Malala Yousafzai - winner of the Sakharov Prize 2013

Pakistani campaigner for girls' education Malala Yousafzai is the laureate of the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2013, following today's decision of the Conference of Presidents (EP President and political group leaders). She will be invited to receive the award at a ceremony in Strasbourg on 20 November.

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BBC EU Maps

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European Union and Canada reach landmark free trade deal

Canada and the European Union have struck a tentative free trade agreement meant to boost growth and employment, officials from both economies said Friday in Brussels.

The deal would make it easier for Canadian companies to invest in and sell to the 28-member EU and its 500 million consumers. European companies will have easier access to Canada's 35 million people. The deal will lower tariffs, streamline regulation and cut red tape. (...)

The European Union, a $17-trillion economy, is Canada's second-largest trading partner behind the U.S. The deal would also help reduce the dependence of Canada's $1.8-trillion economy on imports from the U.S. (...)

A total of 98 per cent of tariffs will be removed immediately once the agreement takes effect, Harper said. Sectors like Canada's dairy products, particularly cheese, which are likely to suffer from higher competition and see their market share fall will receive transitional assistance by the government, he said. (...)

The value of bilateral trade in goods between the EU and Canada was 62 billion euros in 2012 ($84 billion at today's value) with another 23.5 billion euros in services, according to the European Commission, the EU's executive arm. It estimates the agreement will eventually boost bilateral trade by up to a quarter. 

For the EU, Canada is only the 12th most important trading partner but the agreement will provide a boost to the nascent free trade talks between the EU and the U.S.  (...)

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EU to cooperate on drones, cyber defense

European Union states should work together in four areas of defense technology, including developing drones, the bloc's foreign policy chief said in a report on Tuesday. More...

European Union Official Calls for More Surveillance of Migrant Routes

(...) “I’ve asked member states to give their political support and also make available the necessary resources,” said Ms. Malmstrom, who must rely on member governments to finance and carry out search-and-rescue efforts.
The statement from Ms. Malmstrom was one of the strongest calls for a response to the disaster on Thursday, when an overstuffed and rickety trawler carrying an estimated 500 migrants fleeing war and poverty caught fire and capsized near the Italian island of Lampedusa.
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