Tag: European Commission

The press release issued by the European Commission on 28 May 2025.

Today, the European Commission has launched the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy, ‘Choose Europe to Start and Scale’, to make Europe a great place to start and grow global technology-driven companies. The Strategy aligns with the broader ‘Choose Europe’ initiative, launched by President von der Leyen. This initiative focused first on the science component promoting a unified European approach to attract and retain talent, thereby strengthening Europe’s competitiveness.

Startups and scaleups are essential to Europe’s future, driving innovation and sustainable growth, creating high-quality jobs, attracting investment and reducing strategic dependencies. Yet, despite strong foundations, too many still struggle to take ideas from lab to market or grow at scale within the EU.

The Strategy addresses these challenges by supporting them throughout their lifecycle, from starting up to scaling up to maturing and succeeding here in the EU.

It identifies the key needs of startups and scaleups and is putting forward a set of actions in five main areas:

• Fostering innovation-friendly environment: As outlined in the Single Market Strategy, startups and scaleups need less fragmentation, fewer administrative burdens, as well as rules that are simpler and more supportive across the Single Market. The Commission will propose a European 28^th regime to simplify rules and reduce the cost of failure by addressing critical aspects in areas like insolvency, labour and tax law. The European Business Wallet will enable seamless digital interactions with public administrations across the Union through a unified digital identity for all economic operators. The forthcoming European Innovation Act will further support innovation by promoting regulatory sandboxes.
• Driving better financing: Startups and scaleups need better funding, a larger and more integrated EU venture capital (VC) market and greater involvement of European institutional investors. The Savings and Investments Union initiative will be key to unlocking more financing and investment opportunities in the EU. To complement this initiative, the Strategy aims to expand and simplify the European Innovation Council, deploy a Scaleup Europe Fund to help bridge the financing gap of deep tech scale-up companies, and develop a voluntary European Innovation Investment Pact to mobilise large institutional investors to invest in EU funds, venture capital funds and unlisted scaleups.
• Supporting market uptake and expansion: Startups and scaleups need a quicker journey from lab to market. The Strategy introduces a Lab to Unicorn initiative, which includes the European Startup and Scaleup Hubs to help connect university ecosystems across the EU. This includes a blueprint for licensing, royalty and revenue-sharing and equity participation for academic institutions and their inventors when commercialising intellectual property (IP) and creating spinoffs, along with guidance on State aid IP-related rules.
• Attracting and retaining top talent: To keep and attract top talent, startups and scaleups need better access to highly skilled individuals. The Strategy introduces the Blue Carpet initiative, notably focusing on entrepreneurial education, tax-related aspects of employee stock options and cross-border employment. The Commission will also promote the Blue Card Directive and encourage Member States to put in place a fast-track schemes for non-EU founders.
• Facilitating access to infrastructure, networks and service: Startups and scaleups need a shorter time-to-market and quicker commercialisation. The Strategy proposes to simplify and harmonise diverging access and contractual conditions for startups and scaleups to technology and research infrastructures through a Charter of Access for industrial users.

Next Steps

The progress will be monitored using global key performance indicators.

The Commission will report on the Strategy’s implementation by the end of 2027.

The press release issued by the European Commission on 28 May 2025.

Today the EU is putting forward a new strategy for a stable and secure Black Sea region. This Strategy aims to boost connections and growth, by linking Europe with the South Caucasus, Central Asia, and beyond. Amidst Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the strategy will also reinforce the EU’s geopolitical role as a reliable actor in the Black Sea region.

The EU will forge closer cooperation with Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Georgia, Türkiye, Armenia and Azerbaijan and take forward regional cooperation on connectivity. A number of these countries have chosen to pursue the path towards EU accession or closer alignment with the EU. Today’s strategy seeks to bring tangible benefits to Black Sea partners and the EU by investing in and deepening key mutually beneficial partnerships.

Three pillars for future EU-Black Sea cooperation

Future cooperation with the Black Sea region is structured under three pillars:

• Enhancing security, stability, and resilience;
• Fostering sustainable growth and prosperity;
• Promoting environmental protection, climate change resilience and preparedness, and civil protection.

