The European Commission has approved the second Spanish “umbrella” scheme to support the Spanish economy in the context of the coronavirus outbreak. The scheme was approved under the State aid Temporary Framework adopted by the Commission on 19 March 2020, as amended on 3 April 2020. Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition […]
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Coronavirus Global Response: €7.4 billion raised for universal access to vaccines
The Commission has registered €7.4 billion, equivalent to $8 billion, in pledges from donors worldwide during the Coronavirus Global Response pledging event. This includes a pledge of €1.4 billion by the Commission. This almost reaches the initial target of €7.5 billion and is a solid starting point for the worldwide pledging marathon, which begins today. The […]
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European Central Bank: Monetary policy decisions
The Governing Council of the ECB took the following monetary policy decisions: The conditions on the targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTRO III) have been further eased. Specifically, the Governing Council decided to reduce the interest rate on TLTRO III operations during the period from June 2020 to June 2021 to 50 basis points below the […]
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Coronavirus: rescEU masks delivered to Spain, Italy and Croatia
Following last week’s delivery to Italy, more batches of FFP2 protective masks has been distributed this weekend to Spain, Italy and Croatia from rescEU – the first-ever common European reserve of medical equipment set up last month to help countries affected by the coronavirus outbreak. Today’s support comes on top of the EU Medical Teams, masks and […]
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EU and Mexico conclude negotiations for new trade agreement
The European Union and Mexico concluded the last outstanding element of the negotiation of their new trade agreement. Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan and Mexican Minister of Economy Graciela Márquez Colín – in a phone call – agreed on the exact scope of the reciprocal opening of public procurement markets and a high level of predictability […]
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EU’s long-term budget
The process to establish the next long-term budget of the EU for the period 2021-2027 has started. It’s about the future of Europe, about whether the EU does less, the same or more for its citizens. This Q&A reflects Parliament’s position and the state of play before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The European […]
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Commission adopts banking package to facilitate lending to households and businesses in the EU
The Commission has today adopted a banking package to help facilitate bank lending to households and businesses throughout the European Union. Aim of this package The aim of this package is to ensure that banks can continue to lend money to support the economy and help mitigate the significant economic impact of the Coronavirus. It […]
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Coming up: economic impact Covid-19, agriculture, tyre labelling
Committees have a busy week ahead of them: from discussing Covid-19’s economic impact to voting on plans for tyre labelling and support for the agriculture sector. Coronavirus The economic affairs committee will discuss the economic impact and response to the Covid-19 outbreak with Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President for An Economy that Works for People, and […]
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COVID-19: MEPs call for an action plan for the tourism sector
The European Commission must present an action plan to help the tourism sector overcome the COVID-19 crisis, according to members of the EP’s Transport and Tourism Committee. Tourism: a highly affected sector In a debate with Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton, MEPs insisted that the tourism sector needs more support through specific measures, funding, strengthened […]
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