This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission received its first preliminary application for financial support from the EU Solidarity Fund from Italy to address the coronavirus outbreak and its effects. Italy is expected to submit further details in the weeks to come. Since 1 April 2020, following the […]Coronavirus: Commission receives first preliminary application for support from the EU Solidarity Fund for health emergency from Italy
April 28, 2020 by 1 Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission received its first preliminary application for financial support from the EU Solidarity Fund from Italy to address the coronavirus outbreak and its effects. Italy is expected to submit further details in the weeks to come. Since 1 April 2020, following the […]Coronavirus: Commission launches data sharing platform for researchers
April 21, 2020 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Yesterday, the European Commission together with several partners launched a European COVID-19 Data Platform to enable the rapid collection and sharing of available research data. The platform, part of the ERAvsCorona Action Plan, marks another milestone in the EU’s efforts to support researchers in […]State aid: Commission approves €1 billion Greek scheme providing repayable advances to support the economy in the coronavirus outbreak
April 8, 2020 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has approved a €1 billion Greek aid scheme to support companies affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The scheme was approved under the State aid Temporary Framework adopted by the Commission on 19 March 2020, as amended on 3 April 2020. Executive […]Coronavirus: Commission presents practical guidance on implementing the temporary restriction on non-essential travel to the EU
March 30, 2020 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Today, the European Commission has issued guidance on the implementation of the temporary restriction on non-essential travel to the EU. Together with guidance to ensure free movement of critical workers, this responds to requests made in the Statement of the Members of the European […]State aid: Commission approves UK schemes to support SMEs affected by coronavirus outbreak
March 25, 2020 by 2 Comments
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has approved two separate UK State aid schemes to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the context of the coronavirus outbreak. The schemes were approved under the State aid Temporary Framework to support the economy in the context of the […]Coronavirus: Commission presents practical guidance to ensure continuous flow of goods across EU via green lanes
March 24, 2020 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Today, the Commission issued new practical advice on how to implement its Guidelines for border management, in order to keep freight moving across the EU during the current pandemic. To ensure that EU-wide supply chains continue to operate, Member States are requested to designate, […]Future EU-UK Partnership: European Commission publishes draft legal text
March 19, 2020 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has today published a draft legal agreement for the future EU-UK partnership. It translates into a legal text the negotiating directives approved by Member States in the General Affairs Council on 25 February 2020, in line with the Political Declaration agreed […]Coronavirus: Commission offers financing to innovative vaccines company CureVac
March 17, 2020 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Today, the Commission offered up to €80 million of financial support to CureVac, a higly innovative vaccine developer from Tübingen, Germany, to scale up development and production of a vaccine against the Coronavirus in Europe. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Commissioner for […]Migration: Commission takes action to find solutions for unaccompanied migrant children on Greek islands
March 6, 2020 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Following President von der Leyen’s visit to Greece on Tuesday, together with the Presidents of the other EU institutions, the Commission presented its Action Plan for immediate measures to support Greece, which was welcomed by the Ministers at the extraordinary Justice and Home Affairs […]Infringement – Commission takes Italy to Court for its incomplete regime of access to genetic resources
February 12, 2020 by 1 Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission is referring Italy to the Court of Justice of the EU because its system of access to genetic resources from non-EU countries is considered to be dysfunctional. These dysfunctionalities damage the ability of companies established in Italy to tap the benefits […]Taxation: Commission refers Portugal to the Court for discriminatory legislation on car registration tax
February 12, 2020 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Today the Commission decided to refer Portugal to the Court of Justice of the European Union for taxing used cars that are imported from other Member States more heavily than used cars purchased on the Portuguese market. Under EU rules, no Member State can […]State aid: Commission approves €53 million public support scheme for charging stations for low emission vehicles in Romania
February 10, 2020 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has found Romanian plans to support the creation of a network of recharging stations for electric vehicles to be in line with EU State aid rules. The measure will contribute to reducing CO2 and other pollutant emissions without unduly distorting competition […]Mergers: Commission opens in-depth investigation into proposed acquisition of GrandVision by EssilorLuxottica
February 7, 2020 by 1 Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess the proposed acquisition of GrandVision by EssilorLuxottica, under the EU Merger Regulation. The Commission is concerned that the merger may reduce competition for the wholesale supply of ophthalmic lenses and eyewear, as well as […]State aid: Commission approves German scheme for very high capacity broadband networks in Bavaria
November 29, 2019 by 1 Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a Bavarian scheme to deploy very high capacity networks in Bavaria. The aid will bring very fast broadband to customers in areas where the market does not provide them, in line with the EU […]MEPs oppose EU Commission plans to authorise three herbicide-resistant GMOs
October 10, 2019 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. MEPs opposed the EU Commission plans to authorise imports of products containing three glyphosate and glufosinate ammonium-resistant GMOs, in non-binding resolutions on Thursday. On Wednesday evening, MEPs also held a debate with the European Commission on the authorisation process for GMO imports, the shortcomings […]Better outreach to citizens needed to improve effectiveness of European Commission’s public consultations, say Auditors
September 10, 2019 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission’s framework for consulting the public during the development and evaluation of EU laws and policies is of a high standard, according to a new report by the European Court of Auditors. The performance of selected recent public consultations by the Commission […]Drought in Europe: the Commission offers further support to European farmers
