Monday 31 December 2018

EU News December 2018

What happened in the EU in December 2018?

Europe's nationalists/conservatives scored several points last month. Hungary and Poland blocked a statement for an equal treatment of non-heterosexuals on the internet (article). Plus, many EU countries didn't sign the UN's migration pact, fearing it would leave them out of control of immigration issues (article).


The Austrian Chancellor, left, first not to sign the migration pact © EU, 2018/Photo: Etienne Ansotte

That's just not to start with the biggest topic: Brexit. The deadline to come to an agreement, 30 March, is coming fast. In case of no-deal, the Commission proposed a plan for the sectors that would be damaged by a no-deal (article).

In the meantime, a top EU lawyer from the EU's Court of Justice said the UK could stay in if it wanted to. The country wouldn't even need to ask the other EU countries to stay in (article). Which led to diplomats in the EU to think the UK will stay in after a second referendum (article).

Because many big digital companies like Facebook are located in EU countries with the lowest tax rates, some want to tax them a little more. However, a plan from Germany and France to do so failed (article).

Do you know an 18-year old in the EU? They can travel by train for over 6 months in the EU for free by winning tickets in a competition. It's one way of the EU to connect with its people (article).