⊂ EUROPE ⊃
Commission was unprepared for financial crisis: The EU Commission was unprepared for the magnitude of the financial crisis, and as a result displayed significant weaknesses in its management of bailouts in Ireland, Latvia, Portugal, Romania and Hungary, according to a report by the European Court of Auditors. The report, which looks into the Commission’s management of the financial assistance provided to five EU countries, said the Commission fell short in its task of assessing fiscal imbalances in the run-up to the crisis, when it estimated public budgets to be stronger that they actually turned out to be.
blogs.wsj.com
Strict conditions for TTIP reading room: The reading room for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between the European Union and the United States (TTIP) will be officially opened on Thursday. MPs receive access under strict conditions and are threatened with “disciplinary and / or legal action”, should they carry information from the reading room to the outside. Some MPs responded to the conditions with indignation.
sueddeutsche.de
Discussion about ban on 500 euro note: The EU should consider banning 500 euro notes because their high value makes them too useful a vehicle of corruption and other illegal activity, said the head of the European Anti-Fraud Office, Giovanni Kessler. More than five times more valuable than the largest US equivalent in circulation, the 500 euro is worth 540 dollars and offers a rare concentration of purchasing power and global convertibility in a single, small piece of paper.
uk.reuters.com
Employment in Europe stabilises: Only 63 percent of women in Europe are employed. However, statisticians see signs of relaxation for employment in Europe. The EU employment rate has risen for the first time in six years, although it is still below its highest value of 70 percent in the year 2008, when the financial and economic crisis began. Sweden has the highest employment rate with 80 percent, Germany the second highest with 78 percent.
faz.net
Brexit could create difficulties for Northern Ireland: If Britain left the European Union, it would create „serious difficulties“ for Northern Ireland, Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny has said. Kenny was speaking after a meeting with UK Prime Minster David Cameron at Downing Street on Monday. He said the issue of Britain’s EU membership was critical for Ireland and came at a time of great uncertainty for Europe. Economists also warn of economic consquences if future relations between the UK and the EU changed after a Brexit and trade barriers were built.
bbc.com
Erasmus+ is living up to expectations: With a budget of over 2 billion euros in its initial year, Erasmus+ has already offered more than one million people the opportunity to take part in 18.000 funded projects. More flexible opportunities for collaboration across sectors are also helping Europe’s education, training, youth and sport systems to try out innovative practices and contribute to reform and modernisation. Figures published on Tuesday reveal that in 2014, Erasmus+ already benefited more people through a wider range of opportunities.
europa.eu
Transparency: Commission wants to force large corporations to increase transparency handelsblatt.com
Autonomous driving: Commission gears up for driverless cars in push to compete with tech giants euractiv.com
Competition: French pig breeders sue Germany euractiv.de
Virtual currencies: What are the risks and benefits? europarl.europa.eu
⊂ QUOTES ⊃
„This seems more like a farce than real participation. To be controlled in this way has very little to do with a free parliamentary mandate.“
German MP Britta Haßelmann criticises the strict conditions for insight into TTIP documents in the German Bundestag.
sueddeutsche.de
⊂ COUNTRIES ⊃
Russia wants explanation over Germany’s handling of rape case: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has weighed in on the case of a Russian-German teenage girl who alleges she was kidnapped and raped by migrants in Berlin. German police so far reject the girl’s version of events. Lavrov demanded a full explanation from German authorities during his annual address on Tuesday, saying it was clear the 13-year-old didn’t „voluntarily disappear for 30 hours.“ He also spoke of a cover-up. German police have repeatedly stated there was no evidence of kidnapping or rape.
dw.com
Danish parliament approves controversial migrant assets bill: The Danish parliament has backed a controversial proposal to confiscate asylum seekers‘ valuables to pay for their upkeep. Police will be able to seize valuables worth more than 1,340 euros from refugees to cover housing and food costs. MPs also approved plans to delay family reunions for asylum seekers. The prospect of refugees having possessions seized has drawn comparisons to the confiscation of valuables from Jews during World War Two.
bbc.com
Tsipras calls for pension reform: Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras defended plans to reform the country’s pension system on Tuesday, saying it was a difficult but necessary plan to prevent the system from imploding. „Present and future projections leave no room for complacency”, Tsipras said in a speech to parliament. A preamble to a formal submission of the pension reforms bill is expected in February.
uk.reuters.com
Spanish court finds captain liable: Spain’s Supreme Court said Tuesday it had found the captain, British insurer and owner of an oil tanker that broke up off northwestern Spain in 2002 liable for one of Europe’s worst environmental disasters. Reversing an earlier decision acquitting the ship’s Greek captain Apostolos Mangouras, the court sentenced the skipper to two years‘ jail.
yahoonews.com
Spain’s parties to discuss new government: Spain’s four main party leaders will meet King Felipe for a second time next Monday and Tuesday to see whether any of them can muster enough support to form a government and break a six-week election deadlock, the palace said. Parties on the right and left have been jockeying for power in the month since the Dec. 20 vote, though none is yet in a position to cement an alliance after the political landscape fragmented at the ballot box.
reuters.com
France: Bomb threats at several schools telegraph.co.uk
Czech Republic: President Zeman jokingly calls for murder of Premier Sobotka n-tv.de
Croatia: New government starts its work derstandard.at
Bosnia-Herzegovina: Top Bosnian official Fahrudin Radoncic arrested for obstructing justice dw.com
France: Protest against Uber as security forces fire teargas at taxi strike theguardian.com
⊂ DATA ⊃
Germany wants to invest 130 billion euros over the next 15 years on upgrading equipment for its military.
euronews.com
⊂ JOB-BOARD ⊃
politjobs.eu: 350.org seeks campaigner *** Steltemeier & Rawe seeks Senior Associate (m/f) *** 1&1 sucht EU Public Affairs Manager VKU sucht Referentin/en *** Afore Consulting seeks Junior Consultants in European Public Affairs
politjobs.eu, politjobs.eu/submit (Inserat schalten)
⊂ MALFUNCTION ⊃
Rome covers up nude statues for visiting president of Iran: Italy covered up marble statues of nude Roman goddesses in order to spare the blushes of the visiting president of Iran, Hassan Rouhani, who is on a visit to Europe to rebuild relations with the West. The offending statues lined a corridor along which the Iranian delegation passed before holding a press conference. The decision to encase the statues of Venus and other female figures from antiquity prompted outrage from some commentators and politicians.
telegraph.co.uk