New direction test for summit - EUbusiness Week newsletter 686 - EUbusiness.com

EUbusiness Week 686 top stories: EU leaders baulk at money for Juncker investment plan; EU agrees tougher money-laundering law; EU agrees fish quotas seen as lax by environmentalists; End of quotas: a butter future for EU dairy farmers?; EU food labels to help allergy sufferers; Court of Justice says obesity can be disability

Publisher’s Note

As Europe’s new decision-makers sat down for their first formal meeting since their appointment, today’s summit was an opportunity to gauge the direction they hope to pursue.

The 2015 work programme of the Juncker Commission reflects themes of prioritisation and self-restraint, with a focus on investment, the digital single market and energy union. While expectations are not high for the summit, a Commission with momentum and clearer direction will present a good challenge for the Council’s new president Donald Tusk.

The next newswire goes out in January. I wish you the Season’s Greetings and best wishes for a happy, healthy and peaceful New Year.
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Regards,

Nick Prag
Publisher, EUbusiness

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1. EU leaders baulk at money for Juncker investment plan

EU leaders approved an ambitious investment plan on Thursday but without putting up the “hard cash” demanded by Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker.
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EU leaders press Russia, urge new investment

2. EU agrees tougher money-laundering law

Owners of secretive companies in Europe will have a harder time keeping out of the public eye, EU negotiators agreed on Wednesday, in another blow against opaque business practices after the LuxLeaks scandal.
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3. EU agrees fish quotas seen as lax by environmentalists

Member States have introduced fish catch limits for next year for the Atlantic and North Sea that environmentalists say fail to protect some overfished stocks like cod & sole.
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4. End of quotas: a butter future for EU dairy farmers?

Thirty years after introducing quotas to combat the butter mountain caused by overproduction, the EU is on the cusp of freeing up the dairy sector amid growing global demand for milk products.
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5. EU food labels to help allergy sufferers

New EU labelling rules that took effect 13 December require restaurants and other businesses to tell customers if their food could trigger allergies or raise other health concerns.
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6. Court of Justice says obesity can be disability

The Union’s highest court ruled Thursday that obesity can be considered a “disability” if it hinders an overweight person’s performance at work.
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EUROPEAN LAW

Stem cell patenting: a human egg used to produce stem cells but unable to develop into a viable embryo can be patented, the European Court of Justice ruled on Thursday.
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EU can’t sign up to key rights convention, court rules
Top EU court rejects British visa rule
Latest news from the European Court of Justice
EU Law Firms
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Inside the EU Institutions

Council Watch

Turkey: ministers agreed to take a harder line on Turkey’s bid for membership Tuesday, saying recent police raids on media outlets were incompatible with EU democratic values.
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EU could de-escalate sanctions if Russia shifts on Ukraine
EU welcomes US-Cuba accord as ‘historical turning point’
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Commission Watch

Hamas: the EU scrambled to set the record straight on Hamas Wednesday after an EU court ordered the removal of the Palestinian Islamist group from its terror blacklist, infuriating Israel.
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Juncker cuts new laws to slash red-tape
EU says working to keep Greece ‘firmly’ in the eurozone
Lima outcome ‘a step forward’ on way to Paris climate deal
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Parliament Watch

2015 budget: the EU on Wednesday adopted a budget for next year that contains seed money to launch the new Commission’s investment plan to revive the EU economy.
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EP backs recognition of Palestinian state ‘in principle’
Euro-MPs slam Venezuela opposition ‘persecution
This week in plenary MEPs approved the EU-Georgia association deal; secured a deal to cap the fees that banks charge retailers to process shoppers’ payments; urged the EU to step up efforts to help the steel industry out of the crisis; and awarded the Lux Prize to Polish-Danish film Ida, directed by Pawel Pawlikowski.
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EU diary

18-19 Dec: European Council
1 Jan: Lithuania becomes 19th Member State to adopt euro
5-8 Jan: European Parliament Committee Meetings
9 Jan: Countdown to European Year for Development – 2015
The Week Ahead
Long-term diary