Results of the 2014 European elections

Read also the Statement of President Barroso on the outcome of the 2014 European Parliament elections

EU cu cine votez? European elections 22-25 May 2014 (for dummies)

This time is different? Your vote counts!!! How come?

because based on our votes it will be decided the president of the European Commission!

Under the slogan "Act. React.Impact" you can find all the details on the official website: http://www.elections2014.eu

If you are in doubt (eg. eu cu cine votez?) there is an online tool that will help you to decide: MyVote2014. It's an ingeniuos calculator that will help you to find the party that best represent you by proposing 15 questions (that were already debated in the European Parliament in the last 4 years) and by matching your answers to the political positions of the MEPs and of the european political parties. 

Try this tool, it's great!

This is what you need to know:

• 32 Romanian MEPs need to be elected in 2014
• we need to vote on Sunday 25 May 2014, anywhere in Europe! 
• we vote the national party of our choice
• the national distribution of votes per party will determine the number of parliamentary from each Romanian party to become european MEP
• at european level, the votes of each party are aggregated based on the political family the parties belong and the party or the alliance that has majority proposes the new President of the European Commission!!!
• Principalii candidati la sefia Comisiei Europene: Jean-Claude Juncker (gruparea de centru-dreapta), Martin Schulz (socialistii), Guy Verhofstadt (liberalii) si Jose Bove (verzii)
• who are the Romanian candidates and the parties
• Who are the most active MEP (see the activity report)
• Where you can vote in Bruxelles
• the Romanian electoral law

deci, hai la vot, neamule'

a new Tobacco Products Directive - tobacco must taste as tobacco!!!

The "Tobacco in the EU" info graph shows that 700.000 persons are dying each year due to smoking!

The new Tobacco Products Directive,  replacing  Directive (2001/37/EC), to be applied from May 2015, will lay down rules governing the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco and related products. These include cigarettes, roll your own tobacco, pipe tobacco, cigars, cigarillos, smokeless tobacco, electronic cigarettes and herbal products for smoking.

In particular, the new Directive:

• prohibits cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco with characterising flavours,
• requires the tobacco industry to submit detailed reports to the Member States on the ingredients used in tobacco products, in particular cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco,
• requires that health warnings appear on packages of tobacco and related products. Combined (picture and text) health warnings must cover 65% of the front and back of cigarette and roll-your-own tobacco packages,
• sets minimum dimensions for warnings and eliminates small packages for certain tobacco products,
• bans all promotional and misleading elements on tobacco products,
• sets out safety and quality requirements for consumer electronic cigarettes

The revision is expected to lead to a 2% drop in consumption of tobacco over a period of 5 years. This is roughly equivalent to 2.4 million fewer smokers in the EU.

Read the FAQ for more details.

Check also the E-cigarettes Myth Buster!

What did the Commission accomplish in 2013?

The General report on the activities of the European Union 2013 was published this week.

The focus in not on the individual member states but out of pure curiosity I've extracted the direct mentions made to Romania (excluding the graphs and maps with general statistics across the EU):

• The construction site of the second bridge on the Danube between Calafat, Romania, and Vidin, Bulgaria 
• Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, visiting the Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering (IFIN HH) in Romania:
• A Joint anti-terrorism exercise at EU level in 17 and 18 April as part of the EU-sponsored Atlas Network, which carried out the most complex preparation and crises response simulation so far at European level.
• an Antitrust decision : Commission sends Statement of Objections to Romanian Power Exchange OPCOM 
• and the The Cooperation and Verification Mechanism : The Commission continued to work with the Romanian authorities to address the issues raised in its report in July 2012 under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) (24). The Commission reported in January 2013 on Romania’s progress and on measures taken to restore respect for the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary in Romania (25). The assessment showed that Romania has implemented several but not all of the Commission’s recommendations. Cooperation continues with the Romanian authorities in the context of the CVM. The Commission continued to monitor progress under the CVM both in Bulgaria and in Romania and is due to report in early 2014 on the reform  process.

Join the STARTUP manifesto movement

Vice-President of the European Commission Neelie Kroes has created The Startup Europe Leaders Club — an independent group of founders in the field of tech entrepreneurship who provide guidance on strengthening the business environment for web entrepreneurs in Europe.

Drawn from the combined experience of dozens of Europeans who were lucky enough to imagine, build and grow successful businesses — businesses that created thousands of jobs — they have distilled 22 actions which, taken together, can give European businesses the best chance of future success.

The members of the Leaders Club, an independent group of founders in the field of tech entrepreneurship, have launched the Startup Manifesto campaign for entrepreneurial excellence (pdf). You can sign the Manifesto.

Unconditional Basic Income (UBI) or how to wipe-out poverty in Europe?

This is a new European Citizens' Initiative that asking the Commission, to encourage cooperation between the Member States (according to Art 156 TFEU) aiming to explore the Unconditional Basic Income (UBI) as a tool to improve their respective social security systems.

The Unconditional Basic Income (UBI) does not replace the welfare state but does complete and transform the same from a compensatory into an emancipatory welfare state. The emancipatory Unconditional Basic Income is defined by the following four criteria: universal, individual, unconditional, high enough to ensure an existence in dignity and participation in society. 

In the long run the objective is to offer to each person in the EU the unconditional right as an individual, to having his/her material needs met to ensure a life of dignity as stated by the EU treaties, and to empower participation in society supported by the introduction of the UBI. 

In the short term, initiatives such as “pilot‐studies“ (Art 156 TFEU) and examination of different models of UBI (EP resolution 2010/2039(INI) §44) should be promoted by the EU.