The Commission has launched together with partnering organisations the Destination Earth initiative to help tackling climate change. Supported with an initial €150 million from the Digital Europe Programme until mid-2024, the goal is to develop a highly accurate digital model of the Earth. It will help monitor, model and predict natural and human activity, and…
The European Commission has endorsed a positive preliminary assessment of Portugal’s payment request for €1.16 billion, of which €553.44 million of grants and €609 million of loans under the RRF, the key instrument at the heart of NextGenerationEU. On 25 January, Portugal announced reforms in the areas of health, social housing, social services, investment and innovation,…
The pan-European personal pension product (“PEPP”) Regulation, adopted in 2019, starts to apply from 22 March. This will pave the way for a new voluntary EU-wide scheme for people to save for their retirement, and a broad range of financial institutions across the EU will be able to offer it. PEPP – a key part…
The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), today inaugurated its new premises with representatives from the cyber agencies of all EU Member States, immediately making use of the new facilities to launch a strategic discussion around the Agency’s current work in its Management Board. Minister of Digital Governance of the Hellenic Republic, Kyriakos Pierrakakis stated: “I am…
The following statement has been issued by President von der Leyen on the fourth package of restrictive measures against Russia; “Russia’s ruthless invasion of Ukraine continues. Civilians are relentlessly attacked, including in schools, apartment buildings, and hospitals. And despite repeated offers by the Ukrainian side, Russia has not shown any willingness to seriously engage so…
The Commission and the European Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) worked together to define a first set of measures to safeguard protection of intellectual property in Ukraine. In agreement with the Commission, the EUIPO has adopted the following measures: the EUIPO will safeguard Ukrainian intellectual property rights in the European Union by providing full support to…
The Commission has approved 225 projects under the Technical Support Instrument (TSI), to support Member States in preparing, designing and implementing reforms that will lead to modern and resilient public administrations, sustainable growth strategies and resilient economies while enhancing their capacity to react to current and future crises. Several reforms projects are also included in the…
MEPs have voted on regulating markets in crypto assets (MiCA) and the carbon footprint of cryptocurrency. Eero Heinäluoma, MEP and S&D negotiator on crypto assets, said, “Cryptocurrency uses up as much energy as electric cars do. Bitcoin mining alone consumes more energy than countries the size of Austria or Portugal. With such a heavy carbon footprint,…
The European Union says it has reached a major milestone in the implementation of the InvestEU programme with the signature of the Guarantee and Advisory Hub Agreements between the European Commission, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF). The InvestEU programme is a key pillar of the European Union’s largest ever…
The EU needs to reassess the priorities of its industrial policy in light of the pandemic and the conflict on Europe’s eastern border: this is what emerged from a conference hosted by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). The Conference, titled “A sustainable future for European industry”, was organized in cooperation with the European…
