The European Court of Auditors sounds an alert about the EU’s budget in 2023: The rate of error in EU budget spending is estimated at 5.6 % for 2023. COVID recovery mechanism is affected by systemic weaknesses and irregular payments. Growing debt places an increasing burden on EU finances. Get the details and read how the EU Commission reacts.
The Secretary General of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Mr Juan Carlos Salazar, and the Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Prof. Celeste Saulo, recently signed an update to the agreement that strengthens the longstanding collaboration between the two organizations.
German holding company FWU AG has recently gone into insolvency and its Luxembourgish subsidiary FWU Life Insurance Lux S.A. (“FWU Luxembourg”) filed for a suspension of payment with the District Court of Luxembourg. Many policyholders have questions and are wondering what to do.
These are the headlines of our weekly Insight EU Finance Monitoring, published last Saturday. We publish the headlines of our Insight EU Monitoring mails delayed by several days. To receive real-time monitoring emails, subscribe to our annual target group full-text services on the Insight EU Store page.
The Plan, which is the largest EU financial support package since Moldova’s independence, will boost Moldova’s economy, bring the country closer to EU membership by accelerating reforms, and provide significant financial assistance.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) today published the spring edition of its risk assessment report (RAR). The report covers the EBA’s common risk assessment as well as the analysis of banks’ asset encumbrance and funding plan data, which had previously been published in two separate reports.
The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition of joint control of ITA Airways (‘ITA’) by Deutsche Lufthansa AG (‘Lufthansa’) and the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance (‘MEF’). The approval is conditional upon full compliance with the remedies offered by Lufthansa and the MEF.
Zum Abschluss der 16. Deutsch-Polnischen Regierungskonsultationen in Warschau hat Bundeskanzler Scholz die Bedeutung der Beziehungen Deutschlands zu Polen unterstrichen. Ein gemeinsamer Aktionsplan soll die Zusammenarbeit intensivieren.
The EU Commission has approved Bulgaria’s plans to grant postal operator Bulgarian Posts restructuring aid for up to €25.51 million (BGN 50 million). The measure will enable the company to restore its long-term viability while minimising competition distortions.
Today, the European Commission announced the sixth investment package under the EU’s Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans that is expected to mobilise €1.2 billion in investments.
The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a €3 billion (SEK 36 billion) Swedish scheme to support carbon capture and storage (‘CCS’) aimed at reducing carbon dioxide (‘CO2′) released during the combustion or processing of biomass (‘biogenic CO2′).
The fifth payment request covers important steps in the delivery of 14 reforms and 22 investments that will drive positive change for citizens and businesses in Italy in areas including competition law, public procurement, waste and water management, justice, the spending review framework, as well as secondary and tertiary education.
Today, the Commission endorsed a positive preliminary assessment of 19 out of the 20 milestones and targets linked to Belgium’s first payment request for €658 million (net of pre-financing) under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the centrepiece of NextGenerationEU.
Portugal achieved a remarkable recovery from the successive shocks that hit the global economy since the pandemic. Growth in 2023 continued to exceed the euro area average while inflation decelerated faster. A large fiscal surplus was achieved in 2023, and public debt was reduced by an impressive 36 percentage points of GDP since 2020.
The transaction relates primarily to the operation of renewable energy assets. The EU Commission concluded that it would not raise competition concerns.
The EU Commission launched a targeted consultation to seek feedback from the business community and public authorities on a proposed new procedure aimed at enabling public access to justice for specific Commission decisions on State aid measures, for challenges based on grounds related to alleged breaches of EU environmental law.
Today, the Commission has received Slovenia’s third payment request for €257.6 million. The fourth grant instalment and second loan instalment, which have been combined into one payment request, relate to eight milestones.
Today, the EU Commission has adopted the second Work Programme for the digital part of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Digital, which defines the scope and objectives of EU-funded actions to improve Europe’s digital connectivity infrastructures. These actions will receive around €865 million of funding from 2024 to 2027.
This summary contains the headlines of latest developments and positions concerning the governance of the Internet and data flows. Europe’s Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act gain momentum – as do the challenges of cybersecurity and desinformation.
Blockchain and its applications, in particular cryptocurrencies, have grabbed the headlines, but many people still do not know how they work. This briefing provides an overview of the uses and challenges of this technology, based on published information.
The increasing scale and severity of ransomware attacks is one element which heightens the risk to essential services and critical national infrastructure, and may therefore rise to the level of national and international security. In the longer-term, we anticipate witnessing more complex and high profile malicious cyber activities driven by AI-powered software.
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has issued a Request for Information (RFI) that will assist in the implementations of its responsibilities under the recent Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The Commission takes note of Adobe’s and Figma’s decision to terminate their agreement according to which Adobe intended to acquire sole control over Figma. This marks the end of the Commission’s investigation into this transaction. The abandonment follows the findings of the Commission’s in-depth investigation and the sending of a Statement of Objections on 17 November 2023.
The final sprint after a marathon run: Under Spain’s EU Presidency more than 190 trilogues have been held with the European Parliament, and more than 40 legislative dossiers have been adopted. President Sánchez has underlined his commitment to completing further dossiers before 31 December: “We are going to work until the last moment of the Presidency,” he assured.
In 2023, the share of people aged 16 to 74 who had at least basic overall digital skills was highest in the Netherlands (83%), followed by Finland (82%), and Denmark (70%). At the other end of the range, the lowest share was recorded in Romania (28%), Bulgaria (36%), and Poland (44%).