July 29, 2019 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. European Commission is offering support to farmers faced with the waves of drought afflicting Europe. Firstly, farmers will be able to receive a higher percentage of their direct and rural development payments in advance. Secondly, to be able to feed their animals, they will […]Data protection: Commission decides to refer Greece and Spain to the Court for not transposing EU law
July 26, 2019 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission decided today to refer Greece and Spain to the Court of Justice of the EU for failing to transpose the EU rules on personal data protection (the Data Protection Law Enforcement Directive, Directive (EU) 2016/680). In April 2016, the Council and the European Parliament agreed the Directive had to […]Commission approves emergency measures to protect eastern Baltic cod
July 24, 2019 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The Commission has announced emergency measures to save the ailing eastern Baltic cod stock from impending collapse. Emergency measures will ban, with immediate effect, commercial fishing for cod in most of the Baltic Sea until 31 December 2019. Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and […]Dual Food Quality: Commission releases study assessing differences in the composition of EU food products
June 25, 2019 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Yesterday, the Commission published the results of a pan-European testing campaign of food products showing that some products are identically or similarly branded while having a different composition. Since his State of the Union Address in 2017, President Jean-Claude Juncker has been committed to addressing the issue […]Juncker Plan reaches almost €410 billion in triggered investment across the EU
June 24, 2019 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. As of June 2019, the deals approved under the Juncker Plan amount to €75 billion in financing and are located in all 28 Member States. Some 952,000 start-ups and small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are expected to benefit from improved access to finance. Currently, […]State aid: Commission approves €431 million public support for cleaner transport in German cities
June 20, 2019 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has found German plans to support the retrofitting of municipal and commercial diesel vehicles to be in line with EU State aid rules. The measure should contribute to reducing nitrogen oxides emissions by 1,450 tonnes per year, while limiting distortions of […]‘No-deal’ Brexit preparedness: European Commission takes stock of preparations and provides practical guidance to ensure coordinated EU approach
April 10, 2019 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Ahead of the European Council (Article 50) today, the European Commission has taken stock of the European Union’s intense ‘no-deal’ preparations and has issued practical guidance to Member States in 5 areas. These areas include citizens’ residence and social security entitlements, data protection, medicine […]Antitrust: Commission fines Google €1.49 billion for abusive practices in online advertising
March 21, 2019 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has fined Google €1.49 billion for breaching EU antitrust rules. Google has abused its market dominance by imposing a number of restrictive clauses in contracts with third-party websites which prevented Google’s rivals from placing their search adverts on these websites. Commissioner […]The Commission calls for a climate neutral Europe by 2050*
November 29, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. Today the European Commission adopted a strategic long-term vision for a prosperous, modern, competitive and climate neutral economy by 2050 – A Clean Planet for all. The strategy shows how Europe can lead the way to climate neutrality by investing into realistic technological solutions, […]A Europe that Protects: Commission calls for decisive action on security priorities
October 11, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Today, the European Commission is reporting on the progress made towards an effective and genuine Security Union, calling on the European Parliament and the Council to finalise their work on priority security initiatives as a matter of urgency. To maintain the positive momentum set […]Migration crisis update: mutual actions and solidarity needed as anti-migrant policies thrive
September 19, 2018 by Leave a Comment
An EU summit is taking place today in Salzburg, Austria where the EU leaders will discuss about the immigration crisis in the region and Brexit deal negotiations. The Parliament’s request to the member states regarding Hungary’s breach of the EU founding values is creating turbulences to the unity and solidarity of the Old Continent. The […]Commission supports normalisation in Greece through activation of post-programme framework
July 12, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The Commission has adopted a decision to activate the enhanced surveillance framework for Greece to support the implementation of agreed reforms following the successful conclusion of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) stability support programme. On 20 August, Greece will conclude its ESM stability […]Air quality: Commission takes action to protect citizens from air pollution
May 18, 2018 by 1 Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The Commission is standing up for Europeans’ need to breathe clean air. The Commission is providing national, regional and local actors with practical help to improve air quality in Europe, and stepping up its enforcement against 7 Member States who have breached agreed EU rules […]Migration crisis update: lack of solidarity not only among EU leaders but also EU officials
December 20, 2017 by Leave a Comment
It was two days ago, on the anniversary of the International migration day, when the United Nations urged everyone to contribute to make migration safer in the world. The EU leaders gathered on December 14-15 in Brussels to discuss among others how to tackle refugee crisis. The key point which created disagreements was the letter from the […]VW diesel scandal and climate change: can increased independent car checks lead to cleaner mobility?
December 13, 2017 by Leave a Comment
It was last Thursday when the European Parliament together with the Council and the Commission agreed to enhance the car testing system by providing extra checks to the cars that are or will be placed in the market based on the proposal of the European Commission made on January 2016. Despite the fact that this […]Can the EU afford to block China’s business openings to Europe by denying her the ‘market economy status’?
October 31, 2016 by Leave a Comment
The way Wallonia, Belgium’s French speaking region approved CETA – the comprehensive economic and trade agreement between the EU and Canada – is a rather dark landmark. In the future, Europe’s trade and otherwise relations with foreign countries will be rather shaky. This was also true in the past, but now became evident for everybody […]Court of Auditors: EU spending infested with errors well above the materiality threshold of 2%
October 17, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Last Thursday 13 October, the European Court of Auditors, the institution which carries out the audit of European Union finances, published its report on the implementation of the 2015 EU budget. In the chapter of revenue transactions the ECA found no errors. As expected though, the picture changed drastically when the Court audited the expenditure […]
