The number of cyberattacks on EU bodies is increasing sharply. The level of cybersecurity preparedness within EU bodies varies and is overall not commensurate with the growing threats. Since EU bodies are strongly interconnected, a weakness in one can expose others to security threats. This is the conclusion of a special report by the European…
Reports
Digital Decade 2030
The proportion of businesses using cloud technology must significantly increase in order to meet the European Commission’s Digital Decade 2030 goal, according to a new report out on Wednesday. The EU’s Digital Decade, which sets key targets on different digital areas until 2030, is the EU’s vision for Europe’s digital transformation and a critical element…
What Does Parliament Need to Do to Improve the Lives of Women?
Key demands of women for MEPs are tackling human trafficking and sexual exploitation, fighting mental and physical violence against women and addressing the gender pay gap. For International Women’s Day on 8 March, the European Parliament commissioned a dedicated survey among European women assessing the impact of the pandemic on various aspects of women’s lives….
IPCC Releases Latest Climate Change Impact Report
The IPCC, the world’s most authoritative climate science body, has released its highly anticipated Working Group II report on climate impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. The report finds that the world is already facing the “unequivocal” consequences of climate change, which is killing people, damaging food production, destroying nature and reducing economic growth. Some of these…
Investment Schemes Linked to Citizenship and Residence
A new draft legislative initiative report sets out an array of measures to address problems linked to ‘citizenship and residence by investment schemes’. The EU parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs approved the draft text on Tuesday with 61 votes for, 3 against, and 5 abstentions. MEPs stress that ‘citizenship by investment’…
EU Citizens Prioritise Democracy, Freedom of Speech, Human Rights
Citizens’ support for democracy in the EU has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, says a new Eurobarometer survey published on Tuesday. A near third of respondents (32%) chose democracy as top European value to defend, followed by freedom of speech and thought (27%) and the protection of human rights in the EU and worldwide (25%),…
Energy Taxation Can Support Climate Objectives
Energy taxation can support efforts to combat climate change, but current tax levels do not reflect the extent to which different energy sources pollute. A review published today by the European Court of Auditors outlines how energy taxes, carbon pricing and energy subsidies contribute to achieving the EU’s climate objectives. Even though renewable-energy subsidies almost…
The Financialisation of Housing in Europe
New data published by the Greens/EFA Group reveals the amount of housing being bought up and controlled as investment assets by large firms across Europe. The study, My home is an asset class: The Financialization of Housing in Europe, shows how investors, facilitated under the capital markets union, are rapidly buying up significant amounts of living…
Murky Waters – The Black Sea and European Security
A report published on Wednesday offers a way out of the crisis between Russia and the West over Ukraine’s future if all sides are willing to settle for less than their maximum demands. In “Murky Waters – the Black Sea and European security”, Paul Taylor, senior fellow at the Brussels think-tank Friends of Europe, outlines a…
Threats to the EU from Autocratic Regimes
MEPs finalised 18 months of inquiry by the INGE committee and adopted its final recommendations. The European public and government officials are “overwhelmingly” unaware of the severity of the threat posed by foreign autocratic regimes, in particular Russia and China, MEPs say in the text. Insufficient defence made it easier for malicious actors to take over…