News | European Union

The merger of Germany’s Deutsche Boerse and the US-European stock exchanges NYSE Euronext looks set to be blocked.

German politician Martin Schulz of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats was elected European Parliament (EP) president today, as the European People's Party press and communication advisor Girts Salmgriezis told LETA.

Brussels, 13 January 2012 – To mark the start of the 2012 European Year of Active Ageing and Solidarity of Generations, the Commission presented today a new Eurobarometer survey showing that 71% of Europeans are aware that Europe's population is getting older, but only 42% are concerned about this development.

The eurozone may be past the worst already, Bank of Latvia President Ilmars Rimsevics says in an interview with the magazine "Lietiska Diena".

Today, the European Commission has proposed to improve assistance for EU citizens caught in crisis situations – such as those that occurred in Japan, Libya or Egypt this year – and day-to-day emergencies when travelling abroad. The aim is to ease cooperation between consular authorities and strengthen European citizens' right to consular protection. EU citizens abroad have the right to ask for assistance from a consulate or an embassy of another EU Member State when their Member State is not represented in the country. EU Member States must also help citizens evacuate as if they were their own nationals. Today’s proposals will strengthen these rights by clarifying when a citizen is considered not represented and specifying the type of assistance Member States typically provide in cases of need, such as arrest, serious accident or lost documents. The Commission has also developed an interactive website on consular protection, which lists the contact details of all EU Member States' embassies and consulates outside the EU – searchable either by EU nationality or by country.

On 13th December 2011, the reinforced Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) enters into force with a new set of rules for economic and fiscal surveillance. These new measures, the so-called "Six-Pack", are made of five regulations and one directive proposed by the European Commission and approved by all 27 Member States and the European Parliament last October. This change represents the most comprehensive reinforcement of economic governance in the EU and the euro area since the launch of the Economic Monetary Union almost 20 years ago. In line with 8-9 December European Summit agreements, the legislative package already brings a concrete and decisive step towards ensuring fiscal discipline, helping to stabilise the EU economy and preventing a new crisis in the EU.

The signing paves the way for the ratification procedures that will allow Croatia to become the 28th member of the European Union on 1 July 2013.

At the first working session of the European Council of 8 and 9 December, an agreement was reached on short-term action to overcome the debt crisis and on a new fiscal compact for the euro area.

The EU decided to launch negotiations on a deep and comprehensive free trade area with Georgia and Moldova in order to boost economic growth and investment with the Eastern European partners. The negotiations will tackle a broad range of trade and economic issues so as to achieve a closer economic integration with the EU.

Income inequalities have increased in most EU countries in the past decades, and they are feeding a growing public discontent. According to a recent Eurobarometer , there is no EU country where people would think that inequalities are handled better now than five years ago.