12.9.2017-At 9.00 on Wednesday 13 September 2017, Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker will deliver his speech in the European Parliament Plenary Chamber in Strasbourg. The event will be broadcast live on EbS and an enhanced livestream will also be available on the Commission’s Facebook page.

After a broad debate across our continent on the #FutureofEurope, with citizens, with the European Parliament, national Parliaments, local and regional authorities, and civil society at large, the President will take these ideas forward and give his personal views on the future of Europe as well as his priorities for the year to come.More: here </s> European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker delivered on September 13 his 2017 State of the Union Address, before the elected members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, presenting his priorities for the year ahead and outlining his vision for how the European Union could evolve by 2025. President Juncker appeared optimistic and positive, presenting a roadmap for a more united, stronger and more democratic Union.

In his speech, Juncker referred many times to Balkan area. Sometimes directly, saying that “Europe extends from Vigo to Varna. From Spain to Bulgaria. East to West: Europe must breathe with both lungs. Otherwise our continent will struggle for air” and other times in an other, hidden way: “In a Union of equals, there can be no second class workers. Workers should earn the same pay for the same work in the same place.”

To continue reading, please click here. </s> European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker gave his annual State of the European Union address at the European Parliament on Wednesday morning presenting his vision for the future of the Union. Mr. Juncker ruled the prospect of an EU membership for Turkey in the foreseeable future in his speech. The main points of Juncekr’s speech were:

 A single president at the helm of the Commission and the Council, after having been elected in a pan-European campaign;

 * A European minister of economy and finance. A future Commissioner for economy and finance, ideally a Commission vice-president, could carry out this role as well as chairing the eurogroup;

 * Transnational lists for European elections. “I will try to convince the leader of my parliamentary group to try to follow this idea”.

 Trade/ eurozone/ enlargement:

 * Eurozone: Member states that are obliged to adopt the euro need support of a euro accession instrument, which will offer pre-accession assistance;

 * Need to strengthen European trade program. Opening trade negotiations with Australia and New Zealand;

 * Calls for a new EU framework for investment screening;

 * All EU rules on worker mobility must be implemented fairly, simply and effectively “and for that, we need a new supervisory authority. We are going to set up a common labour market authority.”

 * Member states should agree as soon as possible on the European pillar of social rights;

 * Legal migration routes. Returning migrants with no right to stay in Europe;

 * High time to bring Romania and Bulgaria into Schengen area, as well as Croatia, when it meets the criteria;

 * Greater and credible accession prospects to countries of the Western Balkans. But not during Juncker’s mandate;

 * But there can be no EU membership for Turkey for some foreseeable future. </s> Speaking at the annual state of the union address, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker issued a warning to Britian, which is currently slowly progressing with exit negotiations, saying that we will always regret this, and I think you will regret this too. </s> It is the first time such a memorial for a national leader is being held at the European level. Among the speakers are EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, former US President Bill Clinton, French President Emmanuel Macron and current German Chancellor Angela Merkel. (Photo: Reuters) It is the first time such a memorial for a national leader is being held at the European level. Among the speakers are EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, former US President Bill Clinton, French President Emmanuel Macron and current German Chancellor Angela Merkel. (Photo: Reuters)

Current and former leaders from Europe and beyond are gathering in Strasbourg, France to bid farewell to former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who died June 16 at 87. The ceremony today at the European Parliament’s seat in Strasbourg, close to the border with Germany, was deemed fitting for a chancellor whose biggest achievements included helping unite Europe.

It is the first time such a memorial for a national leader is being held at the European level. Among the speakers are EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, former US President Bill Clinton, French President Emmanuel Macron and current German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Juncker described Kohl as “a German patriot and at the same time a European patriot.” Kohl will be buried later today following a mass in the German city of Speyer.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App </s> FILE- In this Wednesday, March 7, 2018 file photo, Secretary-General of the Commission Martin Selmayr waits for the start of a meeting at EU headquarters in Brussels. The European Union's official transparency watchdog on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018 said the EU's executive Commission put public trust at risk by fast-tracking the appointment of Martin Selmayr. Selmayr, Juncker's former head of cabinet, was appointed Commission Secretary-General in February 2018 at a meeting that saw him promoted twice within minutes. less

FILE- In this Wednesday, March 7, 2018 file photo, Secretary-General of the Commission Martin Selmayr waits for the start of a meeting at EU headquarters in Brussels. The European Union's official transparency ... more

FILE - In this May 3, 2017 file photo, Martin Selmayr, right, attends a meeting with EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, center, and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker at EU headquarters in Brussels. The European Union's official transparency watchdog on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018 said the EU's executive Commission put public trust at risk by fast-tracking the appointment of Martin Selmayr. Selmayr, Juncker's former head of cabinet, was appointed Commission Secretary-General in February 2018 at a meeting that saw him promoted twice within minutes. less

FILE - In this May 3, 2017 file photo, Martin Selmayr, right, attends a meeting with EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, center, and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker at EU headquarters ... more

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union's official transparency watchdog said Tuesday that the EU's powerful executive Commission put public trust at risk by fast-tracking the appointment of a protege of its president, Jean-Claude Juncker, to a top job.

