Lobbying EU lawmakers can still slip under the radar, according to a report by the European Court of Auditors. The EU transparency register, which provides information on who lobbies the Commission, Parliament, and Council, has positive features and informs citizens about the potential influence of lobbyists. However, it suffers from weaknesses and information gaps that make […]
EU announces €3.5 billion commitments to protect oceans and promote sustainability
At the last Our Ocean Conference in Greece, the European Union confirmed its strong commitment to international ocean governance by announcing 40 commitments for action by 2024. These actions will be financed with €3.5 billion from various EU funds. They represent the largest amount ever announced by the EU since the inception of the “Our […]
New EU funding for ideas to reduce long-term unemployment
The Commission has launched a 23 million eurocall for proposals to help EU Member States develop new ways to combat long-term unemployment and facilitate people’s re-entry into the labour market. This was announced in the recent action plan to tackle labour and skills shortages in the EU. Through this call for proposals, funded under the […]
Commission asks TikTok for more details on risk assessment of new TikTok Lite application recently launched in Spain
The Commission sent TikTok a request for information under the Digital Services Act, requesting more details on the risk assessment that the TikTok provider should have carried out before deploying the new TikTok Lite app in the EU. The request concerns the potential impact that the new “Task and Reward Lite” programme could have on the protection of minors, […]
EU requests consultations under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement on UK permanent closure of sandeel fisheries
The European Union requested consultations with the United Kingdom under the dispute settlement mechanism of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) regarding the United Kingdom’s decision to prohibit the fishing of sandeel, with the aim of reaching a mutually agreeable solution. Effective since 26 March 2024, the closure of the sandeel fishery covers English […]
Europe’s focus on semiconductor innovation with new test facilities
The Public Authorities Board of the Chips Joint Undertaking selected the consortia that will implement four pilot lines for semiconductor technology. It is a major step in the implementation of the European Chips Act, in particular for its Chips for Europe Initiative. These pilot lines are pioneering, state-of-the-art facilities to test, experiment, and validate semiconductor […]
European Commission offers young people 35 500 free DiscoverEU travel vouchers
From this summer, thousands of young people will once again be able to travel across Europe by train for free thanks to the latest call for applications under the DiscoverEU programme. During the European Youth Week with activities, the Commission has launched the latest round of DiscoverEU applications. It will end on Tuesday 30 April […]
EU and US hold fourth Joint Dialogue on Technology Competition Policy
Today, European Commission Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, US Federal Trade Commission (‘FTC’) Chair Lina Khan and the Assistant Attorney General of the US Department of Justice Antitrust Division (‘DOJ’) Jonathan Kanter met in Washington for the fourth meeting of the EU-US Joint Technology Competition Policy Dialogue (‘TCPD’). The purpose of the dialogue is to further […]
Communiqué on the state of play of the EU-United Kingdom Agreement on Gibraltar
European Commission Executive Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič, Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs José Manuel Albares and UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron, together with the Chief Minister of Gibraltar Fabian Picardo, met in Brussels on Friday 12 April. This was the first meeting in this format. Discussions took place in a constructive atmosphere, with significant progress achieved. […]