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Trade Official: Climate Action Could Boost EU Integration
January 31, 2019
AP reports that European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom has pointed to the fight against climate change as a unifying issue that could bring the EU together in the face of skepticism about the European project across the bloc.
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EC Official Suggests Alternative Options on Irish Border
January 31, 2019
The Guardian reports that chief European Commission (EC) negotiator on Brexit Michel Barnier has cast doubt on the EU’s support of an extension of the Brexit negotiating period if the UK and EU fail to reach a deal and stated that the EU would not seek to reimpose a “hard border” in Ireland in case of no deal.
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EC Proposes Fishing Plans in Event of Brexit “No Deal”
January 31, 2019
Reuters reports that the European Commission (EC) has prepared a set of contingency plans for EU and UK fishermen rights as part of a managed “no deal” Brexit in case the EU and UK fail to come to an agreement on Britain’s withdrawal from the bloc.
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ECtHR: UK Storage of Man’s Data Violated Privacy Rights
January 31, 2019
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has held that the UK police’s indefinite retention in a “domestic extremism” database of information about a man who was once associated with a violent group violated the man’s right to privacy, in part due to lack of safeguards in line with Council of Europe recommendations.
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EC Fines MasterCard over Competition Restrictions
January 31, 2019
The Irish Times reports that the European Commission (EC) has fined MasterCard nearly $650 million over allegations that the American credit card company imposed unfair restrictions on retailers, as part of a broader trend of EC investigations of potential EU competition law violations by credit card providers.