Last Thursday, the Commission disbursed €1.4 billion to Spain in pre-financing grants related to the REPowerEU funds under the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism (RRM). This second and final REPowerEU pre-financing tranche complements the €340 million of loans previously disbursed to Spain on 25 January 2024. This pre-financing will help accelerate the implementation of the key […]
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EU leaders greenlight €64.6 billion in additional funding
EU leaders greenlit additional funding for the multiannual financial framework 2021-2027 and discussed support for Ukraine. They also discussed the situation in the Middle East and agriculture, and paid tribute to former European Commission President Jacques Delors, who passed away on 27 December 2023. Mid-term revision of EU long-term budget 2021-2027 As a follow-up to their meeting in December, EU leaders discussed […]
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EU reaffirms trade support for Ukraine and Moldova
The Commission has proposed to renew the suspension of import duties and quotas on Ukrainian exports to the EU for another year, while reinforcing protection for sensitive EU agricultural products. This is done in line with EU commitments to support Ukraine for as long as it takes. These Autonomous Trade Measures (ATMs) have been in place […]
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Commission recommends new measures on vaccine-preventable cancers under Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan
The European Commission is putting forward a Recommendation to support Member States in their efforts to prevent cancer through vaccination. Notably, it focuses on boosting the uptake of two key vaccinations that can prevent viral infections that may lead to cancer: against Human papillomaviruses (HPV) and Hepatitis B virus (HBV), as well as improving the monitoring of coverage rates. […]
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EU and Japan update partnership agreement to include cross-border data flows
On behalf of the EU, the Belgian Presidency of the Council has signed the protocol to include provisions on cross-border data flows in the agreement between the EU and Japan for an Economic Partnership. The protocol will provide greater legal certainty, ensuring that data flows between the EU and Japan will not be hampered by […]
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Commission proposes to allow EU farmers to derogate for one year from certain agricultural rules
The European Commission proposes to allow EU farmers to avail of derogations for the year 2024 from Common Agricultural Policy rules obliging them to keep certain areas non-productive. The Commission’s proposal, sent today to Member States who will vote on it in a committee meeting, provides a first concrete policy response to address farmers’ income […]
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Urban wastewater: Council and Parliament reach a deal on new rules for more efficient treatment and monitoring
The Council and the European Parliament’s negotiators reached a provisional political agreement on a proposal to review the urban wastewater treatment directive. The revised directive is one of the key deliverables under the EU’s zero-pollution action plan. While the current directive has proven highly effective in reducing water pollution and improving the treatment of wastewater […]
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Agreement to improve consumer information for honey, fruit jams and juices
The European Commission welcomes the political agreement reached by the European Parliament and Council to review and strengthen the existing marketing standards applicable to a honey, fruit juices, jams and milk. The so-called Breakfast Directives lay down common rules on the composition, sales names, labelling and presentation of these products to ensure their free movement within […]
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EU and US take stock of trade and technology cooperation
The European Union and the United States held the fifth meeting of the EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC) in Washington, D.C. The meeting allowed ministers to take stock of the progress of the TTC’s work and to provide political steer on key priorities for the next TTC Ministerial meeting, which will take place in […]
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