EU and the Republic of Korea join forces in fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing

Today, the EU and the Republic of Korea have pledged to work closely together to fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing with a joint statement signed by European Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Karmenu Vella, and Mr Kim Young-Choon, Minister for Oceans and Fisheries of the Republic of Korea. The signing took place on the eve of a bilateral EU-Republic of Korea Summit.

Commissioner Vella said: “Putting an end to illegal fishing is one of the main objectives of the EU’s international ocean governance agenda. By joining forces with the Republic of Korea, a world player in fisheries, we send a clear message to those breaking international law that there is no place for such products on our markets and we will continue to fight illegal fishing until we have fully eradicated it.”

With the new partnership, in line with the objectives of the EU’s Ocean Governance strategy, the EU and the Republic of Korea will:

exchange information about suspected IUU-activities
enhance global traceability of fishery products threatened by Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing, through a risk-based, electronic catch documentation and certification system
join forces in supporting developing states in the fight against IUU fishing and the promotion of sustainable fishing through education and training
strengthen cooperation in international fora, including regional fisheries management organisations.

The Republic of Korea and the European Union have been working closely together on IUU fishing for several years already. The Republic of Korea is the fourth country with whom the EU signs a joint statement on IUU fishing, following the USA, Japan and Canada. Together, these five economies imported almost 90 billion euros worth of fish and fisheries products in 2017.

Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing constitutes one of the most serious threats to sustainable fishing and to marine biodiversity in the world’s oceans, with devastating environmental and socio-economic consequences. These consequences are particularly challenging for coastal communities in developing countries, who rely on fisheries for food and employment. Globally, IUU fishing is estimated to deprive coastal communities and honest fishermen of up to 20 billion euros of seafood and seafood products per year.

Background

The EU is internationally recognised for its leadership in the fight against IUU fishing. Under EU legislation, only fish that is legally caught can be sold on the EU market – the biggest market for fish and fisheries products in the world. Countries for which there is concern about IUU fishing receive a ‘yellow card’. This starts a process of dialogue and support to find solutions and ensure that international law is fully applied. This can either lead to the repeal of the yellow card or it can turn into a ‘red card’, which would mean the banning of the products from the EU market.

In April 2015, the Commission lifted the yellow card adopted in 2013 to the Republic of Korea, recognising the country’s efforts to bring its legal and administrative systems in line with the international standards. Since then, the Commission and the authorities of the Republic of Korea have continued their fruitful cooperation in a bilateral working group to address IUU fishing.

Digital single market: a directory of European films to facilitate on-line access

Mariya Gabriel, the Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, will today present the prototype of a directory of European films, a key action of the Digital4Culture strategy which is also part of the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018.

Launched with the assistance of the European Audiovisual Observatory, the new directory will help professionals, the public authorities and citizens to find information about European films and their availability on-line in video-on-demand (VOD) services throughout the European Union.

Commissioner Gabriel said: “It is up to us to ensure that European works enjoy the audience that they deserve. Digital transformation has the potential to reinforce the positive impact of culture, at economic and societal levels. The objective of the directory, and, more broadly, of our #Digital4Culture strategy, is to exploit this fruitful collaboration between digital technologies and culture.”

Commissioner for Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Tibor Navracsics added: “European cultural heritage is not just about monuments, literature, painting or traditions, but also includes the extraordinary wealth of our film heritage. I am delighted by this initiative as part of the European Year of Cultural Heritage, which will facilitate access to European films of the present and the past, for the greatest number of people”.

Today, just 25% of films offered by VOD services in the EU are European. There are national databases of films but none at European level, even though Europe is a major player in world cinema, with more than 18 000 films produced between 2007 and 2016 and a global production volume which has increased by 47 %, from 1 444 feature films in 2007 to 2 124 in 2016.

The directory is currently still at the prototype stage and includes data from 115 VOD services on 35 000 European films. The launch of the beta version is planned for the spring of 2019, and the definitive version for the end of next year.

