The Commission is responding to the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) “Save bees and farmers! Towards a bee-friendly agriculture for a healthy environment”. The Commission welcomes the initiative and acknowledges the importance of the ECI, in particular as the interlinked crises of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss constitute growing challenges for Europe’s agriculture and food […]
Read More
The European Commission will investigate the proposed creation of a company by Orange and MásMóvil
The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation under the EU Merger Regulation to assess the proposed creation of a joint venture between Orange and Más Móvil. The Commission has concerns that this venture could reduce competition in the retail marketing of mobile and fixed broadband services and in the offer of multiple service packages […]
Read More
Mental health didn’t get worse during the pandemic, says large-scale study
During the COVID-19 pandemic, academia and media outlets reported that our mental health had declined. But could this be misleading? A major study on COVID-19 mental health has some surprising findings. Led by Canada’s McGill University, research published in the journal ‘BMJ’ shows that the global pandemic had limited impact on mental health. The power […]
Read More
Statement by President von der Leyen after the trilateral meeting with the President of the People’s Republic of China
Thank you, President Xi, This is my second visit to Beijing, but in my family, China, and especially the province of Anhui, played a role. When I was young, my father, as Prime Minister of Lower Saxony, secured the first agreement with the province of Anhui and Lower-Saxony. And this partnership continues to flourish today. […]
Read More
10th EU-US Energy Council
The 10th EU-US Energy Council met on 4th April in Brussels, chaired by EU High Representative/Vice President Josep Borrell Fontelles, European Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and US Deputy Secretary of Energy David M. Turk. Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Tobias Billström, represented the Presidency of the Council of the […]
Read More
The European Commission proposes rules on the transfer of criminal proceedings between Member States in the face of increasing cross-border crime
Increasing cross-border crime has led to more and more cases where several Member States have jurisdiction to prosecute the same case. Parallel or multiple prosecutions can be inefficient and ineffective, but also possibly detrimental to the rights of the individuals concerned as a person may not be prosecuted or punished for the same offence twice. […]
Read More
The EU supports development of new emergency shelter stocks with 116 million euros
To strengthen emergency response even further, the EU is establishing its own shelter reserves, which can be used in the event of a crisis or catastrophe that overwhelms national response capacities. The EU is allocating €116.6 million to Croatia, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Turkey on 4th March to acquire and host new rescEU shelter […]
Read More
European Defence Fund: €1.2 billion to boost EU defence capabilities and innovation
The European Commission has adopted the third annual Work Programme under the European Defence Fund (EDF), allocating €1.2 billion to defence collaborative research and development projects. With this new Work Programme, the Commission unlocks new funding for defence projects to jointly develop strategic defence capabilities and technologies. It also introduces a series of new measures […]
Read More
Consumer protection: European Commission contacts Nintendo to fix defective Nintendo Switch controllers free of charge
Following an alert from the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC), the European Commission and EU consumer authorities (Network of Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Authorities) contacted Nintendo to address a recurring technical problem with irresponsive controllers. Following this action, Nintendo has agreed to offer all consumers the right to repair for affected controllers of the “Nintendo Switch” […]
Read More