Martin Selmayr, Juncker's former head of Cabinet, was appointed secretary-general in February at a meeting that saw him promoted twice within minutes.

Even EU commissioners — who are responsible for policy files ranging from the economy to trade, the environment and energy — publicly admitted surprise at the speed with which the nomination was handled. Many weren't aware that the promotion was planned in advance, by Juncker himself.

Accusing the European Commission of "maladministration," European Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly said that the way the appointment was handled "risked jeopardizing the hard won record of high EU administrative standards and consequently, the public trust."

"It is extraordinary that no commissioner seemed to question the secretary-general appointment procedure, which in the end raised valid widespread concerns." she said.

O'Reilly didn't say the move was illegal or question Selmayr's suitability for the post.

Selmayr now runs the European Commission — which has around 33,000 employees and whose commissioners are appointed, not elected — and so wields strong influence over the EU's agenda and policy priorities. Juncker, who is of ailing health, stood by Selmayr when news of the appointment procedure became public and vowed to quit himself before he would ever try to force his protege out.

O'Reilly urged the commission to develop a specific and separate appointment procedure for appointing the secretary-general to avoid a repeat in future.

The commission, meanwhile, said it "has a different factual assessment" of parts of the ombudsman's report.

The commissioner responsible for human resources, Guenther Oettinger, said he looked forward to discussing with other EU institutions "how the application of the current rules and procedures can be improved in the future." A meeting has been scheduled for Sept. 25, he said.

The nature of the appointment, exposed by French newspaper Liberation, raised deep concerns because the European Commission is the guardian of the EU's treaties and the arbiter of the bloc's democratic standards yet stands accused of bending its own rules.

For example, the commission has launched a rule of law procedure against Poland for changes made by the new government there that Brussels believes undermine the independence of the courts and justice system. It's locked in a similar battle with Hungary. Both countries say — like the commission in this case — that they are following the letter of the law.

Part of the reason that Britons voted to leave the 28-nation bloc next year was the perception that unelected, unaccountable, well-heeled bureaucrats in Brussels were stitching up backroom deals against the interests of citizens and with the aim of enriching themselves. Regardless of his competence, Selmayr's nomination embodies the concerns of many euroskeptics. </s> BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Britain and European Union political leaders have agreed in principle to a text setting out their future relationship that can be endorsed by EU leaders at a summit, European Council President Donald Tusk said on Thursday.

Referring to a text discussed on Wednesday by British Prime Minister Theresa May and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, the EU summit chair said in a statement: “The Commission president has informed me that it has been agreed at negotiators’ level and agreed in principle at political level, subject to the endorsement of the leaders.”

The text was shared with the 27 other governments of the European Union on Thursday morning. </s> World leaders are attending a ceremony at the European Parliament in Strasbourg to commemorate the life of Helmut Kohl, the former chancellor of Germany and the main architect of its reunification.

Kohl, who died on June 16 aged 87, is the first person to be honored with an official memorial event by the European Union.

Dignitaries have been paying respects at his coffin, which was draped in the EU flag.

During his 16-year term as Germany's leader, from 1982 to 1998, Kohl was a major driving force behind closer European integration.

"Helmut Kohl was a true European and a friend. Europe owes him a lot," said European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, the only current leader in Europe to have worked alongside him.

Junker said the ceremony at the European Parliament's seat in the French city of Strasbourg, close to the border with Germany, was the choice of Kohl himself.

Speakers at the ceremony include the current German and French leaders Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron, respectively, as well as Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, and former Spanish President Felipe González.

Kohl will be buried in the German town of Speyer later in the day.

Based on reporting by AP, dpa, AFP, and the BBC </s> WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump will meet with the president of the European Commission next week at the White House, days after labeling the European Union a “foe” of the United States.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders says President Jean-Claude Juncker will meet with Trump at the White House on July 25. She says security, counterterrorism, and energy will be on the agenda, as well as trade. The commission is an institution of the European Union.

Trump said in a recent CBS interview, “I think the European Union is a foe, what they do to us in trade. Now you wouldn’t think of the European Union but they’re a foe.”

Trump has alienated some allies over his protectionist trade policies, including tariffs on EU aluminum and steel exports to the U.S.
President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, holds his annual State of the European Union speech in Strasbourg.