New MFA Programme for Jordan

The European Commission has welcomed the endorsement by the Council of the agreement reached with the European Parliament to provide up to €500 million in Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to Jordan. This new financial assistance programme is designed to support the country’s ambitious reform agenda, promoting jobs, growth and investment for the benefit of the people of Jordan….

EU Long Term Budget Under Negotiation

The leaders of the political groups in European Parliament have agreed to freeze large parts of the negotiations with the Council on the new long-term EU budget. Following the failure of the Council to make progress on its proposal for the multiannual financial framework (MFF) 2021-2027, leaders of political groups in the European Parliament agreed…

Russia: EU prolongs economic sanctions by six months

Today, the Council prolonged the economic sanctions targeting specific sectors of the Russian economy until 31 July 2020. This decision follows an update by President Macron and Chancellor Merkel to the European Council on 12 December 2019 on the state of implementation of the Minsk agreements, to which the decision on maintaining sanctions is linked. Given that the…

Crowd-funding for SMEs

Parliament’s negotiating team reached a deal with the Council on Wednesday on EU-wide rules to help crowdfunding services function smoothly and foster cross-border business funding. The uniform set of criteria will apply to all European Crowdfunding Service Providers (ECSP) up to offers of EUR 5 000 000 (from EUR 1 000 000 proposed by the…

People Vs the EU on Climate Targets

The European Parliament and the Council have submitted their responses on the appeal of the legal action challenging the EU’s 2030 climate target. Despite the political momentum in the EU to increase the 2030 climate target, both institutions argue that the families and the Sami youth who are affected by the climate crisis shouldn’t be heard in…

Final NECPs due by the end of the month

By the end of the year, EU countries will have to submit their final National Energy and Climate Plans to present how they will contribute to the EU’s 2030 climate and energy targets. A new report released last week indicates how much progress has been made since the European Commission published its recommendations on each…

Lisbon Treaty part of Europe’s DNA

Charles Michel says the Lisbon Treaty is part of the “European DNA.” The former Belgian PM, now the EU’s new President of the Council, was speaking on Sunday at an event to mark the 10th anniversary of the landmark treaty. He said,”There is so much to discover in every corner of Europe. This diversity living…