The Council adopted on 24 March a regulation on financial benchmarks, which aims to cut red tape for EU companies, in particular for SMEs. Benchmarks are generally used by companies and investors in the EU as a reference in their financial instruments or contracts. This Regulation amends a 2016 Regulation as regards the scope of […]
The Council adds one entity to its autonomous list of sanctions associated with ISIL (Daesh) and Al-Qaida.
On 17 March the Council decided to add Al Azaim Media Foundation to the EU autonomous list of persons, groups, undertakings and entities associated with ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida and therefore subject to EU restrictive measures. Al Azaim Media Foundation is the media arm of the Islamic State-Khorasan. With the 17 March decision, the autonomous […]
Third payment of close €3.5 billion to Ukraine has been approved by the Council
Ukraine will soon receive approximately €3.5 billion after the Council approved a third payment of non-repayable grants and loans to Ukraine under the Ukraine Facility. The main objective of the Facility is to support Ukraine’s macro-financial stability and recovery, reconstruction and modernisation. With this third disbursement, Ukraine will have received close to €20 billion under the Ukraine Facility since its entry into force […]
Sanctions on 2,400 Russian individuals and entities extended for another six months el día 14 de marzo
The Council decided on 14 March to prolong the restrictive measures targeting those responsible for undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine for another six months, until 15 September 2025. The existing restrictive measures provide for travel restrictions for natural persons, the freezing of assets, and a ban on making funds or other […]
Council extends economic restrictive measures against Russia for another six months
The Council today extended EU restrictive measures for a further six months, until 31 July 2025, in the light of continued actions by the Russian Federation destabilising the situation in Ukraine. These economic measures, which were first adopted in 2014, have been significantly extended since February 2022 in response to Russia’s unprovoked, unjustified and […]
Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU – some facts about the country.
On 1 January 2025, Poland took over the presidency of the Council of the EU. The presidency rotates among EU countries every 6 months. During this 6-month period, the presidency chairs meetings at every level in the Council, helping to ensure the consistency of the EU’s work. On this occasion, Eurostat publishes some information and statistics […]
Cardiovascular health: Council calls for more robust efforts to help prevent cardiovascular diseases
The Council is calling for more robust efforts to help prevent cardiovascular diseases, which are the leading cause of death in the European Union. In conclusions approved today, the Council puts forward a series of measures aimed at improving cardiovascular health in the EU, focusing specifically on prevention, early detection, treatment and rehabilitation. “Cardiovascular diseases […]
Council recommends increased protection against second-hand smoke and aerosols
The Council has adopted a recommendation that will help reduce exposure to second-hand smoke and aerosols and achieve a tobacco-free generation in Europe by 2040 as set out in Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan. The recommendation on smoke and aerosol-free environments adopted today encourages EU countries to broaden the scope of their existing protection against second-hand smoke exposure to include key outdoor […]
Cybersecurity package: Council adopts new laws to strengthen cybersecurity capacities in the EU
To strengthen EU’s solidarity and capacities to detect, prepare for and respond to cybersecurity threats and incidents, yesterday the Council adopted two new laws part of the cyber security legislative ‘package’, namely the so-called ‘cyber solidarity act’, and a targeted amendment to the cybersecurity act (CSA). Main elements of the cyber solidarity act The new […]