In a bid to help citizens petition the EU for legislation, a European Parliament committee has approved a plan to overhaul the European Citizens’ Initiative.

“The approval of the new Copyright Directive in the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee today is a step forward in adapting the current European Union copyright rules so they better reflect the new realities and business models of the 21st century”, said the Parliament’s author of the Report Axel Voss MEP, the EPP Group Spokesman on legal affairs.

In a vote in the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee, MEPs have backed new EU copyright rules that are better adapted to the digital world.

"The European Citizens’ Initiative is by far the most attractive way for citizens to send their ideas and aspirations for change to the European Commission and the EU as a whole.

On Tuesday, the EPP Working Group on Foreign Affairs debated the EU's Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) for Ukraine ahead of a plenary vote next week.

The members of the European People’s Party (EPP) Political Assembly discussed the rule of law in Poland and the political situation of the country at its meeting in Warsaw. In the margins of the meeting, EPP President Joseph Daul made the following statement:

During the latest plenary session, MEPs debated the Commission’s initial proposals for the EU’s budget from 2021 to 2027. Proposals to cut cohesion funding and funding for the Common Agricultural Policy met with opposition.

The Chairman of International Trade Committee of the European Parliament Bernd Lange (S&D, Germany) issued the following statement on the new US tariffs.

A year ahead of the next European elections, Members of the EPP Group in the European Parliament will gather in Munich, Germany, from 6 to 8 June 2018 for the Group’s Study Days.

Higher tariffs on dumped or subsidised imports Shorter and more transparent investigations, helpdesk for SMEs, trade unions involved Social and environmental dumping to be taken into account

"To safeguard the free and rules-based trading system we stand for, we have amended the current anti-dumping and anti-subsidies regulations to become more suitable to today's global trading environment.

The EU is about to put in place a mechanism to screen foreign investments.

The annual gathering of the European Ideas Network (EIN) will take place in Riga, Latvia, from 23 to 25 May with European politicians, academics, policy-makers and opinion-shapers debating the most pressing issues currently faced by the European Union. The core subject of this year’s event is ‘The European Way of Life’.