Together with its partners in the region, the EU will implement three flagship initiatives under each of these pillars to unlock the region’s potential for growth, while also addressing the immediate challenges of conflict and security:

• The Black Sea Maritime Security, and the establishment of a Black Sea Maritime Security Hub, will strengthen maritime safety and security, protect critical maritime infrastructure and the marine environment. It will also strengthen regional cooperation on demining and address risks to the environment and maritime safety.
• A dedicated Connectivity Agenda – aligned with the extended Trans-European Networks – will develop transport, energy and digital networks to leverage the potential of the Black Sea region as a vital corridor linking Europe with Central Asia through the South Caucasus, boosting economic growth and competitiveness.
• Preparedness of coastal communities and blue economy sectors will be reinforced to enable Black Sea countries to tackle war-related environmental damage, respond to climate-change related risks and seize opportunities for sustainable growth.

The strategy will bring all relevant EU instruments and policies together, mobilising investments in line with the Global Gateway Strategy and in a Team Europe spirit – that is, the EU institutions in cooperation with the Member States, as well as the European financial institutions. By addressing regional challenges, the EU aims to promote long-term security, shared prosperity, and resilience in the Black Sea region.

President Ursula von der Leyen stated: “An active role of the European Union is crucial in advancing security and peace in the Black Sea region especially with Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. We will closely work with our neighbours to foster security and stability in the region.  Together we can build a stronger and more prosperous future for all.”

A forward-looking policy framework

Building on its unique position as a bridge between Europe, the Southern Caucasus, Central Asia and Eastern Mediterranean, the Black Sea can serve as a cornerstone of stability, sustainable development, and connectivity through partnerships of shared interest.

The EU strategic approach seeks to unlock the region’s potential based on peace efforts and respect of the international order, in respect of the rule of law and international law. Support to Ukraine’s overall resilience and security and its reconstruction, when conditions allow, are at the heart of this policy.

Today’s proposal will drive sustainable development and enhance economic prosperity with transport, energy, digital and trade corridors connecting the Black Sea Region to the Baltic, the Mediterranean, through the South Caucasus, the Caspian Sea and towards Central Asia.

In addition, given the Black Sea region is particularly vulnerable to natural and human-made disasters, climate change and environmental degradation, today’s strategy foresees reinforcing preparedness and climate adaptation – critical for the integrity of natural ecosystems, as well as for people’s wellbeing.

The EU will furthermore guide interested partners toward EU integration by strengthening the rule of law, accelerating reforms, aligning with the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy, and gradually integrating them into the EU Single Market.

Ultimately, the new strategic approach is rooted in people’s aspirations to live in a secure, safe, and more prosperous environment. The EU will implement the new strategic approach to the Black Sea in synergy with the enlargement process and the Eastern Partnership policy, which provides a well-established framework for cooperation.

Next steps

The European Commission and the High Representative propose a dedicated EU ministerial meeting with partner countries to advance cooperation under the EU strategic approach.

Background

The Black Sea is a pivotal gateway linking Europe, the South Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Mediterranean. Its stability is crucial for international trade, food security, and broader geopolitical stability, as well as for energy security. The region’s sustainable and inclusive development is vital not only for its immediate neighbours but also for the European Union as a whole and globally.

Russia’s unprovoked and unjustifiable full-scale invasion of Ukraine has severely destabilised the region, exposing security interdependencies and calling for a coordinated response. The aggression has brought the level of regional and global security to its lowest point since the Cold War, reinforcing the urgency of the EU’s role and support in the region.

The EU’s role and responsibility in the Black Sea region is increasing, particularly with the opening of accession negotiations with Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova; and with Georgia, should the country revert to the EU path. The EU enlargement process is a strategic investment to enhance regional security and resilience.  A coordinated approach with Türkiye, an EU partner of strategic importance and a candidate country is also crucial. Likewise, deepening relations with Armenia and Azerbaijan through cooperation in strategic areas is an important objective for the EU.

