Focus on Apple’s Competition Policy Compliance

Photo by Roberto Nickson on Unsplash

Photo by Roberto Nickson on Unsplash The European Commission has designated Apple with respect to iPadOS, its operating system for tablets, as a gatekeeper under the digital markets act (“DMA”).  Apple now has six months to ensure full compliance of iPadOS with the DMA obligations. The case dates to 5 September 2023 when the Commission designated Apple as a…

EU sanctions against insurance companies and the risk of environmental disasters

Tobago Disaster

Alessandro Bertoldi, Executive Director of the Milton Friedman Institute, invites the EU to revise the sanctions regime against insurance companies to reduce the risks of environmental disaster in light of a recent naval incident and oil spill off Tobago. On the 7th of February, a critical incident unfolded off the south shore of Tobago when…

Ambassador Hails Belgium-China Co-operation

Chinese Ambassador to Belgium

China will seek to “embrace the world in its opening-up process,” says the country’s ambassador to Belgium. Ambassador Cao Zhongming was speaking in Brussels at an event hosted by the Belgian-Chinese Chamber of Commerce (BCECC). The outgoing diplomat said he “appreciates” the long-time optimism about China of the Belgian business community and the “great efforts”…

EU Not Attractive as Business Location

Photo by Fas Khan on Unsplash

Photo by Fas Khan on Unsplash There has been no improvement in the declining attractiveness of the EU as a business location, says a new report. It adds that the majority of business federations believe that the EU’s attractiveness as investment destination for global firms stagnated or declined over the past year. The EU is a less attractive investment location in…

European Defence Industry

Photo by Rafik Wahba on Unsplash

Photo by Rafik Wahba on Unsplash The European Commission has proposed what is calls “an ambitious set of new actions” to support the competitiveness and readiness of European defence industry. It says that two years ago, Russia’s “unjustified, on-going war of aggression” against Ukraine marked the return of “high-intensity conflict on our continent.” The European Defence Industrial Strategy…

EU Paper Industry Decreases

Photo by Thomas Charters on Unsplash

Photo by Thomas Charters on Unsplash Production in the paper and board industry suffered a second consecutive year of contraction, decreasing by 12.8%, a new report says. After a year 2022 marked by sky high energy prices, the decrease in production in 2023 continues to be more pronounced even than it was during the Covid-19 crisis (-4.7% in…

Speeding Up Fibre Across Europe

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Photo by Umberto on Unsplash Negotiators from the European Parliament and EU Member States have agreed on the EU-Gigabit Infrastructure Act. This is a new law which seeks to speed up the expansion of fibre connections across Europe. The move has been welcomed by some but not so by others. Centre right MEP Angelika Winzig,  the lead negotiator…

Importance of Traineeships

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Photo by ThisisEngineering RAEng on Unsplash EU auditors say that traineeships have grown in importance as more and more young people in the EU complete a traineeship before they get a regular job.  In a review issued on 6 February the European Court of Auditors points to several challenges though. They say these include: varying definitions of traineeships,…

2024 European Railway Awards

Photo by Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona on Unsplash

Photo by Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona on Unsplash There are numerous obstacles to overcome to ensure rail has access to the skilled labour it needs, an event was told. It was one of the key messages to emerge at the 2024 European Railway Award ceremony in Brussels. The event coincides with the EU Year of Skills which, it was said,…

Advanced Technology for Marine Rescue

Photo by Neil Mark Thomas on Unsplash

Photo by Neil Mark Thomas on Unsplash TEKEVER, the European leader in Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), has confirmed the successful deployment of a lifeboat from its AR5 drone as part of a search and rescue exercise. This was conducted by the Italian Coast Guard  in partnership with the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA). With fully automatic operation, sensors on…