COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,update

 

Library blog Wednesday, 26 March 2025

● General Secretariat of the Council   Reporting from the front row: Jan Werts – 50 years covering the European Council   Dutch journalist and academic Jan Werts has had a front-row seat to the European Council’s evolution since its inception. For 50 years he has followed its progress, reporting from almost every summit. As we mark the 50th anniversary of the first official meeting of the European Council in March 1975, the Council Library invited Jan to share his reflections on how it has changed over the years.

● Council of the EU

26/03/2025 14:47 | Media advisory | Media advisory - Environment Council of 27 March 2025   Indicative programme All times are approximate and subject to change Place: Europa building, Brussels Chair: Paulina Hennig-Kloska, Polish Minister for Climate and Environment from 09.00 Arrivals (live streaming) +/- 9.15 Doorstep by Paulina Hennig-Kloska (live streaming) 10.00 Beginning of the Environment Council Adoption of the agenda Approval of non-legislative A items +/- 10.10 Environmental dimension of the Clean Industrial Deal (public session) +/- 12.10 Any other business: - A more effective CBAM mechanism for a competitive and decarbonized EU industry - Transboundary shipment of waste (public session) Working lunch: informal discussion on the environmental dimension of the vision for agriculture and food +/- 14.20 Global environmental policies (public session) +/- 16.00 Any other business: - Report on a main recent international meeting: CBD COP16.2 (public session) - Environmental impacts of Russian aggression against Ukraine (public session +/- 16.10) - Report on Barcelona Convention’s regional ocean and seas governance efforts and recent outcomes (public session +/- 16.20) - National strategy on water management (public session +/-16.30) At the end of the meeting (+/- 17.00) press conference in live streaming. Videos and photos from the event ● Συμβούλιο της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης   26/03/2025 10:01 | Δελτίο τύπου | Δικαστήριο της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης: Οι αντιπρόσωποι των κρατών μελών διορίζουν 13 δικαστές στο Γενικό Δικαστήριο   Οι αντιπρόσωποι των κυβερνήσεων των κρατών μελών διόρισαν σήμερα 13 δικαστές στο Γενικό Δικαστήριο. Οι διορισμοί αποτελούν μέρος της μερικής ανανέωσης της σύνθεσης του Γενικού Δικαστηρίου, καθώς η θητεία 26 δικαστών θα λήξει στις 31 Αυγούστου 2025. Ο κ. Francesco Bestagno (Ιταλία) και η κα Tanja Pavelin (Κροατία) διορίστηκαν, για πρώτη θητεία, δικαστές στο Γενικό Δικαστήριο. Ανανεώθηκαν οι θητείες των εξής: κ. Hervé Cassagnabère (Γαλλία), κ. Saulius Lukas Kalėda (Λιθουανία), κ. Ulf Öberg (Σουηδία), κα Tamara Perišin (Κροατία), κ. David Petrlík (Τσεχία), κα Inga Reine (Λετονία), κα Petra Škvařilová-Pelzl (Τσεχία), κ. Laurent Truchot (Γαλλία) και κ. Pēteris Zilgalvis (Λετονία). Η θητεία των ως άνω διορισθέντων θα διαρκέσει από την 1η Σεπτεμβρίου 2025 έως τις 31 Αυγούστου 2031. Επιπλέον, η κα Danute Jočienė (Λιθουανία) διορίστηκε δικαστής στο Γενικό Δικαστήριο προς αντικατάσταση του κ. Rimvydas Norkus, ο οποίος διορίστηκε γενικός εισαγγελέας του Δικαστηρίου, και για το εναπομένον διάστημα της θητείας του, ήτοι έως τις 31 Αυγούστου 2025. Τέλος, ο κ. Jörgen Hettne (Σουηδία) διορίστηκε δικαστής στο Γενικό Δικαστήριο προς αντικατάσταση του κ. Fredrik Schalin, ο οποίος διορίστηκε δικαστής του Δικαστηρίου, και για το εναπομένον διάστημα της θητείας του, ήτοι έως τις 31 Αυγούστου 2025. Η απόφαση θα τεθεί σε ισχύ την ημέρα δημοσίευσής της στην Επίσημη Εφημερίδα της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης. Γενικές πληροφορίες Οι δικαστές του Γενικού Δικαστηρίου διορίζονται με κοινή συμφωνία των κυβερνήσεων των κρατών μελών κατόπιν διαβούλευσης με αρμόδια επιτροπή που γνωμοδοτεί σχετικά με την επάρκεια των υποψηφίων για την άσκηση των συγκεκριμένων καθηκόντων. Επιλέγονται μεταξύ προσωπικοτήτων που παρέχουν πλήρη εγγύηση ανεξαρτησίας. Προκειμένου να διοριστούν στο Γενικό Δικαστήριο, οι υποψήφιοι πρέπει να έχουν την απαιτούμενη ικανότητα για τον διορισμό στα ανώτατα δικαστικά αξιώματα. ● Council of the EU   25/03/2025 20:42 | Press release | Implementation