LEAVE threat to Premier League

The possibility of Britain voting to leave the European Union in its 23 June referendum leaves the lucrative and globally popular English Premier League facing an uncertain future, reports EurActiv: http://www.euractiv.com/section/uk-europe/news/football-brexit-risk-puts-premier-league-on-defensive/

The secretary general of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland "welcomed" Thursday a European Commission assurance that asylum applications would be treated individually if the EU-Turkey plan goes ahead, reports EUobserver. He had earlier said the plan would be unlawful: https://euobserver.com/tickers/132733

The Danish government agreed Thursday with employers and trade unions to launch a new special scheme to speed integration of refugees into jobs, reports EUobserver. Over two years, companies can get paid 5,000€ for employing a refugee who would earn between €6-16€ per hour in combination with training and education: https://euobserver.com/tickers/132737

The EU and the Mercosur trade bloc are ready to exchange trade proposals in April and revive stalled talks to open their economies, Argentina's Secretary of Trade, Miguel Braun, told EurActiv.com during a visit to Brussels to meet his counterpart. Mercosur is the EU's eighth-largest trade partner, while the EU is Mercosur's largest investor: http://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/video/mercosur-ready-to-exchange-trade-offers-with-the-eu-in-april/

West Africa and the European Union (EU) are gearing up for the finalisation of the signatures for the onward commencement of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), reports the Ghana News Agency, picked up by the bilaterals news site: http://www.bilaterals.org/?west-africa-and-eu-prepare-towards

Former British deputy prime minister Nick Clegg returned to his first political home of Brussels on Wednesday (16 March) to challenge Brexiteers to come up with a "clear answer" on what would happen next to a UK that left the European Union, reports EurActiv: http://www.euractiv.com/section/uk-europe/news/clegg-returns-to-brussels-to-demand-clear-answers-from-brexit-campaign/

EU member states will start reviewing details of the EU-US Privacy Shield next month and are getting ready for "extremely complex" discussions before they approve the deal, reports EurActiv: http://www.euractiv.com/section/digital/news/privacy-shield-negotiators-on-defensive-ahead-of-member-states-review/

According to EUobserver, the next US administration can, if it so chooses, weaken the already patchy data sharing pact with the EU known as Privacy Shield. Fears are mounting a US administration headed by firebrand Donald Trump may attempt to punch holes in an agreement whose legal basis is largely based on promises and letters signed by top US officials: https://euobserver.com/justice/132736

European Union institutions came to an agreement Wednesday (16 March) to implement a multi-year fisheries plan for the Baltic Sea: the first of its kind since the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) was reformed, reports EurActiv: http://www.euractiv.com/section/agriculture-food/news/baltic-fisheries-plan-promises-sustainable-fish-stocks/

Forty five million Ukrainian nationals could, if things go well, be able to enter most EU states without a visa by the end of the year, reports EUobserver: https://euobserver.com/justice/132728