Europeans have the highest per-capita consumption of alcohol, and drinking causes nearly 1-in-10 cases of ill health and premature death. The European Commission’s informal alcohol strategy, launched in 2006, is set for a detailed evaluation in 2013, with the policy objective of reducing the health and social harm caused by excessive alcohol consumption.

The EU’s climate policy has not vanished but the approach today is probably more balanced towards other aims like energy supply security and competitiveness, Friedbert Pflüger said in an interview with EurActiv Slovakia.

Not assisting or protecting victims of violence is a cost for society. New rules to be adopted in the Parliament this  week will allow women assaulted in one country to be equally protected when they travel elsewhere in the Union. This is a landmark decision that proves Europe stands by its citizens, write Viviane Reding and Antonio López-Istúriz.