of driving disqualifications in the EU: Council and Parliament reach provisional agreement   A provisional political agreement reached today by the Council and European Parliament will ensure that serious road traffic offenders will soon be held responsible throughout the EU for their offences, independently from the member state where these offences were committed. Under the current rules, member states that did not issue a driving licence may restrict the right to drive of a serious road traffic offender only within their own territory. Only the member state that issued the licence can restrict the right to drive throughout the whole EU. Therefore, currently, when a driver commits a serious road traffic offence in a member state (‘member state of the offence’) other than the member state that issued the license (‘member state of issuance’), the offender may not be able to drive in the member state of the offence but can continue to drive everywhere else in the EU. However, with new rules agreed today, the member state of the offence will have to inform the member state of issuance of the driving disqualification enforced. The member state of issuance will then be obliged, under specific conditions, to impose a similar driving disqualification on the offender, making it effective throughout the EU. Specific rules for the implementation of driving disqualifications in the EU The agreed directive will help ensuring a high level of protection for all road users in the EU, assuring the implementation of driving disqualifications imposed because of serious driving offences such as: drink-driving or driving under the influence of drugs, speeding offences; or a conduct infringing road traffic regulations and causing death or serious injuries to others. When the member state of the offence imposes a driving disqualification of at least three months on the driver, and all course of action by the driver against that decision has been exhausted, the member state of the offence has to notify the member state of issuance using a standard certificate via the EU driving licence network (RESPER). The member state of issuance will then notify the driver – when possible – within 20 working  days of receival of the notification and will decide whether to implement the disqualification. In certain cases, for example if the member state of issuance has reasons to believe that the right to be heard of the driver was not respected, the member state of issuance may decide to exempt the driver and not implement a similar driving disqualification.. Next steps This provisional agreement will now need to be endorsed by the member states’ representatives within the Council (Coreper) and by the European Parliament. It will then be formally adopted by both institutions following legal-linguistic revision. Background An important element of the policy on road safety is the consistent enforcement of sanctions for road traffic offences committed in the EU. As the result of the free movement of persons and a subsequent rise in international traffic, driving disqualifications are increasingly imposed by member states other than the driver’s member state that issued their driving license. However, these disqualifications are currently only enforced within the member state where the traffic offence occurred. In 2019, about 40% of cross-border offences were therefore committed with relative impunity. At the informal meeting of transport ministers in Valletta in March 2017, EU member states called for action on the issue of mutual recognition of driving disqualifications concerning non-resident drivers. As part of the European Commission’s Road Safety Package, the Commission proposed the directive on driving disqualifications in March 2023, addressing the gap in the implementation of these driving qualifications in the EU. The Road Safety Package not only entails a directive on driving disqualifications, but also an update of the directive on driving licences and a directive amending the directive on facilitating cross-border exchange of information on road-safety-related traffic offences. Driving disqualifications: Council adopts negotiating position to improve road safety in the EU (press release, 5 December 2024)