The European Commission has disbursed €24.9 billion to Italy in pre-financing, equivalent to 13% of the country’s grant and loan allocation for the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) under NextGenerationEU. Italy is one of the first countries receiving a pre-financing payment under the RRF. The pre-financing will help to kick-start the implementation of the crucial…
The Commission has approved the modification of six Operational Programmes (OP) for the ERDF and the ESF in Spain, Bulgaria, Italy, Hungary and Germany under REACT-EU for a total of €2.7 billion. In Italy, €1 billion has been added to the ERDF-ESF National Operational Programme for Metropolitan Cities. These resources aim to strengthen the green and digital transition as well…
Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg has voiced concern at the current situation in Afghanistan. On Monday, he said, “NATO Allies met in the North Atlantic Council today to consult on the situation in Afghanistan. We continue to assess the developments on the ground, and we are in constant contact with the Afghan authorities and the…
A political agreement approving the proposal of the Spanish airport manager AENA to expand the El Prat airport in Barcelona was approved recently. The project aims to an increase of up to 20 million passengers in the coming years. The European Greens say they reject the expansion project, and express “our strongest opposition…
German Greens MEP Sven Giegold has called on the EU to offer protection for locally employed civilians in Afghanistan. He said, “The Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan has also put the local personnel of EU missions in the country at imminent risk. At least 600 local staff and their close family members of the EU Police…
On Monday 16 August a Vega launcher operated by Arianespace will lift off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, with the optical observation satellite Pléiades Neo 4. It will also deploy four scientific spacecraft: three to the benefit of the European Space Agency (ESA) and one for the French start-up company Unseenlabs. Pléiades Neo 4…
Responding to the publication of the ‘Physical Science Basis for the Sixth Assessment Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which unequivocally states that unprecedented CO2 emissions are leading to widespread, rapid and intensifying changes not seen for thousands of years, Our Fish Programme Director Rebecca Hubbard said: “This latest IPCC report is the…
While the focus in the EU is on the New Green Deal and making sure that the policies and regulatory framework are in place to help the EU members on the pathway to net zero, on the EU’s borders the commitment to renewables and decarbonisation is less clear, writes Jock Mendoza Wilson. To the east…
Summer is traditionally a calm time in the political life of states. While the world is recovering from the next wave of coronavirus, politicians in some countries seek to shift the news emphasis from the pandemic to their own personalities. Europe never tires of “delighting” its citizens with new events in political life. The diplomatic…
An emotional ceremony has been held at the Belgian mine where, 65 years ago, 262 miners, including 136 Italians were killed in an accident. The tragedy at the Bois du Cazier mine in Marcinelle, Charleroi happened in August 1956. On Sunday, a ceremony was held at the mine in memory of those who died. It…
