In 2023, the EU exported 8.5 million tonnes of recyclable products (paper, plastic and glass) to extra-EU countries, a 34% increase from 2022 (6.4 million tonnes), while imports dropped by 19% to 3.2 million tonnes, down from 4.0 million tonnes in 2022.
The joint report identifies threats such as cyber-attacks and espionage activities from state-sponsored threat actors and cyber criminals in both sectors. Supply chains, especially regarding 5G networks and renewable energy infrastructures, are at particular risk.
The European Commission has today adopted a delegated act that postpones by one year (i.e. until 1 January 2026) the date of application of one part the Basel III standards in the EU – the Fundamental Review of the Trading Book (FRTB). The FRTB incorporates more sophisticated risk measurement techniques that aim to align capital charges more closely to the actual risks banks are facing in their activities in capital markets.
According to the EU Commission, most Member States and the EU as a whole are much better prepared to detect, prevent and address rule of law challenges. This contributes to a highter degree of resilience of EU democracies. It also contributes to the functioning of the single market and benefits a business environment fostering competitiveness and sustainable growth.
At the EU Justice Council meeting in Luxembourg, justice ministers addressed the fight against impunity in the context of Russia’s war of aggression and the implementation of the EU anti-racism action plan.
The transaction relates primarily to petroleum refining, power generation, and wholesale distribution of refined petroleum products, mainly in Italy and Spain.
The transaction relates primarily to the construction and maintenance of railway and metro infrastructures.
The transaction relates primarily to the market for wholesale and distribution of electrical products in Italy.
The EU Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of sole control of KaDeWe retail store, Tauentzienstraße 21-24 Immobilien GmbH & Co. KG (‘Berlin Property’) of Germany by Central Group (‘Central’) of Thailand.
The transaction relates primarily to the creation and operation of onshore wind parks in Germany.
The agreement paves the way for improved financing terms, including lower interest rates, and is supported by InvestEU, an EU programme to mobilise at least €372 billion for EU policy priorities by 2027.
The aerospace ecosystem’s stakeholders will be invited in the next weeks to propose commitments to turn the pathway into reality, with the Commission’s support and cooperation.
The Agricultural de minimis Regulation exempts small amounts from State aid control since they are deemed to have no impact on competition and trade in the Single Market.
The robust growth performance reflects buoyant domestic demand as the strong labor market and the authorities’ policies have supported household income and EU funds have boosted investment.
Lithuania has experienced fast income convergence over the past two decades and the economy is projected to return to growth this year after a shallow recession. However, positive inflation differentials following the shock triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have had an impact on competitiveness.
Luxembourg’s government has approved a mix of temporary and permanent measures to reinvigorate growth and boost competitiveness. The moderately expansionary fiscal stance is broadly appropriate to support growth, but more targeted and temporary measures would have been more efficient.
Eight months of war in the Gaza Strip have caused loss of jobs and livelihoods on a massive scale and a sharp decline in GDP in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), a new brief by the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) reports.
Today, the EU Commission has sent a request for information (RFI) to Temu requesting the platform to provide detailed information and internal documents on the mitigation measures taken against the presence and reappearance of traders selling illegal products on its online marketplace.
URBAN FUTURE Update on Urban Future: Making cities sustainable! EUROCITIES Ghent hosts cities for end to energy
Brussels, 2 May 2023 The EU Digital Markets Act (DMA) applies from today. The DMA aims to
Geneva, 1 May 2023 AI is helping to identify skills gaps and future jobs. An
Brussels, 27 April 2023 Increased interference and information manipulation is expected ahead of the 2024
Brussels, 25 April 2023 Today, the Commission adopted the first designation decisions under the Digital Services
SMART ADMINISTRATION MEPs: Accelerating the digitalisation of key public services NEW EUROPEAN BAUHAUS New European Bauhaus:
Brussels, 24 April 2023 The Council has cleared a new EU law establishing a digital
Luxembourg, 24 April 2023 Member states have made limited use of EU support for the
Brussels, 21 April 2023 On Monday, 24 April, the 4th edition of the EU Macro-Regional Strategies
Strasbourg, 19 April 2023 The new EU legislative package on crypto-assets* that will be voted
At the EU Justice Council meeting in Luxembourg, justice ministers addressed the fight against impunity in the context of Russia’s war of aggression and the implementation of the EU anti-racism action plan.
A strong commitment to defence means that a larger share of public funds will be spent on our armed forces and overall resilience. With this in mind, the Government will propose extra funding for defence in the revised national budget, ensuring that Norway will meet NATO’s guideline of spending two percent of gross domestic product (GDP) on defence in 2024. All NATO countries have since 2014 shared this ambition and now, Norway fully demonstrates our commitment. Up until now the Norwegian ambition was to reach this goal in 2026.
A cross-border investigation led by the Romanian Border Police (Poliția de Frontieră), supported by Europol and involving the Bulgarian General Directorate Combating Organised Crime (Главна Дирекция Борба с организираната престъпност) and the German Police (Bundespolizeiinspektion Waidhaus), has resulted in the dismantling of an organised crime group involved in migrant smuggling. The group were smuggling migrants from Bulgaria to Romania, across the Danube river, and then toward Western Europe.
The European Commission completed the evaluation under the ASAP Regulation in record time and selected 31 projects to assist European industry in increasing its ammunition production and readiness. The selected projects cover five areas: explosives, powder, shells, missiles, and testing and reconditioning certification.
