To help EU consumers cut their energy bills and carbon footprint, a brand new version of the widely-recognised EU energy label will be applicable in all shops and online retailers from Monday, 1 March 2021. The new labels will initially apply to four product categories – fridges and freezers, dishwashers, washing machines, and television sets […]
Read MoreEU reaches political agreement on updated enforcement regulation
The Council presidency has reached an agreement with the European Parliament on a revised enforcement regulation. The aim of this regulation is to better protect the EU’s trade interests and rights in the context of the current blockage of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) dispute settlement system. The regulation also ensures that the EU can […]
Read MoreWebinar “New situation, new opportunities in Europe
Schedule Current economic situation. Short and medium term perspectives. Business responses. Alternatives. Who is it aimed for? Company Managers, Commercial and Export Managers and members of the company’s export departments. Introduction Although economic and social changes have accelerated steadily and increasingly in recent decades, the current situation created by Covid-19 in Europe, which concentrates most […]
Read MoreCommission to boost Europe’s capital markets
The European Commission has published a new, ambitious Action Plan to boost the European Union’s Capital Markets Union (CMU) over the coming years. The EU’s top priority is to ensure that Europe recovers from the unprecedented economic crisis caused by coronavirus. Developing the EU’s capital markets, and ensuring access to market financing, will be essential […]
Read MoreCommission approves Fortenova’s acquisition of Mercator
The European Commission has approved unconditionally, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition of Mercator by Fortenova. The Commission concluded that the transaction would raise no competition concerns in the European Economic Area (‘EEA’). Both Fortenova and Mercator are active in the supply of daily consumer goods. In the EEA, Fortenova is currently active in Croatia and Slovenia […]
Read MoreEurope’s raw materials supply: Commission announces actions to make supply more secure and sustainable
The Commission has presented an Action Plan on Critical Raw Materials, the 2020 List of Critical Raw Materials and a foresight study on critical raw materials for strategic technologies and sectors from the 2030 and 2050 perspectives. The Action Plan looks at the current and future challenges and proposes actions to reduce Europe’s dependency on third countries, diversifying supply […]
Read MoreCoronavirus: rescEU masks delivered to Spain, Italy and Croatia
Following last week’s delivery to Italy, more batches of FFP2 protective masks has been distributed this weekend to Spain, Italy and Croatia from rescEU – the first-ever common European reserve of medical equipment set up last month to help countries affected by the coronavirus outbreak. Today’s support comes on top of the EU Medical Teams, masks and […]
Read MoreEU and Mexico conclude negotiations for new trade agreement
The European Union and Mexico concluded the last outstanding element of the negotiation of their new trade agreement. Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan and Mexican Minister of Economy Graciela Márquez Colín – in a phone call – agreed on the exact scope of the reciprocal opening of public procurement markets and a high level of predictability […]
Read MoreE-commerce: Council adopts new rules for exchange of VAT payment data
The Council today adopted a set of rules to facilitate detection of tax fraud in cross-border e-commerce transactions. The new measures will enable member states to collect, in a harmonised way, the records made electronically available by payment service providers, such as banks. In addition, a new central electronic system will be set up for […]
Read More