Slovak Presidency priorities discussed in committee
Women in the labour market, work-life balance, female poverty key issues for Slovak presidency
Boosting women's participation in the labour market, promoting new work-life balance policies and strengthening the fight against female poverty throughout the Union are key issues for the Slovak Presidency, Minister of
MEPs welcomed the minister's speech, but stressed the importance of further action within the field of women's rights and gender equality. They also called for speeding up the process of ratifying the
Employment: posting of workers, exposure to carcinogens at work, EU Accessibility Act
Presenting the priorities of the Slovak presidency in the field of social policy on Wednesday 31 August, Ján Richter, Minister of
MEPs focused on the posting of workers and urged the minister to seek a compromise with other member states so that negotiations between the
International trade: CETA ratification and
Ratifying CETA (EU trade deal with
Mr Žiga reported that the
Economic and Monetary Affairs: money markets funds, European Deposit Insurance Scheme, VAT
“We don't need more
Presidency priorities include making progress on money markets funds, the prospectus directive, securitisation, a European Deposit Insurance Scheme (EDIS) and modernising the VAT system, as well as strengthening the implementation of country-specific economic policy recommendations, modernising the internal market and fostering investments, inter alia by prolonging the
Culture, Education and Sport: audio-video media services directive, European Year of Cultural Heritage, preventing radicalisation of young people
Ministers
The ministers also assured MEPs that every efforts will be made to reach a final decision on the 2018 European Year of Cultural Heritage. Improving skills for an active civic life, modernising higher education and preventing radicalisation of young people are the key priorities in the education field.
Internal Market: geo-blocking, consumer rights, SMEs
Modernising and deepening the internal market is among the Presidency's key priorities, Deputy Prime Minister
MEPs highlighted the importance of the collaborative economy, cybersecurity and an economy “fit for the digital age”. Some MEPs argued that the geo-blocking proposal is not ambitious enough, and that this issue will have to be addressed. VAT rules, SMEs and the
Development: humanitarian assistance, particularly to women and children in crisis areas
A key issue for the Presidency is to make the international humanitarian system more efficient, coordinated and flexible, using the momentum created by the recent World Humanitarian Summit, State Secretary of the
MEPs welcomed this agenda and urged Mr Parízek to make sure that no development money is diverted to support security or for other purposes.
Industry, Research and Energy: telecoms, 5G,
The telecoms packages, including moving to a roaming charge-free system by 2017 and renegotiating use of mobile spectrum for 5G, are among the Presidency priorities, Transport, Construction and Regional Development Minister
On the issue of
The Presidency will also aim to foster innovation, use the Horizon 2020 programme to the full and bring the European space programme to fruition, added Minister of Education, Science, Research and Sport Peter Plavčan on 11 July.
Agriculture: farm crisis, unfair trading practices, trade talks, organics and forestry
The need for common European solidarity-based solutions to the agricultural crisis and unfair trading practices was stressed by Agriculture and Rural Development Minister
MEPs stressed that the difficulties on agricultural markets demand further action now, adding that they expect Commissioner
Public Health: medical devices, veterinary medicines, availability of medicines
The Presidency will formalise the agreement between the institutions on medical devices in September, Health minister Tomáš Drucker told
The need to assess the benefits of the recent EU cohesion policy reform innovations and simplify implementing mechanisms was stressed by Deputy Prime Minister for Investments and the Information Society
Replying to MEPs' questions,
Foreign affairs: EU enlargement, EU-NATO, visa requirements
Regaining the credibility of EU enlargement policy, which is the best EU tool to promote reforms in the neighbourhood, while maintaining the conditionality principle and assessing each country's progress, is a key Presidency priority, Foreign and European affairs Minister
MEPs welcomed the Presidency's focus on enlargement, hoping the current slowdown could be overcome. Several asked Mr Lajčák to ensure the swift implementation of EU-NATO declaration on mutual capabilities and timely lifting of EU visa requirements for
Legal Affairs: e-justice, copyright, whistleblower protection
More efficient cross-border judicial cooperation with emphasis on ‘e-justice' - electronic communication in the justice field - is high the Presidency's agenda, as are progress in creating a digital single market and copyright reform,
MEPs highlighted the importance of whistle-blower protection and progress on the shareholders' rights directive. A priority stressed by both sides was revising the so-called ”Brussels IIa regulation” to help international couples resolve disputes, involving more than one country, over divorce and child custody.
Fisheries: sustainable management of fishing fleets, data collection,
The need to ensure fish stocks are sustainable and to protect the EU's thriving fisheries sector was stressed by Agriculture and Rural Development Minister
Replying to MEPs' questions on the implications of Brexit, Ms Matečná said it is rather early to discuss this and that it will be examined once Article 50 is triggered.
Transport: aviation safety, electric vehicles, ICAO and IMO
Ongoing revision of aviation safety rules and preparing EU positions for the next ICAO and IMO meetings, will be the Presidency priorities, Transport, Construction and Regional Development Minister
MEPs asked the minister about the effects of minimum wages in
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