Updates to EU consumer protection rules to tackle misleading rankings in online marketplaces and dual quality of products were provisionally agreed on Friday. Transparency rules for online rankings and reviews Online marketplaces and comparison services (e.g. Amazon, eBay, AirBnb, Skyscanner) will have to disclose the main parameters determining how offers resulting from a search query […]
Read MoreR&I cooperation between EU and Middle East reaches new heights
Boosting international cooperation in research and innovation (R&I) requires a strengthened dialogue between actors from the EU and targeted regions. It also involves identifying obstacles to cooperation and solutions to overcome them. The EU-funded MERID project promoted and intensified EU-Middle East R&I cooperation by building on previous international cooperation experiences in the Mediterranean and Middle […]
Read MoreEpigenetic therapy! Switching off your own cancer genes
Cancer, particularly acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), is aggressive and also resistant to anti-cancer therapy, resulting in poor patient outcomes. Understanding how genes can be switched on and off without affecting their DNA sequence is paramount for the development of new anti-cancer therapies. AML is characterised by the abnormal proliferation of immature myeloid cells. The standard […]
Read MoreFair labour mobility: provisional agreement reached on the modernised rules on social security coordination
The provisional agreement reached yesterday by the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission revises the European rules on social security coordination to ensure that they remain fair, clear and easier to enforce. This agreement updates and safeguards the rights of citizens moving to another EU country and facilitates the cooperation between national authorities. […]
Read MoreEuropean Commission calls on national political parties to join efforts to ensure free and fair elections in Europe
In September 2018, as part of the State of the Union, President Juncker proposed measures to bolster European democracy and protect free and fair elections in Europe. Ahead of the European elections, Commissioner Vera Jourová has written to national political parties calling on them to ensure transparency of political advertising, to be ready to face […]
Read MoreEuropean Defence Fund on track with €525 million for Eurodrone and other joint research and industrial projects
The Commission has recently adopted work programmes to co-finance joint defence industrial projects in 2019-2020 worth up to €500 million. A further €25 million have been earmarked to support collaborative defence research projects in 2019, with calls for proposals launched today. The Juncker Commission is making an unprecedented effort to protect and defend Europeans. […]
Read MoreTax crimes: special committee calls for a European financial police force
The recommendations adopted by the Special Committee on Financial Crimes, Tax Evasion and Tax Avoidance (TAX3) range from overhauling the system for dealing with financial crimes, tax evasion and tax avoidance, notably by thoroughly improving cooperation in all areas between the multitude of authorities involved, to setting up new bodies at the EU and global […]
Read MoreThe Commission reports on its actions to promote the equality of LGBTI people
The European Commission publishes the annual report on its action plan to advance the equality of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI), which was launched in 2015. The first vice president, Frans Timmermans, said: “All people should be treated equally, regardless of where they come from, their creed, their sex, their age or their […]
Read More€2 billion to fast forward the creation of the European Innovation Council
Ahead of the 21-22 March European Council discussion on innovation, industry and competitiveness, the Commission takes decisive steps to set up a European Innovation Council. Global competition is intensifying and Europe needs to deepen its innovation and risk-taking capability to compete on a market increasingly defined by new technologies. That is why the Juncker […]
Read More