Новости за 11.04.2018

While the majority of the centre-right group in the European Parliament want Orban's Fidesz party to stay, some MEPs argue the xenophobic tone of Fidesz's election campaign is a red line.

The European Commission is due to unveil a legislative proposal that will should help farmers get paid on time for their products.

Europe should go back to its pre-2012 policy, wipe away aid and trade benefits, and tie democratic efforts to the reinstatement of benefits.

EU countries' ambassadors approved on Wednesday a compromise found with the European Parliament in March over the revision of the posted workers directive, to regulate how workers are temporarily employed in an other EU country. The text will now have to be definitevely adopted by the parliament. Posted workers will benefit from the same pay as local workers, but their posting will be limited to 12 months.

The Council of Europe's Group of States against Corruption (Greco) said Wednesday that it was "deeply concerned" by three justice and criminal laws passed in Romania last December, even if recent amendments "do not contain some of the most [initial] controversial proposals". It called for "additional safeguards" in appointments and dismissal procedures for senior prosecutors, in particular over the "controversial process" to dismiss the head of the anti-corruption office.

The pan-European air traffic control agency Eurocontrol early Wednesday issued a 72 hour warning for airlines to exercise caution when planning flight operations in the eastern Mediterranean given "possible launch of air strikes into Syria with air-to-ground and / or cruise missiles". It also said there may be "intermittent disruption of radio navigation equipment". The warning follows US and French retaliation threats against the Syrian regime over a chemical attack.

The next climate conference in May should be an opportunity for the EU to show leadership and break ties with the big oil, gas and coal corporations that are profiting from the destruction of the climate.

Germany has for the first time acknowledged concerns on the "political" and "strategic" aspects of Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

EU commission launched dawn raids in several member states in anti-trust probe into sports rights media firms. One of those hit, in London, was owned by media tycoon Rupert Murdoch.

Former French president Valery Giscard d'Estaing is the front-figure of a new initiative, Re-Imagine Europa (RIE), launching Wednesday to reinforce Europe's role as a global economic power in the 21st century. "As Europeans we are at a turning point - we must re-seize the pragmatism that was so central to the founding spirit of the Union, or be swept away by the tide of history," 92-year old Giscard said.

French president Emmanuel Macron has said France, the US and UK will decide in the coming days whether to respond to a suspected chemical attack in Syria with military strikes. Macron's remarks came after talks with Saudi prince Mohammed bin Salman in Paris on Tuesday after which Macron defended French weapons sales to the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen. France is the world's third largest arms exporter.

Eurojust, the European Union agency dealing with judicial co-operation in criminal matters, said on Tuesday it had put 11 suspects under 'preventive measures' in Romania and Austria in a joint action that began on Friday (6 April). The group allegedly organised transports to Europe of migrants originating from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria and Iraq charging a fee ranging from €1,500 to €7,000 per person.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told US senators on Tuesday that it was "worth discussing" whether to introduce rules in the US similar to those in the upcoming EU data protection regulation. When asked if there should be an obligation for companies to inform consumers of a data breach within 72 hours, Zuckerberg said: "That makes sense to me." Similar notification obligations will apply in the EU as of 25 May.

The accusation by some eastern European leaders that food companies were shipping inferior products to the eastern part of the EU has put the European Commission in a bind - leading to a months-long struggle to find a response.