27.8.2020 – Today, the first contract the European Commission has negotiated on behalf of the EU Member States with a pharmaceutical company entered into force following the formal signature between AstraZeneca and the Commission. The contract will allow the purchase of a vaccine against COVID-19 for all the Member States of the EU as well [...]
27.7.2020 – Today, the European Commission is launching a call for expressions of interest for thematic partnerships to pilot interregional innovation projects that support the response and recovery following the coronavirus pandemic. The aim of the call is to help regions catch the opportunities emerging from the crisis, develop resilience and build on green and [...]
24.7.2020 – The Civil Solidarity Prize will reward up to 29 not-for-profit initiatives carried out by natural persons, civil society organisations or private companies which aim to tackle the Covid-19 crisis and its manifold consequences. The overall aim of the prize, which is awarded as a one-off edition instead of the annual EESC Civil Society [...]
23.7.2020 – The European Fund for Strategic Investments is backing a financing agreement which will support small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in Austria that have been affected by the coronavirus crisis. The European Investment Fund and UniCredit Bank Austria are increasing their existing guarantee agreement that was signed in 2019, bringing its total available pot [...]
21.7.2020 – On 21 July 2020, the European Council adopted conclusions on the recovery plan and multiannual financial framework for 2021-2027. More on the distribution here
14.7.2020 – The European Commission recommended to Member States not to grant financial support to companies with links to countries that are on the EU’s list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions. Restrictions should also apply to companies that have been convicted of serious financial crimes, including, among others, financial fraud, corruption, non-payment of tax and social [...]
13.7.2020 -The Commission launched new guidelines to help educators, employers and recruiters ensure Europeans are equipped with the digital skills to thrive in the post-coronavirus world of work. The DigComp at Work report and its Implementation Guidelines include practical steps, key actions, tips and online resources to make best use of the EU’s digital competence framework (DigComp) [...]
8.7.2020 – To become climate-neutral by 2050, Europe needs to transform its energy system, which accounts for 75% of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions. The EU strategies for energy system integration and hydrogen, adopted today, will pave the way towards a more efficient and interconnected energy sector, driven by the twin goals of a cleaner [...]
30.6.2020 – The European Commission has approved under EU State aid rules a €200 million Slovenian scheme to compensate large companies for the damages suffered due to the coronavirus outbreak and the confinement measures that the Slovenian Government had to implement to limit the spread of the virus. Under the scheme, companies will be entitled [...]
30.6.2020 – The European Commission has approved under EU State aid rules a €200 million Slovenian scheme to compensate large companies for the damages suffered due to the coronavirus outbreak and the confinement measures that the Slovenian Government had to implement to limit the spread of the virus. Under the scheme, companies will be entitled [...]
18.6.2020 -The European Commission has launched ‘Europe’s culture – close to you’, a social media campaign focused on sustainable cultural tourism. Featuring cultural sites and initiatives around Europe, this campaign will promote the re-discovery of Europe’s manifold treasures, both natural and cultural.The coronavirus outbreak has had a severe impact, not only on Europeans’ health and [...]
17.6.2020 – Member States, with the support of the Commission, have agreed on a set of technical specifications to ensure a safe exchange of information between national contact tracing apps based on a decentralised architecture. This concerns the vast majority of tracing apps that were already – or are about to be – launched in [...]
15.6.2020 – Foreign Antifa agents provoked violence at an anti-government protest in Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana, on Friday. While such protests are nothing new in Slovenia, this is the first time that international Antifa was involved, and many Slovenes are alarmed. Slovenia’s Left has been holding protests regularly in the capital since the Right-wing populist government [...]
8.6.2020 – The quality of Europe’s bathing water remains high, according to this year’s European bathing water quality assessment published today. Just under 85% of swimming sites across Europe monitored in 2019 met the European Union’s highest and most stringent ‘excellent’ quality standards. The results published by the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the European [...]
5.6.2020 – To prepare for the risk of forest fires during the upcoming summer, the EU is further reinforcing its European fleet of firefighting aircraft under the rescEU system. The EU is financing purchases by the Swedish government of 2 new firefighting airplanes to add to the reserve. This adds up to a total of [...]