Women in the European Union still earn less than men. The gender pay gap in the EU-27 has slightly improved since last year: from 14.5% to 14.1% according to the latest Eurostat findings. The European Equal Pay Day marks the day when women symbolically stop getting paid compared to their male colleagues for the same…
Following the selection announcement in August, the Commission has now signed grant agreements, under Horizon 2020, with 23 new research projects that will receive a total of €128 million to address the continuing coronavirus pandemic and its effects. The funding will enable additional research to strengthen and adapt industrial capacity to manufacture and deploy medical equipment.This…
EU countries that disrespect the rule of law will risk losing access to EU funds, under a provisional deal struck by Parliament and Council negotiators. “Today’s agreement is a milestone for protecting EU values. For the first time, we have established a mechanism that enables the EU to stop funding governments that disrespect our values…
The coronavirus pandemic represents a very large shock for the global and EU economies, with very severe economic and social consequences. Economic activity in Europe suffered a severe shock in the first half of the year and rebounded strongly in the third quarter as containment measures were gradually lifted. However, the resurgence of the pandemic…
The Council (member states) have added 15 members of the Belarusian authorities, including Alexandr Lukashenko as well as his son and National Security Adviser Viktor Lukashenko to its sanctions list. This is the list of individuals sanctioned in relation to the violent repression and intimidation of peaceful demonstrators, opposition members and journalists after the 2020 presidential election in Belarus….
A 2nd lockdown and dark nights. No end in sight to the coronavirus crisis and winter stretching out in front of us. On the face of it, there isn’t much to be cheerful about. But one bit of much needed cheer is the ability of eateries to still offer a service, albeit of the takeaway…
The Annual Meeting of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), attended online today by 53 delegates from journalists’ unions and associations from 38 European countries, expressed its full support for Belarusian journalists in the face of repression. In Belarus, during and after the 9 August presidential elections, the media, journalists and bloggers were the target of increased…
The European Securities Markets Authority (ESMA) has presented its long-awaited report on the role of the German financial supervisor BaFin and the German Financial Reporting Enforcement Panel (FREP) in the Wirecard accounting scandal. In Germany, BaFin and FREP are jointly responsible for the enforcement of financial reporting. ESMA publishes guidelines aimed at harmonising enforcement throughout…
The Eurogroup says it had a thorough discussion on the economic outlook in view of current COVID-19 developments. On Tuesday, the Eurogroup was briefed by the Director of the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC), Dr. Andrea Ammon, on the ECDC’s analysis of the pandemic. The Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and…
The European parliament’s Committee for Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) of the European Parliament has adopted its position on the so-called “MiFID quick fix” which amends the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID). The MiFID sets the key rules for stock exchanges, financial trading platforms, consumer protection in financial markets and rules for the speculation…
