Ireland: IMF Executive Board Concludes 2023 Article IV Consultation
Ireland’s economy has shown remarkable resilience in the face of consecutive shocks. Following two years of impressive performance, domestic activities slowed…
Insight EU Environment Monitoring 14 December 2023
Agreement between the Council and the European Parliament makes EU liability rules fit for the digital age and circular economy…
Insight EU Climate Monitoring 14 December 2023
COP28: Record number of National Adaptation Plans submitted in 2023 - but more are needed +++ Statement from President Joe Biden…
Insight EU Energy Monitoring 14 December 2023
Reform of electricity market design: Council and Parliament reach deal +++ EU Commission welcomes deal on electricity market reform +++…
Finland: €800,000 in government grants for green transition in built environment
The programme is very broad in scope. The projects may concern e.g. databases and carbon calculators, planning, energy efficiency or…
Pedro Sánchez on the achievements of Spain’s EU Presidency
The final sprint after a marathon run: Under Spain's EU Presidency more than 190 trilogues have been held with the…
Oslo: Statement after international ministerial meeting on the war in Gaza
We all said very clearly that this has to stop. But even more importantly, in this meeting, we had a…
European Council conclusions, 14 and 15 December 2023
On 14 and 15 December, the European Council adopted conclusions on Ukraine, Middle East, enlargement and reforms, multiannual financial framework…
Europol: Violent hate crimes targeted in joint action day
Law enforcement authorities targeted 209 individuals, mainly right and left wing extremists, for their alleged involvement in serious offences related…
Guinea-Bissau: Statement by the EEAS HR on the latest developments
In this difficult situation, the EU strongly condemns all forms of violence and all attempts to disrupt the constitutional order.…
Reports confirm the European Health Union is better prepared to combat health threats
Four years after COVID-19 cases were first detected, many of the solutions brought forward to respond more effectively to the…
Statement by EU Commission President von der Leyen with Polish Prime Minister Tusk
For far too long, the concerns about the rule of law have hampered our capacity to help Poland modernise its…
EU Commission welcomes political agreement on European Media Freedom Act
The new rules will better protect editorial independence, media pluralism, ensure transparency and fairness and bring better cooperation of media…
Eurostat: Only 56% of people in the EU have learnt basic digital skills
In 2023, the share of people aged 16 to 74 who had at least basic overall digital skills was highest…
ECB Governing Council keeps three key interest rates unchanged
The interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit…
Funds’ names: ESMA proposes changes and updates timeline for its Guidelines
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s financial markets regulator and supervisor, today provides an update on the…
G20: Brazil announces presidency priorities of the Anti-Corruption Working Group
The group is set to formulate anti-corruption principles and standards that strengthen the implementation of international instruments, particularly the United…
EU Council and EU Parliament make EU liability rules fit for the digital age and circular economy
The provisional agreement on the liability of economic operators for damage caused by defective products aims to respond to the…
European Council opens accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova
The European Council reiterates its resolute condemnation of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, which constitutes a manifest violation of…
Insight EU Environment Monitoring 13 December 2023
CRITICAL RAW MATERIALS:EU and Chile sign modern and ambitious trade and political agreements+++Extractive industries: MEPs demand more accountability and transparency+++IEA:…
Insight EU Climate Monitoring 13 December 2023
UNFCC states COP28 Agreement Signals “Beginning of the End” of the Fossil Fuel Era +++ EU negotiators secure agreement at…
Insight EU Energy Monitoring 13 December 2023
HYDROGEN: Klare Regeln für Unternehmen beschleunigen den Markthochlauf von grünem Wasserstoff +++ India Hydrogen Alliance gets seven new industry members…
EU Banking Package: EBA publishes implementation roadmap
The European Banking Authority (EBA) today published its roadmap on the Banking Package, which implements the final Basel III reforms…
Eurojust: Germany and Italy’s joint action on luxury car money laundering
Eurojust has assisted the German and Italian authorities in a coordinated action against large-scale money laundering through the fake long-term…
EU and UK launch Cyber Dialogue
In time of an evolving global cyber threat landscape, marked by Russia’s illegal military aggression against Ukraine, the exchange covers…
Joint western statement condemns violent act by extremist settlers against Palestinians
Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, the European Union, Finland, France, Ireland, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United…
Norway: Risk of residence permit loss for Ukrainian travel
Norwegian Ministry of Justice and Public Security today issued instructions to the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI), enabling the UDI…
EU Commission approves €1bn Slovak aid for net-zero transition
The European Commission has approved a €1 billion Slovak scheme to support investments for the production of equipment necessary to foster the transition towards…
EU Commission launches competition for 2026 European Green Capital and Green Leaf Awards
Today, the Commission is launching a call for European cities committed to sustainability to apply for the 2026 edition of the European…
EU reaches political agreements on key reviews of insurance rules
The review modernises the Solvency II Directive by giving better incentives to the insurance and reinsurance (i.e. insurance for insurance companies) sector…
EU Commission welcomes the agreement on the reform of the EU’s electricity market design
This deal will help the EU build a renewables-based energy system, lower energy bills and better protect consumers from price spikes and empower them to…
EU to invest more than €760m in digital transition and cybersecurity
Firstly, the amended main work programme with a 2024 budget of nearly €549 million will focus on deploying projects that use digital…
EU Commission sends request for information to Apple and Google under the DSA
Today, the European Commission formally sent requests for information under the Digital Services Act (DSA) to Apple and Google. The…
EU Commission welcomes political agreement on new rules on substances of human origin
The Commission welcomes the political agreement reached today between the European Parliament and the Council to further increase the safety and…
EU Commission welcomes global supply chain rules
The European Commission welcomes the political agreement reached between the European Parliament and the Council on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive.…
EU companies doubled R&D investment growth in 2022
Europe's industry significantly increased its investment in research and development in 2022, according to the 2023 edition of the EU Industrial…
EU Commission Executive VP Šefčovič and Commissioner Kyriakides on health cooperation with Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway
The European Commission will now intensify discussions with the EEA EFTA States on a framework for closer cooperation on the…
EU Court of Justice: Judgment in Case C-457/21 P (Commission v Amazon.com and Others)
The Court considers that the General Court wrongly recognised the arm’s length principle, which seeks to assess whether intra-group transactions…
EU Court of Justice: Judgment in Case C-109/22 – Commission v Romania (Closure of landfills)
In its judgment, the Court of Justice notes that Romania has still not closed 31 sites not authorised to be…
EU Court of Justice: Advocate General’s Opinion in Case C-626/22 (Ilva and Others)
Although measures to reduce the adverse environmental impact have been included in the permit conditions since 2012, the deadlines for…
Electricity market design: EU Council and Parliament reach deal to stabilise prices
Today the Council and the Parliament reached a provisional agreement to reform the EU’s electricity market design (EMD). The reform aims…
Corporate due diligence: EU Council and Parliament strike deal to protect environment and human rights
The Council and the European Parliament today reached a provisional deal on the corporate sustainability due diligence directive (CSDDD), which…
France: Fight against terrorism – Meeting on combating Hamas
As part of President Macron’s Initiative for peace and security for all, a meeting dedicated to combating Hamas took place…
Switzerland: Federal Council continues to follow international discussions on Russian assets
The Federal Council continues to closely monitor international discussions on the status of sanctioned Russian assets, and in particular legislative…
MEPs want to revise EU geo-blocking rules to eliminate remaining barriers
MEPs underscored the need to re-assess the EU’s rules on geo-blocking, particularly in light of the accelerated digital transformation and…
Finland sets positions for upcoming EU summits
With regard to enlargement, Finland’s view is that enlargement based on the applicant countries’ merits and fulfilment of membership criteria…
Circular construction products: EU Council and Parliament strike provisional deal
The Council and the European Parliament today reached a provisional agreement on the construction products regulation (CPR), that will speed…
IMF remarks: Leaving the Wild West – Taming Crypto and unleashing Blockchain
"As in old times when guests arrived from distant lands and huddled around a roaring fire, allow me to tell…