EU Update - May, 2020
The first edition of A Path for Europe’s monthly EU Update highlights the key developments that occurred across the EU in April.
The EU Foreign Affairs and Security section highlights how the current situation has not only sparked calls for stronger multilateral cooperation within the EU, but how the EU has continued to support its neighbour states and efforts to maintain international peace.
The European Law section covers some of the discussion points arising from Member States’ use of ‘state of emergency’ powers in response to the COVID-19 crisis and the current infringement procedure regarding the Polish judiciary reforms.
The Finance, Trade and (Digital) Internal Market section provides an overview of EU spending in response to COVID-19 and the conclusion of the EU-Mexico Trade Agreement.
The Migration section summarises the relocation of unaccompanied migrant children to EU Member States and the current situation regarding asylum seekers attempting to reach European shores from Libya.
Finally, the Environment section discusses some of the opportunities for progression towards EU environmental reforms arising from current crisis.
Overall, this issue demonstrates that although the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been widely felt across the EU, it has not entirely halted progress on EU policy initiatives.