In 2021 the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) recommended over half a billion euro to be recovered to the EU budget. Detecting and investigating increasingly adaptable fraudsters, and working on preventing fraud against the EU’s multi-billion Recovery and Resilience Facility, OLAF continued to protect the EU budget despite the continuous challenges posed by the pandemic. The […]
Read More
State aid: Commission approves 500 million Finnish scheme
The European Commission has approved an €500 million scheme to support companies active in the context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The scheme was approved under the State aid Temporary Crisis Framework, adopted by the Commission on 23 March 2022, based on Article 107(3)(b) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (‘TFEU’), recognising that […]
Read More
Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things in EU enterprises
Modern smart technologies bring changes to EU enterprises. Such smart technologies include artificial intelligence (AI), which gives machines and systems the capability to learn and make decisions with some degree of autonomy to achieve specific goals. It also includes the smart environment called the Internet of Things (IoT), where machines, devices, sensors or systems are interconnected and […]
Read More
Agriculture and Fisheries Council, 13 June 2022: Main results
Agriculture Discussion on the market situation, especially following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia On the basis of the European Council conclusions, ministers recalled the importance of effective coordination measures at international level to ensure a global response to food security. The ability to move stored grain out of Ukraine before the next harvest is […]
Read More
Can plants communicate with one another?
If a tree talks alone in the forest, does it make a sound? The green-fingered expert, Ilaria Pertot, speaks about the secret conversations of plants “It is indeed true that plants can and do communicate with each other frequently,” Pertot begins. “And plants can talk to all other plants, they’re not just limited to conversation […]
Read More
EU COVID Certificate: MEPs and Council agree to extend rules for another year
The European Commission welcomes the provisional political agreement reached by the European Parliament and the Council on the extension of the EU Digital COVID Certificate by one year, following the Commission’s proposal. The extension will allow persons to continue using their certificate to travel across the EU past the Regulation’s initial expiry date of 30 June 2022. […]
Read More
Council conclusions at the start of the 12th World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference
The European Union is committed to an open and rules-based multilateral trading system, with a modernised WTO at its core. The EU supports an ambitious and realistic package for the 12th World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference (MC12), and expects all WTO members to make a constructive contribution, according to their needs and capacities. The Council […]
Read More
ECB announces interest rate hike to curb inflation
High inflation is a major challenge for all of us. The Governing Council will make sure that inflation returns to its 2% target over the medium term. In May inflation again rose significantly, mainly because of surging energy and food prices, including due to the impact of the war. But inflation pressures have broadened and […]
Read More
Joint statement by Borrell and Dombrovskis on Algeria
The decision taken by Algeria to suspend the Treaty of friendship and good neighbourly relations signed with Spain in 2002 is of utmost concern. We are assessing the implications of the Algerian actions, including the instruction given to the financial institutions to stop transactions between the two countries, which upfront appear to be in violation […]
Read More