The EESC is urging the creation of a European network of special ombudsmen to help SMEs cope with the financial and funding issues they are experiencing, particularly as a result of the COVID crisis. The Committee also stresses that for SMEs to take up AI there needs to be the political will to support them…
New data published by the Greens/EFA Group reveals the amount of housing being bought up and controlled as investment assets by large firms across Europe. The study, My home is an asset class: The Financialization of Housing in Europe, shows how investors, facilitated under the capital markets union, are rapidly buying up significant amounts of living…
EU fishermen could expand their fishing activities to the North Pacific Ocean already this year. The EU Committee on Fisheries agreed today to give consent to membership for the fishing convention in this area. MEPs voted unanimously (26-0) in favour of the report by MEP Bert-Jan Ruissen, which proposes opening up the northern pacific to…
A report published on Wednesday offers a way out of the crisis between Russia and the West over Ukraine’s future if all sides are willing to settle for less than their maximum demands. In “Murky Waters – the Black Sea and European security”, Paul Taylor, senior fellow at the Brussels think-tank Friends of Europe, outlines a…
The social economy can only attract suitable investments if there are dedicated financial instruments that balance social impact with acceptable returns for investors and fair risks to social enterprises, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) says in an opinion adopted at its January plenary session. Requested by the French presidency, which will make the social…
The European Court of Human Rights has issued a review of 2021. In 2021 the Court ruled on more than 36,000 applications. The number of Grand Chamber or Chamber judgments rose to 428 (relating to 1,037 applications), an increase of 9% compared to 2020. At the end of 2020 there were 62,000 pending applications. At…
ECR MEP Assita Kanko has reacted to news of the coup in her native country, Burkina Faso. “President Kaboré has been arrested by the army, my contacts in Burkina Faso have confirmed. I am holding my breath. Jihadists, a weakened army and a desperate government threaten the security of everyone on the ground. There has been…
“Unity and resolve, that’s what we expect from our Ministers of Foreign Affairs who will today discuss the situation around Ukraine. The country, whose citizens went onto the streets and died fighting for the European future of their country, cannot be turned down by cold pragmatism. We expect the European Union to show its strength…
President von der Leyen has issued the following statement on EU financial support for Ukraine “Last Friday, I spoke with President Zelensky to assess the situation in Ukraine created by Russia’s aggressive actions. We discussed how the EU could continue to support Ukraine both in the immediate and medium term. As ever, the EU stands…
The European Parliament and Commission are today releasing a joint Special Eurobarometer on the Future of Europe. As 2022 – designated European Year of Youth – begins, today’s survey highlights the views of young Europeans on the challenges facing the European Union, alongside the key role young people are playing in the future of the EU….
