The European Union: Benefits of being a member state of the EU: Ten EU policies that have changed Europeans' day-to-day lives

Eurosceptics frequently lambast the EU by portraying it as a bureaucratic monolith that pays little attention to the concerns of ordinary citizens, as it interferes needlessly in petty affairs. However, the decisions taken in Brussels and the laws passed by the European Parliament in Strasbourg have concrete effects on Europeans’ day-to-day lives.

Here is an overview of ten such EU policies put in place over the past five years making a key difference to the lives of every citizen of its member states. :

Getting rid of plastic bags

In France, single-use plastic shopping bags have been banned since July 2016, whether they are free or paid for. Instead, bags must either be made of paper or reusable and thicker than 50 micrometres. Since the start of 2017, this ban has been extended to “fruit and vegetable bags”. Thus, only biodegradable or paper bags can now be used.

These French laws are a direct product of a 2015 EU directive that imposed new rules to limit the consumption of plastic bags and reduce the amount of packaging on goods. MEPs aim to reduce the average number of lightweight plastic bags used, from 90 per person over the course of the year in 2019 to 40 per person by 2025.

The right to be forgotten

As well as acting on environmental concerns, Brussels is also focused on the protection of personal data. In a 2014 decision, the European Court of Justice ruled that EU data protection law applies to search engines. This means that people can get companies to take down any links that violate their privacy, according to the conditions set out in the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights. So far Google has reviewed 91,000 removal requests, for a total of 328,000 links.

Banning roaming charges

MEPs have taken legal steps to prohibit mobile phone companies from forcing customers to pay extra when they travel from European country to another. This applies to all mobile and landline phone calls, SMS messages and the use of data services abroad.

Cheap flights and compensation for overbooking

By imposing competition laws to stop airlines from restricting fares and schedules, the EU has allowed new companies to spring up and disrupt the industry, with their “low cost” and “no frills” flights undercutting established players and forcing them to reduce prices.

Food safety

The well-known “E numbers” – preservatives, dyes, antioxidants and flavourings listed as part of food products – are subject to strict standards and tightly regulated by the EU. Before being placed on the market, any additive is rigorously scrutinised by the European Food Safety Authority to ensure that it does not present a health hazard.

In addition, the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed has been set up to take any food that constitutes a health risk off the market as quickly as possible. It responds to thousands of alerts every year to deal with immediate risks, often detected in meat and fish.

Sport broadcast free of charge

EU legislation ensures that sport matches considered to be of major importance for society must be broadcast on free TV channels.

Putting more snow on ski slopes

Seeing as it’s quite a prerequisite for skiing, it’s rather a shame that snow is not always abundant on Europe’s ski slopes. The EU’s Horizon 2020 programme is funding research on snow production that includes a new snow gun that uses 15 percent less energy to produce 8 percent more snow and is also less noisy. Brussels is also supporting a project to create a weather forecasting system for the ski industry to predict the amount of snow from a week to several months in advance.

Free wifi in public areas

There are few things more frustrating than being out and about and finding it impossible to connect to the Internet. However, the EU’s WIFI4EU programme provides support to local authorities to help them provide free wifi to people passing through open-air spaces, public buildings, libraries or hospitals.

Protecting online shoppers’ rights

The EU ensures that products can be ordered without customs duties and additional taxes from other European countries and allows customers to return any product they have purchased within 14 days, without justification.

New EU rules should also come into effect over the coming years – for example, prohibiting online vendors from automatically redirecting customers to another site (on which prices are often higher), and the reduction of sometimes hefty delivery costs.

Funding films

Half of all European films were partly financed by the European Union Media Program. In 2014, seven of the 18 films competing for awards at the Cannes Film Festival benefited from this scheme, including “Two Days, One Night” by the Dardennes brothers and Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s “Winter Sleep”, winner of the 2014 Palme d’Or.

The EU also has the Creative Europe 2014-2020 programme to support culture across the continent. With a budget of €1.5 billion, this fund will support cinema, TV, music, literature, heritage and the performing arts in 38 countries and will fund 250,000 people in the culture industry.

