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EU Committee Ramps up Vehicle Standards Testing
February 24, 2017
The European Parliament's Internal Market Committee has approved legislation, aimed at preventing a recurrence of the recent Volkswagen emissions scandal, that ramps up EU auditing of vehicle testing and the establishment of "national market surveillance programmes" to ensure adherence to the bloc's environmental and safety standards.
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UK Considers Exit from EU Emissions Scheme
February 23, 2017
Reuters reports that UK Member of the European Parliament Ian Duncan has predicted, given that maintaining British membership in the scheme would require its acceptance of the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the EU, the UK will not remain in the EU's Emission Trading System following its departure from the bloc.
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Committee Calls for EU-wide Alcohol Strategy
February 23, 2017
Lamenting that, so far, "alcohol policy has been left entirely to member states," the European Committee of the Regions has published recommendations calling on EU institutions to develop a Europe-wide strategy on combating the harmful impacts of alcohol.
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CoE Body Calls for Corruption Reform in Austria
February 23, 2017
A report from the Council of Europe’s (CoE) Group of States against Corruption calls on Austria to develop a code of conduct for parliamentarians on conflicts of interest, pushes for tighter restrictions on their access to lobbyists, and seeks a reduction of the influence of the executive branch in the selection of judges.
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HRW: EU Must Impose Sanctions on Poland
February 23, 2017
Philippe Dam of Human Rights Watch calls on the European Commission to pursue its actions against Poland using its purported authority under the Rule of Law Mechanism by attempting to trigger EU treaty sanctions against the country over the government's dispute with the Constitutional Tribunal.