Many benefits

Funded by the MEDIA programme of support for the European audiovisual industry, this innovative tool will be accessible to private individuals, professionals and public authorities. The benefits of the directory are manifold:

for the public: better visibility for European cinema across the EU, thanks to this rich and varied virtual cinematic archive.
for professionals: directors and producers will know the countries and services where their films are available on VOD; distributors wishing to better exploit their European films will be able to identify VOD services offering similar works and which therefore may be interested in hosting their films; VOD services will be able to identify European films available on-line in other places which could be of interest to their audiences.
for the public authorities: an indication of the quality of the legal supply of European films in the digital universe; more particularly, the support funds and promotional agencies for films will know whether the films they support are actually available and being exported to other Member States; ultimately, it will provide the regulators with a tool to help them to monitor the implementation of the recent revision of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) characterised by the adoption of a quota of 30 % for European works so as to increase and enhance the presence of European films on-line.

Background The initiative is part of the Digital4Culture strategy and the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018. The digital revolution enables new and innovative forms of artistic creation; broader, more democratic access to culture and heritage; and new ways of accessing, consuming and monetising cultural content. To reflect these developments, the Digital4Culture strategy is also based on proposals to modernise copyright rules and facilitate crossborder access to television and radio programmes on line, the subject of negotiations between the European Parliament and the Council and part of the Digital Single Market Strategy.

The European directory is supported by the Creative Europe MEDIA programme. Over the past 27 years, the MEDIA programme has supported the development and distribution of more than 2 000 films, documentaries, television series and, recently, animations. The Commission is proposing that the MEDIA budget be increased by 30 %, or EUR 1.2 billion, for the next budget period 2021-2027. In the coming years, more money will be invested in the international promotion and distribution of European works and innovative storytelling, including virtual reality.

For more information

Fact sheet: Directory of European films on-line

Digital4Culture Strategy

Website of the European Year of Cultural Heritage

Fact sheet: Media/MFF

Fact sheet: MEDIA Movies and documentaries

ESMA data analysis values EU derivatives market at €660 trillion with central clearing increasing significantly

The primary objective of this data analysis is to contribute to ESMA’s risk assessment, to facilitate entity oversight by supervisory authorities, both national and European, and enhance supervisory convergence.

Steven Maijoor, Chair, said:
“The data gathered by ESMA as part of its EMIR responsibilities provides us with an unprecedented level of detail on derivatives transactions and exposures. In addition to allowing us to quantify the size of the market, at €660tn, it also allows us to observe that derivatives clearing rates are increasing significantly, showing that the EMIR clearing obligation works and is having the desired impact.
“ESMA’s analysis of this data provides, for the first time, new information about this market which will facilitate oversight and enhance supervisory convergence, thereby contributing to orderly markets and financial stability in the EU.”

Highlights

At the end of 2017, trade repositories reported a total of 74mn open transactions amounting to a gross notional outstanding of around EUR 660tn, including both over the counter (86% of the total) and exchange traded derivatives (14%).

In notional terms, interest rate derivatives dominate the market, with 69% of the total amount outstanding, followed by currency derivatives, at 12%, while all other asset classes i.e. equity, credit and commodity derivatives, account for less than 5% of the total amount outstanding.

Central clearing rates for new transactions have been increasing significantly, demonstrating the effectiveness of the EMIR clearing obligation. For all outstanding contracts in 4Q17, central clearing rates were around 27% (25% in 1Q17) for credit derivatives and 58% (40% in 1Q17) for interest rate derivatives, including also contracts concluded before the clearing obligation came into force.

The report includes three sections on:

– market monitoring providing an analysis of structures and trends in European derivatives markets during each reporting period, building on the indicators developed for risk monitoring;
– statistical methods dedicated to topical issues in developing and exploring derivatives data; and
– derivatives market statistics offering a full list of indicators and metrics currently monitored by ESMA.

EESC calls for greater involvement of civil society in EU external action

Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, attended the EESC plenary session on 17 October 2018, engaging in a debate with members on the main external threats and challenges for the EU. EESC President Luca Jahier, highlighted the important role played by the EU as a major humanitarian aid donor, but also recalled that “civil society organisations are willing to be part of this effort”.

