The European Commission has approved a fifth contract with the European pharmaceutical company CureVac, which provides for the initial purchase of 225 million doses on behalf of all EU Member States, plus an option to request up to a further 180 million doses, to be supplied once a vaccine has proven to be safe and…
The mineral wool factory planned for Jefferson County, West Virginia, is close to opening despite opponents campaigning to stop the Rockwool insulation plant from being built. The situation in the United States will be watched closely by those in France concerned about a similar plant planned in the Soissons region. Local US media WTOP News…
To close gaps exposed by COVID-19 and ensure that health systems can face future threats to public health, an ambitious EU health programme is needed, say MEPs. On Friday, Parliament adopted its position on the Commission proposal to step up the EU’s action in the health sector significantly, through the so-called EU4 health programme with…
Millions of laying hens in Czechia will no longer be confined in cruel cages from 2027. On Friday, the Czech Senate, the upper house of Parliament, voted to confirm the ban on cages passed by the lower house in September. Compassion in World Farming warmly welcomes this new step towards ending the caging of farm…
MEPs have voted on the EU’s health action programme (“EU4Health”). The current programme runs until the end of the year; EU4Health is the successor programme for 2021-2027. In the negotiations on the Multi-Annual Financial Framework, the European Parliament tripled the proposed funding for EU4Health to €5.1 billion. The programme will not only finance actions against…
A total of 644 lawmakers from the European Union and elsewhere in Europe have called on the World Health Organization (WHO) to include Taiwan in its annual assembly, which is scheduled to resume virtually next week, writes Sylvia Teng. The WHA meetings will take place virtually from Nov. 9-14 in light of the ongoing pandemic….
Commissioner Didier Reynders was, on Friday, meeting the 11 online platforms participating in the dialogue on tackling online consumer scams related to the coronavirus pandemic, together with consumer protection authorities. The purpose is to encourage platform operators to reinforce their preparedness to address new scams that could appear during the second wave of the pandemic and to prevent…
The European Commission has published several reports on actions taken by the signatories of the fake news code of conduct to fight false and misleading coronavirus-related information. The reports continue to give a good overview of actions taken by the online platforms during the month of September, and demonstrate willingness to provide increased transparency around their…
Following the selection announcement in August, the Commission has now signed grant agreements, under Horizon 2020, with 23 new research projects that will receive a total of €128 million to address the continuing coronavirus pandemic and its effects. The funding will enable additional research to strengthen and adapt industrial capacity to manufacture and deploy medical equipment.This…
The coronavirus pandemic represents a very large shock for the global and EU economies, with very severe economic and social consequences. Economic activity in Europe suffered a severe shock in the first half of the year and rebounded strongly in the third quarter as containment measures were gradually lifted. However, the resurgence of the pandemic…
