European Parliament - Eprs Policy Podcasts

Ten years has passed since the app economy was launched. Since then the apps evolved to play an increasingly important role in the life of citizens and became crucial to the success of many industries. Growing connectivity and availability of portable devices ensure that this trend will continue. Source: © European Union - EP

Iran, Syria, North Korea, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are among nearly 30 countries to be targeted by EU sanctions, among other things for nuclear weapons programmes, violations of democracy and human rights. Sanctions can be very painful for targeted countries, but do not always succeed in changing their behaviour. Source: © European Union - EP

The EU lawmakers have reached a provisional agreement on new civil aviation safety rules. The reform introduces risk and performance-based rules, includes the first-ever EU rules for civil drones, extends the European Aviation Safety Agency's mandate and provides for using existing resources more efficiently. The provisional agreement now needs to be confirmed by European Parliament in plenary. Source: © European Union - EP

Developing organic production is an EU policy objective. While the EU organic market is constantly expanding, only 6 % of total EU agricultural area is used for organic cultivation, and the difference between EU demand and production is covered by growing imports. To overcome the regulatory obstacles to the development of the sector and increase consumer confidence in the EU organic logo, the Commission adopted a proposal in March 2014 for a regulation on organic production and labelling of organic products, repealing the current framework dating from 2007. Following a series of trilogue meetings, the Maltese Presidency and the European Parliament reached a preliminary agreement on 28 June 2017. The Council's Special Committee on Agriculture endorsed the agreement, which the Parliament's Agriculture Committee subsequently approved on 22 November 2017. The full Parliament and Council now need to approve the text before the new regulation can enter into force.Source: © European Union - EP

Despite significant progress for some social groups in the area of work-life balance, there has been a general trend of decline since 2011, and progress amongst Member States has been uneven. Attempting to compensate for the 2015 withdrawal of the proposal for an extended maternity leave directive, this proposed directive contains proposals for paternity, parental and carers' leave. It is complemented with non-legislative measures. Both the Council and the stakeholders are divided over the level of ambition and the implementation of the proposed measures. The EP (EMPL) that has been insisting on work-life balance measures over the years, is going to consider its draft report in the spring of 2018.Source: © European Union - EP

On 7 July 2017, a special United Nations (UN) conference adopted the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Will this lead to the abolition of nuclear weapons, as supporters of the Treaty hope, or in fact weaken the global disarmament and non-proliferation regime, as opponents fear?Source: © European Union - EP

Galileo and the European geostationary navigation overlay service (EGNOS) are two satellite navigation systems under civil control. Galileo shall guarantee to Europe an independent access to a reliable satellite signal, being at the same time more accurate than existing concurrence. The aim of EGNOS is to monitor, correct and improve the accuracy of current open signals (GPS, GLONASS) on a limited territory. Galileo and EGNOS were conceived in close cooperation with the European Space Agency. They are first infrastructures owned by the European Union. The EU allocated more than €7 billion from MFF 2014-2020 in order to reach the full operational capacity by the end of 2020.Source: © European Union - EP

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems already permeate daily life: they drive cars, decide on mortgage applications, translate texts, create artworks, play games, and intervene in conflict zones. The briefing explores the roots of the AI revolution that emerged from the combination of machine learning techniques and 'big data'. It also explores the current limitations of these systems: they are perform single tasks, can be biased and are opaque in their decision making. The development of AI systems requires adaptation of legal frameworks on the collection, use and storage of data. But more importantly, the key issue remains the level of autonomy given to AI systems to make decisions that could be life-changing. If the threat of a 'superintelligence' able to self-improve and dominate humans remains remains unrealistic, AI systems are expected to impact society, especially the job market, and could increase inequalities.Source: © European Union - EP

In the European Union (EU), responsibility for counter-terrorism lies primarily with Member States. However, the role of the EU itself in counter-terrorism has grown significantly in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks that have hit Europe in the post-'9/11' era. The cross-border aspects of the terrorist threat call for a coordinated EU approach. Moreover, the assumption that there is a connection between development and stability, as well as internal and external security, has come to shape the EU's actions beyond its own borders. In the context of terrorism, the EU has an extensive toolkit of human and financial resources that support third countries in managing or mitigating terrorist threats. A key element of EU action is capacity-building in partner countries, to ensure local ownership, a sustainable assistance model and the full use of local expertise for challenges that are geographically distinct.Source: © European Union - EP

The introduction of the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) equipped European citizens with a new right to participate in EU affairs by asking the Commission to table new legislation. Since the ECI became operational in 2012, the Commission received 66 initiatives, out of which 4 were successful in collecting the required number of signatures. Various stakeholders suggested that the performance of this new tool remained below expectations as it is complex and difficult to use. To address these and other concerns, on 13 September, the Commission tabled a proposal to reform the ECI.Source: © European Union - EP

