MEPs will quiz Commissioner Johansson on the future of the border-free Schengen zone, common migration and asylum policy and security in the context of the pandemic. In a debate in the Civil Liberties Committee on Thursday afternoon, MEPs will try to clarify how the Commission plans to ensure that temporary controls on the internal borders, reintroduced […]
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Impact of COVID-19 on the Erasmus programme and the EU Solidarity Corps
How has the pandemic affected the 170,000 students participating in the Erasmus+ programme or the European Solidarity Corps, and how can the EU help? Education has been greatly affected by the COVID-19 crisis. The closure of universities and travel restrictions complicate the situation for participants in cross-border mobility programmes such as Erasmus+ student exchanges and […]
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Commission approves second Spanish “umbrella” scheme to support economy in coronavirus outbreak
The European Commission has approved the second Spanish “umbrella” scheme to support the Spanish economy in the context of the coronavirus outbreak. The scheme was approved under the State aid Temporary Framework adopted by the Commission on 19 March 2020, as amended on 3 April 2020. Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition […]
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Regulatory flexibility to ensure availability of veterinary medicines during COVID-19
The European Commission, EMA and the Coordination Group for Mutual Recognition and Decentralised Procedure – Veterinary (CMDv) have issued guidance on adaptations to the regulatory framework to companies that develop, manufacture and distribute veterinary medicines in order to address some of the constraints posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the jointly developed question-and-answer (Q&A) document, regulatory rules […]
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Coronavirus Global Response: €7.4 billion raised for universal access to vaccines
The Commission has registered €7.4 billion, equivalent to $8 billion, in pledges from donors worldwide during the Coronavirus Global Response pledging event. This includes a pledge of €1.4 billion by the Commission. This almost reaches the initial target of €7.5 billion and is a solid starting point for the worldwide pledging marathon, which begins today. The […]
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European Central Bank: Monetary policy decisions
The Governing Council of the ECB took the following monetary policy decisions: The conditions on the targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTRO III) have been further eased. Specifically, the Governing Council decided to reduce the interest rate on TLTRO III operations during the period from June 2020 to June 2021 to 50 basis points below the […]
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Coronavirus: rescEU masks delivered to Spain, Italy and Croatia
Following last week’s delivery to Italy, more batches of FFP2 protective masks has been distributed this weekend to Spain, Italy and Croatia from rescEU – the first-ever common European reserve of medical equipment set up last month to help countries affected by the coronavirus outbreak. Today’s support comes on top of the EU Medical Teams, masks and […]
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Thanks to COVID-19, it’s time to flatten the curve on climate change
“Whilst COVID-19 has caused severe international health and economic crisis, failure to tackle climate change may threaten human well-being, ecosystems and economies for centuries,” the UN’s World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said in a conference on the occasion of Earth Day. “We need to flatten both the pandemic and climate change curves.” Combat climate change […]
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Judgment of the CJEU on homophobic discrimination in the workplace
Homophobic statements constitute discrimination in employment and occupation when they are made by a person who has or may be perceived as having a decisive influence on an employer’s recruitment policy. In the judgment in Associazione Avvocatura per i diritti LGBTI (C-507/18), delivered on 23 April 2020, the Court held that statements made by a […]
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