The Commission presented the mid-term evaluation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the EU’s recovery instrument at the heart of the €800 billion NextGenerationEU (NGEU) plan. Unprecedented in its scale and ambition, the RRF was established in February 2021 and has the two-fold objective of helping Member States to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well […]
Commission monitors strengths and challenges of EU’s competitiveness
The Commission has published the new Annual Single Market and Competitiveness Report. The report details the competitive strengths and challenges of Europe’s Single Market, tracking yearly developments according to the nine competitiveness drivers identified in the EU’s 2023 Long-term competitiveness Communication. Those are the functioning of the Single Market, access to private capital, public investment and […]
Spain, InvestEU: EIF and ICF join forces to mobilise €64 million to support social enterprises and cultural and creative businesses in Catalonia
With the support of the InvestEU programme, the European Investment Fund (EIF) will provide the Catalan Finance Institute (ICF) with a capped portfolio guarantee that will leverage €64 million in support of social enterprises and entities within the cultural and creative sector in Catalonia. This transaction is the first guarantee agreement between the two institutions […]
La lucha contra el abuso sexual de menores recibe un nuevo impulso gracias a unas normas actualizadas de Derecho penal
The Commission is adopting a proposal to update the criminal law rules on child sexual abuse and sexual exploitation. Child sexual abuse is a heinous crime which has evolved significantly over the past years. The threat of abuse is real and has increased throughout the EU. For example, paedophile manuals continue to appear online, showing […]
Five key aspects you should know about the European elections
Next June, citizens of the European Union are called to the polls to elect the 720 Members of the European Parliament. Members of the European Parliament, together with representatives of the governments of the member countries, represent around 450 million Europeans and legislate on many important aspects of our society. The Parliament also approves the […]
30th edition of the Salvador de Madariaga Journalism Award
The Representation of the European Commission in Spain and the Association of European Journalists, with the support of the European Parliament’s Information Office in Spain, announce the 30th edition of the “Salvador de Madariaga” European Journalism Prize. Journalists’ associations, media, journalism faculties and centres and professionals in the humanities can submit candidates for each […]
Commission decides to partially register a European Citizens’ Initiative on Cannabis
The Commission decided to partially register a European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) entitled ‘European Cannabis Initiative’. The organisers call on the Commission to: convene a trans-European citizens’ assembly on cannabis policies, including sanctions and the consistency of Member States’ policies; foster access to medical cannabis and allow the transportation of cannabis and its derivatives prescribed for […]
Fight against child sexual abuse gets new impetus thanks to updated criminal law rules
The Commission is adopting a proposal to update the criminal law rules on child sexual abuse and sexual exploitation. Child sexual abuse is a heinous crime which has evolved significantly over the past years. These revised rules expand the definitions of offences and introduce higher penalties and more specific requirements for prevention and assistance to […]
The University of the Balearic Islands inaugurates the Health Sciences building funded by REACT-EU
The University of the Balearic Islands (UIB) will inaugurate its new Health Sciences building, constructed thanks to funding from the European Union. The University of the Balearic Islands (UIB) will inaugurate its new interdisciplinary building “Margalida Comas i Camps” for Health Sciences at 10:00 on February 5, 2024. This state-of-the-art facility, financed under the European […]