The coronavirus pandemic has challenged European societies in many ways. The European Environment Agency’s (EEA) briefing, published yesterday, analyses the pandemic’s effect on the use of certain single-use plastics products, which cause greenhouse gas and other emissions and can end up littering the environment. It also brings useful lessons to improve our response to future […]
Council updates recommendation on free movement restrictions
The Council has adopted a recommendation amending the recommendation on a coordinated approach to the restriction of free movement in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This update responds to the evolving epidemiological situation, the ongoing vaccination campaigns and the adoption of the EU digital COVID certificate. Free movement restrictions Member states should continue to strongly […]
Horizon: Cohorts united against COVID-19 variants of concern
Expected Outcome This topic aims at supporting activities that are enabling or contributing to the development of large scale, COVID-19 cohorts and networks worldwide, including beyond Europe’s borders, forging links with European initiatives as a global response to the pandemic. To that end, proposals under this topic should aim at delivering results that are directed, […]
Vaccine (in)equity – no right of way for persons with disabilities in the EU
Faced with many barriers and less able to maintain social and physical distance, persons with disabilities are at greater risk of contracting COVID-19 and falling severely ill as a result of the disease. However, in the EU they have not been explicitly included in priority groups for vaccination. National vaccination strategies do not have clear-cut […]
Horizon: Research infrastructure services for rapid research responses to COVID-19 and other infectious disease epidemics
Expected Outcome Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes: comprehensive catalogue of research infrastructure services relevant to tackle infectious diseases epidemics is available, including services supporting pertinent social sciences research; fast assembly and provision of innovative, customised and efficient research infrastructure services to support research linked to detecting, assessing and […]
Future of tourism: sustainable, responsible, smart
Europe is the world’s most popular tourist destination. When tourism returns following more than a year of disruption due to the pandemic, Parliament is calling for a plan to make it greener and more sustainable. Tourism and Covid-19 Tourism is one of the sectors affected the most by the Covid-19 pandemic. It employs about 27 […]
EMA finds possible link to very rare cases of unusual blood clots with low blood platelets
EMA confirms overall benefit-risk remains positive EMA’s safety committee (PRAC) has concluded today that unusual blood clots with low blood platelets should be listed as very rare side effects of Vaxzevria (formerly COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca). In reaching its conclusion, the committee took into consideration all currently available evidence, including the advice from an ad hoc […]
EIB provides €300 million in financing to Banco de Sabadell to support Spanish companies affected by the pandemic
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is joining forces with Banco de Sabadell to expand its capacity to lend to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-caps hit by the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. To this end, the EIB will provide €300 million in financing to enable the Spanish bank to mobilise a total of […]
Commission strengthens transparency and authorisation mechanism for exports of COVID-19 vaccines
The European Commission has introduced the principles of reciprocity and proportionality as new criteria to be considered for authorising exports under the transparency and authorisation mechanism for COVID-19 vaccine exports. This system has significantly improved the transparency of exports. Nevertheless, the objective to ensure timely access to COVID-19 vaccines for EU citizens is still not […]