Farmers are faced by increasing uncertainties, in particular caused by geopolitical events such as Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine. We must further support farmers in this current context. The main goal of these legislative proposals is to further ease the administrative burden for EU farmers and give farmers and Member States greater flexibility for complying with certain environmental conditionalities, without reducing the overall level of ambition when it comes to the environmental and climate protection objectives of the EU agricultural policy. Through these proposed changes, it will be possible to apply certain standards in a way that is more compatible with the every-day realities that farmers face on the ground.
Today, the Commission has formally sent requests for information under the Digital Services Act (DSA) to Bing and Google Search (Very Large Online Search Engines, or VLOSEs), as well as to Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, and X (Very Large Online Platforms, or VLOPs). The Commission is requesting these services to provide more information on their respective mitigation measures for risks linked to generative AI, such as so-called ‘hallucinations’ where AI provides false information, the viral dissemination of deepfakes, as well as the automated manipulation of services that can mislead voters.
It is a great pleasure to be here today. I am very thankful for the exceptional hospitality we have experienced here on the Faroe Islands. This is certainly an experience I will never forget. My visit today shows how much the European Union values our partnership and friendship. It is a trusted partnership, and a natural partnership, because of course the Faroe Islands belong to the wider European family. We share the same values. We are democracies, actively promoting stability and a global order that is based on rules. Your support to the brave nation of Ukraine is truly commendable, and we join forces here. I want to thank you for your efforts to align on our sanctions against Russia. I know that it comes at a cost for the Faroe Islands, which makes us more impressed by your clear stance. And rest assured we stand by your side what this is concerned. And with our new Declaration on enhanced cooperation, that we have signed just a minute ago, we are basically opening a new chapter in our economic and our political cooperation. Let me deep-dive a little bit on that topic.
The world faces greater challenges than it has for generations. Rising competition with authoritarian states including Russia and China, war in Europe and the Middle East, terrorism, cyber-attacks and the climate crisis. We need NATO more than ever. Europe and North America, united in NATO, stand strong and ready to protect and defend our 32 countries and one billion people. In 2023, our Alliance became bigger, stronger and more capable. Finland became a NATO Ally, and only last week we welcomed Sweden as a member. At our Vilnius Summit in July 2023, Allies agreed robust new defence plans, backed by hundreds of thousands of troops at a high state of readiness, ready to defend every inch of NATO territory.
The update of the Victims’ Rights Directive focuses on addressing the shortcomings of the 2012 directive by ensuring victims are informed about their rights. It also proposes a quicker assessment of vulnerable victims (such as children, older people, persons with disabilities, victims of hate crime and victims in detention), seeks to ensure they can access specialist support, and improves support for victims to participate in criminal proceedings through better legal advice. Child victims should have access to specialised and age-appropriate services, including psychological and psychosocial services and legal aid, to support them.
On Thursday, negotiators from Parliament and Council reached a provisional agreement on updating rules to trace import and export of civilian firearms more effectively. The revised regulation aims to make import and export of firearms in the EU more transparent and more traceable, reducing the risk of trafficking. Under the updated and more harmonised rules, all imports and a vast majority of export of firearms for civilian use will be subject to closer supervision without compromising trade.
Under the new law, adopted by 464 votes in favour to 92 against and 65 abstentions, member states will be obliged to protect media independence and all forms of interventions in editorial decisions will be banned.
In Cambodia, the EU is committed to support the country’s integration into ASEAN and the upcoming graduation from Least Developed Country by championing Green Growth and Decent Jobs.
High Representative Borrell stressed the need for more, faster and sustained military assistance to Ukraine. He commended the US for their latest decision on additional military aid and stressed that victory for Ukraine rested on the maintenance of our strong transatlantic bond. They also discussed efforts to promote a just and lasting peace, including global outreach initiatives such as Ukraine’s Peace Formula.
The EU Commission has approved the acquisition of joint control of NTS Middle East of the United Arab Emirates by ADNOC Drilling Company, Alpha Dhabi Holding, both of the United Arab Emirates, and Tubacex of Spain. The transaction relates primarily to the provision of specialised machining services to the oil and gas sector.
The transition to a circular economy is pivotal for achieving sustainability goals, especially within the clean tech sector. Platforms can play a crucial role in facilitating this transition by connecting stakeholders, streamlining resource flows, and enabling efficient material reuse through the creation and scale-up of marketplaces.
In its aim to improve methods and tools for this assessment, CCE provided new region-wide applications of the empirical critical loads for nitrogen and the critical levels for ammonia.
ACER approves the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity’s (ENTSO-E’s) European Resource Adequacy Assessment for 2023 (ERAA 2023). However, ACER also calls for further enhancements in the next annual assessment (ERAA 2024).
Infants under six months, unimmunised or partially immunised, face the highest risk of severe disease outcomes, with the majority of pertussis-related hospitalisation and deaths occurring in this vulnerable age group.
“Antimicrobial resistance is the silent pandemic’ of our lifetime. It is not just a health crisis but is an economic one too” – EU Commissioner Kyriakides.
The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of sole control of East Grain of Romania by Agrofert of Czechia. The transaction relates primarily to the trade of cereals, oilseeds, animal feed and mineral fertilizers.
The transaction relates primarily to the renewable energy 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.
ACER has prepared a policy paper which proposes potential improvements to the network code. The paper will serve as a starting point for the consultation to collect feedback and further proposals from stakeholders.
The appointment, which was agreed by Board members via written procedure, means Dr. Url will continue to lead EFSA as the recruitment process for the Authority’s next Executive Director, due to be completed next year, moves forward.
The European Union and its Member States welcome the convening of the 4thInternational Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS)1 on 27-30 May 2024 in Antigua and Barbuda. The theme, ‘Charting the Course Toward Resilient Prosperity’ is highly relevant to both SIDS and the EU.
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