economic hardship in the Middle East and Africa.
A record 3,072 migrants have died trying to cross the Mediterranean so far this year, according to the International Organisation for Migration.
Over the past year, Italian warships are believed to have rescued 150,000 migrants who have been trying to reach Europe by boat.
Britain has said it will not support the EU search and rescue operations.
The British Foreign Office said that the government's position had been laid out in a response to a question published by the House of Lords website on 15 October.
"We do not support planned search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean," foreign office minister Joyce Anelay wrote in the response.
"We believe that they create an unintended "pull factor", encouraging more migrants to attempt the dangerous sea crossing and thereby leading to more tragic and unnecessary deaths."
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EU officials to discuss increase in migrant numbers
BRUSSELS, August 12 (RIA Novosti) European Union experts on Thursday do not plan on discussing the union's applications to the World Trade Organization regarding Russia's food ban, but will instead discuss the economic repercussions of them, an EU source told RIA Novosti on Tuesday.
On Thursday, there will be no discussion among EU experts on the possibility to start dispute settlement procedures in the WTO against the Russian agri-food ban. There will be just a discussion on the implication of this restriction measure on the EU economy," the source said.
European Commission spokesman Roger White said Monday that the European Union was hoping to evaluate the impact of Russias ban of food imports from the 28-member bloc by Thursdays experts' meeting, but would not be ready to decide on how to replace the Russian market.
A panel of experts has already started looking at what is encompasses Russia's restrictions and their potential impact on other world markets, he said.
On Thursday, Russia introduced a one-year ban on agricultural and food product imports from the countries that have imposed sanctions on Moscow over the Ukrainian crisis, namely the European Union, the United States, Australia, Canada and Norway.
Banned products include meat, poultry, fish, seafood, milk, dairy products, fruits and vegetables. The embargo may cost the European Union a whopping $16 billion in export losses.
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EU Experts to Discuss Repercussions of Russian Food Bans Thursday