Новости за 20.04.2018

Years of heavy-duty and expensive lobbying, including of a European commissioner for health, has not opened the way for mouth tobacco sales in the EU. The EU court in Luxembourg last week refused to lift the ban.

The European Commission will present proposals to protect whistleblowers, combat fake news and organise the digital single market. The international community will gather in Brussels to discuss how to help Syrians in the current war and after.

MEPs are using so-called 'friendship groups' to cater to foreign governments without oversight and little public scrutiny. Initially set up to promote cultural exchanges, some have become lobbying platforms to push state views from governments with poor human rights records.

The UK's actual 'divorce' bill from the EU could be billions of pounds higher than the current estimated figure of £35-£39bn (€39.8-€44.4bn), the UK's official government National Audit Office warned in a report on Friday. The spending watchdog said London could be responsible for an extra £3bn in EU budget contributions plus an additional £2.9bn to the European Development Fund.

France and Germany have pledged to forge a joint position on euro reform by June, despite German reluctance on deeper monetary union.