The European Commission is seeking feedback on a revision of the service of general economic interest (‘SGEI’) State aid rules to address the issue of housing affordability. Significant investments are needed to bridge the investment gap for affordable housing. State aid measures can contribute to incentivising the necessary investments. Any interested citizen, business, public authority […]
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Make Europe your base for startup success
The European Commission has launched an EU startup and scaleup strategy to make Europe a great place for starting and growing global technology-driven companies. Startups and scaleups drive innovation and sustainable growth, create high-quality jobs, attract investment and reduce strategic dependencies. However, too many still struggle to take ideas from lab to market or […]
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Commission finds Apple and Meta in breach of the Digital Markets Act
Last 23 April, the European Commission found that Apple breached its anti-steering obligation under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), and that Meta breached the DMA obligation to give consumers the choice of a service that uses less of their personal data. Therefore, the Commission has fined Apple and Meta with €500 million and €200 million […]
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New plan to boost the EU’s circular economy
On 16 April, the European Commission adopted the 2025-2030 working plan for the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) and Energy Labelling Regulation. The plan provides a list of products that should be prioritised to introduce ecodesign requirements and energy labelling over the next five years. This will foster sustainable, repairable, circular and energy efficient products across Europe, in line […]
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EIF supports micro-enterprises and social entrepreneurs
The European Investment Fund (EIF) has signed guarantee agreements with Soria Futuro, Treball Solidari and Fundación Seira to facilitate access to finance for microenterprises and entrepreneurs in the Spanish social sector. The EIF guarantee will enable these organisations to mobilise up to EUR 12 million in favour of the Spanish social sector and reduce the […]
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Spanish group NorteGas backed with €80 million to build biomethane plants in Spain
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted Nortegas Group a framework financing of up to €80 million to enable group subsidiary Nortegas Renovables to finance the construction of biomethane plants in Spain and launch a digital operations centre. The EIB and InvestEU-financed project will enable the development of the first phase of Nortegas Renovables’ strategic plan, […]
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Commission approves French State aid to Corsica Linea and La Méridionale for maritime transport services
The European Commission has found a €853.6 million public service compensation in favour of Corsica Linea and La Méridionale to be in line with EU State aid rules. The French measures will compensate both companies for the provision of passenger and freight maritime transport services between Marseille and Corsica (Ajaccio, Bastia, Propriano, Porto-Vecchio and L’Île […]
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Commission challenges China’s anti-dumping tariffs on EU brandy at the WTO
Yesterday, the European Commission has formally requested consultations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the provisional anti-dumping measures imposed by China on imports of EU brandy. This step reflects the EU’s firmly held view that China’s provisional measures on EU brandy are not in line with WTO rules. China has not proven that there is any threat of […]
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EU continues to be a global leader on sustainable finance
More than three years after the first transaction of our NextGenerationEU (NGEU) Green Bonds, the EU has issued more than €65 billion of NGEU Green Bonds, setting the EU on track to becoming the largest issuer of Green Bonds in the world. In line with the announcement of President von der Leyen in her State of the […]
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