1. MEPs in the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs committee voted in favour of lifting Marine Le Pen’s parliamentary immunity for comments made in a speech, comparing Muslims praying on the streets of France with Nazi occupation.

2. The European Union and the United States started negotiations to set up a comprehensive Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The EU-US deal could facilitate the creation of over 400.000 jobs in the EU as well as to boost the EU GDP by £100 billion.

3. Britain and France, owners of Channel tunnel operator Eurotunnel, have been given two months by the European Commission to lower charges or face court action, after a Commission investigation found Eurotunnel charging higher-than-necessary access charges. The Commission said that the costs should be roughly half of the current fares, which could translate in up to €16.60 of savings per person for Eurostars travellers.

4. Companies like Google, Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard joined Ms Kroes’, the Commissioner for the digital economy, Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs and Training, pledging to support EU members states with IT education for your people and assistance for entrepreneurs.

5. The political fallout over the Greek Prime Minister’s decision to close down state television and radio continues with one of the coalition partners, the left-wing Democratic Left, pulling out of the coalition government. The move leaves the centre-right New Democracy and centre-left PASOK, the remaining two coalition partners, with a slim majority of 3 MPs in the Greek Parliament, causing concern in Eurozone capitals and financial markets that Greece will not be able to keep on track the implementation of structural reforms which form part of a bailout package agreed with the EU and IMF.

6. Petr Nečas, the Czech Republic’s centre-right prime minister, has resigned after a scandal exposed systemic political corruption and illegal surveillance by the secret service.

7. The European Commission has made proposals, which include measures to get public employment services to work better together to match jobseekers with vacancies in European companies, in an effort to address the fact that despite record unemployment there are 1.7 million job vacancies in the EU.

8. Germany has said that it will not support the re-launch of accession talks with Turkey, scheduled for next week. Turkey has been criticised by EU leaders in Brussels and member states’ capitals over its violent handling of anti-government demonstrations in Istanbul.

9. Catherine Ashton, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem and expressed the EU’s wish to continue providing financial and political support to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. She also said that the EU wants to see steps taken to improve the economic situation of Gaza Strip residents, by re-opening the crossing in to Israel.

The European Movement UK is Britain’s longest standing pro-European organization, campaigning for decades to inform the debate around the benefits of EU membership. 

We are a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization, funded exclusively by our members. Visit www.euromove.org.uk to see how you can join us and help keep Britain in the EU. 

www.euromove.org.uk

@euromove