Ten EU policies that have changed Europeans' day-to-day lives

Turkey cutting lose from the EU ? by FEHİM TAŞTEKİN

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, once a staunch supporter of the EU criteria, is now telling the EU to mind its own business.

He once carried the ambition to raise Turkey’s standards economically and politically, but lately he has become more of a Putin – although I know this is not fair to the Russian president. In the first speech he delivered as president earlier this year, Erdoğan said the “New Turkey” would concentrate on EU talks. However, Erdoğan then boasted of an “Ankara criteria” that he would put in place of the “Copenhagen criteria,” and we can now see that what he meant by this by looking at recent legislation.

While Erdoğan is defending these steps against European institutions that say there is a decline in democracy and liberties in Turkey, he tirades like the head of a self-confident sovereign state. As if the U.K., France or the Netherlands are not sovereign states. As if Europe’s driving force, Germany, is a loser that hands over some it its powers to the European Commission.

The EU has “curb” and “encouragement” mechanisms; one protects the standards, while the other encourages raising the standards. If you are setting up a partnership with the EU, both of these mechanisms step in to do their business. These mechanisms try to keep you within the corridor of the criteria and standards that you have already accepted in advance.

What makes the EU a success story is not its dictation, but rather its negotiating and reconciling culture. There is no point in embracing the “national pride” and “independent foreign policy” rhetoric against the warnings of those who hate these features.

While Erdoğan is pounding the EU, he is also asking what it has done in Syria, Egypt and Palestine.

The hand Erdoğan is shaking while scolds the EU belongs to Putin, who has aborted Turkey’s revolution project in Syria and is also the person who rolled out the red carpet in front of the architect of the coup in Egypt, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

Also, I do not know what it means to the Justice and Development Party (AKP) - which thinks of itself as the spokesperson of the Palestinian cause - for some EU members to recognize Palestinian statehood, as well as the European Parliament recently. Certain EU members succeed in making Israel much angrier without shouting like Erdoğan. 

The main issue is that there is no power present in the Middle East to question Erdoğan in terms of the law and human rights. The fact that the EU is stepping in as a curbing mechanism gets on his nerves.

Erdoğan is pursuing methods to eliminate all domestic break mechanisms, from the media to the judiciary, from the Parliament to inspection institutions. All this is to make his government untouchable and absolute. He is currently in the business of defaming mechanisms the he cannot get rid of, such as the Constitutional Court. While he is doing this, inevitably he hits out at the EU process that is binding him to the agreements and protocols Turkey has signed.

Erdoğan tells the EU to mind its own business, but the job of the European Commission - with the jurisdiction granted to it by Ankara - is exactly this: To monitor Turkey’s state of affairs. It was only possible to end the military tutelage, an achievement that Erdoğan is so proud of, with the EU stick.

The EU process, which Erdoğan has used as a shield since 2004 against the civilian and military bureaucracy, is now seen by him as an obstacle in front of his plans. The EU, meanwhile, which was not able to obtain any results with its regular break mechanisms, is at the brink of staging a more dramatic reaction. 

 Read more: Turkey cutting lose from the EU - FEHİM TAŞTEKİN

Almere WTCAA Business Services launched on September 3

Patricia van Giessen Business Club and events manager

From Tuesday September 3 WTCAA Almere offer the members of their International Business Club a comprehensive package of business services.

The WTClublounge is open every day from 9: 30 am-5 pm for IBC members. Members can also use this space as a flexible workplace or as a place to have an informal meeting with clients. Coffee and tea is available, as well as daily newspapers and magazines. Guests and members can also make use of the free Wi-Fi and the attached network printer. (Usage based on fair use.)

The WTConference room can also be reserved by IBC members, free of charge, for up to 16 hours per year. This meeting room has all the presentation equipment available for your professional presentations..

WTC members can also book their travel reservation  via the WTC website  If you lost "your log-in codes" contact the Secretariat of  the WTC. (see their website).

In case you are traveling for business or pleasure the WTC can take care of a variety of your chores while you are away.

The WTC Almere also has some rental units available on the second floor. These units (80-100 m2 per unit) are slightly bigger than the current units. If you have any interest in  renting one of these units, or anything, else please contact.

Almere-Digest