The European Research Council (ERC) has announced the award, within the Horizon Europe program, of 218 advanced grants to outstanding research projects; 16 of these have been allocated to leading projects being developed in Spanish centers. Spain is the fifth country in terms of the number of researcher projects awarded grants, behind Germany, the United […]
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Commission paves the way to improve the movement of mobile machinery on public roads across the EU
On 30 March, the Commission proposed a regulation to facilitate the use of non-road mobile machinery such as cranes, harvesters, forklift trucks and snow ploughs. These rules will eventually replace the various regulatory regimes that currently exist in the Member States. As the new rules will harmonise the technical requirements for the type-approval of off-road […]
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The Council and the European Parliament agree to increase the share of renewable energies in overall EU energy consumption to 42.5%.
The Council and the Parliament negotiators today reached a provisional political agreement to raise the share of renewable energy in the EU’s overall energy consumption to 42.5% by 2030 with an additional 2.5% indicative top up that would allow to reach 45%. Each member state will contribute to this common target. This provisional political agreement will now need […]
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European Parliament identifies worrying trends in rule of law on specific issues affecting Spain, Greece and Malta
During a joint debate on rule of law issues last Thursday, MEPs discussed with Commission Vice-President Jourová recent events and allegations of democratic backsliding in Greece, Spain, and Malta. They also voted on a resolution comprising Parliament’s assessment of the Commission’s 2022 rule of law report and the overall state of EU values. Commission’s rule of […]
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Demographic challenges of Member States and political responses to address them
The European Commission has published an interactive mapping, developed jointly with national authorities, showing the current national demographic challenges in the Member States and the policy responses adopted to address them. In particular, the mapping shows, based on data from a 2022 survey conducted by the Commission and the Social Protection Committee (SPC), that most […]
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Parliament approves new transparency rules on the gender pay gap
New legislation will oblige EU companies to share information to make it easier for workers to compare salaries and highlight possible gender differences. Pay structures used to compare salaries must be based on gender-neutral criteria, according to new rules adopted by the European Parliament on Thursday by 427 votes in favour, 79 against and 76 […]
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European Council agrees on digitisation of Schengen visa
The EU member states’ ambassadors today agreed the Council’s negotiating mandate for a proposal to digitalise the visa procedure. The proposal introduces the possibility to apply for a visa online and replaces the current visa sticker with a digital visa. It aims to make the visa application procedure more efficient and to improve the security […]
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Artificial intelligences that take care of household chores?
It is not only paid work that is important. Experts in the UK and Japan are divided on the impact of automation on unpaid domestic work. Technological advances are changing the nature of work as we know it. In the coming decades, jobs such as cashier and taxi driver will disappear to make way for […]
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European Commission adopts a proposal for a Directive aimed at greater transparency for companies
The European Commission has adopted a proposal for a Directive making it easier for companies to expand the use of digital tools and processes in EU company law. The proposal aims to facilitate cross-border companies’ operations and to increase business transparency and trust by making more information about companies publicly available at EU level. It […]
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