Denmark’s Minister of Employment, Peter Hummelgaard The Danish government has announced that a way forward has been found on regulating the demolition and installation of Man-Made Vitreous Fibres (MMVF), more commonly known as mineral wool. The material is a building insulation material that has been the subject of longstanding health concerns, including fears over a possible increased…
Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi recently signed a €70.2 million assistance programme for Serbia. The Commission says it is aiming to kick-start the EU economy by incentivising private investments. The Commission has proposed a new Solvency Support Instrument, which builds on the existing European Fund for Strategic Investments, to mobilise private resources to urgently support viable European companies…
A new report has found nuclear-armed states spent a record $73 billion on nuclear weapons in 2019, a $14 billion increase from 2018 expenditures. The United States, the center of the global coronavirus pandemic, accounted for nearly half of that spending. As the economies of the US, China, France, and Russia all contract, their nuclear spending is…
Last Thursday (4 June) the Commission launched a consultation of European trade unions and employers’ organisations on how to ensure fair minimum wages for all workers in the European Union. This follows the first-stage consultation which was open from 14 January to 25 February 2020, to which the Commission received replies from 23 EU-wide social…
How optimistic or pessimistic do people in the European Union view their personal future and the future of their country? How does this differ between EU member states? And how do these basic attitudes relate to party-political preferences? These questions are answered by the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s new eupinions study “The Optimism Paradox”. The key finding:…
To prepare for the risk of forest fires during the upcoming summer, the EU is further reinforcing its European fleet of firefighting aircraft under the rescEU system. The EU is financing purchases by the Swedish government of 2 new firefighting airplanes to add to the reserve. This adds up to a total of 13 airplanes…
“Do not lose sight of the geopolitical consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Western Balkans must not fall into the Russian disinformation trap. The region has a better future with the EU”. That is the message from German MEP Michael Gahler, EPP Group Spokesman for Foreign Affairs. He was speaking after the recent EU-Western Balkans…
By Maria Joao Rodrigues All crucial moments in the history of European integration have been like this: a deep crisis, a risk of collapse, a new collective solution. Will it be like this this time around? When the current legislature began, the European Union already had challenges enough: big power games on the global stage,…
The EU’s European Recovery Strategy with its Recovery Fund and the adapted Multiannual Financial is a bold step, said SMEunited President Alban Maggiar in a first reaction to last week’s announcement from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. He said it is a strong sign of solidarity combined with the will and the instruments…
A swift return to a fully functional Schengen area is needed to safeguard freedom of movement and ensure the EU’s economic recovery, says the Civil Liberties Committee. Civil Liberties Committee MEPs express their concern about the current situation of internal border controls in the Schengen area and their impact on people and businesses, in a resolution adopted last Thursday…
