Confirmation hearings of potential EU commissioners are a key moment for the EU Parliament. They have changed a lot over the years and have had a big impact.
Nigerian criminal networks have long been renowned for trafficking in human beings and a variety of fraud, but in recent years they have also gained a strong foothold in drug trafficking across several EU markets. In this crime area, Nigerian drug traffickers are particularly active in transporting and distributing both cocaine and heroin. One of the most commonly observed modus operandi for transporting drugs in and out of the EU
A delay of more than three hours was announced in respect of two flights from Düsseldorf to Palma de Mallorca operated by the airline Laudamotion. Worried that the delay of the flight on which they had a reservation would cause them to miss a business appointment, two passengers decided not to take their flights. The first passenger’s flight arrived with a delay of 3 hours and 32 minutes. As for
The Court leaves it to the national court to determine, first, whether the element of the radiator grille in question is identical with, or similar to, the AUDI trade mark and, secondly, whether the radiator grille is identical with, or similar to, one or more of the goods in respect of which that trade mark is registered. Nevertheless, if the national court considers that the AUDI trade mark has a
The Council has today adopted its position (negotiating mandate) on the regulation prohibiting products made with forced labour on the EU market. The negotiating mandate of the Council supports the overall objective of combatting forced labour, and it introduces several improvements to the proposed text. The Council mandate clarifies the scope of the regulation by including products offered for distance sales, envisages the creation of a forced labour single portal,
Third-country nationals from Ukraine are obliged to leave the Netherlands within 28 days after 4 March. This is a consequence of a decision delivered by the Council of State. The highest judicial body determined at the start of this month that what are known as third-country nationals are no longer entitled to residence under the Temporary Protection Directive (RTB) after 4 March. It concerns a group of approximately 2,760 people
The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of sole control of Dustin Group AB by Axel Johnson AB, both of Sweden. The transaction relates primarily to the IT sector. The Commission concluded that the notified transaction would not raise competition concerns, given that the companies are not active in the same or vertically related markets. The notified transaction was examined under the simplified merger review
The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of joint control of Simulation Software Holding Company Pty Ltd, (‘Energy Exemplar’) of Australia, by Blackstone Inc. (‘Blackstone’) and Vista Equity Partners Management, LLC (‘Vista’), both of the US.
The transaction relates primarily to the provision of energy market modelling and analytics software for the electricity, water, gas and renewables sectors.
The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition of sole control of Air Europa Holding, S.L. (‘Air Europa’) by International Consolidated Airlines Group, S.A. (‘IAG’). The Commission has preliminary concerns that the transaction may reduce competition in the market for passenger air transport services on several domestic, short-haul and long-haul routes in and out of Spain.
These cover a set of transformative reforms such as tax reforms to promote the electrification of industry and encourage investment in low-carbon technologies, tax incentives to promote sustainable transport and the use of electric vehicles, improvements to employment opportunities through matching continuous learning opportunities with labour market needs and key legislation in the context of the social, healthcare and rescue services reform.
The Commission has concerns that, between 2011 and 2019, the six salmon producers, exchanged commercially sensitive information, relating to sales prices, available volumes, sales volumes, production volumes and production capacities, as well as other price-setting factors. The suspected aim of this alleged conduct was to reduce normal uncertainty in the market for spot sales of Norwegian farmed Atlantic salmon into the EU.
Under the new rules, political advertising will have to be clearly labelled. Citizens, authorities and journalists will be able to easily obtain information on why they are seeing an ad, who is financing it, where are they established, how much have they paid and to which elections or referendum the message is linked. All political advertising and related information will be stored in a public online repository.
The European Commission has issued a reinforced guidance on ethical standards for Members of the Commission who take part in electoral campaigns for the European Parliament. In addition, dedicated guidelines have also been developed regarding participation in election campaigns at Member State level.
The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the creation of a joint venture by Mercedes-Benz Group China Ltd. (‘Mercedes-Benz’) of China, controlled by Mercedes-Benz Group AG of Germany, and BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd. (‘BMW’) of China, controlled by Bayerische Motoren Werke AG of Germany.
The transaction relates primarily to the market for public charging infrastructure networks for battery-powered cars in China.
Mental health and wellbeing among children and young people are a growing concern in Europe. This is why, today, the Commission has launched a two-year multi-country project to support four Member States undertake reforms to improve the provision of mental health and wellbeing support to this target group. With this Technical Support Instrument (TSI) project, the Commission in collaboration with UNICEF will work with the authorities of Cyprus, Slovenia, Italy
The European Commission has today adopted a Communication outlining its strategic vision to foster the internal development and use of lawful, safe and trustworthy Artificial Intelligence systems. With this, the Commission anticipates and prepares internally for the implementation of the EU AI Act, the world’s first comprehensive law on AI. It includes concrete actions about how the Commission will build institutional and operational capacity to ensure safe, transparent, and human-centred
The European Commission wants to support European startups and SMEs in the development of trustworthy Artificial Intelligence (AI) that respects EU values and rules. This follows the political agreement reached in December 2023 on the EU AI Act – the world’s first comprehensive law on Artificial Intelligence.
Today, the Commission proposes to revise the European Works Councils (EWCs) Directive to further improve social dialogue in the EU. EWCs are information and consultation bodies that ensure that employees are involved in decisions related to transnational issues. They concern companies with more than 1,000 employees operating in at least two EU or European Economic Area (EEA) countries. Meaningful information and consultation of employees in key company decisions can help
Every year over 7000 people become victims of human trafficking in the EU. The actual number is likely to be much higher as many victims remain undetected. Trafficking in human beings is a heinous crime against the most vulnerable people in our society. This human tragedy is exploited for ruthless profit. The yearly cost of trafficking in human beings in the EU is estimated to be up to 2.7 billion
EU supplementary certificates should cut red tape and costs related to protection of patented medicinal and plant protection products.
To help patent holders cover the costs invested into research of innovative substances, MEPs of the Legal Affairs Committee approved their position on EU and supplementary protection certificates for medicinal products such as medicines and vaccines and plant protection products, such as innovative pesticides. These tools extend the 20-year term
The Legal Affairs Committee adopted on Wednesday, with 13 votes for, no votes against and 10 abstentions, its position on new rules to support the so-called standard-essential patents (SEPs). These patents protect cutting-edge technologies, such as Wi-Fi or 5G, which are essential to a technical standard, meaning that e.g. no Internet of Things (IoT) products can be developed without using them. They also play a key role in the development
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