On Tuesday 22nd, Egypt has officially joined Horizon Europe, becoming the second African country associated to the EU’s multibillion-euro research and innovation (R&I) programme. This grants Egyptian researchers, universities, innovators and entities access to all parts of the programme on similar terms to those of EU Member States. It enables them to lead projects, contribute […]
Modernising EU driving rules to improve road safety
MEPs back a review of EU rules on driving licences with new rules on novice drivers, digital licensing and driving disqualifications. On Tuesday, the European Parliament confirmed an update of the rules governing driving licences in the EU. The aim: to contribute to road safety and reduce the number of accidents that claim almost 20,000 […]
Council greenlights Switzerland’s association to EU programmes
On Tuesday 21th, the Council gave its green light to Switzerland joining Union programmes, such as Horizon Europe, Euratom Research and Training, ITER/Fusion for Energy (F4E), Digital Europe, Erasmus+, as well as EU4Health. Our partnership with Switzerland is longstanding and based on common values. In the current complex and evolving geopolitical context, our relationship needs to […]
Road Safety Statistics for 2024: Progress continues amid persistent challenges
In 2024, 19,940 people lost their lives in road crashes across the EU, according to latest statistics released by the European Commission today. This represents a 2% decrease compared to 2023 and marks continued, but slow, progress toward the EU’s Vision Zero goal of halving road deaths and serious injuries by 2030 and getting close […]
Co-Chairs Conclusions on Strengthening Cross-Regional Security and Connectivity
Today the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, Kaja Kallas, Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, and Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Síkela, met with representatives from EU Member States, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Republic of Moldova, Tajikistan, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan in Luxembourg for the Ministerial Meeting […]
EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific: Council approves conclusions
On Monday 20th, the Council approved conclusions on the implementation of the EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific stressing that the EU should further intensify its strategic focus, presence, visibility and actions in the Indo-Pacific with the aim of contributing to our joint stability, security, prosperity and sustainable development, underpinned by the promotion of democracy, […]
Council agrees its position on rules to phase out Russian gas imports under REPowerEU
The Council today agreed on its negotiating position on the draft regulation to phase out imports of Russian natural gas. The regulation constitutes a central element of the EU’s REPowerEU roadmap to end dependency on Russian energy, following Russia’s weaponisation of gas supplies and repeated disruptions of gas supplies to the EU with significant effects on the European […]
New chapter in the cooperation between Europe and Canada
The European Union and Canada have concluded a Security and Defence Partnership and launched cooperation initiatives in industrial policy and digital trade during a bilateral summit held yesterday. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa welcomed Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney in Brussels, days after he hosted the G7 Summit in Kananaskis. With the new […]
Nearly one in four children in the EU (24%) faced the risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2024.
In 2024, 19.5 million children in the EU were at risk of poverty or social exclusion. This figure represented 24.2% of children under the age of 18, down by 0.6 percentage points (pp) from 2023 (24.8%). At the country level, in 2024, the highest values were reported in Bulgaria (35.1%), Spain (34.6%) and Romania (33.8%). In contrast, Slovenia (11.8%), Cyprus (14.8%) […]