The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a €687 million Finnish scheme to partially compensate energy-intensive companies for higher electricity prices resulting from the impact of carbon prices on electricity generation costs (so-called ‘indirect emission costs’), incurred between 2021 and 2025, under the EU Emission Trading System (‘ETS’). The measure will benefit…
The Commission has launched together with partnering organisations the Destination Earth initiative to help tackling climate change. Supported with an initial €150 million from the Digital Europe Programme until mid-2024, the goal is to develop a highly accurate digital model of the Earth. It will help monitor, model and predict natural and human activity, and…
The EU needs to reassess the priorities of its industrial policy in light of the pandemic and the conflict on Europe’s eastern border: this is what emerged from a conference hosted by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). The Conference, titled “A sustainable future for European industry”, was organized in cooperation with the European…
The Commission is proposing to the European Parliament and Council to sign up to a declaration of rights and principles that will guide the digital transformation in the EU. The draft declaration on digital rights and principles aims to give everyone a clear reference point about the kind of digital transformation Europe promotes and defends. It…
The European Commission says it has taken an important step against e-waste and consumer inconvenience, caused by the prevalence of different, incompatible chargers for electronic devices. Years of working with industry on a voluntary approach already brought down the number of mobile phone chargers from 30 to 3 within the last decade, but could not…
The European Commission has approved a €108 million Danish aid measure to support coronavirus-related research and development (R&D) activities of Bavarian Nordic, a company active in the vaccine development and manufacturing industry. The scheme was approved under the State aid framework. Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said: “This €108 million Danish aid measure…
EU competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager has decided to appeal the July EU General Court ruling annulling her 2016 decision ordering Ireland to recover €13 billion in state aid paid to Apple. Pedro Marques, S&D spokesperson on tax matters, commented: “We applaud Vestager for her willingness to push for more fairness in corporate taxation. We hope she…
The cities alliance engaged in regulating Short Term Holiday Rentals (STHR), met last week with the European Commission Executive Vice-President, Margrethe Vestager. The mayors and representatives of cities want stronger regulations on the STHR market in order to counter the harmful impact of STHR on the housing market and make neighbourhoods more liveable. The rise…
The European Commission has today approved a package on tourism and transport giving clarity on passenger rights whilst supporting both sectors to overcome the COVID-19 crisis. Commenting on the package Transport and Tourism Committee Chair Karima Delli (Greens/EFA, FR) said, “The Commission’s package on tourism and transport is a great example of addressing together the current and upcoming challenges…
The European Commission has approved a HUF 50 000 million (approximately €140 million) Hungarian aid scheme to support the Hungarian economy in the context of the coronavirus outbreak. The scheme was approved under the state aid framework adopted by the Commission on 19 March 2020. The scheme will be managed by the competent agency, Hungarian…
