To support clean, safer, and modern shipping in the EU, today the Council adopted four new pieces of legislation of the so-called ‘maritime safety’ legislative package, namely those amending the relevant directives on: the investigation of accidents in the maritime transport sector, ship-source pollution, compliance with flag state requirements, and port state control. The revised ‘package’ […]
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Commission and national authorities call on Apple to stop geo-blocking practices on Apple Media Services
Today, following a coordinated investigation at European level, the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network of national consumer authorities and the European Commission notified Apple of several potentially prohibited geo-blocking practices that the CPC Network has identified on certain Apple Media Services, namely App Store, Apple Arcade, Music, iTunes Store, Books and Podcasts. The network requested Apple […]
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Growing EU trade of electric & hybrid cars
Between 2017 and 2023, EU trade of electric and hybrid cars increased substantially. In 2023, almost 43% of the total number of cars imported into the EU were electric or hybrid, indicating a significant increase compared with the share observed in 2017, which was 8%. EU exports jumped from 2% of the total number of cars exported in 2017 to 26% […]
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Commission opens WTO consultations on China’s anti-subsidy investigation on EU dairy products
The Commission has today launched a request for consultation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), challenging China’s initiation of an anti-subsidy investigation against imports of certain EU dairy products. This is the first time that the EU has decided to challenge an investigation at its initial stage. The EU’s action has been prompted by an […]
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EU agri-food exports keep growing steadily in the first quarter
In March 2024, the EU agri-food trade surplus reached €6.7 billion, an 8% increase from the previous month and 3% higher than March 2023. Exports increased by 4% to €20.1 billion, mainly due to increased prices for olives and olive oil. Imports remained stable, reaching €13.5 billion, but 10% lower than March 2023. These are the main findings of […]
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Eurobarometer shows most EU citizens benefit from international trade
According to the third Eurobarometer on international trade published today, over six in ten Europeans believe they benefit from international trade – an increase compared to the last such survey in 2019. The survey reveals that Europeans value the benefits brought by international trade, such as wider consumer choice and more affordable products. Furthermore, there is strong support […]
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Commission investigation provisionally concludes that electric vehicle value chains in China benefit from unfair subsidies
As part of its ongoing investigation, the Commission has provisionally concluded that the battery electric vehicles (BEV) value chain in China benefits from unfair subsidisation, which is causing a threat of economic injury to EU BEV producers. The investigation also examined the likely consequences and impact of measures on importers, users and consumers of BEVs in the EU. Consequently, […]
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Commission secures access for Member States to 665,000 doses of zoonotic influenza vaccines to prevent avian flu
The Commission’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) as part of its mandate on preparedness, has signed on behalf of participating Member States, a joint procurement framework contract for the supply of up to 665,000 pre-pandemic vaccine doses of the up-to-date Zoonotic Influenza Vaccine Seqirus, as well as an option for a further 40 million doses […]
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European Union signs aviation agreement with the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
The European Union and Bangladesh have signed a Horizontal Aviation Agreement . This agreement will allow any EU airline to operate flights between Bangladesh and any of the seven EU Member States whose bilateral air services agreements with Bangladesh does not already allow this. Previously, these bilateral air services agreements only permitted airlines owned and controlled […]
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