The European Commission is launching the Innovation Fund’s second call for small-scale projects making available EUR 100 million for projects in renewable energy, energy-intensive industries including substitute products, energy storage, and carbon capture, use and storage. The call is open for small-scale projects with capital expenditure between EUR 2.5 and 7.5 million located in […]
Council adopts regulation on gas storage
The Council has definitively adopted a regulation aiming to ensure that gas storage capacities in the EU are filled before the winter season and can be shared between member states in a spirit of solidarity, despite the disruptions in the gas market. This is an important step in strengthening the security of the EU’s energy […]
Council conclusions at the start of the 12th World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference
The European Union is committed to an open and rules-based multilateral trading system, with a modernised WTO at its core. The EU supports an ambitious and realistic package for the 12th World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference (MC12), and expects all WTO members to make a constructive contribution, according to their needs and capacities. The Council […]
Waste and recycling: Commission seeks views on revision of the Waste Framework Directive
The Commission is launching a public consultation on the revision of the Waste Framework Directive (WFD), including setting of EU food waste reduction targets. The revision aims to improve the overall environmental outcome of waste management in line with the waste hierarchy and the implementation of the polluter pays principle. The public consultation is open for […]
Spain will reiterate the need for the Commission to allow greater flexibility for the fruit and vegetable sector
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, advocated last Wednesday to carry out a constant monitoring of the European market situation in all fields in order to know the effect of the measures adopted to mitigate the effects of the war in Ukraine, in case the adoption of new measures is necessary. On […]
New tool to protect internal market against distortive foreign subsidies
To ensure a level playing field for all companies operating in the internal market, member states agreed a negotiating mandate for the regulation on foreign subsidies distorting the internal market. The regulation aims to address the distortions created by subsidies granted by non-EU countries to companies operating in the EU’s single market. It establishes a comprehensive framework for the […]
European Commission and Government of Canada team up with Global Citizen to mobilise support for refugees
March 25, the European Commission and the Government of Canada announced the launch of a global campaign to raise funding in support of people fleeing the invasion of Ukraine, in partnership with international advocacy organisation Global Citizen. The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on the international community on behalf of his citizens who have been displaced […]
Commission aid to Spain for energy consumption
The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a Spanish scheme to partially compensate energy-intensive companies for higher electricity prices resulting from indirect emission costs under the EU Emission Trading System (‘ETS’). Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said: “This €2.9 billion scheme enables Spain to reduce the risk of energy-intensive […]
REPowerEU: Joint European action for more affordable, secure and sustainable energy
The European Commission has today proposed an outline of a plan to make Europe independent from Russian fossil fuels well before 2030, starting with gas, in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This plan also outlines a series of measures to respond to rising energy prices in Europe and to replenish gas stocks for next winter. Europe has been facing increased energy […]