The 2024 elections for the European Parliament are set for 6-9 June 2024. Eurostat has asked the National Statistical Institutes of the EU Member States for a dedicated data collection on the number of people eligible to vote. National estimates show that, on the election dates, the highest numbers of eligible voters are expected in Germany […]
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Can we learn to be happy? CORDIS answers
Happiness is learned and maintained through practice, says first-ever study. Happiness means different things to different people. It could be playing an instrument or doing a sport. Almost all would agree it’s the feeling of truly enjoying our lives, and wanting to make the very best of them. Happiness is key to helping us be […]
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The Commission has adopted the second strategic plan for Horizon Europe
The Commission has adopted the second strategic plan for Horizon Europe. The plan, announced at the flagship Research and Innovation Days, sets out three key strategic orientations for EU’s research and innovation funding for the last three years of the programme (2025-2027): Green transition; Digital transition; A more resilient, competitive, inclusive and democratic Europe. These orientations […]
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European Commission takes steps to boost biotechnology and biomanufacturing in the EU
The Communication on Building the future with nature identifies the challenges and barriers and proposes to tackle them, in line with the Communication on the long-term competitiveness of the EU. The advances in life sciences, supported by digitalisation and artificial intelligence (AI), and the potential of solutions based on biology to solve societal issues, make biotechnology and biomanufacturing one […]
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European Commission recommends measures to fight counterfeiting and better protect intellectual property rights
The Commission has adopted a Recommendation to combat counterfeiting, both offline and online, and enhance the enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR). The Recommendation, also known as the EU toolbox against counterfeiting, aims to foster collaboration between rights holders, service providers, and law enforcement, while encouraging best practices and the use of modern tools and […]
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59% of EU citizens used social networks in 2023
Social networks have had a growing influence on our daily lives in the past years. People participating in social networks (creating a user profile, posting messages or other contributions to Facebook, X, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, etc.) stood at an average of 59% among the EU individuals. When it comes to the percentage of EU individuals who participated in […]
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The Community of Madrid is the EU region with the highest life expectancy at birth
In 2022, the life expectancy at birth in the EU was 80.6 years, up by 0.5 years from 2021. Over two decades, since 2002, the highest value was recorded in 2019 when life expectancy at birth reached 81.3 years (up 3.7 years compared with 2002). However, after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, this indicator declined to 80.4 in […]
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Commission initiates formal proceedings against AliExpress under the Digital Services Act
The Commission has opened formal proceedings to assess whether AliExpress may have breached the Digital Services Act (DSA) in areas linked to the management and mitigation of risks, to content moderation and the internal complaint handling mechanism, to the transparency of advertising and recommender systems, to the traceability of traders and to data access for researchers. On the basis […]
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European Parliament Passes Landmark Artificial Intelligence Act
In a significant legislative stride, the European Parliament has approved the Artificial Intelligence Act, marking a pivotal moment in regulating AI technologies across the continent. Endorsed with a resounding 523 votes in favor, 46 against, and 49 abstentions, this regulation, forged through negotiations with member states in December 2023, sets forth a comprehensive framework aimed […]
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