The Commission is mobilising €123 million from Horizon Europe, the new EU research and innovation programme, for urgent research into coronavirus variants. This first emergency funding under Horizon Europe adds to a range of EU-funded research and innovation actions to fight the coronavirus and contributes to the Commission’s overall action to prevent, mitigate and respond to […]
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 […]
European initiative on processors and semiconductor technologies
The Commission is welcoming a joint declaration by 20 EU Member States on processors and semiconductor technologies. Through their declaration, the Member States will commit to work together to bolster Europe’s electronics and embedded systems value chain and strengthen leading-edge manufacturing capacity, in view of reinforcing Europe’s capabilities in semiconductor technologies and offering the best […]
Bypassing age verification measures on social media
An EU-backed study has shown how easy it is for children to bypass the mechanisms that the most popular apps use to verify their age: all they have to do is lie. The measures that popular social media apps use to verify age during the sign-up process are basically ineffective. According to research supported by […]
What are the best paying sectors in the EU?
How much people earn varies considerably between economic activities. Which sectors have especially high earnings and which have low earnings may also differ between countries. Which are these high and low paying sectors, measured in average gross monthly earnings in euro? Highest paying sector in the EU In 2018, the ‘Information and communication’ industry was the highest paying […]
New EU energy labels applicable from 1 March 2021
To help EU consumers cut their energy bills and carbon footprint, a brand new version of the widely-recognised EU energy label will be applicable in all shops and online retailers from Monday, 1 March 2021. The new labels will initially apply to four product categories – fridges and freezers, dishwashers, washing machines, and television sets […]
Women’s rights in the EU
Today, March 8th is International Women’s Day, officially declared in 1975 by the United Nations. The fight for gender equality is something that has existed in the EU for years, although Covid-19 has negatively affected women since most of them are included in essential services, such as healthcare, personal care and sales. Equality between women […]
Civil society is ready to help the EU deal with the challenges posed by digital finance, says EESC
The European Economic and Social Committee supports the digital financial package proposed by the European Commission. While digitalisation brings major opportunities, it also presents risks for the EU financial sector that cannot be overlooked and require swift action. “Digital finance urgently needs to be regulated and the European Commission is on the right track to […]
Situation at EU external borders – Arrivals down in the Mediterranean
The number of illegal border crossings at Europe’s external borders in January fell by nearly half from a year ago to nearly 5 800*, mainly because of lower figures on the migratory routes in the Mediterranean, according to preliminary calculations. Western Africa Nearly 2 100 irregular migrants arrived on the Canary Islands in the first […]