Hong Kong In Steady Decline

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Photo by sarah richer on Unsplash The European Commission and the High Representative have adopted their latest annual reports on political and economic developments in Hong Kong and Macao. The annual report on political and economic developments in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region illustrates what the EC calls “the continued erosion of Hong Kong’s high degree of…

Beating the Cash Crunch

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Photo by Melissa Walker Horn on Unsplash British people are trying to beat the cash crunch by diverting savings into emergency funds, new UK national research has revealed. For many, however,  the cost of living crisis and poor pay are making it hard to put away regular savings, the report by money.co.uk savings accounts reveals. The study shows that more…

EU University Opportunities for UK Students

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Photo by JodyHongFilms on Unsplash A new study has found that UK students can find cheaper under graduate degrees in any EU country other than Britain. Personal finance website finder.com compared the average cost of an undergraduate degree in the UK and EU and found that every country in the EU offers a cheaper alternative to studying domestically for…

Difficulties for Mobile Workers in the Labour Market

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Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash Even in the absence of legal hurdles by comparison with third-country national migrant workers a new report shows that intra-EU mobile workers also face similar difficulties in the labour market, with generally lower employment probabilities and lower quality jobs for the same level of skills. The report was conducted by the European…

Importance of Vocational Training Stressed

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Photo by Icons8 Team on Unsplash MEPs have unanimously adopted a report highlighting the importance of modern vocational education and training (VET). This, it was said, will meet the challenges of the labour market in terms of changing forms and activities of employment and the skills they require. The own-initiative report by ECR rapporteur Anna Zalewska was backed…

EU Bid to Be Global Battery Powerhouse Faltering

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Photo by Precious Madubuike on Unsplash The EU risks falling behind in its bid to become a global battery powerhouse, according to a new report published by the European Court of Auditors.  It says it is true that the EU’s industrial policy on batteries has been promoted effectively in recent years. But access to raw materials remains a major…

EU Recovery Fund

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Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash EU Member States are said to be “exacerbating economic inequality, eroding democracy and obstructing efforts to create a green, transformative European economy by marginalising citizens in decision-making,” a new report by the Citizens’ Observatory for Green Deal Financing alleges. The report claims to show how “excluding the public has opened the door…

Moving to Net Zero

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Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash The European electricity industry trade body unveils a “landmark study” highlighting three scenarios for Europe to achieve net zero. Looking towards 2030, 2040 and 2050, “Decarbonisation Speedways” spells out “the key role” of clean electrification in accelerating Europe’s path to climate neutrality and underlines its potential in lowering households’ energy bills.  Europe’s success hinges, however, on critical enablers…

Equal Pay for Young People

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Photo by Malu Laker on Unsplash Young people should receive the same pay and social security benefits as other workers, including the same minimum wages, which is still not the case in all Member States The EU and Member States need to put an end to discriminatory practices against young people, such as low youth minimum wages and…

Water Quality at Bathing Sites

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Photo by Tyler Nix on Unsplash The EC says that the “majority” of bathing water sites in Europe met the European Union’s most stringent ‘excellent’ water quality standards in 2022, according to the latest annual Bathing Water report published last week. The assessment, put together by the European Environment Agency (EEA) in cooperation with the Commission, highlights where swimmers can find the…