Content about European Commission

Agriculture and water are inextricable linked, and climate change is adding a further complication to relations between the two.  Although everyone agrees on the principles for a long-term vision for water, the issue is how to achieve a more balanced management of water resources in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). 

The “New Alliance to improve food and nutrition security” aims at boosting productivity, domestic and international private sector investments and supporting innovation and technology in Africa. The European Commission welcomed the launch of it since the EU has been an active partner in the preparation.

The "New Alliance" gathers together donors, partner countries and the private sector in a joint effort to lift 50 million people out of poverty in the next ten years.

According to the statistical office of the European Union (Eurostat), the average top personal income tax rate and the corporate tax rate in the EU27 has increased in 2012. The information was presented in a press release from 21 May which revealed the taxation trends in the Union.

The leader of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), Tomislav Nikolić, was elected president of Serbia on 20 May, managing to capitalise on the complacency of his counterpart's supporters and accomplishing a major upset.

According to nearly-completed official counts, Nikolić won 49.51% of votes, while the incumbent president and leader of the centre-left Democratic Party (DS), Boris Tadić, got 47.35%.

Nikolić announced in his victory speech that Serbia will continue its progress towards the EU.

In the framework of the debate on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, Cyprus supported the proposed principle of fishing on the basis of the maximum sustainable yield of fish reserves, stressing at the same time the need for realistic timetables and flexibility, said Cypriot Minister of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment Sofoclis Aletraris, who participated, in the Agriculture and Fisheries Council of the EU on 16 May.

Last Thursday, the new Greek Parliament issued by the elections of 6 May gathered for its inaugural session. Usually, such gatherings are cheerful  and full of hope; but this one wasn’t. Quite the contrary: a strange mood was in the air, partly due to the fact that this would be the shortest parliamentary season of all times—one day. In fact, the following day the parliament was dissolved and new elections were set.

The Temporary Parliamentary Commission by the Bulgarian Parliament dealing with revision of the moratorium texts on exploration and production of shale gas decided on 17 May to modify the suspension by removing the first provision of the text. The adopted changes were made in accordance with the proposal of the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism.

With Alexis Tsipras, the young leader of Greek left wing party SYRIZA, predicted to win the next election, insisting on his electoral rhetoric that his country should stop paying its creditors if the Eurozone cuts Greece off the agreed soft loans life line, it was not a surprise that stock markets in Europe and New York keep losing ground, and the G8 Summit which meets on 18 and 19 May in Camp David has Greece as its main item on the agenda.

Before flying out to the G8 Summit at Camp David and the NATO Sumit in Washington, D.C., European Commission President José Manuel Barroso sent out a clear message to Greece: swim together or sink alone.

An agreement on the Second Economic Adjustment Programme and the debt reduction agreement has been a consistent focus of the Commission in order to to concentrate efforts on growth and jobs througout Europe, but more specifically in the debt-ridden Greece.

The international non-governmental organization Transparency International (TI) presented on 14 May its assessment of the Dutch national integrity system. The report is part of the pan-European Anti-Corruption Initiative, supported by the European Commission and the Ministry of Security and Justice in the Netherlands. The purpose of this initiative is to assess and review of National Integrity Systems in 25 European countries, as well as to advocate for sustainable and effective reforms.

Albania’s application for membership to the European Union on 28 April 2009 was an important landmark for a country that 20 years ago had emerged from a communist rule as one of the poorest, most isolated, most repressive and most inscrutable in Europe.

The EU continued with its policy of awarding dictatorships with trade benefits and development deals. The trade and development agreement between the EU and Mauritius, Madagascar, Seychelles and Zimbabwe, which is by all merits a dictatorship, took effect on 14 May.