In time of an evolving global cyber threat landscape, marked by Russia’s illegal military aggression against Ukraine, the exchange covers cyber security and resilience, multilateral, regional and multi-stakeholder discussions, preparedness and response to cyber incidents and attacks, cybercrime, cyber defence as well as cyber capacity building to third countries.
Firstly, the amended main work programme with a 2024 budget of nearly €549 million will focus on deploying projects that use digital technologies such as data, cloud, and advanced digital skills. The work programme will roll out support for the smooth implementation of Digital Decade multi-country projects including opportunities for European Digital Infrastructure Consortia (EDICs). New actions will support the implementation of the AI Act and the development of a European AI ecosystem, including in particular SMEs.
MEPs underscored the need to re-assess the EU’s rules on geo-blocking, particularly in light of the accelerated digital transformation and surge in online shopping in recent years. The existing rules allow consumers to shop online and access services across borders without restriction, however MEPs say they must be applied fully and remaining barriers need to be removed.
The Plan, which is the largest EU financial support package since Moldova’s independence, will boost Moldova’s economy, bring the country closer to EU membership by accelerating reforms, and provide significant financial assistance.
“For many years, Lithuania warned Europe about the dangers of Russia. After 2014, you told us that Putin would simply not stop. And Europe should have listened. It took us too long to wake up to the threat of Putin’s Russia. But today our Union stands firmly at your side, for freedom and against aggression” – EU Commission President von der Leyen in Vilnius.
“We are facing a crucial moment in the history of our European project, where once more the far right is attempting to bring back the darkest pages of our history, challenging everything we built and poisoning our democracies. The European Union has always stood firm against the threats of extremism, from all sides of the political spectrum.”
49 frontline practitioners from EU and ASEAN Member States took part in the two-day event to strengthen approaches to the management of extremist and high-risk inmates in the prison system and their transition back to life on the outside.
From the beginning of Russia’s war against Ukraine, the EU Commission, national, regional and local authorities, together with civil society and international organisations, have worked to facilitate the reception and the integration of people fleeing the war in Ukraine.
The EU Commission has quadrupled to over EUR 100 million its humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians, especially in the Gaza Strip. The Commission has also disbursed an additional EUR 10 million in support of United Nations Relief and Works Agency – UNRWA’s program budget on 6 November 2023.
The EU Foreign Affairs Council had an orientation debate on 18 March 2024 regarding the question of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. The Council agreed to continue following this question closely and to invite the Foreign Minister of Israel for a discussion on this matter.
The Government has decided to submit the Agreement on Defense Cooperation bill between Sweden and the United States to the Swedish Riksdag. The agreement complements Sweden’s NATO accession and strengthens the country’s defence by facilitating US military presence in Sweden.
The Vice-President, together with representatives of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, will discuss issues related to Russia’s war against Ukraine, the rule of law, and the fight against organised crime, among others.
In light of intensified terrorist activity in the Middle East, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an Advisory to assist financial institutions in detecting potentially illicit transactions related to Islamic Republic of Iran-backed terrorist organizations.
The EU Commission has launched a series of actions to raise awareness of the risks of disinformation, information manipulation and foreign interference, in the run-up to the European elections.
According to Advocate General Richard de la Tour, a Member State’s refusal to recognise changes of forename and gender acquired in another Member State is contrary to the rights of EU citizens.
Ministers held a discussion on the situation in Ukraine and on the Ukraine Plan, aimed at unblocking the disbursements under the first pillar of the Ukraine Facility for 2024-2027, conditioned by the progress of Ukraine’s reform and investment agenda.
On Thursday and Friday, EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra will participate in the Pre-COP29 meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan. With just a month to go until the COP29 UN Climate Change Conference (11 – 22 November), this meeting is a key opportunity for ministers from across the globe to come together ahead of the formal UN climate negotiations.
A large business delegation from Belgium is visiting Norway this week. Several Belgian energy companies participate in the delegation, which is led by Princess Astrid. During the visit, a joint declaration on offshore wind and an agreement of intent on pipeline transport of CO2 between the countries were signed.
The new law aims to increase the availability of infrastructure through better planning and allocation processes, as well as improved cross-border coordination and is expected to significantly contribute to a more efficient management of rail infrastructure capacity and traffic.
The EU Council agreed its negotiating position on a new regulation on the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), a revised directive on harmonised river information systems (RIS) on inland waterways and a new regulation on the use of railway infrastructure capacity in the single European railway area.
CEER presents its Work Programme on an annual basis to tackle the evolving challenges posed by energy market developments.
The EU Council adopted today its negotiating position (general approach) on a new regulation strengthening the role of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA). This is the last piece of legislation that is part of the so-called ‘maritime safety’ legislative package.
The two EU Commissioners comment on the agenda and outcome of the EU Environment Council.
To accept carbon pricing, citizens desire viable alternatives to fossil-fuel based options, the authors of a new Comment published in Nature Climate Change write. They suggest a new argument for how to understand the public’s response to carbon pricing and how to ensure successful climate policy.
ACER is collecting views on its concrete proposals to amend the network code on grid connection requirements for high voltage direct current systems and related power park modules (NC HVDC).
Executive Vice-President Šefčovič will co-chair the Fifth EU-China High-Level Environment and Climate Dialogue (HECD) in Brussels, with the participation of Commissioners Sinkevičius and Hoekstra. The HECD is a key platform to enhance bilateral cooperation between the EU and China on domestic and international policies.
The measure contributes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution and noise in line with the objectives of the European Green Deal.
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