European Commission

Italy and Spain to get lion’s share of EU recovery fund

The European Commision will propose later today that Italy and Spain -- the countries most affected by the coronavirus epidemic -- get the lion's share of a new recovery fund offering a…

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European citizens want stronger role for EU, especially at times of crisis

An independent survey commissioned by the European Parliament found that nearly seven out of ten respondents (69%) want a stronger role for the EU in fighting this crisis. In parallel,…

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EU Parliament to look into precarious situation of cross-border and seasonal workers

The Employment and Social Affairs Committee is set to delve into alleged breaches of EU law on working time, health and safety of cross-border workers, later on today. Following disturbing…

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EU approves €8 billion Austrian scheme to compensate companies for damages related to COVID-19

The European Commission has found a €8 billion Austrian scheme to compensate companies for damages related to the coronavirus outbreak to be in line with EU State aid rules. Under…

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EC approves €9 billion scheme to support the Italian economy

The European Commission has approved a €9 billion Italian scheme to support the Italian economy in the context of the coronavirus outbreak. The scheme was approved under the State aid…

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EU launches new tool for tracking measures to mitigate social, economic impact of COVID-19

Governments, social partners, businesses and other institutions have moved swiftly to implement measures to control the spread of COVID-19 across Europe and to mitigate the social and economic impact of…

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Cost of living around Europe drops

In April 2020, a month marked by COVID-19 containment measures in all countries, the euro area annual inflation rate was 0.3%, down from 0.7% in March. A year earlier, the…

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Farm to Fork policy changes should not be hurried at time of insecurity – EPP

The centre-right European grouping in Parliament expressed its concern that in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the European Commission is pushing for deep changes to the EU's food production…

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EU calls on Malta to invest in green and digital transition in country-specific recommendations

The Commission has proposed today country-specific recommendations (CSRs) providing economic policy guidance to all EU Member States in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, focused on the most urgent challenges…

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MEPs call for stronger financial outlay and quick action to avoid huge recession

European Members of Parliament welcomed the recent proposal for a €500 billion recovery fund brought forward earlier this week by French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, calling…

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Von Der Leyen presents Europe’s roadmap to recovery

While Europe has went through a number of economic slowdowns before the continent never had an economic shutdown like in the last three months. This has presented new challenges which require different…

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Sassoli to EU institutions: “Be brave on EU recovery plan”

EU President David Sassoli has called on the EU institutions to find consensus and back their commitment with a sizeable financial committment to help Europe emerge from the current health…

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EU expects Malta’s economy to take hit in 2020 and rebound strongly by 2021

Malta’s economic growth will take, as expected, a significant hit due to the outbreak of COVID-19. There are not too many surprises in the EU’s traditional Spring outlook of European…

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EU Council greenlights €3 billion assistance to support neighbouring countries

EU ambassadors today endorsed a Commission proposal to provide up to 3 billion euros of macro-financial assistance to ten enlargement and neighbourhood partners to help them cope with the economic…

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Putting more ‘Europe’ in European Solidarity

by Dr Joanna Drake The eyes of Europeans are turned upon EU institutions as national governments struggle under the weight of the coronavirus. In the wake of the Covid-19 threat,…

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EU protecting workers’ fundamental rights in tackling impact of COVID-19

COVID-19 is disrupting the lives and livelihoods of billions of workers across the globe. On the occasion of International Workers’ Day, the EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) underlined the need…

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EU Ministers push for single EU contact tracing app but divergences persist

EU ministers are pushing for a single EU contact tracing app to facilitate coordination between member states but divergences over the systems to implement are stalling development. Interior ministers from…

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EU seeks to mitigate disruption on clinical trials during pandemic

The European Commission has published guidance to ensure that clinical trials can continue taking place in the EU during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim is to mitigate the disruption of clinical…

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EU Commission adopts banking package to facilitate lending to households and businesses in the EU

The Commission has today adopted a banking package to help facilitate bank lending to households and businesses throughout the European Union. The aim of this package is to ensure that…

