EU Update - August, 2020
July has seen a wide array of policy initiatives, consultation and collaborative strategies launched across the European Union.
In EU Foreign Affairs and Security there were heightened tensions with Turkey regarding developments in the East Mediterranean and Libya and the new “EU Security Union Strategy” was launched.
European Law discusses the 16 July finding that the “EU-US Privacy Shield” is invalid and demonstrates ongoing commitment to data privacy and the importance of the independence of the EU courts.
The Finance, Trade and (Digital) Internal Market section provides an overview of the EU’s agreement to buy the antiviral drug Veklury for the treatment of COVID-19 and the EU’s progress on a number of other trade initiatives.
In terms of Migration, July was again marked by the challenges facing migrants coming to the EU and calls were repeated to review reports of illegal pushbacks at the borders.
Finally, the Environment section details the European Commission’s unveiling of two new initiatives: the ”Hydrogen Strategy” and the “Strategy for Energy System Integration”.
August begins riding on the wave of the Council’s approval of the historic €1.8 trillion budget package; hopefully the cooperation behind this agreement carries onto the successful and sustained implementation of the initiatives outlines in this edition.