Brussels 05th May: Today Members of the European Parliament must go to a vote to prevent the European Commission from limiting public access to EU documents which it is required to do under its own laws.

The European Commission unveiled yesterday its proposal for the next long-term EU budget, running from 2014 to 2020. Despite the UK, France and Germany demanding that EU spending rise by no more than inflation, the Commission’s draft envisages a 5% increase from the current budget period.

By making a success of further enlargement, as well as improving its public perception, the EU will be able to better address the many other challenges which it faces, argues the European Commission's enlargement strategy for 2010-2011, unveiled yesterday (9 November).

The European Commission yesterday (12 December) called for a 52% increase in funding for the Financial Instrument for the Environment and an expansion of the programme to combat climate change. More »

Most progress is being made by the government with demolishing the architecture of top down control and centralisation that the last government imposed on Councils. This week the Audit Commission was added to the RDAs, the regional housing targets and plans, the Comprehensive Area Assessments and many of the

Pharmacists expect EU countries to scupper the European Commission's plans to change the rules on how drug companies communicate with patients. In an interview with EurActiv, John Chave, secretary-general of the Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union (PGEU), said most countries view the proposal, which is a key element of the Commission's pharmaceutical package, as unnecessary.

The European Commission has revised its economic forecast for 2009, predicting long-lasting recession in Europe. Meanwhile, amid deteriorating public finances and growing financing difficulties for national recovery plans, the Commission has also put the idea of issuing common EU bonds back on the agenda.

European big business and environmental NGOs have disputed the data used by the European Commission to assess whether polluting industries are likely to suffer from foreign competition as a result of Europe's climate change legislation.

The European Commission will propose plans for a wide-ranging strategy to lift the EU out of recession next week, inviting member states to lead Europe towards a green, knowledge-based economy by 2020, according to a draft paper seen by EurActiv.

According to the second paragraph of Article 197 of the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC), Members of the Commission may attend all meetings and shall, at their request, be heard on behalf of the Commission. Under the consolidated Treaty of Lisbon, the first paragraph of Article 230 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) would shorten this to: The Commission m...