The ‘Air-Quotas’ initiative calls for the Commission to establish a citizens’ carbon quota mechanism in each country that will encourage businesses to decarbonise through consumer demand. The organisers consider that this new mechanism should cover all purchases of goods and services, starting with air transport. The organisers of the ‘Stop Destroying Videogames’ initiative call for the Commission to introduce […]
Read More
Eurostat: Drop in youths neither working nor studying
In 2023, more than one in ten (11.2%) young people aged 15 to 29 in the EU were neither in employment nor in education or training (NEET), a decrease of 0.5 percentage points (pp) compared with 2022. Over the last ten years, there was a noticeable decrease in the NEET rate among people aged 15 to 29. In 2013, the […]
Read More
EU legislation on combating violence against women enters into force
The first EU rules on combating violence against women and domestic violence enter into force. Violence against women and domestic violence affects an estimated one in three of the 228 million women in the EU. By criminalising certain forms of violence against women across the EU – including online – and strengthening victims’ access to […]
Read More
People at risk of poverty or social exclusion in the European Union in 2023
In 2023, 94.6 million people in the EU (21% of the population) were at risk of poverty or social exclusion, i.e. lived in households experiencing at least one of the three poverty and social exclusion risks: risk of poverty, severe material and social deprivation, and/or living in a household with very low work intensity. The figure slightly decreased compared with 2022 […]
Read More
European Commission presents the Common Implementation Plan of the Pact on Migration and Asylum
After a historic agreement was reached on the Pact on Migration and Asylum, work has started to translate the large and complex set of legislative acts into an operational reality over the next two years. This will be a common endeavour, with the Commission supporting Member States every step of the way. The Common Implementation Plan […]
Read More
EU Justice Scoreboard 2024 shows that perception of judicial independence has improved
The European Commission has published the twelfth edition of the EU Justice Scoreboard, an annual overview providing comparative data on the efficiency, quality, and independence of justice systems among the EU Member States. Compared to last year, the public’s perception of judicial independence has improved, also in countries that had experienced systemic challenges. This year’s […]
Read More
Increase in tourist overnight stays in the European Union in 2024
In the first quarter of 2024, there were 452.6 million overnight stays in tourist accommodations across the EU, marking a 7% increase compared with the same quarter of 2023. January recorded 133.9 million nights (+3% compared with January 2023), February 149.2 million (+6%) and March 169.5 million (+9%). This information comes from monthly data on tourist accommodation up to […]
Read More
Spain: EIB and Banco Sabadell sign guarantee agreement to facilitate up to €400 million in new financing for SMEs and mid-caps
The signed agreement worth up to €200 million is the first tranche of an EIB-approved operation of up to €300 million in total — under which Banco Sabadell will finance projects over the next two years. The operation will promote private sector investment and support the financing needs of a key segment of the Spanish economy […]
Read More
Eurostat: do you know in which EU country people work the longest hours?
In 2023, the actual weekly working hours for people aged 20-64 in their main job, in the EU, averaged 36.1 hours. A closer look at EU countries reveals notable differences. The longest working weeks were recorded in Greece (39.8 hours), Romania (39.5), Poland (39.3) and Bulgaria (39.0). By contrast, the Netherlands had the shortest working […]
Read More