The Commission is providing policy guidance to Member States under the 2024 European Semester Spring Package to build a robust and future-proof economy that secures competitiveness, resilience and long-term prosperity for all, while maintaining sound public finances, in the face of a challenging geopolitical environment. The EU is determined to take further steps to enhance its long-term competitiveness, […]
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European Commission sends requests for information on illegal content and protection of minors to Pornhub, Xvideos and Stripchat under Digital Services Regulation
The Commission has sent requests for information to Pornhub, Stripchat and Xvideos under the Digital Services Regulation. The Commission is asking these companies to provide more detailed information on the measures they have taken to diligently assess and mitigate risks related to the protection of minors online and to prevent the amplification of illegal content […]
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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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European Commission approves preliminary assessment of Spain’s fourth payment request under the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism
The Commission has endorsed a positive preliminary assessment of 60 out of the 61 milestones and targets linked to Spain’s fourth payment request for €10 billion (net of pre-financing) under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the centrepiece of NextGenerationEU. Positive preliminary assessment of all but one target The payment request covers important steps in the delivery of 34 reforms and 26 […]
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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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Spain: EIB and Banco Sabadell sign guarantee agreement to facilitate up to €400 million in new financing for SMEs and mid-caps
The signed agreement worth up to €200 million is the first tranche of an EIB-approved operation of up to €300 million in total — under which Banco Sabadell will finance projects over the next two years. The operation will promote private sector investment and support the financing needs of a key segment of the Spanish economy […]
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European Central Bank lowers interest rates by 25 basis points
The Governing Council today decided to lower the three key ECB interest rates by 25 basis points. Based on an updated assessment of the inflation outlook, the dynamics of underlying inflation and the strength of monetary policy transmission, it is now appropriate to moderate the degree of monetary policy restriction after nine months of holding […]
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CJEU Judgment: the Court upholds the Commission’s decision authorising the solvency support fund for strategic Spanish undertakings
Ryanair had challenged that decision, relating to an aid scheme amounting to €10 billion. In July 2020, Spain notified the European Commission of an aid scheme to set up a solvency support fund. The beneficiaries were (non-financial) strategic Spanish undertakings experiencing temporary difficulties as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. That aid scheme provided for […]
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