Equality is one of the fundamental values on which the European Union is founded. It is reflected in the Treaties and the Charter, as well as in EU secondary legislation. Nevertheless, one in five people within the EU have experienced discrimination in the last 12 months.… Read More Equality and the Fight against Racism and Xenophobia: Cost of Non-Europe Report
On 13 September 2017, the European Commission adopted a proposal to amend the rules on the statute and funding of European political parties and European political foundations. The proposal aims to revise the existing, 2014, regulation ahead of the 2019 European elections, to address specific loopholes. The proposed amendments focus on providing more transparency, improving democratic legitimacy and strengthening enforcement.… Read More European political parties and political foundations – Statute and funding [EU Legislation in Progress]
Two key trends are shaping the future of personal mobility: first, a shift from human (driver-driven) to machine (driverless-supercomputer driven) control of vehicles and second, a shift from individual to shared ownership of vehicles.… Read More A common EU approach to liability rules and insurance for connected and autonomous vehicles
Citizens recurrently turn to the European Parliament with comments on the changing of the clocks. Some citizens are in favour of the summer-time and winter-time arrangements; others call on the Parliament to abolish them.… Read More Summertime: changing of the clocks
On 20 March 2018, the EPRS organised a policy roundtable in the Library of the European Parliament. This is the first of a series of five EPRS roundtables to set a ‘Roadmap for the Future of Europe – From Bratislava to Sibiu’.… Read More EPRS Event: Economic and Social policies for young people
The National People’s Congress has recently confirmed Xi Jinping as China’s President, along with several appointments of his allies to top state jobs. It has also approved amendments to China’s Constitution which, in particular, abolish the limit of two five-year terms for the office of the President, prompting concerns that the country is moving towards a more autocratic system.… Read More China [What Think Tanks are thinking]
The European Commission has proposed a regulation on health technology assessment (HTA). HTA is a research-based tool that supports decision-making in healthcare by assessing the added value of a given health technology compared to others.… Read More Boosting cooperation on health technology assessment [EU Legislation in Progress]
On 22 and 23 March 2018, the EU Heads of State or Government will convene in four different formations with varying compositions and levels of formality: a regular meeting of the European Council, a Leaders’ meeting on taxation, a Euro Summit and a European Council (Article 50) meeting.… Read More Outlook for the meetings of EU leaders on 22-23 March 2018
In 2015, the European Commission launched an initiative entitled, ‘The EU budget focused on results’. The initiative is aimed at changing spending culture and making results a horizontal priority for the EU budget, by paying as much attention to funds’ performance, efficiency and effectiveness as to their absorption and compliance with financial rules.… Read More Performance budgeting: A means to improve EU spending
U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, raising fears of a trade war with other countries. He has argued that the levies, of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminium, are needed to protect U.S. national security. … Read More Trump, trade and tariffs [What Think Tanks are thinking]