Gas savings by businesses and citizens across the EU have made an important contribution to tackling the energy crisis, spurred by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine two years ago. Collectively, the EU reduced gas demand by 18% between August 2022 and December 2023, saving around 101 billion cubic metres of gas. These efforts go above and beyond the 15% savings target which […]
Member States fail to reach qualified majority to renew or refuse glyphosate approval
Following an earlier vote in the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed on 13 October, in which member states also failed to reach the majority needed to renew or reject the proposal, the European Commission has now decided to propose that the proposal should be rejected. Member States did not reach the required […]
The European Commission will support Member States putting people and their mental health first
The Commission adds a pillar to the European Health Union: a new comprehensive approach to mental health. This approach is a first and important step to put mental health on par with physical health and to ensure a new, cross sectoral approach to mental health issues. With 20 flagship initiatives and €1.23 billion in EU funding from different financial instruments, […]
Tabletop exercise and new study focus on protecting critical energy infrastructure
What should the European Union and its Member States do if its energy production and transport infrastructure were attacked by hostile groups in a region where like-minded, democratic countries coexisted with unfriendly authoritarian regimes? What if vulnerable critical energy infrastructure was essential for defence? As the European Defence Agency contributes to EU security, EDA organised […]
Commission takes action to promote work-life balance in Spain and other EU countries
To safeguard the right to work-life balance across Member States, the European Commission decided to continue infringement procedures against Belgium Czechia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Austria, and Slovenia by sending them a reasoned opinion for failing to notify national measures fully transposing EU rules establishing rights on work-life balance for parents and […]
The European Commission proposes rules on the transfer of criminal proceedings between Member States in the face of increasing cross-border crime
Increasing cross-border crime has led to more and more cases where several Member States have jurisdiction to prosecute the same case. Parallel or multiple prosecutions can be inefficient and ineffective, but also possibly detrimental to the rights of the individuals concerned as a person may not be prosecuted or punished for the same offence twice. […]
Demographic challenges of Member States and political responses to address them
The European Commission has published an interactive mapping, developed jointly with national authorities, showing the current national demographic challenges in the Member States and the policy responses adopted to address them. In particular, the mapping shows, based on data from a 2022 survey conducted by the Commission and the Social Protection Committee (SPC), that most […]
European Commission takes action against Spain and other Member States to ensure transposition of EU directives
The Commission has adopted a package of infringement decisions due to the absence of communication by Member States of measures taken to transpose EU directives into national law. The Commission has sent a letter of formal notice to those Member States who have failed to notify national measures transposing directives in time. In this package, […]
Political agreement on the European Year of Capabilities
The Commission welcomes the political agreement reached on 7th March by the European Parliament and Member States on the European Year of Skills. Following the announcement by President Ursula von der Leyen in her 2022 State of the Union address, the Commission submitted its proposal on the European Year of Skills to the co-legislators last October. During the European Year […]