Given the speed and complexity of challenges faced by the European Union, unity, urgency and ambition are key. That is also the spirit behind which President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, representing the Danish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, and President of the European Commission, Ursula von […]
Exposure to hazardous substances at work: Council approves position on updating legislation
EU Employment Ministers today took a further step towards preventing work-related diseases and protecting workers from exposure to harmful substances that can cause serious illnesses such as cancer and developmental disorders. The Council agreed its position on the sixth revision of the Directive on carcinogens, mutagens and reprotoxic agents. The purpose of this Directive is […]
Commission welcomes provisional agreement on new rules to improve welfare of dogs and cats
The European Commission welcomes the agreement by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU on the first ever EU legislation on the welfare of dogs and cats, which will significantly improve the way these animals are treated, when bred, sold or adopted in the EU. The new measures will also help to clamp […]
Commission consults on revision of farm animal welfare rules
The Commission has launched a public consultation to gather input for the review of EU farm animal welfare legislation. Farmers, citizens, businesses, national and regional authorities, NGOs and other interested parties are encouraged to share their views. The review of this legislation follows on from the mandate letter to Commissioner Várhelyi and takes place in […]
The Commission acts to ensure the correct and timely transposition of EU directives
The Commission adopts a series of infringement decisions due to the failure of Member States to notify the measures adopted to transpose certain EU directives into national law. Letters of formal notice are sent to Member States that have not notified national transposition measures for directives whose transposition deadline has recently expired. In this case, […]
The Commission registers the European Citizens’ Initiative on the reuse of buildings
The European Commission today registered a European citizens’ initiative entitled “HouseEurope! Power to Renovation” (HouseEurope! Power to Renovation). The aim of the initiative is to create incentives for the renovation and transformation of existing buildings. The organizers are asking the Commission to propose legislation to incentivize the reuse of existing buildings, based on the following: […]
Launch of European Automotive Industry Dialogue on January 30
The Commission and the European Board for Digital Services welcome the integration of the revised ‘Code of conduct on countering illegal hate speech online +’ into the framework of the Digital Services Act (DSA), which encourages voluntary codes of conduct to tackle risks online. The Code of conduct+, which builds on the 2016 on the initial Code […]
Combatting child sexual abuse: Council adopts position on strengthened EU criminal law
Last december 13, the Council agreed its position on a proposal to update the EU’s criminal law rules on child sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children. The revised rules expand the definition of the offences, making sure that all forms of child sexual abuse and sexual exploitation, including those enabled or facilitated by new […]
Fight against trafficking in human beings: Council and European Parliament reach agreement to strengthen rules
The Belgian presidency of the Council and representatives of the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement to add forced marriage, illegal adoption and surrogacy as types of exploitation covered by the EU’s anti-trafficking law. The update of the directive on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings will also require EU countries to make sure […]