The Council adopted recommendations for seven countries to correct their excessive deficit situation within a set time period: Belgium, France, Italy, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Romania. The recommendations contain a corrective budgetary path, expressed in numerical terms, and a deadline, for each member state. These are in line with each member states’ objectives, expressed in […]
Council sets budget expenditure paths for 21 Member States
The Council moved a step closer to implementing the EU’s new fiscal rules by adopting today recommendations approving the first national medium-term fiscal-structural plans and setting out net expenditure paths for 21 Member States. The national medium-term fiscal-structural plans are a cornerstone of the new economic governance framework. They set out Member States’ fiscal paths, […]
Council adopts new rules for more efficient urban waste water treatment
The Council gave the final green light for a revised EU directive on urban wastewater treatment. The revised directive extends the scope to smaller agglomerations, covers more pollutants, including micropollutants, and contributes to energy neutrality. The new rules are one of the key deliverables under the EU’s zero-pollution action plan. More agglomerations and more pollutants […]
Greenlight to use super-computing for AI development
The Council has today adopted an amendment to the regulation on the European High-Performance Computing (EuroHPC) joint undertaking to expand its objectives to include the development and operation of ‘AI factories’. AI factories are entities which provide an AI supercomputing service infrastructure. The amended regulation will make the EU’s supercomputing capacity further available for innovative […]
Final green light to the nature restoration law
EU environment ministers met in Luxembourg and reached a general approach on the green claims directive, the soil monitoring directive and the revised waste framework directive. They formally adopted the nature restoration law. Nature restoration law Today, the Council formally adopted the – first of its kind – regulation on nature restoration. This law aims […]
Circular economy: new EU rules on right to repair
The Council has today adopted a directive promoting the repair of broken or defective goods, also known as the right-to-repair (or R2R) directive. This legislation will make it easier for consumers to seek repair instead of replacement and repair services will become more accessible, transparent and attractive. The adoption of the directive is the last step in […]
EU security and defence: Council sets out five main priorities
The Council approved conclusions on EU security and defence in a context of an unprecedented combination of threats and challenges, such as Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, and increased tensions in the Middle East, the Sahel and other areas of the world. Since the start of Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression against […]
Artificial intelligence act: Council gives final green light to the first worldwide rules on AI
Today the Council approved a ground-breaking law aiming to harmonise rules on artificial intelligence, the so-called artificial intelligence act. The flagship legislation follows a ‘risk-based’ approach, which means the higher the risk to cause harm to society, the stricter the rules. It is the first of its kind in the world and can set a global standard for AI regulation. […]
Council adopts first-ever EU law on violence against women
The Council has given the green light to an EU directive to combat violence against women and domestic violence. Taking decisive action against these acts of violence is essential to ensure the values and fundamental rights of equality between women and men and of non-discrimination. The law requires all EU countries to criminalise female genital […]