Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton and Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne met on 1 February to begin work on implementing the EU-Canada Digital Partnership, which was concluded at the 23-24 November summit held in Canada. They issued the following joint press release following their virtual meeting: The new Digital Partnership will help the EU and Canada […]
Council and Parliament strike provisional deal on the right to repair directive
The Council and the European Parliament reached a provisional deal on the directive that promotes the repair of broken or defective goods, also known as the right-to-repair (or R2R) directive. The legislation agreed today will make it easier for consumers to seek repair instead of replacement by making the access to repair services easier, faster, […]
EU and US take stock of trade and technology cooperation
The European Union and the United States held the fifth meeting of the EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC) in Washington, D.C. The meeting allowed ministers to take stock of the progress of the TTC’s work and to provide political steer on key priorities for the next TTC Ministerial meeting, which will take place in […]
Commission proposes new initiatives to strengthen economic security
The Commission adopted five initiatives to strengthen the EU’s economic security at a time of growing geopolitical tensions and profound technological shifts. The package aims to enhance the EU’s economic security while upholding the openness of trade, investment, and research for the EU’s economy, in line with the June 2023 European Economic Security Strategy. Today’s proposals […]
Eurostat: Halting sharp rises in agricultural prices in the EU by 2023
First estimates of agricultural price indices for 2023 indicate a shift from the sharp price increases that characterised 2021 and 2022. In 2023, the average price of agricultural goods as a whole (output) in the EU increased by 2% compared to the previous year, while the average price of goods and services currently consumed in agriculture (inputs) […]
Music streaming sector: EU must ensure just pay for artists and fair algorithms
On Wednesday, the European Parliament called for EU rules to ensure the music streaming sector is fair and sustainable, and to promote cultural diversity. In a resolution adopted by 532 votes to 61 and 33 abstentions, MEPs ask for the imbalance in revenue allocation from the music streaming market to be addressed, as it currently […]
New rules to fight cross-border payment fraud in the EU enter into force
New transparency rules come into force this 1 January that will help EU Member States to crack down on Value-Added Tax (VAT) fraud. The new rules will provide tax administration of the EU Member States with payment information allowing them to detect VAT fraud more easily, with a particular focus on e-commerce which is particularly […]
A new era of corporate taxation in the EU begins
On 1 January, ground-breaking new EU rules came into force introducing a minimum effective tax rate of 15% for multinational companies with activities in EU Member States. Ground-breaking new EU rules come into effect today introducing a minimum rate of effective taxation of 15% for multinational companies active in EU Member States. The framework will […]
EU agricultural labour productivity falls by 7% in 2023
According to the first preliminary data for 2023 from the economic accounts for agriculture (EAA), the index of agricultural labour productivity in the EU is estimated to have decreased year-on-year by 6.6%, after growth between 2019 and 2022. This downturn was underpinned by a 7.9% decrease in the real value of the income generated by units […]