Photo by Elliott Stallion on Unsplash The last EU elections showed the continued vibrancy of our EU democracy, says a key new report. Turnout, it says, was 50.74 per cent. The report outlines targeted measures taken by Member States and EU institutions to engage young people and boost women’s participation. The report also notes the…
Reports
Improving Working Conditions
Photo by Lola Kümmecke on Unsplash A new report has identified areas for improvement in working conditions. Over 14 million EU citizens work and live in a Member State other than their own, new figures show. But many face possible inequalities when it comes to employment rights and working conditions. That is one reason why…
EU Not Effective in Supporting Pension Schemes
Photo by ev on Unsplash The EU has not been effective in supporting the development of supplementary pensions, which complement state pensions and help ensure an adequate retirement income for EU citizens, according to a new report by the European Court of Auditors (ECA). Against the backdrop of an ageing population in the EU, the…
Too Many Europeans Facing Evictions
Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash A new study calls for regulation in the short term housing rental sector across the EU but in a balanced manner. The legislative proposal aims to fill the regulatory gap in an industry that is having real-world impacts, including housing shortages, rising rents, resident displacement, online discrimination, and a…
New Study on Environmental Compliance
Photo by Anil Sharma on Unsplash The quality of the maps used to assess deforestation has been assessed for the first time. It also assesses tree planting (reforestation/agroforestry), greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removal monitoring. The World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) study supports cocoa companies who rely on these sources to meet regulatory compliance and…
Damning Report by ECA on NGO Funding
Photo by Eduard Delputte on Unsplash EU funding granted to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) suffers from a lack of transparency, according to a new report by the European Court of Auditors (ECA). Despite improvements, information on EU funding awarded to NGOs that are active in the bloc’s internal policies remains inaccurate and incomplete. The European Commission…
Space Debris: Is It a Crisis?
The European Space Agency (ESA) has today published its annual space environment report. The Earth is surrounded by spacecraft carrying out important work to study our planet’s changing climate, deliver global communication and navigation services and help us answer important scientific questions. But some of their orbits are getting crowded and increasingly churning with deadly,…
End the EU’s Patchwork of Animal Welfare Laws
Photo by Sam Carter on Unsplash A new report reveals that animal welfare issues are treated very differently by each of the EU’s 27 Member States. The authors, Eurogroup for Animals, say it shows that the EU must update and modernise the animal welfare legislation as soon as possible. This, it says, it needed to…
EU-UK Relations Improve
Photo by Rocco Dipoppa on Unsplash Both the EU and UK want closer ties, says a survey from the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). The survey looked at both EU-UK and EU/UK-US relations. It comes at a time of heightened global uncertainty, highlighted by the looming trade war sparked by new trade tariffs by…
Fighting Human Trafficking
Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash The Commission has outlined how it will step up its fight to combat human trafficking. It has published its 5th report on the fight against Trafficking in Human Beings (THB), providing an analysis of data from 2021-2022. The total number of registered victims in the EU showed an increase of 41%…