The EU strategic approach to the Black Sea region does not come as an isolated regional response to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. It is a part of a new package of EU policy initiatives tailored to the broader new geopolitical dynamics including the recently adopted European Union Preparedness Strategy, ProtectEU – a new European Internal Security Strategy, the White Paper on Defence, the new Action Plan to strengthen the security and resilience of Submarine Cables and upcoming – a European Oceans Pact, the European Ports Strategy, a European Democracy Shield, initiatives.

This reflects a streamlined and coordinated approach across the EU, with a focus on defence, resilience and preparedness, in the current global geopolitical context.

The EU strategic approach to the Black Sea region will also further the successful work strands developed under the Black Sea Synergy, the EU policy framework for the region in place since 2007, notably its flagship initiatives – the Common Maritime Agenda for the Black Sea and the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda.

The strategy will be implemented in synergy with the enlargement process and with the Eastern Partnership, a strategic and ambitious policy framework based on common values, mutual interest and shared ownership. It will be instrumental in developing the Connectivity Agenda based on existing partnerships and governance mechanisms in trade, energy, transport and digital sectors.

In this context, the Global Gateway strategy will play a significant role. Global Gateway boosts smart, clean and secure connections in digital, energy and transport sectors and to strengthen health, education and research systems across the world. It is the EU’s positive offer to partner countries aiming to foster sustainable development and resilience through value-driven investments. Global Gateway supports the twin green and digital transitions outside the EU by mobilising public and private sector resources and strengthening strategic connectivity.

The press release issued by the European Commission on 28 May 2025.

EU Member States have significantly closed the gap to achieving the 2030 energy and climate targets, according to the European Commission’s assessment of the National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs). EU countries have substantially improved their plans following Commission recommendations in December 2023. As a result, the EU is closing in collectively on a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as committed in the European Climate Law, and reaching a share of at least 42.5% of renewable energy.

The Commission’s assessment shows that the EU is currently on course to reduce net GHG emissions by around 54% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels, if Member States implement fully existing and planned national measures and EU policies. In the current geopolitical context, this demonstrates that the EU is staying the course on its climate commitments, investing with determination in the clean energy transition and prioritising the EU’s industrial competitiveness and the social dimension.

Strategic initiatives such as the Clean Industrial Deal and the Affordable Energy Action Plan will complement NECPs in mobilising investments in industrial decarbonisation and clean technology, making the best use of Europe’s homegrown renewable potential and energy efficient solutions, helping to deliver lower and more stable energy prices over time.

Member States are demonstrating political resolve to reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels, improve the resilience and security of energy supplies and infrastructure, accelerate the integration of the internal energy market and support those who need it the most with investments and skills development.

The Commission’s assessment provides a solid foundation for discussions on the next steps in the EU’s decarbonisation journey towards 2040 and reaching climate neutrality by 2050. The Commission will intensify work with Member States to close the remaining gaps and implement additional guidance, set out in today’s assessment. 

Next Steps

The next phase should focus on turning plans into action to ensure stability and predictability. This involves directing public funds to effectively support transformative investments, encouraging private investment, and coordinating efforts at both regional and European levels. The Commission will therefore continue to support Member States’ efforts in implementation and in addressing the remaining gaps.

Member States that have not yet submitted their final plans – Belgium, Estonia and Poland – must do so without delay. While their overall targets have been included in the EU assessment, the European Commission will review each of their plans individually soon after their formal submission. Additionally, the Commission is working on the individual assessment of Slovakia’s final NECP, which was submitted on 15 April 2025.

Background

The Governance Regulation of the Energy Union and Climate Action requires the Member States to regularly submit NECPs, outlining how they intend to meet the 2030 climate and energy targets and Energy Union objectives. These are critical to deliver a fair, resilient, and climate-neutral Europe, and to steer the much-needed investments for the climate and energy transition. They were first finalised in 2020 but needed to be updated to take account of the agreed 2030 legislative package and targets, so called Fit for 55 package.

