The European Commission has approved a €120 million Spanish scheme to support investments in strategic sectors in the Asturias region to foster the transition to a zero net emission economy, in line with the Green Deal Industrial Plan. The scheme was approved under the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework for state aid, adopted by the […]
Read More
Spring 2024 Economic forecast for Spain
Economic activity in Spain is expected to grow at 2.1% in 2024 and 1.9% in 2025 driven by domestic demand and sustained by continued labour market resilience. The implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) is set to underpin investment growth over the forecast horizon. Headline inflation is projected to maintain its downward trend […]
Read More
Commission designates Booking as a gatekeeper and opens a market investigation into X
The European Commission has designated under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), Booking as a gatekeeper for its online intermediation service Booking.com and decided not to designate X Ads and TikTok Ads. In parallel, the Commission has opened a market investigation to further assess the rebuttal submitted in relation to the online social networking service X. This decisions follow a […]
Read More
European Court of Auditors: It takes too long to recover misspent EU money
The EU auditors found that, while the European Commission ensures that irregular expenditure is recorded accurately and promptly, getting this money back often takes too long. For jointly managed agricultural funds where member states have primary responsibility, recovery rates are generally low, but with significant differences between EU countries. From 2014-2022, €14 billion of such […]
Read More
EIB and Valencia regional government sign €470 million loan to finance green, social and digital projects under EU fund programmes
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a €470 million loan with the regional government of Valencia to co-finance a series of green, social and digital investments in the Spanish region. Through the EIB loan and co-financing from the Valencia regional government, support will be provided for projects included in the 2021-2027 operational programmes of EU […]
Read More
EU-New Zealand trade agreement enters into force, opening up new opportunities for EU exporters
EU businesses, producers and farmers are now able to take advantage of a host of new export opportunities with the entry into force of the EU-New Zealand trade agreement today. The deal is expected to cut €140 million a year in duties for EU companies. Thanks to this deal, EU-New Zealand trade is expected to […]
Read More
EU-Central America agreement enters into force
The EU-Central America Association Agreement has entered into force. This agreement paves the way for the EU and the six countries of Central America (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama) to take their economic and political relationship to the next level. Under the trade agreement (provisionally applied since 2012), total trade between […]
Read More
Commission designates Apple’s iPadOS as a gatekeeper under the Digital Markets Act
The European Commission has designated Apple with respect to iPadOS, its operating system for tablets, as a gatekeeper under the Digital Markets Act (“DMA”). Apple now has six months to ensure full compliance of iPadOS with the DMA obligations. The investigation On 5 September 2023, the Commission designated Apple as a gatekeeper for its operating system iOS, its […]
Read More
EU economic governance review: Council adopts reform of fiscal rules
The Council adopted three pieces of legislation that will reform the EU’s economic and fiscal governance framework. The main objective of the reform is to ensure sound and sustainable public finances, while promoting sustainable and inclusive growth in all member states through reforms and investment. “The new legislation will significantly improve the existing framework and provide effective and applicable […]
Read More