The plenary session of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) started with a debate with Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, on the topic “External threats and challenges facing the European Union”. President of the EESC, Luca Jahier, recalled the political instability of the European neighbourhood and regretted that the situation in the majority of countries in the Mediterranean region had not improved over recent years, despite the EU’s efforts: “The EU has had an important role as the major donor in humanitarian aid, but has also been caught between the necessity of a pragmatic political approach to managing migration flows and the necessity to defend core EU values such as human rights”.

However, Mr Jahier pointed out that “the EESC is well placed to witness positive aspects in this dark picture” and called for greater involvement of civil society in EU external action: “It is clear that the level of public support for ‘more EU’ is still high, and that civil society organisations are willing to be a part of this effort. That, Ms Mogherini, is a huge political asset in your hands”.

Priorities

Federica Mogherini presented the main external threats and challenges facing the EU and the overarching working lines of the European External Action Service (EEAS). Ms Mogherini underlined that “policies need to be rooted in society” and declared that EU external action has already experienced a shift “from a pure security angle to a global one which puts the focus on societies instead of institutions”. She also mentioned some priorities of the EEAS which, in her words, are also shared with the EESC:

Sustainable development, with several proposals in the past few years such as the External Investment Plan and with a focus on the creation of quality jobs, a field where “trade unions and civil society organisations are essential partners, as social and economic rights are key to our action”;
Sustainable peace, which means giving alternatives and opportunities to population in conflict countries;
Culture and cultural heritage, not only as a part of the economy and to reinforce the sense of belonging of local population, but also to promote European soft power, “which is more important than hard power”;
Youth, which is in the centre of EU external action because, in Ms Mogherini’s approach, “we have to abandon the traditional paternalist stand and take into account young people’s voice in the decision making today”.

Federica Mogherini is convinced that “foreign policy can never only be about governments; it requires NGOs, civil society, businesses and trade unions”.

EESC members appreciated Ms Mogherini’s engagement in the EU external policy and the role she has played in the international scene. They discussed topics such as migration, trade, the relationship with the United States or the EU enlargement policy. In this particular field, Ms Mogherini showed her conviction that “the future of Western Balkans is in the EU”. In the opinion of the High Representative “it will not be an enlargement, it will be a reunification, because they already belong to Europe, and also a return to EU roots: bringing peace and reunification where war was”.

Murder case solved with Eurojust’s support

17 October 2018

Yesterday, in Foggia, Italy, the Italian police arrested two members of a mafia group involved in a quadruple murder, committed in the countryside of Apricena on 9 August 2017. A suspect in these murders was himself murdered in Amsterdam on 10 October 2017. Eurojust was immediately involved and played a crucial role in linking the investigations of the murders that occurred in Italy and the Netherlands, and facilitated the international cooperation.

One of the suspects is accused of conspiracy to commit the quadruple murder. Both suspects are also accused of possession of weapons. The complex investigation was conducted by the Carabinieri of Foggia and by the Special Task Force ‘Raggruppamento operativo speciale’ (ROS) of Rome.

Only two months after the massacre in Apricena, on 10 October 2017, one of the suspects in the August murders, previously sentenced for drug trafficking in Italy, was killed in Amsterdam. Two days later, an Italian national confessed to that murder and revealed to the Dutch Police the location of the body in a suitcase in his car.

Due to the previous connections between the Amsterdam victim and his confessed killer, the Direzione Distrettuale Antimafia of Bari, with the support of Eurojust, requested the Dutch authorities to cooperate in the extradition of the confessed killer and the transfer of proceedings.

During questioning by the Dutch Police, the Amsterdam confessed killer revealed the involvement of his victim in the murders in Apricena. The Investigative Judge of Bari, at the request of the Public Prosecution Office of Bari, deduced that all the murders were committed by a mafia group.

On the basis of the above activities, the Investigative Judge of Bari, at the request of the District Direction of Organised Crime ‘Direzione Distrettuale Antimafia’, issued preventive detention orders against the two suspects.