On 30 and 31 August, Prague will host a Gymnich meeting of EU foreign ministers, so named after the place where the first such meeting took place in 1974. European ministers will be discussing two main topics: the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the EU’s relations with Africa. During these meetings, always organised by the […]
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EU-Indonesia – Joint press release on First Joint Naval Exercise
On 14-15 August 2022, the European Union (EU) and Indonesia conducted their first joint naval exercise in the Arabian Sea. The exercise involved Indonesian Navy corvette KRI Sultan Iskandar Muda and EU NAVFOR Somalia – Operation Atalanta frigate ITS Virginio Fasan. The exercise was based on the scenario of an anti-piracy operation. It included cross-deck helicopter landings, […]
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Commission publishes 2021 Annual Burden Survey
The European Commission has published the 2021 Annual Burden Survey, which presents concrete examples of simplification of EU rules in areas such as agriculture and rural development, competition, communications, health and food safety, transport and mobility, and the single market. The 2021 Annual Burden Survey outlines the overarching efforts made by the Commission to simplify […]
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EU renews economic sanctions over Russia for further six months
The Council decided to prolong by six months, until 31 January 2023, the restrictive measures targeting specific sectors of the economy of the Russian Federation. These sanctions, first introduced in 2014 in response to Russia’s actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine, were significantly expanded since February 2022, in light of Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified military […]
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Russia’s aggression against Ukraine: the EU targets additional 54 individuals and 10 entities
The Council decided to impose restrictive measures on an additional 54 individuals and 10 entities in response to the ongoing unjustified and unprovoked Russian military aggression against Ukraine. This decision comes in addition to the “maintenance and alignment” package of sanctions adopted by the Council on 21 July 2022. The listed individuals include senior members of the […]
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EU support to Ukraine increased to €2.5 billion
The Council has adopted two assistance measures under the European Peace Facility (EPF) aimed to step up the EU’s support for the capabilities and resilience of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to defend the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country, and protect the civilian population against the ongoing Russian military aggression. Thanks to the 5th […]
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EU adopts new measures against Russia
The EU has agreed to ban imports of Russian-origin gold, including jewellery and to reinforce export controls of dual use goods. New measures, just like earlier sanctions, do not target Russia’s exports of food, grain or fertilisers. In response to Russia’s continuing war of aggression against Ukraine, the Council has adopted new measures intended to […]
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Defence Industry: EU takes steps to invest almost €1.2 bn
The Commission announced plans to grant a total EU funding of almost €1.2 billion supporting 61 collaborative defence research and development projects selected following the first ever calls for proposals under the European Defence Fund (EDF). With the proposals selected for funding, the EDF will support high-end defence capability projects such as the next generation of fighter aircrafts, tanks […]
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EU to reinforce the European defence industry through common procurement with a €500 million instrument
The Commission has adopted a proposal for a Regulation by the European Parliament and the Council establishing the European Defence Industry Reinforcement through common Procurement Act (EDIRPA) for 2022-2024. As announced in the Joint communication on the Defence Investment Gaps in May, the Commission is delivering on its commitment to set up a Short-Term EU Instrument reinforcing […]
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