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 […]
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European 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. […]
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Tax 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 […]
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The 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 […]
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€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 […]
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European Media Literacy Week
The European Media Literacy Week is a new initiative by the European Commission to underline the societal importance of media literacy and promote media literacy initiatives and projects across the EU. From 18 to 22 March 2019, various events around the topic of media literacy will take place in Brussels and in Member States. A […]
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NGOs saving lives in the Mediterranean: MEPs to assess the situation
2018 Sakharov Prize finalist NGOs, which carried out rescue operations in the Mediterranean and are now prevented from operating, discussed their work with MEPs. Yesterday, MEPs of the Civil Liberties Committee and Human Rights Subcommittee debated the legal framework of search and rescue operations as well as the challenges faced by people working in the […]
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€2 billion to fast forward the creation of the 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 Commission is introducing a European Innovation Council (EIC) to turn Europe’s scientific discoveries into businesses that can scale up faster. Currently in its pilot phase, the European Innovation […]
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MEPs call for EU Magnitsky Act to impose sanctions on human rights abusers
Last week, MEPs backed a resolution calling for new EU human rights sanctions to punish state and non-state actors responsible for gross violations of human rights. In a resolution adopted on Thursday, the European Parliament calls for a new sanctions regime to be established at EU level to impose asset freezes and visa bans on […]
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