Council of Europe

The Permanent Representatives Committee (Coreper) today approved a directive on measures facilitating the exercise of rights conferred on workers in the context of their free movement within the Union.

The proposed directive does not create new rights. Its objective is to solve the remaining problems in the exercise of the already existing rights as enshrined in the Treaty and further defined in regulation 492/20111. It also takes into account different national situations and practices, in particular different labour market models.

The directive guarantees real and effective judicial protection to Union workers and members of their family who have been subject to discrimination on the grounds of nationality, or to any unjustified restriction and obstacles to their right to free movement. […]

A "Schengen visa" may be refused only on the grounds expressly provided for in the EU Visa Code. However, the national authorities have a broad discretion for determining whether one of those grounds of refusal applies to the applicant. […]

EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström, in Ankara at the invitation of the Turkish authorities, signed, with the Turkish Minister of Interior Muammer Güler, the EU-Turkey readmission agreement, and initiated, jointly with the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmet Davutoğlu, the EU-Turkey Visa liberalisation dialogue.

The two events took place in a combined and parallel manner within the framework of a single ceremony, with the participation of the Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Turkish Minister for European Affairs, Egemen Bağiš, and the Ambassadors of all the EU Member States represented in Turkey. […]

EU countries must stop illegal expulsion of Roma people and end ethnic profiling, police abuse and human rights violations perpetrated against them, says Parliament in a non-binding resolution adopted on Thursday. It assesses member states' strategies to boost Roma integration and calls for more funds to prevent discrimination and reach small community projects.

The resolution condemns attempts by EU countries to unlawfully limit the right of Roma people to freedom of movement in the EU. With an estimated population of 10 to12 million in Europe (approximately 6 million living in the EU), Roma people are the biggest ethnic minority in Europe.

The Commission and member states must ensure sufficient funding for Roma integration, from both national budgets and EU programmes such as the European Social Fund or the European Regional Development Fund. MEPs also suggest providing special grant schemes, such as flexible and small funds for community projects. […]

At a conference organised today by the European Forum for Urban Security (Efus), with the support of the Committee of the Regions (CoR), the CoR President, Ramón Luis Valcárcel Siso, highlighted the importance of encouraging citizen's participation in local debates on urban security. The event is part of Efus' initiative "Sharing the Manifesto on Security, Democracy and Cities" which, based on inter-city cooperation, aims at promoting dialogue between local European authorities, civil society and the private sector in urban safety and security issues.

Speaking at the event, President Ramón Luis Valcárcel stressed: "I truly believe that the initiatives such as "Sharing the Manifesto" are truly in line with the principles of the European Year of Citizens. We must be aware that public confidence in the European Union is still very low and only initiatives aiming to encourage citizen participation in local debates can change this situation". […]