Draft updated NECPs were due by 30 June 2023. The Commission published an EU-wide assessment, accompanied by country-specific assessments and recommendations, in December 2023. Taking these recommendations into account, Member States were then required to submit their final NECPs by 30 June 2024.

The package published today includes an EU-wide assessment and a Staff Working Document, with the individual assessment of 23 national plans and guidance to facilitate implementation.

NECPs as a governance tool will be reviewed for the post-2030 period as part of the forthcoming revision of the Governance Regulation. 

 

The press release issued by the European Commission on 19 April 2025.

Today, the European Commission has unveiled its annual report on Safety Gate, the European Rapid Alert System for dangerous non-food products. The report presents an overview of dangerous products notified in the Safety Gate in 2024. 4,137 alerts were notified last year – the highest ever recorded amount of alerts since the launch of the system in 2003. This increase in alerts demonstrates the growing effectiveness and trust in the Safety Gate system, as authorities are using the platform more often to report and address potential threats to consumer safety. The report also outlines the follow-up actions taken by national authorities of the EU Member States, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein to prevent harm to consumers and stop the sale of hazardous products.

Main findings

Last year, cosmetics (36%) remained the most frequently reported products posing health risks, followed by toys (15%), electrical appliances (10%), motor vehicles (9%) and chemical products (6%).

Chemical ingredients were the main cause of risk in almost half of the alerts. Dangerous chemicals detected included cadmium, nickel and lead in jewellery, as well as allergenic fragrances in body oils, and synthetic chemicals used to soften the plastic, for example in some clothing. 97% of the cosmetics notified were reported to contain BMHCA, a banned synthetic fragrance, which can harm the reproductive system and cause skin irritation.

Alerts registered in the Safety Gate system triggered a robust response from market surveillance authorities with over 4,200 follow-up actions taken to stop the sale of these products or even take them off the market.

Next steps

The Commission is working closely with national market surveillance authorities to prepare the first ever product safety sweep. A ‘sweep’ is a set of checks carried out on websites simultaneously to identify breaches of EU consumer law in a particular sector. The aim of the product safety sweep will be to check the products sold on online marketplaces on their compliance with the new General Product Safety Regulation to ultimately enhance the safety of products offered for sale online.

Background

The Safety Gate Rapid Alert System enables national market surveillance authorities from the EU and European Economic Area (EEA) to report and take action against dangerous non-food products, warning other authorities to take swift action. Safety Gate alerts cover risks to human health and safety, such as choking, strangulation and damage to hearing or sight, as well as risks to the environment, energy resources and property.

Following the entry into application of the General Product Safety Regulation in December 2024, a modernised future-proof framework is now in place to ensure the safety of products on the EU market. The Regulation clarifies that all products sold in the EU online or offline, must be safe, regardless of their origin. It guarantees a better enforcement of the rules, improves the effectiveness of recalls of dangerous products and provides for the obligation by businesses to offer consumers remedies when recalling unsafe products and a new tool for consumers to report safety issues, such as the Consumer Safety Gateway.

With the e-Commerce Communication, presented in February 2025, the Commission proposed new joint actions to address concerns arising from the surge of unsafe or illicit products entering the Single Market from third countries. The e-Commerce Communication foresees targeted measures, among others, in the areas of customs and trade, such as launching customs controls, consumer protection and the Digital Services and Digital Markets Acts.

On 10 April 2025 the European Parliament and the Council reached a political agreement on the new toy safety rules. The new Regulation proposed by the Commission will ban the use of harmful chemicals, such as PFAS, endocrine disruptors and bisphenols, in toys. All toys will have a Digital Product Passport to prevent unsafe toys sold online and offline from entering the EU. The Regulation sets stricter rules on online sales and gives inspectors greater powers to remove dangerous toys from the market. This will ensure that imported toys are as safe for consumers as toys manufactured in the EU.

