24 May 2013 was a sad day for pesticide makers in Europe and a great victory for environmental NGOs. It was on that day that DG SANCO of the European Commission passed an implementing regulation aimed at reducing and stopping the bee population’s decline, alleged to be caused in large part by pesticides containing so-called neonicotinoids.

The European Greens will hold primaries to select their candidate for the presidency of the European Commission in 2014. EUrologus likes the idea and urges not just European parties but even those in national opposition parties to follow suit and use similar qualifying rounds to energize disinterested voters and to select the best candidate.

According to Bono, a real breakthrough has been achieved in the fight against corruption. The rock-star-turned-human-rights-activist was led to such enthusiasm by the EU passing new transparency regulations on April 10, 2013. The new laws stipulate that European companies that are active in the oil, mining and logging industries have to report any payment of more than EUR 100,000 that they have made to foreign governments or government agencies, even if this was in the form of taxes, royalties or other fees.

How should one imagine the planned EU banking union? Will there be one or several united or merged banks in Europe forming a genuine union? Definitely not. Banking union means something different, namely the building and operating of an integrated banking system, such as the one that exists in the USA. If a local bank in a US state experiences huge losses and/or becomes insolvent – i.e. it cannot refund its depositors –, in the process threatening the entire banking system, it is a natural occurrence there for federal institutions to intervene.