The European Commission’s 2022 European Semester Spring Package provides Member States with support and guidance two years on from the first impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and in the midst of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The Spring 2022 Economic Forecast projects the EU economy to continue growing in 2022 and 2023. However, while the EU economy […]
EU member states to collaborate to store and share gas supplies
An important step to improve EU security of supply in the context of the war in Ukraine was taken today with the provisional political agreement reached between the Council and the European Parliament on the legislation on gas storage. The proposed regulation aims to ensure that storage capacities in the EU are filled before the […]
Provisional agreement reached to make international trade easier
The Council and the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on a single window for customs which sets the appropriate conditions for digital collaboration between customs and partner competent authorities. The aim is to make international trade easier, shorten customs clearance times and reduce the risk of fraud. It will also help reduce the administrative burden […]
Spain will reiterate the need for the Commission to allow greater flexibility for the fruit and vegetable sector
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, advocated last Wednesday to carry out a constant monitoring of the European market situation in all fields in order to know the effect of the measures adopted to mitigate the effects of the war in Ukraine, in case the adoption of new measures is necessary. On […]
EU earmarks €10 million for biodiversity development in Argentina
In the context of “Team Europe”, a joint working framework between the Delegation of the European Union (EU) in Argentina and the Embassies of the 21 Member States represented in the country, the EU announced that it will allocate 10 million euros to strengthen the local green agenda, through coordinated actions that will mainly focus […]
Council and European Parliament agree to strengthen cybersecurity across EU
The Council and the European Parliament agreed on measures for a high common level of cybersecurity across the Union, to further improve the resilience and incident response capacities of both the public and private sector and the EU as a whole. Once adopted, the new directive, called ‘NIS2’, will replace the current directive on security […]
European Disability Forum receives the European Charles V Award
The European and Ibero-American Academy of Yuste Foundation held the 15th Carlos V European Award ceremony this Wednesday at the Royal Monastery of Yuste. In this edition, the prize has been awarded to the European Disability Forum (EDF) and the ceremony was presided over by H.M. the King of Spain, Felipe VI. This award recognises […]
Commission steps up funding to vaccination roll-out in Africa
The European Commission has announced its intention to step up funding to accelerate roll-out and uptake of vaccines and other COVID-19 tools in Africa, with a further €400 million in support. The Commission also foresees a €427 million euros ($450 million) contribution to the Global Pandemic Preparedness Fund to support efforts to prevent and better respond to […]
What role can Europe’s land and marine habitats play in carbon storage and sequestration?
What is the carbon storage and sequestration potential of Europe’s many land and marine habitats? A first scoping analysis, published today by the European Environment Agency (EEA), found that forests and wetlands can play an important role in storing carbon but doing so should take account of potential impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services. In […]