The Commission and New Zealand signed the association agreement on the participation of New Zealand to Horizon Europe, the EU’s research, and innovation programme. This marks the first association with a close partner that is not geographically close to Europe. It marks a completely new approach whereby the EU is strengthening even more its ties […]
EU and New Zealand sign ambitious free trade agreement
The EU and New Zealand have signed their free trade agreement (FTA), which will deliver significant gains for the EU. The deal will cut some €140 million a year in duties for EU companies from the first year of application. As a result, bilateral trade is expected to grow by up to 30% within a […]
Deal on boosting the production of ammunition and missiles in the EU
The Council presidency has reached a provisional agreement with the European Parliament representatives on the Act in Support of Ammunition Production (ASAP). The agreed regulation will urgently mobilise €500 million from the EU budget (in current prices) to support the ramp-up of the manufacturing capacities for the production of ground-to-ground and artillery ammunition as well as missiles. In doing so, it […]
Rule of Law Report 2023 – Abstract and Recommendations for Spain
The Spanish justice system is still undergoing some important developments. The situation of the Council for the Judiciary raises serious concerns as, firstly, the Council has not been renewed in spite of the urgency and, secondly, no steps have been taken to adapt the appointment procedure for its judges-members. The lack of renewal is having […]
LIFE Programme: Circular Economy, resources from Waste, Air, Water, Soil, Noise, Chemicals, Bauhaus
Objective The aim is to facilitate the transition toward a sustainable, circular, toxic-free, energy-efficient/climate-resilient economy and toward a toxic-free environment as well as to protect, restore and improve the quality of the environment. The specific objective is to cover one or more of the following topics as fully defined in section 2 of the Call document: Circular Economy […]
European Commission adopts market measures to support EU wine producers
The European Commission adopted exceptional measures to address the current imbalances in the wine market of several EU regions. Under wine national support programmes, it will now be possible for Member States to include crisis distillation to remove the excess of wine from the market. Flexibility in the implementation of the wine support programmes is […]
President von der Leyen and the College of Commissioners will participate in the inauguration of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU in Madrid
President Ursula von der Leyen will visit Madrid today, Monday, together with the other European Commissioners, to participate in the inauguration of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. They will first visit the Galería de las Colecciones Reales and will be received by Pedro Sánchez, Prime Minister of Spain, and members […]
EU-NATO Task Force: Final assessment report on strengthening our resilience and protection of critical infrastructure
The EU and NATO share a common interest in preventing disruptions to critical infrastructure that provides essential services to citizens and supports our economies. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has brought new risks, physical and cyber-attacks, often combined as a hybrid threat. The EU and NATO have stepped up their cooperation with the launch […]
EU proposes comprehensive new on Climate-Security nexus
The European Commission and the High Representative adopted a Joint Communication laying out how the EU will address the growing impact of climate change and environmental degradation in the fields of peace, security, and defence. Recurrent climate extremes, rising temperatures and sea levels, desertification, water scarcity, threats to biodiversity, environmental pollution and contamination are threatening the health and […]