Since 2022, the eSurveillance ‘webcrawler’ application has supported national market surveillance enforcement authorities by detecting online offers of dangerous products signalled in Safety Gate. Each day, the application scans the internet in all official EU/EEA languages to identify reported dangerous products offered for sale to European consumers. The detected offers are automatically shared with the Member Sates’ enforcement authorities, enabling them to quickly trace the sellers and order the effective withdrawal of these listings. This contributes to harmonised enforcement actions and addresses the challenges of monitoring the online sale of dangerous products. In the past year, the eSurveillance webcrawler has processed nearly 4000 Safety Gate alerts, analysed almost 1.6 million websites, and identified about 5300 web shops potentially offering reported products.

The press release issued by the European Commission on 27 February 2023.

Today, the European Commission and the Government of the United Kingdom reached a political agreement in principle on the Windsor Framework. This constitutes a comprehensive set of joint solutions aimed at addressing, in a definitive way, the practical challenges faced by citizens and businesses in Northern Ireland, thereby providing them with lasting certainty and predictability.

The joint solutions cover, amongst other things, new arrangements on customs, agri-food, medicines, VAT and excise, as well as specific instruments designed to ensure that the voices of the people of Northern Ireland are better heard on specific issues particularly relevant to the communities there. These new arrangements are underpinned by robust safeguards to ensure the integrity of the EU’s Single Market, to which Northern Ireland has a unique access.

Today’s political agreement in principle allows the two sides to open a new chapter in our partnership, based on mutual trust and full cooperation, also allowing to unlock the full potential of their relationship.

President Ursula von der Leyen said: “The Windsor Framework was made possible by genuine political will and hard work guided by the fundamental principle that the interests and needs of people should always come first. Supporting and protecting the hard-earned gains of the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement was the prerequisite of our endeavour. Today, our achievement allows us to put forward definitive solutions that work for people and businesses in Northern Ireland and that protect our Single Market. It also allows us to turn the page towards a bilateral relationship that mirrors the one of close allies standing shoulder to shoulder in times of crisis.”

The joint solutions, found within the framework of the Withdrawal Agreement, are based on the following starting points:

• A comprehensive, cross-cutting and definitive solution, addressing practical difficulties in the operation of the Protocol;
• A balance between flexibilities for the movement of goods for end use in Northern Ireland and effective safeguards guaranteeing the protection of the EU’s Single Market;
• A clear distinction between goods at risk and goods not at risk of entering the EU’s Single Market.

In the sanitary and phyto-sanitary (SPS) area, the joint solutions ensure that the same food will be available on supermarket shelves in Northern Ireland as in the rest of the UK. In practice, agri-food retail products for end consumption in Northern Ireland will be able to move from Great Britain with minimal certification requirements and controls. UK public health standards will apply for those agri-food retail goods for end consumption in Northern Ireland, whilst EU plant and animal health rules remain applicable for the protection of the EU Single Market. This arrangement is commensurate with a set of existing and new safeguards, including SPS inspection facilities and labelling which will be introduced gradually. When these safeguards are fully in place, identity checks will be reduced to only 5%. Physical checks will follow a risk-based and intelligence-led approach. Moreover, travelling with pets will be easy, thanks to a simple pet travel document, a microchip, and a declaration by the owner that the pet will not travel to the EU.

New arrangements in the area of customs are based on an expanded trusted trader scheme that will also be open to businesses in Great Britain. Goods moved by trusted traders and not at risk of entering the EU’s Single Market will benefit from dramatically simplified procedures and drastically simplified declarations with reduced data requirements. Substantial facilitations were found for freight and the movement of all types of parcels, i.e., business-to-business, business-to-consumer, and consumer-to-consumer, with consumer-to-consumer parcels being entirely exempt from the main customs requirements. These new solutions are made possible especially by new data-sharing arrangements allowing for risk assessments, which would constitute the principle basis for controls. Robust authorisation and monitoring of the trusted trader scheme, and increased market surveillance and enforcement by UK authorities also act as safeguards. Full customs procedures will apply to goods at risk of entering the EU’s Single Market.

A permanent solution has also been found to ensure that people in Northern Ireland have access to all medicines, including novel medicines, at the same time and under the same conditions as people in the rest of the UK. This complements the solution the EU adopted in April 2022 for the supply of generic medicines to Northern Ireland. These new arrangements are made possible by new safeguards, notably labelling, designed to ensure that the medicines do not enter the EU’s Single Market.

