The European Commission decided to refer Spain to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failure to ensure correct implementation of the Merger Directive on the common system of taxation applicable to Member States (Directive 2009/133/EC). The objective of the Merger Directive is to remove fiscal obstacles to cross-border reorganisations involving companies situated in two […]
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Agreement on use of super-computing for AI development
The Council has reached a political agreement on a regulation to expand the objectives of the European High Performing Computer Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC), aimed at boosting Europe’s leadership in artificial intelligence (AI). The regulation adds an additional objective for the Joint Undertaking: to develop and operate AI Factories in support of an artificial intelligence ecosystem […]
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Lead candidates present their bids for the European Commission presidency
On Thursday afternoon, the Eurovision debate between the lead candidates for the presidency of the European Commission took place in the European Parliament. Walter Baier (Austria, European Left), Sandro Gozi (Italy, Renew Europe Now), Ursula von der Leyen (Germany, European People’s Party), Terry Reintke (Germany, European Greens) and Nicolas Schmit (Luxembourg, Party of European Socialists) […]
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Decline in EU livestock population in 2023
In 2023, the EU‘s livestock populations were lower than a year earlier. Compared with 2022, the pig and bovine populations decreased by 1%, while sheep declined by 3%, and goats by 5%. In 2023, the EU had 133 million pigs, 74 million bovine animals, 58 million sheep, and 11 million goats. This information comes from provisional data […]
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European Health Union: Progress made in EU health policy over the last four years
The Commission adopted a Communication on the European Health Union, which highlights the strides made in EU health policy over the last four years, for the benefit of citizens in the EU and worldwide. The start of this mandate was marked by the biggest pandemic in a century, which caused human suffering on a worldwide scale and […]
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Early school leavers: Spain has the second highest rate in the European Union in 2023
In 2023, the share of ‘early school leavers’ (young people aged 18-24 leaving early from education and training) in the EU was 9.5%. The share has steadily decreased over the last 10 years (from 11.8% in 2013), bringing the EU members closer to the target of reducing the rates of early school leavers to below […]
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Foreign interference: Council advocates safeguarding elections
The Council approved conclusions on democratic resilience and safeguarding electoral processes from all forms of foreign interference. As billions of citizens cast their ballots globally in 2024 – including in the European Parliament elections – the conclusions underline that democratic resilience remains a central focus of the Council’s agenda. In an evolving security environment, […]
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Council approves gas and hydrogen market package
The Council has adopted a regulation and a directive establishing common internal market rules for renewable and natural gases and hydrogen and reforming the existing EU gas legislation. The new rules will help make the shift to renewable and low-carbon gases, in particular hydrogen, in the energy system, with a view to achieving the EU’s […]
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New Eurobarometer shows Europeans’ positive attitude towards language learning
A vast majority of Europeans (86%) believe that everyone should speak at least one foreign language, and almost three out of five (59%) can have a conversation in one. These are some of the results of the new Eurobarometer on “Europeans and their languages” that the Commission published. Coinciding with the world day for cultural diversity, […]
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