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As European leaders gather to celebrate the signing of the Treaty of Rome it is time to take stock of the success of the EU and build a shared vision for its future.

Environmental protection has been a clear success of the EU as it has put in place laws to clean up our rivers, save lives from air pollution and bring iconic wildlife back from the brink of extinction.

Concern for our shared environment has gone hand in hand with the solidarity at the heart of the European Union.

The European Environmental Bureau (EEB) is warning leaders to keep the environment a central pillar of the EU, not least as a way to fight anti-democratic movements within the bloc.

The EEB is the largest coalition of grassroots environmental NGOs in Europe with over 150 member organisations.

EEB Secretary General Jeremy Wates said:

It is barely 18 months since European leaders joined with other countries around the world to sign up to the global 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals, but this is little reflected in the Commissions recent White Paper setting out future scenarios for the EU. Sustainable development, with respect for the environment at its heart, must now become the overarching priority for the European Union.

The recent Dutch elections tell a hopeful story. Pro-European and pro-environmental attitudes were important factors in the pushback against unredeemed nationalism. We know that the majority of the public support more, not less, EU action on the environment. Strong environmental protection policies at European level can serve as an antidote to the anti-democratic forces which threaten the EU.

Solving the environmental crisis is the biggest challenge of our time. It is clear that member states, working together on environmental issues, are more effective than when working alone. Problems like climate change and pollution do not respect borders. Solving them effectively can only work if the EUs member states start taking their responsibility for this more seriously.

Notes to Editors:

The statement comes ahead of this Saturdays meeting of EU heads of state or government to mark the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome.

On 1 March 2017, the European Commission presented a White Paper on the Future of Europe. This paper outlines five scenarios for the future of Europe.

Originally posted here:
Keeping environmental protection at the heart of the European ... - European Environmental Bureau (press release)

BRUSSELS The European Commission aims to make adopting the euro more attractive to European Union members currently outside the currency bloc, the economics commissioner said on Tuesday, in a bid to make the union more tight-knit after Britain's vote to leave.

The proposals will be unveiled next week in a blueprint on the future of the euro zone, which is part of a wider plan launched by the EU executive on how to revamp the union after Brexit and amid a surge of euroskeptic sentiment.

"We will try to make a framework that is attractive enough, that is like, as they say in the movies, an offer you cannot refuse," Pierre Moscovici told reporters seeking details on his proposals for "completing the Economic and Monetary Union by 2025".

European Union states except Britain and Denmark are obliged to adopt the euro but there is no deadline set for ditching their own currencies.

Moscovici underlined that states should move gradually toward adopting the euro as their currency but he said the Commission has no power and no will to force countries to adopt the euro by a certain date.

Public opinion in EU states outside the euro zone is often against joining the common currency area.

In Poland, 57 percent of interviewees were against the euro, according to a Eurobarometer poll published last December. Opposition was also strong in Britain, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Denmark and Bulgaria, while Hungarians, Croatians and Romanians were mostly favorable to the currency bloc.

Moscovici noted that Brexit meant the euro zone will dominate the EU economy providing a further incentive for countries to adopt the common currency.

(Reporting by Alastair Macdonald and Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump asked lawmakers on Tuesday to cut $3.6 trillion in government spending over the next decade, taking aim at healthcare and food assistance programs for the poor in an austere budget that also boosts the military.

VIENNA OPEC and non-member oil producers could deepen output cuts or extend them for a year at a meeting in Vienna this week, Kuwait said on Wednesday, as they seek to clear a global stocks overhang and prop up the price of crude.

MILAN Any potential fines Fiat Chrysler (FCA) may need to pay to settle a U.S. civil lawsuit over diesel emissions will unlikely top $1 billion, analysts said, adding the case appeared less serious than at larger rival Volkswagen .

