The European Commission has designated under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), Booking as a gatekeeper for its online intermediation service Booking.com and decided not to designate X Ads and TikTok Ads. In parallel, the Commission has opened a market investigation to further assess the rebuttal submitted in relation to the online social networking service X. This decisions follow a […]
European Citizens’ Initiative on taxation of greenhouse gas emissions
The European Commission decided to register a European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) entitled ‘Save the Planet by shifting taxation from labour to greenhouse gas emissions’. The organisers of the initiative call on the Commission to strengthen the Fit for 55 Package and the EU carbon pricing system by setting a faster phase-out of free allowances and allowing […]
European Court of Auditors: It takes too long to recover misspent EU money
The EU auditors found that, while the European Commission ensures that irregular expenditure is recorded accurately and promptly, getting this money back often takes too long. For jointly managed agricultural funds where member states have primary responsibility, recovery rates are generally low, but with significant differences between EU countries. From 2014-2022, €14 billion of such […]
What is the relationship between gender equality and financial independence?
Social media platforms currently are witnessing a growing and concerning trend that sees traditional gender roles glorified while questioning the need for women’s financial independence. EIGE’s new report ‘Financial independence and gender equality: joining the dots on income, wealth and power’ offers a compelling perspective into why financial independence remains critical for women and men. And what we […]
Artificial intelligence: is the EU’s grand plan succeeding?
Imagine we asked a chatbot what would determine the path of the EU’s future economic development. Its answer would likely be “AI”. Politicians and experts might struggle to come up with a better answer. In 2018, the European Commission adopted a coordinated plan with the member states ‒ reviewed in 2021 ‒ to scale up investment in AI and […]
European Commission publishes analysis on social convergence in Spain in the context of the European Semester
The Commission has published a detailed country analysis on employment, skills and social inclusion for Spain and six other Member States (Bulgaria, Estonia, Italy, Lithuania, Hungary and Romania), detailing the results of the social convergence framework. This more detailed analysis is based on the findings of the Joint Employment Report 2024, which includes the first […]
Eurojust: Criminal network that stole 170 historical books worth 2.5 million euros across Europe dismantled
Eurojust and Europol have supported the competent authorities in Lithuania, France, Latvia, Poland, Switzerland and Georgia in an international operation against an organised crime group (OCG) that allegedly stole 170 books of high historical and cultural value across several European countries. The stolen books have an estimated value of EUR 2.5 million and were written […]
European Commission intends to end Article 7 procedure against Poland after improvements in rule of law
The European Commission has finalised its analysis on the rule of law situation in Poland in the context of the Article 7(1) TEU procedure. The Commission considers that there is no longer a clear risk of a serious breach of the rule of law in Poland within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the Treaty […]
Immigration law enforcement in the EU: 2023 figures
In 2023, 118 935 non-EU citizens were refused entry into the EU territory at one of its external borders, a 16% decrease compared with 142 420 in the previous year. An additional 1.27 million people were found to be illegally present in one of the EU countries, indicating a 13% increase compared with 1.12 million in 2022. This information […]