In 2023, 9.5% of the EU population were unable to afford a meal containing meat, fish or a vegetarian equivalent every second day, 1.2 percentage points (pp) higher compared with 2022 (8.3%). Moreover, focusing on people at risk of poverty in 2023 the share at the EU level was 22.3%, indicating a 2.6 pp […]
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ERC awards Spanish astrophysicist with Proof of Concept Grant No. 2000
The European Research Council (ERC) has announced the award of 100 new proof-of-concept grants in the first round of the 2024 competition. This latest round of grants includes the 2000th project since the programme’s introduction in 2011, which will receive proof-of-concept funding. Astrophysicist Nanda Rea, who works at Spain’s Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), […]
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Eurostat: EU population increases again in 2024
After a decline in 2020 and 2021 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the EU’s population has increased for the second consecutive year, rising from 447.6 million on 1 January 2023 to 449.2 million people on 1 January 2024. The negative natural change (more deaths than births) was outnumbered by the positive net migration. […]
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Commission allocates €77 million in emergency support to farmers in Austria, Czechia, Poland and Portugal
The Commission proposed to mobilise €77 million from the agricultural reserve to support farmers from the fruit, vegetables and wine sectors of Austria, Czechia, Poland who have recently suffered from adverse climatic events of unprecedented magnitude, as well as Portuguese wine producers who face serious market disturbances. The Commission’s proposals, accepted by Member States, allocate […]
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Eurostat: House sales drop in 2023
In 2023, the number of housing transactions decreased in 13 out of the 16 EU countries for which data are available, compared with 2022. This marks the second consecutive year that the majority of reporting countries have registered drops in sales. The largest decreases in the number of transactions in 2023 were recorded in Luxembourg […]
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Know your EU passenger rights before you travel
All packed, and ready to go? For those of you heading off on a summer break soon, we hope your travel plans don’t go wrong, but if they should, you should know that EU travel rules cover passengers in a number of eventualities. Whether your flight is cancelled, your train delayed or your luggage lost […]
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The European Commission has published the European Innovation Scoreboard 2024
The innovation performance of the European Union continues to improve at a steady pace, reaching a 10% increase since 2017 and a growth of 0.5% between 2023 and 2024. According to the 2024 edition of the European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS) published today, most EU Member States have boosted their innovation performance, but the increase varies strongly from one to another. Key […]
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European Union priorities for 2024-2029
As the global political landscape is being reshaped by strategic competition, growing global instability and attempts to undermine the rules-based international order, the EU needs a clear strategic plan and a solid framework for actions. In the face of unprecedented challenges, ranging from Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the fight against climate change, the situation in […]
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Commission imposes provisional countervailing duties on imports of battery electric vehicles from China while discussions with China continue
Nine months after the initiation of an ex officio anti-subsidy investigation, the European Commission has imposed provisional countervailing duties on imports of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) from China. Based on the investigation, the Commission has concluded that the BEV value chain in China benefits from unfair subsidisation, which is causing a threat of economic injury to EU BEV producers. The […]
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