Новости за 12.04.2018

A German MEP who steered the EU general data protection law through the European Parliament says the Facebook chief was only beginning to realise his firm's impact on people's privacy.

A draft report by the civil liberties committe says Hungary is in creal risk of breaching EU values. Orban's government claims this is an attack his electoral victory.

The nerve gas used in an assassination attempt against former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the UK last month was Russian-made Novichok, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) confirmed on Thursday. It said in a report that the toxic chemical used was "of high purity" and that its findings "confirm the findings of the United Kingdom relating to the identity of the toxic chemical".

The nerve gas used in an assassination attempt against former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the UK last month was from Russia, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) confirmed on Thursday. It said in a report that the toxic chemical used was "of high purity" and that its findings "confirm the findings of the United Kingdom relating to the identity of the toxic chemical".

French president Emmanuel Macron said Thursday there is "proof" that the Syrian regime used chemical weapons against civilians last week. He told French TV he would not "allow an escalation or anything that would harm regional stability", but added that "we cannot allow" regimes believe they can act with impunity. German chancellor Angela Merkel said meanwhile her country would "not take part in possible military action", but supports its allies.

As the EU Council kicks off negotiations over the post-2020 budget, ministers have have an opportunity to create a framework that will unlock innovative financing and scale up the citizen-led clean energy transformation

Irish salaries are expected to grow nearly seven percent over the next two years, according to estimates published by the Irish central bank on Wednesday. Wages are expected to rise by 3.3 percent in 2018 and in 2019, twice the current eurozone rate, the bank's quarterly bulletin said.

Clever coders and creative minds will be meeting in Brussels for the first-ever EU Blockathon from 22 to 25 June 2018 in Brussels' Autoworld museum. Ten selected blockchain teams will be invited by the European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights (EUIPO) to compete for a €100,000 prize at the event which aims to co-create "relevant prototypes to address the anti-counterfeiting challenge," the invitation says.

Russian firm Gazprom has been strangling EU energy markets for years, documents show, as the EU commission takes aim at its new pipeline, Nord Stream 2.

Sweden aims to continue temporary border controls towards Germany and Denmark, reports Swedish public broadcaster Ekot. "We are still seeing a threat to internal security and a need to control travel flows into Sweden," justice minister Morgan Johansson said. Pending approval from the European Commission, border controls will continue for six months starting 12 May. They were introduced on 4 January 2016 at the height of the refugee crisis.

French president Emmanuel Macron is deepening inequality with his pro-business reforms, former president Francois Hollande writes in a 400-page book, "Lessons on power" (Les leçons du pouvoir) which went on sale on Wednesday. "My government reduced inequalities. This one is worsening them," writes the Socialist, who came into office in 2012. Hollande became the first French leader who did not to seek re-election in recent history.

Fines in the EU are often divergent and low. The European Commission proposes to change EU consumer rules to make fines more deterrent.

A high proportion of former commissioners and top civil servants in charge of banking and financial regulation during the crisis have joined the sector, a report shows.

"The big problem in the world today is a lack of resources and a lack of bio-diversity," says Finnish environment minister Kimmo Tiilikainen. His country plans to produce what the world needs the most.