Today, the European Commission has adopted the fifth list of energy Projects of Common Interest (PCIs). These are key cross-border energy infrastructure projects for building a more integrated and resilient EU internal energy market and pursuing our energy and climate goals. This fifth PCI list comprises 98 projects: 67 projects in electricity transmission and storage, 20 in […]
SMEs weight in EU’s international trade in goods
In 2019, 99% of importing enterprises in total trade (intra-EU and extra-EU) were small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), while this share was only slightly lower for exporting enterprises (98%). For both importing and exporting enterprises, this value remained almost unchanged between 2015 and 2019. Micro enterprises represented the highest share of importing enterprises (77%), significantly higher than […]
Promotion of Agricultural Products. Restoring market conditions – multi programmes
Objectives The general objective of the provision of information and promotion measures is to improve the competitiveness of the Union’s agricultural sector. The specific objectives of the provision of information and promotion measures are to increase awareness of the merits of the Union’s agricultural products and of the high standards applicable to production methods in […]
H2020. EIC Scalator Pilot
Only 5% of European start-ups scale-up and pursue the position of world tech leaders. As high growth companies are the ones largely responsible for job creation and economic benefit, this is a missed opportunity. These growth barriers are even higher for truly high-risk deep tech innovators, the main target of EIC instruments. Considering the high-tech […]
E-commerce: Council adopts new rules for exchange of VAT payment data
The Council today adopted a set of rules to facilitate detection of tax fraud in cross-border e-commerce transactions. The new measures will enable member states to collect, in a harmonised way, the records made electronically available by payment service providers, such as banks. In addition, a new central electronic system will be set up for […]
Council sets its priorities for the 2021 EU budget
The Council adopted the following conclusions setting out its priorities for the 2021 EU budget: The Council underlines that the budgetary procedure for 2021 will be the first in the new programming period 2021-2027. In this regard, the budget will play an important role in the development and delivery of the Union’s objectives and priorities. […]
Commission approves acquisition of joint control over Prosegur Alarmas by Telefónica and Prosegur
The European Commission has approved unconditionally, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition of joint control over Prosegur Alarmas by Telefónica and Prosegur. The Commission concluded that the transaction would raise no competition concerns in the European Economic Area. Under the proposed acquisition, Telefónica will acquire half of the shares of Prosegur Alarmas from […]
Birth rate of enterprises in the EU
In 2017, the number of new enterprise births in the European Union (EU) as a proportion of the total number of active EU enterprises stood at 9.3 %. This rate remained stable compared with 2016 (9.3%), but it was slightly higher than the rate recorded in 2012 (9.0%). The employment generated by these newly created […]
More than money: the long-term EU budget is a tool for Europe’s future
MEPs underlined that Parliament will only give its consent to a budget that meets the European Union’s ambitions, in a debate on EU funding for 2021-2027. Talking about the budget means talking about the EU’s future, MEPs said in a key plenary debate with Nikolina Brnjac, Croatian State Secretary for Foreign and European Affairs, representing […]