Several governments in the developed world have been pushing for multilateral agreements to ban trademark theft on consumer goods and medicines, and ban websites such as MegaUploads and PirateBay, which provide free film and music downloads.

But lawmakers say these agreements could give companies such as internet providers unprecedented access to subscribers' online activity, raising privacy concerns.

A draft EU document shows the executive will seek an increase to €138 billion from the current €129.1 billion.

The Commission says the €8.9-billion increase is needed to meet prior EU payment commitments, but such a rise is sensitive given it has led calls over the past two years for EU governments to slash public spending to bring the eurozone's debt crisis under control.

As negotiators in New York sift through hundreds of pages of ideas for the conference, Karl Falkenberg, the European Commission’s chief of the environmental directorate, said in Brussels that the EU was committed to its goals despite fierce opposition to some of its positions.

Viviane Reding, the EU justice commissioner, will go ahead with two proceedings against Hungary which have raised concern across Europe in the past months (see background).

She is expected to receive approval today by the College of Commissioners over Hungary’s referral to the Court of Justice in two different cases.

The first case concerns the retirement age of judges, notaries and prosecutors, which was  recently lowered to 62 from 70. The change forced 274 judges to be forced into retirement.

On Monday (23 April) Andreas Schockenhoff, an MP and vice president of the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union group in the Bundestag, announced that the fiscal compact could be changed not on the substance, but on the rhetoric. "We can put in a fine paragraph on growth,” he said.

“This way, Hollande will be able to say at home: ‘I have ensured that the fiscal pact deals with growth’. These rhetorical things, we can do them.”

The Forum organised by the European People’s Party think-tank, the Centre for European Studies (CES), came six weeks before Irish voters are due to approve, or not, their country’s joining the ‘fiscal treaty’. Beyond understanding the stability disciplines, the electorate needs a vision for Europe’s economy out of the crisis, speakers agreed.

The Parliament Magazine, in association with AEGPL is pleased to invite you to a roundtable debate on the role decentralised energy and off-grid energy solutions can play in helping the EU achieve a low carbon future.

Rutte lost the support of Geert Wilders' far-right Freedom Party (PVV) over additional cuts of at least €9.5 billion, needed to satisfy European deficit limits.

In its caretaker capacity, Rutte will now handle current affairs until elections are held, while still being charged with presenting a budget for 2013.

The Dutch parliament is currently squabbling to find a date for holding snap elections, after or before the summer break. Rutte will appear before parliament today for a debate on how to proceed with austerity measures and the timing of elections.

Speaking at a public event organised yesterday (23 April) by the European Policy Centre, Orbán was asked to comment on his recent meeting with the Gazprom chief executive Alexey Miller in Budapest. Hungary is considering granting "national status" to South Stream, according to a press release.