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EU’s economic recovery fund should be available by Summer – Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni

The recovery fund to support EU Member States survive the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic should be available by latest mid-September and its “reasonsable size” should reach €1.5 trillion.…

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Coronavirus Global Response: EU launches pledging effort

The European Union is joining forces with global partners to kick-start a pledging effort – the Coronavirus Global Response – starting on 4 May 2020. The World Health Organization (WHO) and global…

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European Commission approves a €5.3million COVID-19 R&D Fund for Malta

The European Commission has approves a €5.3million COVID-19 Research & Development Fund for Malta. The aim of this Fund will be to provide innovative and/or improved approaches with regards to…

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European Union pledges €3bn assistance package for 10 neighbouring countries

The Commission has adopted a proposal for a €3 billion macro-financial assistance (MFA) package to ten enlargement and neighbourhood partners to help them to limit the economic fallout of the…

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EU Commission announces exceptional measures to support the agri-food sector

The European Commission is taking swift action and proposes additional exceptional measures to further support agricultural and food markets most affected. The EU agri-food sector is showing resilience in these…

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EU sets up emergency measures to help farmers and fishermen through pandemic

A number of emergency measures have been approved by the EU in order to provide aid to farmers and fishermen affected by the coronavirus pandemic. These urgent measures are being…

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France gets EU Commission approval for €7 billion aid to businesses

The European Commission has approved a €7 billion French “umbrella” scheme to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large corporates in France affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The scheme,…

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EU Commission launches research-sharing platform in fight against coronavirus

The European Commission together with several partners launched a European COVID-19 Data Platform to enable the rapid collection and sharing of available research data. The platform, part of the ERAvsCorona Action Plan,…

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EU Commission lays down the law on contact-tracing apps

The European Commission rolled out a set of parameters to guide developers building contact tracing and warning apps to be used within the EU. The ‘toolbox’ allows governments in member…

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EU Commission presents guidance on asylum and resettlement

In the light of recent challenges facing Member States with regards to persons seeking asylum as well as procedures related to resettlement in the context of the current pandemic, the…

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EU institutions raise concerns over Zoom

EU Commission staff have been advised not to use video conferencing platform Zoom for official work, after a series of privacy concerns over the California-based tech company. Staff are being…

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Life will get back to normality if we all pull the same rope – Stella Kyriakides, EU Commissioner

Among the women at the helm of the EU’s Coronavirus Crisis Team is Cypriot Commissioner Stella Kyriakides. Like many other leaders, she describes the current fight against the pandemic as…

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EU Commission wants coordinated approach in easing of lockdowns and border restrictions

In an effort to avoid the confusion that characterised the European approach during the first week of the coronavirus pandemic, the European Commission is strongly insisting with Member States to…

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EU approves Swedish support scheme for airlines

In what is being considered as the first major bailout of coronavirus-affected airlines, the European Commission has approved Sweden's 450 million euro support scheme for airlines, with Scandinavian Airlines (SAS),…

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€3.3 billion in support to Romania’s SMEs approved by EU Commission

The European Commission has approved around €3.3 billion in support to Romania's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the context of the coronavirus outbreak. The scheme was approved under the State…

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Comuniq.Eu – Financial Services

By Keith Zahra A report of the investment services industry carried out by ESMA, the European regulator in this field, concluded that the costs paid by retail investors are significantly…

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“Today, the will to get through this together is back” – Von Der Leyen

There was “a great danger” at the start of the coronavirus crisis that the pandemic could “shake the European Union to its core. There was a lack of solidarity, everyone was…

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How our Europe will regain its strength – Together

by Ursula Von Der Leyen The last few weeks have turned our world upside down. It seems like a lifetime ago that we were going about our everyday business. But…

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European Commission approves waiving of customs duties and VAT on medical devices and equipment

The European Commission approved requests from Member States and the UK to temporarily waive customs duties and VAT on the import of medical devices, and protective equipment, from third countries…

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European Commission approves Malta State Aid scheme to support economy in context of Covid-19 outbreak

