In 2020, among the 22 EU countries for which data are available, 4 registered an average household expenditure on sporting goods and services above 500 purchasing power standard (PPS). PPS is an artificial currency unit that eliminates price level differences between countries. On top of the list was Luxembourg (628 PPS), closely followed by the […]
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Commission and India sign agreement on semiconductors
The co-chairs of the EU-India Trade and Technology Council (TTC), Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis and Vice-President Věra Jourová, held a stock-taking call with their Indian counterparts – Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister for Railways, Communications, Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw and Minister of Commerce Piyush Goyal to weigh up the work done under the […]
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Value of EU trade deals surpasses €2 trillion
The value of EU trade through free trade agreements with global partners surpassed €2 trillion for the first time in 2022, according to the 3rd Annual Report on the Implementation and Enforcement of EU Trade Policy. The European Commission report shows that trade with our top 20 trade agreement partners grew by close to 30% […]
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Spain, together with Italy, was the largest wine exporter in the European Union in 2022
In 2022, sold production of wine (including sparkling wine, port and grape must) in the EU amounted to 16.1 billion (bn) litres. The top three wine producers accounted for 83% of EU production. Italy and Spain each contributed nearly 5.0 bn litres, representing together 62% of the total sold production in the EU, while France produced 3.4 […]
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The Interoperable Europe Act will improve online public services for people and businesses
The Commission welcomes the agreement reached last evening between the European Parliament and Council on the Interoperable Europe Act. This regulation will strengthen cross-border interoperability and cooperation in the public sector across the EU. The Commission proposed the Act to help achieve Europe’s digital targets for 2030, by making key public services available online to all […]
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InvestEU: EIF and Laboral Kutxa sign €145 million guarantee to support micro and social entrepreneurship in Spain
EIF grants Laboral Kutxa a guarantee for €145 million in micro and social loans. This is the seventh agreement between the EIF and Laboral Kutxa, who have been working together for 10 years to support the social economy and microenterprise in Spain. The guarantee agreement is backed by the InvestEU programme which aims to mobilise […]
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The EU doubled its imports of green energy products by 2022
Clean energy is a fundamental part of the European Green Deal. In pursuit of this, green energy products such as wind turbines, liquid biofuels and solar panels are required. Utilising these energy products also reduces the energy import dependencies highlighted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In 2022, the EU spent €28.4 billion on imports of green energy products […]
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Trade in electric and hybrid cars continued to grow in 2022 in the EU
Between 2017 and 2022, the trade of electric and hybrid cars in the EU registered a staggering increase. In 2022, 42% of the total number of cars imported were electric or hybrid, indicating an increase of 35 percentage points (pp) compared with 2017. The change in exports was also clear with a 24 pp increase in 2022 (26% of the total number of […]
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Commission adopts new proposal on combining transport modes for more sustainable freight
The proposal on combined transport aims to make freight transport more sustainable by improving the competitiveness of intermodal freight – the transportation of goods using two or more transport modes – vis-à-vis road-only transport. The proposal updates the current Combined Transport Directive and completes the Greening Freight Package, the bulk of which was adopted in July 2023. The package will […]
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