The European Commission published its 2023 Summary Report on the Implementation of the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESI Funds), showcasing some of the overarching achievements of the ESI funds as things stood at the end of 2022. These funds are the main financial instruments of Cohesion Policy, supporting regional development investments from the 2014 – 2020 […]
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European Commission and EIF join forces to boost investment in defence innovation
The European Commission and the European Investment Fund (EIF) have joined forces to step up their support to EU’s defence and security through the launch of the Defence Equity Facility. The initiative, consisting of €100 million from the European Defence Fund and an additional €75 million from the European Investment Fund, will significantly expand EIF’s investment capacity to support, […]
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25 years of the euro: the value of unity in a changing world
25 years ago, on 1 January 1999, the euro came into force as the single currency for 11 EU Member States. It now serves the economy and eases life for 350 million people in 20 countries. The case for Europe has always rested on solving problems that countries could not address alone. After the Second […]
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EU to invest over EUR 65 million in clean technology projects
The Commission has today selected 17 small-scale innovative clean tech projects to receive over €65 million in project support under the EU Innovation Fund. These funds will help companies in Europe, including small businesses, to bring breakthrough technologies to the market in energy-intensive industries, renewable energy, and energy storage. The selected projects cover a wide range […]
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European Innovation Council: EUR 1.2 billion for strategic technologies and business expansion
The Commission adopted the work programme of the European Innovation Council (“the ERC”) for 2024, which will offer funding opportunities worth more than €1.2 billion by 2024. The bulk of this funding goes to SMEs and start-ups to develop and scale up their ‘deep tech’ innovations in critical areas such as generative artificial intelligence, space, […]
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Commission approves modification of the regional aid map 2022-2027 for Spain
The European Commission has approved, under EU state aid rules, a modification of Spain’s regional aid map until 31 December 2027, under the Regional Aid Guidelines. On 17 March 2022, the Commission approved the regional aid map 2022-2027 for Spain, as well as its amendment of 9 March 2023 to increase the aid intensity in […]
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Which EU countries spend the most on sporting goods?
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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