Articles

Within days a new legal creature will most likely have taken its final shape: an EU treaty that is not really an EU treaty. European Union rules stipulate that new treaties have to be approved by all member states, so with the UK vetoing the proposals, member state governments chose to be creative.

Crucial decisions “to save the Euro” and “to save Greece” were made at the Euro Summits in July and October 2011. While the decision making process was taking place, the press reported several informal negotiations between EU leaders and the banks, mostly represented by the Institute of International Finance (IIF). What was exactly the role of this lobby group in the final decisions? And what did it get from the deal?

The goal of the summit is to assess progress made since the Earth Summit as well as address new challenges. On the agenda will be institutional reform of governance on global environment issues, which could lead to strengthening of UNEP (the French government’s proposal for a World Environment Organisation is not going to happen). The most intense discussion in the preparatory process is around the ‘Green Economy’ agenda promoted by UNEP, a concept that could replace ‘sustainable development’ as the dominant discourse.

Thomas Lönngren. Following correspondence with Dr Lönngren, the ALTER-EU press statement of 19 December 2011 has now been amended and the revised statement is available below.

The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) new independence policy allows the possible subversion of scientific advice by industry’s vested interests, Corporate Europe Observatory said following publication of the policy on Wednesday. It is due for approval by the EFSA Management Board when it meets tomorrow in Warsaw.

Brussels, Wednesday 14 December 2011- The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has today published a new independence policy, aimed at improving EFSA's independence in delivering scientific opinions on food safety [1]. This new policy, developed following a public consultation and stakeholder workshop in October, will be up for approval by the EFSA Management Board when it meets on Thursday 15 December, in Warsaw.

There are mounting expectations for the Commission's Energy Roadmap 2050, which is due to be published tomorrow (Tuesday 13 December). Though not an official policy document, the Roadmap will assess how the EU could reach a reduction of over 80% of its emissions by 2050 through different energy scenarios. This will of course have a substantial impact on future energy infrastructure and on the kind of subsidies available, with potentially lots of money at stake.