New flexibilities were also found for certain VAT and excise rules, accompanied by safeguards protecting the EU from fraud risks or potential distortion of competition. These arrangements include a possibility to set UK VAT rates below EU VAT minima rates for immovable goods with no risk that these goods enter the EU Single Market (e.g., a heat pump for a house). A UK SME VAT exemption scheme is now applicable to both goods and services if the UK respects the EU threshold for the size of SMEs. There is now also a possibility to tax all alcoholic beverages according to their alcoholic strength, and to set reduced duty rates to alcoholic beverages, if served for immediate consumption in hospitality venues in Northern Ireland, as long as the applied rates are not below EU minima duty rates.

With regard to governance, the voices of Northern Ireland people and stakeholders will be better heard through regular engagement at each level of the Withdrawal Agreement structures. There will be enhanced engagement with Northern Ireland stakeholders on Protocol-related matters. New thematic subgroups within the Joint Consultative Working Group will be set up. A new emergency mechanism, the Stormont Brake, will allow the UK government, at the request of 30 Members of the Legislative Assembly in Northern Ireland, to stop the application in Northern Ireland of amended or replacing provisions of Protocol-related EU law that may have a significant and lasting impact specific to the everyday lives of communities there. This mechanism would be triggered under the most exceptional circumstances and as a matter of last resort, in a very well-defined process set out in a Unilateral Declaration by the UK.

The Court of Justice of the European Union remains the sole and ultimate arbiter of EU law.

The joint solutions also address implementation difficulties related to tariff rate quotas (TRQs) for the most sensitive categories of steel and clarify the application of State aid rules.

These new arrangements have been carried out within the framework of the Withdrawal Agreement of which the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland is an integral part. Within these pre-established legal parameters, a number of targeted amendments to the Protocol address, in a definitive way, unforeseen circumstances or deficiencies that have emerged since the start of the Protocol.

Next steps

The European Commission and the Government of the United Kingdom will proceed, within the remit of their respective powers, with the necessary steps to translate the joint solutions into legally binding instruments and to implement these swiftly and in good faith. To that effect, a meeting of the EU-UK Joint Committee on the Withdrawal Agreement, co-chaired by Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič and UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, will also take place in the coming weeks. The Commission has today made proposals to the Council for a Union position as regards, amongst other things, the decisions that need to be adopted in that meeting.

In addition, the Commission has today tabled legislative proposals in the SPS, medicines and TRQs areas, which will now be submitted to the European Parliament and Council.

The respective roles of the European Parliament and Council will be fully respected.

The new arrangements are not compatible with the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill. The Commission welcomes that the UK government is stopping the process of the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, and is not proceeding with it, so that it will fall in the UK Parliament at the end of the Parliamentary session. These arrangements, when implemented, mean that there will no longer be grounds for the existing Commission legal proceedings against the United Kingdom relating to the Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland.

Background

The Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, as an integral part of the Withdrawal Agreement, was agreed jointly and ratified by both the EU and the UK. It has been in force since 1 February 2020 and has legal effects under international law. The aim of the Protocol is to protect the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement in all its dimensions, maintaining peace and stability in Northern Ireland, avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland, while preserving the integrity of the EU Single Market.

The press release issued by the Council of the European Union on 15 January 2023.

The European Union condemns in the strongest terms the execution in Iran of Iranian-British national Alireza Akbari and recalls yet again its strong opposition against the application of capital punishment in any circumstance.

The European Union offers its condolences to Mr Akbari’s family and expresses its full solidarity with the United Kingdom. The execution of a European citizen is an appalling precedent that will be followed closely by the EU.

The death penalty violates the inalienable right to life enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.

The European Union calls on Iran to refrain from any future executions and to pursue a consistent policy towards the abolition of capital punishment.

The press release issued by the European Commission on 19 December 2022.

