The European Union and Bangladesh have signed a Horizontal Aviation Agreement . This agreement will allow any EU airline to operate flights between Bangladesh and any of the seven EU Member States whose bilateral air services agreements with Bangladesh does not already allow this. Previously, these bilateral air services agreements only permitted airlines owned and controlled […]
CJEU Judgment: the Court upholds the Commission’s decision authorising the solvency support fund for strategic Spanish undertakings
Ryanair had challenged that decision, relating to an aid scheme amounting to €10 billion. In July 2020, Spain notified the European Commission of an aid scheme to set up a solvency support fund. The beneficiaries were (non-financial) strategic Spanish undertakings experiencing temporary difficulties as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. That aid scheme provided for […]
Is the clock ticking on AI?
Renowned AI experts call on world governments and tech giants to take action now on AI risks. “Probably none of us will have a job,” Elon Musk stated about AI when speaking remotely at a leading tech conference in Paris on 23 May. The billionaire hasn’t been shy about referring to AI as his biggest […]
European elections: EU institutions prepared to counter disinformation
The EU institutions are playing their part to defend the European elections on 6-9 June against disinformation and information manipulation targeting European democracy. The European elections are a flagship of European democracy. As documented by e.g. the European Digital Media Observatory, disinformation actors from inside and outside the EU seek to undermine the integrity of the […]
CORDIS: Is new car smell carcinogenic?
There’s a hidden danger lurking in car interiors that we’re not even aware of, says new study. Running late to work because of traffic? Hazardous road conditions? Concerned exhaust fumes are polluting the planet? These could be the least of your worries next time you’re behind the wheel. According to research published in the journal […]
European Commission distributes 35 511 travel vouchers to young people under DiscoverEU programme
35 511 young people will receive travel vouchers from the Commission to travel around Europe for free, starting already this summer. The Commission announced today the outcome of the latest round of the DiscoverEU programme, which is part of the Erasmus+ programme. DiscoverEU, as part of the Erasmus+ programme, offers 18-year-old residents of EU Member […]
Commission kick-starts work on a new pilot mechanism to boost the hydrogen market
The Commission is taking further steps to support the development of the European hydrogen market by launching work on a pilot mechanism. The new mechanism was created under the recently-adopted decarbonised gases and hydrogen package, and aims to accelerate investments by providing a clearer picture of the market situation of both off-takers and suppliers and facilitating contacts between them. It will be in […]
More than 27 000 unitary patents registered in the first successful year of the unitary patent system
Over the first successful year of application of the Unitary Patent system, the European Patent Office (EPO) has already registered more than 27,000 unitary patents. This means that on average, almost one in four (23%) granted European patents apply across all participating Member States. This rate is also steadily increasing. The uptake rate reaches almost […]
European Commission designates Temu as Very Large Online Platform under the Digital Services Act
The Commission has formally designated Temu as a Very Large Online Platform (VLOP) under the Digital Services Act (DSA). Temu is an online marketplace with an average of more than 45 million monthly users in the European Union. This user number, which Temu has communicated to the Commission, is above the DSA threshold for designation as a […]