The European Commission has found that the marketing agreements concluded between the local Association for the Promotion of Touristic and Economic Flows (APFTE) and Ryanair at the airport of Montpellier are illegal under EU State aid rules. Ryanair now has to return €8.5 million of illegal State aid. Montpellier airport is a regional airport located […]
Read MoreAfrica-Europe cookbook: the ultimate diplomatic tool to bring two continents to the table
The Delegation of the European Union to the African Union launches a book with 70 recipes from African and European countries, cooked up by AU and EU Commissioners and EU Member State Ambassadors What do Hungarian goulash, Spanish gazpacho and Congolese Saka Saka have in common? As typical recipes from their countries, they are unique […]
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European Health Insurance Card: keeping you safe abroad
You have bought tickets, booked that nice hotel by the sea, your neighbour has agreed to take care of your cat – everything is ready for that long-awaited holiday. But wait, aren’t you forgetting something? Ask for your European Health Insurance Card; just in case something goes wrong. What is the European Health Insurance […]
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EU and Japan select first Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Programmes
The European Commission has announced the results of the call for proposals for Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree Partnerships with Japan launched in October 2018. The Commission and the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology have selected three programmes offered by international consortia involving leading universities: Master of Science in Imaging and […]
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Early Childhood Education and Care in Europe
Early childhood education and care (ECEC) – the phase before primary education – is increasingly acknowledged as providing the foundations for lifelong learning and development. This second edition of Key Data on Early Childhood Education and Care in Europe charts the progress made in the key quality areas identified in the Council Recommendation on High Quality ECEC Systems. The Commission´s Intention […]
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European Commission Joint Research Centre opens world-class laboratories to researchers
Researchers from across Europe will now have even more opportunities to use the Joint Research Centre’s state-of-the-art facilities: after a first round of the open access initiative, in which nearly 100 eligible proposals were received from 92 research institutions, further laboratories of the Commission’s in-house science and knowledge service are now available to external scientists. […]
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Financial services: Commission sets out its equivalence policy with non-EU countries
The European Commission is today taking stock of its overall approach to equivalence in the area of financial services. EU equivalence has become a significant tool in recent years, fostering integration of global financial markets and cooperation with third-country authorities. The EU assesses the overall policy context and to what extent the regulatory regimes of […]
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Drought in Europe: the Commission offers further support to European farmers
The European Commission is offering support to farmers faced with the waves of drought afflicting Europe. Firstly, farmers will be able to receive a higher percentage of their direct and rural development payments in advance. Secondly, to be able to feed their animals, they will be granted greater flexibility to use land that would normally […]
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As market matures, Central Banks conclude that a formal gold agreement is no longer necessary
The European Central Bank (ECB) and 21 other central banks that are signatories of the Central Bank Gold Agreement (CBGA) have decided not to renew the Agreement upon its expiry in September 2019. Signatories of the fourth Central Bank Gold Agreement no longer see need for formal agreement as market has developed and matured. Signatory […]
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