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.
“If you voted for Labour yesterday we will carry the responsibility of your trust, as we rebuild our country. But whether you voted Labour or not… In fact – especially if you did not… I say to you, directly… My government will serve you. Politics can be a force for good – we will show that. And that is how we will govern. Country first, party second” – UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The President of Russia paid a two-day working visit to Astana to participate in a meeting of the Heads of State Council of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). He held a series of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit. Insight EU Monitoring has collected the Kremlin’ minutes covering these meetings.
A visit of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to Russia has triggered tensions between the European Union and Hungary that had just taken over the EU Council Presidency on 1 July 2024. According to newly appointed EU High Representative Kaja Kallas, Orbán “is exploiting the EU presidency position to sow confusion. The EU is united, clearly behind Ukraine and against Russian aggression”.
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 EU auditors found that, while the European Commission ensures that irregular expenditure is recorded accurately and promptly, getting this money back often takes too long. For jointly managed agricultural funds where member states have primary responsibility, recovery rates are generally low, but with significant differences between EU countries.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) today published three sets of final draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) and one set of final draft implementing technical standards (ITS) under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR).
The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the creation of a joint venture by AB Volvo (‘Volvo’) of Sweden and Westport Fuel Systems Inc. (‘Westport’) of Canada.
The EU Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of joint control of Bahía de Bizkaia Electricidad S.L. (‘BBE’) by Ente Vasco de la Energía (‘EVE’), both of Spain, and Gunvor Group Ltd (‘Gunvor’) of Cyprus.
At the end of April, the EU Commission completed the work on the legal text of the Association Agreements, based on the positive, ambitious outcome of our negotiations last December. The proposal is now awaiting the green light from the EU Council.
The new legislation provides safeguards against political interference in editorial decisions and against surveillance of journalists. The Act guarantees that media can operate more easily in the internal market and online. Additionally, the regulation aims to secure the independence and stable funding of public service media as well as the transparency of media ownership and state advertising.
The EU Foreign Affairs Council gave its final green light to the Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans, a new instrument supporting EU-related reforms and economic growth in the region.
The EU and its Member States are collectively the world’s largest development partner and trading bloc, a leading global investor and the second-largest humanitarian donor.
The Council reiterates the EU’s commitment to support all persons in vulnerable situations, leaving no-one behind, and to reinforce the existing assistance to developing countries inpreparing for and responding to climate impacts, notably through resilience and capacity building, as well as adaptation measures.
In 2023, 118935 non-EU citizens were refused entry into the EU territory at one of its external borders, a 16% decrease compared with 142420 in the previous year. An additional 1.27 million people were found to be illegally present in one of the EU countries, indicating a 13% increase compared with 1.12 million in 2022.
The EBA continued its work by finalising the implementation of the Basel III framework in the EU, implementing the ESG roadmap, and delivering on its digital finance mandates under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR) and the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA).
The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of joint control of OONA Energy Partners 3, LLC (‘Oona Energy’) by Stonepeak Partners LP (‘Stonepeak’), both of the US, and Ørsted A/S (‘Orsted’) of Denmark.
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.
18 November 2022 * This is a joint press release issued by the Council of
Brussels, 18 November 2022 The Council today adopted its position on a draft regulation aimed
Brussels, 18 November 2022 Today, High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell co-hosted the EU-Central Asia Connectivity Conference
Brussels, 17 November 2022 The network of European telecommunication satellites will be active from 2024,
Brussels, 17 November 2022 In the context of the EU Raw Materials Week 2022, Vice-President
Brussels, 17 November 2022 The Commission has launched an invitation to companies, public administrations and
Brussels, 16 November 2022 Joint press release by the Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese,
Take the Ukrainian defense experience to guarantee the security of your people – speech by
14 November 2022 In its Opinion published today, the EDPS welcomes the objectives pursued in
Brussels, 14 November 2022 This is Spain’s third payment request and relates to 24 milestones and 5 targets covering
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 European Union and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan reconfirmed the strength of their partnership and willingness to further increase their cooperation on political, security, trade and cooperation matters at the 13th Association Committee, held on Tuesday 6 February in Amman. Held in the framework of the EU- Jordan Association Agreement and EU-Jordan Partnership Priorities for 2021-2027 adopted in June 2022, the meeting was co-chaired by Rosamaria Gili, Deputy Managing Director for the Middle East and North Africa at the European External Action Service (EEAS), and Marwan Al-Refai, Secretary General of the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation (MOPIC).
The proposed rule would require certain professionals involved in real estate closings and settlements to report information to FinCEN about non-financed transfers of residential real estate to legal entities or trusts. FinCEN’s proposal is tailored to target residential real estate transfers considered to be high-risk for money laundering, while minimizing potential business burden, and it would not require reporting of transfers made to individuals.
The ties between Switzerland and Norway have deep historical roots. Both sides acknowledged this and emphasised their shared values and interests also in the present. In addition to the role of EFTA in a dynamic free trade policy, President Amherd and Prime Minister Gahr Støre discussed their countries’ good bilateral economic relations and lively exchange in the area of research and development as well as on climate protection. Switzerland and Norway also work together on promoting human rights, on issues such as human security and development, and in consular affairs.
