EU Update - July, 2020
June has seen Member States continue to manage the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, whilst balancing internal and external trade and political priorities.
In EU Foreign Affairs and Security, States are continuing to reopen their borders, Croatia’s EU Council Presidency concludes and the EU’s diplomatic chief, in conjunction with foreign ministers, makes a statement regarding escalating tensions in Libya.
Developments in European Law include a European Court of Justice ruling in favour of Hungarian NGOs and publication of the Commission’s evaluation into the GDPR.
The Finance, Trade and (Digital) Internal Market section discusses publication of the second investigation into the EU safeguards for steel imports, the establishment of two panels for WTO disputes and the publication of the Commission’s annual Trade and Investment Barriers Report.
In terms of Migration, asylum applications and illegal border crossings seem to be slowly increasing again, while the European Commission increased the available financial support for migrants abroad.
Finally, the Environment section covers the launch of the Just Transition Platform and the release of the Commission’s first assessment of Member States’ abilities to tackle air pollution.
This edition demonstrates the competing priorities and wide array of challenges facing the EU as Germany commences its six month EU Council Presidency.