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After Brexit, EU plans 'offer you cannot refuse' to expand euro zone: Moscovici - Reuters

(UPDATED) EU Ambassador to the Philippines Franz Jessen says the Philippines' decision will affect up to 250 million euros in EU grants

AT STAKE. EU Ambassador to the Philippines Franz Jessen says the Philippines' refusal of EU grants could affect up to 250 million euros in aid. File photo from the EU Delegation to the Philippines' Facebook page

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) The European Union on Wednesday evening, May 17, confirmed that the Philippines has decided to no longer accept new EU grants, pegged at around 250 million euros or P13.85 billion.

"The Philippine government has informed us that they no longer accept new EU grants," the EU delegation to the Philippines said when sought by Rappler for confirmation Wednesday.

The EU delegation said the Philippine government relayed this decision only this week.

The exact reason for this decision is unavailable as of posting time. The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs has not responded to our request for comment.

EU Ambassador to the Philippines Franz Jessen said the Philippines' decision will affect up to 250 million euros in EU grants.

This comes as President Rodrigo Duterte slams the EU for supposedly interfering in his bloody anti-drug campaign. "If you think it's high time for you guys to withdraw your assistance, go ahead. We will not beg for it," Duterte told the EU in October 2016.

The EU Parliament earlier warned the Philippines that it could lose trade incentives if the human rights situation in the country does not improve.

Jessen stressed that the EU was not "imposing" human rights conditions on the Philippines, and it was the Philippines that signed 27 labor and human rights conventions under the United Nations system.

The EU, in any case, is one of the Philippines' biggest donors.

When Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) struck in November 2013, for example, the European Commission was the Philippines' second biggest donor, having given $40.47 million. Combined, donations from the European Commission and individual EU member-states made up around 11% of the foreign aid received by the Philippines after Yolanda. Rappler.com

P55.4 = 1 euro

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PH refuses new EU grants; P13 billion at stake - Rappler - Rappler

The Guardian

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Excerpt from:
European Union Still Breaching Its Own Terms On Brexit Negotiations - Forbes

Decision made to thwart interference, says Palace

MANILA, Philippines (Update 3, 1:38 p.m.) The Philippine government has decided to end its funding agreement with the European Union (EU), the EU delegation to the Philippines confirmed Thursday.

EU Ambassador to the Philippines Franz Jessen said in previous reports that the government has informed them that the country will no longer accept new EU grants.

The EU delegation to the Philippines is yet to release an official statement announcing the end of the agreement.

Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea said that Philippines rejected aid from the EU so as to "prevent them from interfering with the our internal affairs."

This move comes days after China promised to pour in billions of dollars for projects under its One Belt, One Road initiative which could purportedly help the Philippines.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said that the country is already benefiting from Beijing's aid and assistance worth $24 billion.

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President Rodrigo Duterte earlier had challenged the EU to stop its assistance after the bloc warned that the Philippines risks losing tariff-free exports to Europe because of the thousands killed in the war on drugs launched by Duterte and Manila's moves to revive the death penalty.

"The President has approved the recommendation of the Department of Finance not to accept grants from the EU that may allow it to interfere with internal policies of the Philippines," presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said Thursday.

RELATED: China pledges $124 B for new Silk Road

Cutting aid from the EU, however, would mean the loss of about 250 million or $278.73 million worth of grants, according to Jessen.

"The amount possibly concerned by the new decision is 250 million euro plus. For this year the amount affected could be 100 million euro," the ambassador said.

Development projects currently using EU assistance include a 35 million euro ($39 million) grant to support the peace process with rebels in Mindanao.

The EU has been a strong critic of Duterte's anti-drug campaign.

In a joint resolution adopted in March, the European Parliament called for an investigation into "unlawful killings and other violations" in the Philippines linked to the so-called war on drugs.

Latest data from the Philippines Statistics Authority showed that the EU is the biggest and fastest growing export market for Philippine goods with $901 million of total exports.

The growth was triggered by factors supported by the economic bloc's Generalized System of Preferences Plus (GSP+) trade benefits, which fully removes tariffs on two-thirds of all product categories.

with reports from the Associated Press; Video report by Efigenio Toledo IV

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Philippines ends 13.8-B funding deal with European Union - Philippine Star