MEPs approved a revamp of EU fiscal rules making them clearer, more investment friendly, better tailored to each country’s situation, and more flexible. The new rules, approved on Tuesday, were provisionally agreed upon between European Parliament and member state negotiators in February. Focus on investments MEPs significantly beefed up the rules to protect a government’s capability to […]
Read MoreEuropean Commission backs Spain’s request for a targeted review of its recovery plan
The Commission yesterday endorsed Spain’s request for a specific revision of its Recovery and Resilience Plan, which Spain had submitted to the Commission on 19 March 2024. The proposed amendments are of a technical nature and stem from the comprehensive review of the Spanish plan, which was adopted by the Council on 17 October 2023. […]
Read MoreEU and US hold fourth Joint Dialogue on Technology Competition Policy
Today, European Commission Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, US Federal Trade Commission (‘FTC’) Chair Lina Khan and the Assistant Attorney General of the US Department of Justice Antitrust Division (‘DOJ’) Jonathan Kanter met in Washington for the fourth meeting of the EU-US Joint Technology Competition Policy Dialogue (‘TCPD’). The purpose of the dialogue is to further […]
Read MoreMonetary policy decisions: ECB keeps interest rates unchanged at 4.5%.
The Governing Council of the European Central Bank decided to keep the three key ECB interest rates unchanged. The incoming information has broadly confirmed the Governing Council’s previous assessment of the medium-term inflation outlook. Inflation has continued to fall, led by lower food and goods price inflation. Most measures of underlying inflation are easing, wage […]
Read MoreNextGenerationEU recovery plan – to be paid back by the next generation?
In 2021, the EU set up the NextGenerationEU (NGEU) fund – worth around €800 billion – to prop up the economies of its member states during and following the COVID–19 pandemic. While the money has been flowing to member states, the flow is slow and set to end in 2026. There is also a catch – it is […]
Read MoreFirefighting: EU earmarks €600m to reinforce EU rescue operations
The Commission is financing the purchase of new firefighting planes to increase the aerial firefighting capacity of rescEU, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism’s strategic crisis response reserve. €600 million in EU funds will be used to purchase 12 new planes, which will be hosted across 6 EU Member States: Croatia, France, Italy, Greece, Portugal, and […]
Read MoreTaking stock of the Spanish Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan
The European Commission Representation in Spain organised the second annual conference on the Spanish Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan. The event took stock of the Plan, analysing the opportunities it offers to achieve a greener, more digital and resilient Spain, as well as the challenges for its implementation. The event was opened by the acting […]
Read MoreBudget 2025: Council agrees on guidelines for next year’s EU budget
The Council reached an agreement on its guidelines for the 2025 EU budget. The approved guidelines will provide political guidance to the Commission in preparing the budget for next year. In its conclusions, the Council underlines that the EU budget for 2025 has a key role in the development and delivery of the long-term objectives […]
Read MoreSpain: EIB and Otua sign €40 million loan to back the construction of a waste recycling plant in the Basque Country
The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Basque Country-based Otua Group have signed a €40 million loan to finance the construction of a new plant for recycling plastics from automotive waste and to upgrade existing facilities for processing metal waste. The EIB loan promotes the transition to circular economy – in which industrial materials get reused rather […]
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