A new temperature-modulating robotic system reveals previously unknown collective honeybee behaviour, opening the door to new possibilities for helping bees survive in a changing climate. The EU-funded HIVEOPOLIS project has developed a robotic system that can interact with a honeybee colony. Built into the frame of a standard hive, the unobtrusive system measures and influences […]
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Guardia Civil, with Europol support, arrests 30 people in operation against large-scale drug trafficking network
The Spanish Guardia Civil has dismantled a criminal network engaged in large-scale drug trafficking from South America to Europe. Europol supported the operation against the criminals, who used an elaborate modus operandi to retrieve smuggled cocaine from shipping containers in the Spanish port of Algeciras. The organisation relied on a dedicated front companies to launder […]
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Agreement on fisheries subsidies to boost environmental sustainability
On 25 May 2023, the Council adopted a decision approving, on behalf of the EU, the conclusion of a World Trade Organization (WTO) protocol establishing a fisheries subsidies agreement. The WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies is the first WTO agreement that focuses on environmental sustainability, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goal 14.6 (UN SDG). It […]
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Commission secures agreement with BioNTech-Pfizer on the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines
The European Commission, acting with and on behalf of EU Member States through the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA), and vaccine developers BioNTech-Pfizer, have reached an agreement to better address Member States’ assessment of evolving needs for COVID-19 vaccines. The amendment to the existing vaccines supply contract takes into account the improved epidemiological […]
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Why are we attracted to certain people? New research explains the science of romantic attraction
It’s no secret that we’re drawn to people with similar interests as us. This phenomenon is known as the similarity-attraction effect. Charles Chu, an assistant professor of management and organisations at Boston University Questrom School of Business, carried out a series of four experiments that answer why we usually fall for people who are like […]
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European Union prepares stricter rules for waste shipments
The Council adopted its negotiating mandate to start talks with the European Parliament on a proposal to update EU legislation on cross-border waste shipments. The aim is to ensure that international shipments of waste don’t pose a threat to human health and the environment, and to promote the use of waste as a resource in […]
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The number of ICT workers in the EU rose in 2022
In 2022, 9.4 million people in the EU worked as ICT specialists, representing 4.6% of the total EU workforce. The share of ICT specialists in the EU has been increasing over the last decade, rising by 1.4 percentage points (pp) since 2012. Among the EU countries, the share of ICT specialists was highest in Sweden (8.6%), followed by Luxembourg (7.7%) and […]
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Eurostat report shows EU’s progress on Sustainable Development Goals
Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, published the ‘Sustainable development in the European Union — monitoring report on progress towards the SDGs in an EU context, 2023 edition‘, which provides a statistical overview of progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the EU. The report is published together with the European Semester […]
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EU renews temporary trade benefits for Ukraine
In a demonstration of its unwavering political and economic support for Ukraine, the Council suspended all customs duties, quotas and trade defence measures on Ukrainian exports to the EU for another year, until June 2024. The Council adopted today a Regulation which renews the suspension of all customs duties, quotas and trade defence measures on Ukrainian exports […]
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