Новости за 06.06.2017

The European Parliament is currently fine-tuning its negotiating position on the Commission's proposal from September 2016 for a mandatory transparency register. Sadly, so far it seems to prefer empty statements to bold action.

The Czech Republic and the European Commission appear to be gearing up for a legal battle following announcements by Prague to suspend the relocation of asylum seekers from Greece and Italy.

The European Court of Auditors announced Tuesday that it will audit EU financial support for Turkey, which was allocated some €4.48 billion between 2007-2013 in pre-accession assistance. Another €1.65 billion has been allocated since 2014. “Turkey is the EU’s largest beneficiary of external aid," said the institution, which is more a spending watchdog than traditional court. The audit results are expected in 2018, probing whether money has been used properly.

Maltese leader Muscat was sworn in for five more years on Monday despite “aggressive” revelations about offshore firms.

EU council president Donald Tusk has warned in a letter to the European Commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, that the planned Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to bring more Russian gas to Europe would “not serve the best European interest” and leave Ukraine “at Russia’s mercy,” reports the Financial Times. The proposed pipeline under the Baltic Sea is backed by Germany, but strongly opposed by Poland and other EU member states.

The British election will determine who will lead the UK out of the EU, while French leader Macron hopes to secure his base for more eurozone integration.

Thousands of protesters marched on the streets of Bratislava on Monday to protest against corruption, demanding the resignation of interior minister Robert Kalinak due to his business ties to a real estate developer that is under investigation for tax fraud. Kalinak has resisted pressure to step down and denied wrongdoing. Protesters also called for the resignations of the police chief and special prosecutor for not doing enough to fight corruption.

Germany is pulling its troops out of Turkish airbase Incirlik, after failing to reach a deal with Ankara on visits by politicians, foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel said Monday. The two Nato allies have been at odds since Ankara blocked a visit by German parliamentarians in May, accusing Berlin of giving asylum to Turks who participated in last year's failed coup attempt. Gabriel said Germany will soon look for another location.

It is highly unlikely, but far from impossible, that prime minister Theresa May will lose Thursday's election. But the way her campaign is staggering to the finish line suggests that her honeymoon phase is over.

The Czech Republic will stop taking in asylum seekers under the EU quota scheme to distribute refugees who arrived in Greece and Italy, citing security concerns, the government said Monday (5 June). Prague protested the 2015 decision to share migrants, and has taken in only a dozen out of the 2,691 set by the quota. The Czech Republic holds elections in October and migration is a sensitive topic.

Montenegro became Nato's 29th member state on Monday, when the country's foreign minister, Srdjan Darmanovic, submitted the young Balkan state's official accession. Montenegro's accession completes the alliance's presence along the entire northern Mediterranean coast, from Gibraltar to Syria. Moscow considers Montenegro, whose 620,000 population is mostly Slavic Orthodox, within its historic sphere of influence and threatened "retaliatory measures on a reciprocal basis," in a statement from the foreign ministry.

Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaders agreed to reconvene the Cyprus peace conference during a dinner on Sunday in New York that was hosted by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom will be asked to join the conference and the European Union will participate as an observer. Cyprus has been divided since the summer of 1974.

While EU and Chinese political leaders discussed climate change and trade at the European Council in Brussels, hundreds of small and medium-sized enterprises from China and all across Europe participated in the EU-China SMEs Matchmaking Event at the Bozar.

Multinational corporations can play an important role in creating a more inclusive society, through the workplace.