Blocked EU action on North East steel industry cost lives say regional MEP

The UK contributed nearly £4.3bn for EU research projects from 2007 to 2013, but received nearly £7bn back over the same period, the [Lords science] committee states in a report published on Wednesday, reports the Guardian, picked up by Politico Morning Trade. The £2.7bn excess was equivalent to more than £300m in research funds a year: http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/apr/20/brexit-could-cost-uk-science-millions-in-lost-research-funding-peers-warn

EXPLOSIVE NEW ANALYSIS OF HOW TRUMP, BREXIT AND EU LEADERS ARE COVERED IN THE MEDIA: Tenor Media, a Zurich-based media intelligence agency, has analysed hundreds of thousands of news reports in the U.S. and Europe, and the findings they will present in Brussels today are sure to get tongues wagging, says Politico. Here are some of the most interesting: DATA SHOW BBC AND FINANCIAL TIMES PROVIDE FAR MORE NEGATIVE THAN POSITIVE COVERAGE OF EU …etc: https://dub129.mail.live.com/?tid=cm4TGhfH0H5hGZvQAjfeOiKg2&fid=flinbox

The steel crisis has cost lives in the North East England constituency, MEP Jude Kirton-Darling has said, before launching a blistering attack on the British government for its inaction in the fight to save the industry. Labour's Kirton-Darling, MEP for North East England, in an interview with EurActiv, accused the Tories of blocking EU action that could help protect the industry and of increasing the chances of Brexit by lying about EU rules: http://www.euractiv.com/section/trade-society/interview/wed-special-report-mep-steel-crisis-has-already-cost-lives/

ECJ - BRITISH JUDGE JOINS BREXIT DEBATE FRAY: Eleanor Sharpston, an advocate-general with 10 years' experience at the court, says that withdrawing British judges from the EU's highest court will deprive it of high-caliber experience and limit the U.K.'s influence, reports the Guardian, picked up by Politico: http://bit.ly/1WeNslR

U.S. financial regulators are demanding regular updates from Wall Street banks about their contingency plans should Britain vote to leave the European Union, reports Reuters, picked up by Politico Morning Exchange. Scenarios under scrutiny range from how their London operations would handle lengthy uncertainty if Britons opt to quit the bloc in a June 23 referendum, to whether they could still offer financial services in continental Europe from a non-EU Britain: https://dub129.mail.live.com/?tid=cmNX-sSZMH5hG1GwAiZMHHjA2&fid=flinbox

If the UK leaves the EU after its referendum in June, a majority of Swedes would wish their country to follow suit, according to a new opinion poll, reports EurActiv: http://www.euractiv.com/section/uk-europe/news/poll-majority-of-swedes-want-to-leave-eu-in-case-of-brexit/

The French far right leader Marine Le Pen is to come to Britain in the next couple of weeks to campaign for Brexit, reports the Independent, picked up by Politico Morning Trade. Ms Le Pen, whose arrival is unlikely to delight mainstream Brexiteers, will appear alongside the former UKIP Euro MP, Janice Atkinson, who belongs to the same group as the French Front National in Strasbourg: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/eu-referendum-brexit-marine-le-pen-french-front-national-uk-visit-a6992301.html

In an interview with Bloomberg, picked up by Politico Morning Exchange, former governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King urged [referendum campaigners] not to play politics with economic numbers: https://dub129.mail.live.com/?tid=cmNX-sSZMH5hG1GwAiZMHHjA2&fid=flinbox

The divergence between Europe and America over how to regulate the digital economy is growing starker with each headline grabbing move by Brussels, reports Politico: http://www.politico.eu/article/europes-android-case-sharpens-divide-with-us/

Google has long stressed that Android, its popular mobile software, is open for anyone to use, including its rivals. But the company's claims are now under threat after Europe's antitrust authorities on Wednesday charged the company with unfairly using Android to promote its own services - like mobile search - over those of its rivals, reports the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/21/technology/google-europe-antitrust.html?emc=edit_ee_20160421&nl=todaysheadlines-europe&nlid=74103272&_r=0

Halliburton Co.'s troubled bid to buy oil-services rival Baker Hughes Inc. faces a formal complaint from European Union regulators as soon as this month, adding to a court fight with U.S. antitrust officials, reports Bloomberg: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-20/halliburton-is-said-to-face-eu-objections-to-baker-hughes-deal

GERMANS AND AMERICANS TURN AGAINST FREE TRADE: The Bertelsmann Foundation reports that only 17 percent of Germans consider the TTIP agreement currently in development to be a good thing. In the U.S., awareness is much lower, but support (15 percent) is still outweighed by opposition (18 percent), reports Politico. Two years ago, a similar study found a much higher approval among Germans (55 percent) and Americans (53 percent). Overall support for free trade in Germany fell from 88 percent to 56 percent in two years: https://dub129.mail.live.com/?tid=cm4TGhfH0H5hGZvQAjfeOiKg2&fid=flinbox

U.S. President Barack Obama will meet Monday with leaders of Europe's largest economies in Hannover, Germany, to discuss the state of the nearly 3-year-old TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) negotiations…The leaders will discuss "mutual efforts to advance negotiations" on the trade pace, the White House said. Other topics on the agenda include joint counterterrorism efforts and the need to more effectively share information. The leaders will also discuss the campaign against ISIL, Europe's migration crisis and the situation in Syria, Ukraine and Libya. Politico Morning Trade reports: https://dub129.mail.live.com/?tid=cmntzv730H5hG32QAjfeSmbA2&fid=flinbox

Ecuador is aiming to join a free trade agreement with the EU, Colombia, and Peru by the end of this year, Politico Morning Trade reports: https://dub129.mail.live.com/?tid=cmntzv730H5hG32QAjfeSmbA2&fid=flinbox

Carbon market reform could greatly increase production costs for the steel industry from 2020, a difference the European Commission wants to offset with cheaper energy and carbon capture and sequestration technology. EurActiv France reports: http://www.euractiv.com/section/innovation-industry/news/steelmakers-fear-extra-costs-from-ets-reform/

THE European Parliament and the Dutch presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) reached an informal agreement on April 19 to increase competition in domestic passenger rail transport and ensure a level playing field for operators, reports International Railway Journal: http://www.railjournal.com/index.php/policy/increased-european-domestic-passenger-rail-competition-a-step-closer.html

The European Commission will consider including indoor climate rules in its forthcoming legislation on Energy Union, the Commission Vice-President in charge of the strategy yesterday (20 April) revealed. Maroš Šefčovič said that officials would factor in the requirements - which bring health and well-being benefits - in research feeding into the revised Energy Performance in Buildings Directive, reports EurActiv: http://www.euractiv.com/section/health-consumers/news/commission-considering-health-rules-in-energy-union-efficiency-bill/

Nordic politicians want to reinstate passport-free travel between their countries, but rather than proposing regional solutions, most argue that nothing can be done until the EU solves the migrant crisis, reports EUobserver: https://euobserver.com/nordic/133128

Europe currently faces an overwhelming number of crises, but one feature unites them all: the EU is unable to make member states comply with its own rules, writes Ramon Tremosa, a Spanish MEP, in an op-ed in EurActiv: http://www.euractiv.com/section/euro-finance/opinion/europes-underlying-crisis/