Pursuant to paragraph 5 of Presidential Executive Order No. 520, dated August 5, 2022, On Special Economic Measures in the Financial and Fuel-and-Energy Spheres in Connection with the Unfriendly Actions by Certain Foreign States and International Organisations, Vladimir Putin issued a directive to allow Sberbank of Russia to conduct transactions and operations entailing direct and/or indirect encumbrance of ownership rights, the use and/or management of stakes constituting statutory capital of the following limited liability companies:
Neftegazopromyslovye Tekhnologii, SIBINTEK Intensive Technologies Enterprise, Sladkovsko-Zarechnoye, UntygeiNeft and YurskNeft.
The allegations against the 12 UNRWA employees have already been referred to the UN’s Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS). An investigation is underway and an interim report will be submitted in late March 2024. The UN Secretary-General has also appointed an independent Review Group to carry out a broad assessment of UNRWA’s work. The Chr. Michelsens Institute (CMI) in Norway is participating in the review.
And let me say, frankly, that for many years, corruption was the weak spot of Ukraine’s society. It has cost you a major gap in your development for the last 30 years. President [of Ukraine, Volodymyr] Zelenskyy was elected with a mandate to fight corruption. There has been recent progress in law and enforcement and your better position [yourselves] in Transparency International Annual Corruption Perceptions Index – which is the measure of how a country faces the challenges of corruption – is clearly improving. It is clearly positive. It should encourage you, but more has to be done.
Today, the Commission signed an agreement with Türkiye on a €400 million grant from the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) to finance post-disaster recovery operations after the devastating earthquakes that hit the country in early 2023.
The signing of the agreement took place in Brussels, between Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms Elisa Ferreira and Turkish Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mehmet Kemal Bozay.
Yes, Ukraine remains a top priority for the European Union and your European Union membership [remains a priority too].
And thank you for your extensive and comprehensive review of all the issues on which we have to continue engaging, both on our military support, and on the necessary reforms that you have to develop on this European path that touches a lot of issues from transportation, to energy, to reconstruction, to trade.
We will continue discussing that at the next Association Council meeting scheduled for the first days of March, in Brussels.
In its regular package of infringement decisions, the European Commission pursues legal action against Member States for failing to comply with their obligations under EU law. These decisions, covering various sectors and EU policy areas, aim to ensure the proper application of EU law for the benefit of citizens and businesses.
The new law lays down minimum rules concerning the definition of specific criminal offences and penalties to address this form of violence. It also sets out rights of victims of all forms of violence against women or domestic violence, and provides for their protection.
On Tuesday, Parliament and Council reached an agreement on reforming the Schengen Borders Code. The reform aims to strengthen free movement within the Schengen area, clarify rules, and reduce the amount of temporarily reinstated border controls inside the zone.
Today, the Commission is adopting a proposal to update the criminal law rules on child sexual abuse and sexual exploitation. Child sexual abuse is a heinous crime which has evolved significantly over the past years. These revised rules expand the definitions of offences and introduce higher penalties and more specific requirements for prevention and assistance to victims. They are complementary to the proposal for a Regulation that the Commission put forward in 2022 – which sets out obligations for internet companies to detect, report and remove child sexual abuse material on their services.
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 EU Commission has approved amendments to existing Dutch schemes that compensate livestock farmers for the voluntary definitive closure of livestock husbandry sites. These measures aim at reducing nitrogen deposition in overburdened Natura 2000 protected areas.
The EU Commission President spoke at the Clean Transition Dialogue on Transport and Mobility, gathering stakeholders and representatives from ports and shipyards, trains and airlines, cars, busses, trucks, the recharging infrastructure and the alternative fuels producers.
The investment aid will support the establishment of a new electric passenger vehicles production plant in Valaliky near Košice in Eastern Slovakia. It shall contribute to the EU’s strategic objectives relating to job creation, regional development and the European Green Deal.
ACER releases its report on the Dutch gas transmission tariffs, directed at Autoriteit Consument & Markt (ACM), the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) of the Netherlands.
EU Commissioner Sinkevičius discusses cooperation on environmental protection, deforestation, sustainable cocoa and coffee production, sustainable management of natural resources, and partnership agreements to support inclusive growth.
Based on its in-depth investigation, the EU Commission found that the concerned large agricultural companies had in fact received aid on the basis of Czech schemes that were block-exempted under the Agricultural Block Exemption Regulation that should only be accessible to small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The agreement marks a significant step towards securing a diversified and sustainable supply of CRMs for the green and digital transitions both in the EU and Uzbekistan.
Many countries have used energy subsidies to cushion the effects of high energy prices on households and firms. What did they achieve?
The EU, the United States, and other Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) partners, joined by Kazakhstan, Namibia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan, announced the launch of a Minerals Security Partnership Forum.
The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a €350 million German scheme to support the production of renewable hydrogen through the European Hydrogen Bank’s Auctions-as-a-Service tool.
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