The EU and the United States held the sixth meeting of the EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC) in Leuven, Belgium. The meeting allowed ministers to build on ongoing work and present new deliverables of the TTC after two and a half years of cooperation. The TTC is a key forum for close cooperation on transatlantic […]
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CORDIS: Reducing emissions from maritime transport
Retrofitting ships with innovative engine and propulsion technologies can help achieve operational efficiencies, and significantly reduce emissions. While shipping plays a critical role in the global economy, it is also a large and growing source of pollution. In 2018, global emissions from maritime transport represented 1 076 million tonnes of CO2, and were responsible for […]
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Lobbying EU lawmakers: fair game?
Lobbying is an essential democratic tool that allows organisations and individuals to provide input for policy and decision-making. However, without transparency mechanisms, it can result in undue influence, unfair competition, and even corruption. The EU’s lawmakers – the Commission, Parliament and Council – have signed up to the EU transparency register, a central entry point […]
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European Citizens’ Panel to discuss Tackling Hatred in Society
Last week saw the start of the European Citizens’ Panel on Combating Hate in Society. 150 randomly selected citizens from the 27 Member States will come together to examine the root causes of hatred and how to tackle them. The aim of the citizens’ panel is to make recommendations on how to build bridges between […]
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Commission opens two in-depth investigations under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation in the solar photovoltaic sector
The Commission launched two in-depth investigations under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation. The investigations relate to the potentially market distortive role of foreign subsidies given to bidders in a public procurement procedure. The Commission will assess whether the economic operators concerned did benefit from an unfair advantage to win public contracts in the EU. The investigations […]
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Commission publishes guidelines for the mitigation of systemic risks online for elections
The Commission has published guidelines on recommended measures to Very Large Online Platforms and Search Engines to mitigate systemic risks online that may impact the integrity of elections, with specific guidance for the upcoming European Parliament elections in June. Under the Digital Services Act (DSA), designated services with more than 45 million active users in the EU […]
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European Environment Agency: Now is the time to accelerate the shift to a more circular Europe
Despite legislative steps forward over the past five years, efforts to transform Europe’s largely linear, ‘throw-away’ economy into a circular one will require further bold action and strong implementation of existing measures. Decisive action is essential to drastically reduce waste, prioritise reduction of resource use, improve recycling rates and improve the introduction of products that […]
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CJEU clarifies: the supervisory authority of a Member State may order the erasure of unlawfully processed data even in the absence of a prior request by the data subject
Such erasure may cover data collected from that person and data originating from another source. In 2020, the municipal administration of Újpest (Hungary) decided to provide financial support to persons who had been made vulnerable by the COVID-19 pandemic. To that end, it asked the Hungarian State Treasury and the government office of the fourth […]
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Council gives green light to new legislation toughening penalties and extending the list of environmental offences
The Council formally adopted a directive on the protection of the environment through criminal law. The law will improve the investigation and prosecution of environmental crime offences. The directive establishes EU-wide minimum rules on the definition of criminal offences and penalties. It replaces the previous law which dates back to 2008. The law will only […]
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