A new Eurobarometer survey released today shows that the large majority of EU citizens are positive about recent EU actions to tackle the energy crisis. In particular, More than 8 in ten EU citizens (82%) agree that the EU should continue to take actions to reduce its dependency on Russian fossil fuels. An overwhelming majority of respondents (83%) think that Russia’s war against Ukraine makes it more urgent to invest in renewable energy. 87% of them believe that it is crucial to protect critical infrastructure such as pipelines and internet cables, while 83% also agree that the price of electricity should not depend on the price of gas.

Respondents massively say (85%) that rising energy prices have had an impact on their purchasing power. 56% agree that recent price increases are mainly due to Russia’s aggressive behaviour and 38% disagree.

49% of respondents think that measures taken by the EU to improve the economic situation will have a positive impact, 18% that they will have a negative impact and 22% that they will have no impact.

Respondents themselves have already taken action or would be ready to do so in order to cut down on their energy consumption and energy bills, notably turning off lights when they leave a room for a while (77%), unplugging electronic appliances when not in use (62%) and reducing room temperature (58%).

Measures taken by the EU as a response to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine continue to get a robust support among citizens. European citizens massively approve the provision of humanitarian support (88%), followed by welcoming people fleeing the war (82%). Seven out of ten respondents approve economic sanctions against the Russian government, companies and individuals (71%) as well as financial support to Ukraine (70%). A majority of citizens also approve banning state-owned Russian media (63%) and financing the purchase and supply of military equipment to Ukraine (59%).

The press release issued by the European Commission on 19 December 2022.

Today, under the European Partnership for Integration, the Commission and five European Social and Economic Partners – ETUC, BusinessEurope, SGI Europe, SMEUnited and Eurochambres – renewed their commitment to integrate more effectively refugees and other migrants into the EU labour market.

In a joint statement released today, the Commission and the Social and Economic Partners reaffirm the importance of a multi-stakeholder approach to facilitate an early and smooth integration into the labour market. Such an approach benefits both migrants and the host country, through targeted measures in a coordinated manner.

Support for Ukraine

Participants highlighted the need for coordinated support for people fleeing Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. The Commission adopted a Recommendation on the recognition of qualifications for people fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 5 April 2022. The Commission also issued guidance for access to the labour market, vocational education and training and adult learning of people fleeing Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. The guidance underlines the importance of avoiding exploitation and undeclared work with the support of the European Labour Authority. On 10 October 2022, the Commission launched an EU Talent Pool pilot initiative that seeks to help beneficiaries of temporary protection find employment and integrate in the EU labour market, taking into account the specific needs of the applicants. The signatories exchanged lessons learnt from their experiences when it comes to labour market integration to support displaced persons from Ukraine and other third-country nationals and discussed further actions and projects.

Provide equal opportunities on the EU labour market

In the run up to the 2023 European Year of Skills, the signatories agree on the need to make the assessment, recognition and validation of skills and qualifications easier. This will improve the matching of skills with vacancies. Such an approach will allow migrants and refugees to find work at the level of their qualifications and employers to make full use of migrants’ potential to fill in labour shortages. Moreover, they will continue facilitating integration into the EU labour market and promoting equal opportunities, including through close cooperation on the implementation of the EU Talent Pool Pilot for beneficiaries of temporary protection. The Commission will continue to work with the Social and Economic Partners to roll out the Talent Pool and Talent Partnerships with key partner countries, with a view to improving legal pathways for third-country nationals to the EU. The signatories will work on raising awareness and sharing best practice in the use of EU funding for labour market integration. In line with the Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion 2021-27, the Commission will support projects that foster multi-stakeholder initiatives through a call for proposals on migrant integration under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) thematic facility.

Next Steps

Starting in early 2023, the partners and the Commission will meet at least twice a year at working level, taking stock of relevant projects and other actions. They will also meet at political level as appropriate.

The press release issued by the European Commission on 19 December 2022.

The European Commission has today announced that it intends to issue up to €80 billion of long-term EU-Bonds in the first half of 2023 under its unified funding approach. Under this approach, the Commission – on behalf of the EU – will henceforth issue only “EU-Bonds” rather than separately denominated bonds for individual programmes such as SURE and Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA).