The European Commission has approved a Maltese State aid scheme to support the economy in the context of the coronavirus outbreak. The scheme was approved under the State aid Temporary…

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EU to revise blueprint for 2021-2027 budget

The European Commission will propose changes to its blueprint for the EU's 2021-2027 budget to address the coronavirus crisis, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement on…

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Von Der Leyen not excluding any options for EU’s economic recovery

The European Council tasked the Eurogroup to come up with proposals within the next weeks. The Commission will participate in these discussions and stands ready to assist, if supported by…

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EU approves €3 billion guarantee schemes for Portuguese SMEs affected by Coronavirus outbreak

The European Commission has found four Portuguese guarantee schemes for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and midcaps affected by the Coronavirus outbreak to be in line with EU State aid…

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European Commission creates first ever rescEU stockpile of medical equipment

The European Commission has decided to create a strategic rescEU stockpile of medical equipment such as ventilators and protective masks to help EU countries in the context of the COVID-19…

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EU’s external borders and Schengen area to be closed as of noon for 30 days

EU leaders decided to close the bloc's external borders to travelers in an attempt to limit the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. "As of tomorrow noon, external borders of the…

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European Union introduces 30-day restriction on all-non essential travel

The European Union has introduced a 30-day restriction on all non-essential travel to the bloc in a bid to contain the coronavirus outbreak. The European Union's executive on Monday proposed…

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“At this moment in Europe we are all Italians” – von Der Leyen

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday published a video message in Italian saying "we are all Italians". "Dear Italians, at this difficult moment, I want to tell…

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EU to invest €25 billion in parts of the European economy worst hit by the epidemic

Europe's leaders on Tuesday moved to assert control over their initially haphazard response to the fast-spreading coronavirus epidemic, announcing an array of measures aimed at containing the disease, blunting an…

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Refugee situation in Turkish-Greek border under focus in Brussels

EU leaders warned President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday to respect the terms of a previous deal to keep migrants away from Europe's borders, after the Turkish leader came to…

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A Union that strives for more: the first 100 days

The new Commission led by President Ursula von der Leyen took office on 1 December 2019. Within its first 100 days, the Commission focused on delivering its most important priorities…

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EU ministers hold emergency talks in the wake of tensions at the Greek-Turkish borders

European Union countries offered more money on Wednesday for border policing in Greece and humanitarian aid in Syria's Idlib, but they were in a bind over Turkey as they sought…

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Brexit negotiations start

Negotiations on Brexit started on Monday in Brussels. Michel Barnier tweeted that "We approach these negotiations in a constructive spirit. We want to agree an ambitious and fair partnership. We…

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European Commission invites Greta Thunberg in run-up to Europe’s first climate policy

The European Commission will receive young climate activist Greta Thunberg on Wednesday, when it will discuss the EU’s first climate legislation, a spokesperson of the executive body said on Friday.…

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European Commission opens in-depth investigation into €400 million Italian government loan to Alitalia

The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether Italy's € 400 million loan granted to Alitalia constitutes State aid and whether it complies with the rules on…

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European Commission to create EU-wide biometric residence permit for British nationals living in EU

The European Commission has decided to create an EU-wide biometric residence document for all British nationals living in the bloc by the end of the post-Brexit transition period, according to POLITICO.…

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EU details socio-economic challenges ahead

China's coronavirus outbreak will affect the EU economy — it just isn't clear by how much. Such was the warning from Commission economic chief Paolo Gentiloni after he unveiled Wednesday's European…

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CommuniqEU – Financial Services

This article by Keith Zahra appeared first on Diplomatique.Expert (Edition 23) and is compiled by CiConsulta for Corporate Dispatch In its efforts to enhance investor protection around the continent, ESMA, the regulator…

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CommuniqEU Dispatch – Environment

This article by Keith Zahra appeared first on Diplomatique.Expert (Edition 23) and is compiled by CiConsulta for Corporate Dispatch The European Commission has announced an investment exceeding €100 million to support a…

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