Новости за 17.04.2018

The French president tried to woo the European Parliament but found that his quest for leadership will have to abide by the rules set by the European political groups.

EU member states welcomed the dialogue between Poland and the EU Commission on rule of law, but insist that more progress is needed to bring Warsaw's judicial overhaul in line with EU values.

Reform and opening-up is a great process that has seen China and the world achieve development and progress together, with more than 700 million Chinese people lifted out of poverty, China's president Jinping told the Boao Forum for Asia.

Political funding of European parties is being overhauled ahead of the European parliament elections next year. The latest rules will cut funding for smaller parties, with an aim to squeeze out duplication and over-representation of the far right.

Political funding of European parties is being overhauled ahead of the European parliament elections next year. The latest rules will cut funding for smaller parties, with an aim to squeeze out duplication and over-representation of the far right.

French president Emmanuel Macron told the European Parliament on Tuesday that the EU should act "more efficently" to protect its citizens and defend the "European model of liberal democracy". He warned against the "deadly illusion" of illiberal democracy. "The worst mistake would be to abandon our model, our identity," he said, adding that "European sovereignty" would create a "unique space of stability and solidarity".

The Court of Justice of the EU ruled on Tuesday that Poland should not have increased the cutting of ancient trees in the primeval forest of Bialowieza, confirming the earlier assessment of one of its top legal advisers. Polish authorities "did not carry out an appropriate assessment" of their decision. Poland has already scaled down the logging and has said it would adhere to the court's judgement.

EU foreign ministers have discussed new sanctions on Syria, Iran, and Russia in light of the chemical warfare in Syria.

The UK should organise a global summit on artificial intelligence (AI) in London to determine common ethical standards, the House of Lords said in a report on Monday. It said that a global AI arms race should be avoided, but fell short of recommending working with the EU post-Brexit. The report comes ahead of the European Commission release of an EU strategy on AI next week.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg will meet EU digital commissioner Andrus Ansip in San Francisco on Tuesday, according to the commissioner's agenda. Zuckerberg last week testified to the US Congress but has not accepted a call to appear before the European Parliament to explain the Cambridge Analytica data breach. Executives from Facebook will also appear at the Irish parliament on Tuesday.

Political negotiators from the three main EU institutions met on Monday for the first time to discuss an improved and mandatory Transparency Register ahead of next year's European parliament elections. MEPs Sylvie Guillaume and Danuta Huebner represent the Parliament, Bulgarian deputy minister, Monika Panayotova the Council and vice-president Frans Timmermans represent the Commission in the talks. The council is only an observer to the current scheme.

Romanian president Klaus Iohannis rejected on Monday an order from the country's justice minister to sack the head of the anti-graft body DNA, Laura Kovesi. The 44-year-old prosecutor has led investigations of the two ruling parties, the Social Democrats (PSD) and the Liberals (ALDE), and figures close to them. Justice minister Tudorel Toader had accused her of abuse of authority, violating the constitution and damaging Romania's image.

The European Parliament budgetary control committee adopted a resolution Monday, by 22 votes to three, calling on the European Commission to "reassess" the appointment of its secretary general, Martin Selmayr, to give others the possibility to apply. Selmayr, the head of cabinet of commission president Jean-Claude Juncker was appointed in February in what the committee said "could be seen as a coup-like action". The plenary will vote on Wednesday.

German chancellor Angela Merkel will address the European Parliament in November, the institution announced on Monday. Other EU leaders to visit and debate with MEPs this year are: Belgium's Charles Michel and Luxembourg's Xavier Bettel in May, Poland's Mateusz Morawiecki in June, Greece's Alexis Tsipras in September, Estonia's Juri Ratas and Romania's Klaus Iohannis. French president Emmanuel Macron is to give a speech in Strasbourg on Tuesday.

With this year's FIFA World Cup in Russia fast approaching, the impact of major sports events on society and the environment is an important topic in the public discourse.