The programmes to be financed through the unified funding approach in the first half of next year are the NextGenerationEU recovery programme and the new Macro-Financial Assistance + programme for Ukraine. The former will account for some €70 billion, and the latter for around €10 billion.

The unified funding approach will allow the instruments developed for NextGenerationEU to be used in the same way for other lending programmes. All of these programmes can be funded in a flexible manner, relying on the proceeds of a single scheme of EU-Bills and EU-Bonds transactions.

The Commission will continue to finance the green component of the Recovery and Resilience Facility at the heart of NextGenerationEU through clearly and separately designated NextGenerationEU green bond issuances. In this way, investors will remain able to verify that proceeds from the NextGenerationEU green bonds are matched to eligible green bond expenditures in accordance with the NextGenerationEU green bond framework.

The benefits of the new approach

Thanks to the new approach, the Commission will be able to plan, execute and communicate all issuances in an agile and coherent way, via a single EU-Bond label. It will also make use of the full range of its funding instruments and funding techniques to cover its funding needs, thus obtaining the most advantageous terms possible at that time.

These attractive conditions will be passed on to the beneficiaries of its funding programmes.

Finally, the single-branded EU bonds will also be easier to buy, sell and substitute in investor’s portfolios. This will help make EU securities more liquid, and improve their pricing and trading in the secondary market.

Boosting secondary market liquidity

Moving from policy-by-policy issuance towards a unified funding approach will make EU securities more fungible and liquid. To further boost the liquidity of EU-Bonds, the Commission will:

• Prepare, with the banks included in the Primary Dealer Network, a framework for providing investors with pricing quotes on EU securities. These quotes will be displayed through the trading platforms used by financial professionals. Preparation will start in early 2023 with a view to introducing these new quoting commitments from summer 2023.
• In addition, the Commission will start building a repo facility to support market participants in trading its bonds. Through the repo facility, the Commission will make available its securities on a temporary basis, thus helping EU Primary Dealers to provide liquidity in EU-Bonds. This repo facility will be implemented by early 2024.

The press release issued by the European Commission on 19 December 2022.

Today, the Commission proposed to strengthen the rules that prevent and combat trafficking in human beings. Every year over 7000 people become victims of human trafficking in the EU. That figure can be expected to be much higher as many victims remain undetected. The yearly cost of trafficking in human beings in the EU reaches EUR 2.7 billion. The majority of victims are women and girls, but the share of male victims is also on the rise particularly for labour exploitation.

Forms of exploitation have evolved in recent years, with the crime increasingly taking an online dimension. This calls for new action at EU level, as traffickers benefit from opportunities to recruit, control, transport and exploit victims, as well as move profits and reach out to users in the EU and beyond.

The updated rules will provide stronger tools for law enforcement and judicial authorities to investigate and prosecute new forms of exploitation. For example, by making sure that knowingly using the services provided by victims of trafficking constitutes a criminal offence. The Commission’s proposal put forward mandatory sanctions against companies for trafficking offences and not only individuals. It also aims to improve procedures for early identification and support for victims in Member States, particularly through the creation of a European Referral Mechanism.

In particular, the updated rules will include:

• Forced marriage and illegal adoption among the types of exploitation the definition of the Directive covers. This will require Member States to criminalise such conduct in their national criminal law as human trafficking;
• Explicit reference to human trafficking offences committed or facilitated through information and communication technologies, including internet and social media;
• Mandatory sanctions for legal persons held accountable for trafficking offences. This covers excluding them from public benefits or by temporarily or permanently closing the establishments where the trafficking offence occurred;
• Formal National Referral Mechanisms to improve early identification and referral for assistance and support for victims, which will create the basis for a European Referral Mechanism by the appointment of national focal points;
• Stepping up demand reduction by making it a criminal offence for people who knowingly use services provided by victims of trafficking;
• EU-wide annual data collection on trafficking in human beings to be published by Eurostat.

Next steps

It is now up to the European Parliament and the Council to examine the proposal. Once adopted, Member States will have to transpose the new rules into their national law.