The EU has established a range of social measures applying to the road transport sector, which aim at improving drivers' working conditions, road safety and competition between road operators. To give real substance to these social measures, compliance is key. The 2006 Enforcement Directive was therefore adopted to effectively implement the social provisions of the 'Driving time' Regulation. The current proposal, published in the context of the 2017 European Commission 'Europe on the move' initiative, seeks to remedy some shortcomings of the Enforcement Directive, such as non-uniform implementation. Additionally, it puts forward specific rules on the posting of workers applying to the road sector, with a view to responding to concerns raised regarding the inadequacy of the Posting of Workers Directive provisions and administrative requirements, when applied to the road transport sector.Source: © European Union - EP

Returning more and more migrants with irregular status to their countries of origin has become a key European Union aim in efforts to reduce illegal migration. Despite its high political priority, reiterated in European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker's 2017 State of the Union address, the effective implementation of this objective is problematic, mainly due to resistance at the individual level, but also from the countries of origin. To make the return option more attractive for migrants with irregular status, the EU's return policy promotes voluntary returns through reintegration assistance packages. No less than 90 specific assisted voluntary return and reintegration programmes (AVRR) have been established by EU Member States, co-financed by the European Union, and implemented mainly by the International Organization on Migration (IOM).Source: © European Union - EP

The UN Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters is in the focus of two major documents issued in 2017. Both papers focus on access to justice. One has been published by the European Commission and examines the implementation of the convention in the EU-Member States. The other document has been published by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee and takes a critical look at implementation at EU Level. Both papers point to shortcomings, in particular with regard to the rights of non-governmental organisations.Source: © European Union - EP

Cultural and educational policies can contribute to the development of skills needed to cope with the complexity of contemporary multicultural societies, and to qualify for jobs in the fast-growing creative and cultural industries. In the EU, competence for culture and education policies lies with the Member States, though the EU plays a role too, by supporting them financially and supplementing and coordinating their efforts in this field.Source: © European Union - EP

EU industry seems to be on a solid path to recovery from the crisis with growth in both employment and value added. Industry creates jobs across the economy and is responsible for the bulk of investment in private research and development. Similarly to other developed parts of the world, European industry is undergoing a transformation based, among others, on increasing the convergence between traditional industries and the digital sector. This change creates both opportunities and challenges. In order to maintain the global competitiveness of European industry, many current shortcomings, such as insufficient investment levels, widening productivity and innovation gaps or skills shortages, must be addressed.Source: © European Union - EP

Cross-border provision of services in the EU is relatively common, and is undertaken by an increasing number of entities, especially in sectors such as construction and business. Despite this fact, many service-providers still face obstacles which stop them benefitting from comparable business opportunities available to local persons and organisations. The European Commission has a proposed a new regulation and accompanying directive aimed at tackling these remaining obstacles in EU markets, through the introduction of a European services e-card. This would increase and simplify cooperation between home and host Member States, as well as simplifying the procedures applicable to cross-border service-providers.Source: © European Union - EP

The EU customs union has become the world's largest trading bloc. While customs rules are the same across the EU, national customs authorities do not always apply them in a consistent manner. Therefore, the European Commission adopted its long-term plan to strengthen the governance and management of the EU customs union (December 2016). The Commission proposes structural and administrative changes, inter alia, on customs policy monitoring, formulation, and implementation. In addition, the Commission proposes to tackle administrative issues (e.g. application of EU law, competency building for custom officials, aligning new EU-wide IT systems on customs procedures), and border management coordination. Besides governance and administrative issues, the Briefing is also analysing the evolution of the customs union and Intra-EU trade, the new Union Customs Code (UCC) and the arrangements with participating third countries. Source: © European Union - EP

The Bioenergy is generally produced from plants such as agricultural crops or trees, Et is a renewable but finite energy source, and considered as climate-friendly, However, its production and use has environmental impacts and the climate benefits may vary. To ensure the sustainability of bioenergy, the Commission proposed a revised Renewable Energy Directive which includes mandatory sustainability criteria.Source: © European Union - EP

The Commission published a proposal in January 2017 for a new e-Privacy 'regulation. The aim is to reform the existing 2002 legislation to adapt the e-Privacy rules to the new technological reality, and to align them to the 2016 General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Stakeholders are divided on certain issues, including on the basic need for a new measure to protect confidentiality in e-communications.Source: © European Union - EP

The Commission's public consultation exercise on the simplification and modernisation of the Common Agricultural Policy closed on 2 May 2017. It received in excess of 320,000 online responses. The initial results of this exercise will be presented at a stakeholder event in July. As a prelude to these results, some key features of EU agriculture are outlined along with an overview on prospects for the main agricultural markets. A number of stakeholder organisations and think tanks have already issued their reflections on the future shape of EU agricultural policy. It is expected that the Commission will publish a communication towards the end of the year on the current performance of the CAP including potential policy options for the future.Source: © European Union - EP