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Package travel and linked travel arrangements: Improving protection for travellers
On 29 November 2023, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive amending Directive (EU) 2015/2302 on package travel and linked travel arrangements, to improve protection for travellers and simplify and clarify certain aspects of the current directive. The Commission announced in a 2020 communication on a new consumer agenda that it would look into revising the directive following the turmoil caused by the mass cancellations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposal is the result ...
France's National Recovery and Resilience Plan: Latest state of play
France's national recovery and resilience plan (NRRP) is a subpart of 'France Relance', a larger recovery strategy France adopted in 2020 at national level, worth €100 billion in total (4.1 % of France's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019). The NRRP had an initial value of €40.9 billion (total costs), while the plan as amended in 2023 is worth €41.9 billion. Under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), at the core of the Next Generation EU (NGEU) instrument, France's RRF grant allocation decreased ...
Economic Dialogue with the other EU Institutions under the European Semester Cycles during the 9th legislative term - State of play April 2024
This document provides an overview of Economic Dialogues with the other institutions of the European Union that has taken place in the competent committee(s) of the European ºÏ·¨²©²ÊÍøÕ¾ since September 2019 under the European Semester for economic policy coordination. It also lists the Recovery and Resilience Dialogues with the European Commission as undertaken by the competent committee(s) since the entry of force of the Recovery and Resilience Facility in 2021. It also includes an overview of the ...
The potential impact of the unitary Supplementary Protection Certificate on access to health technologies
In April 2023, the European Commission adopted regulatory proposals introducing a Unitary Supplementary Protection Certificate (SPC) and a centralised assessment procedure for SPCs for medicinal products. This study analyses the potential impacts of these proposals on access to medicines, the administrative burden to applicants and the cost to national health systems. This document was prepared by Policy Department for Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the JURI Committee ...
'This is Europe' debate in the European ºÏ·¨²©²ÊÍøÕ¾: Speech by Xavier Bettel, Prime Minister of Luxembourg, 19 April 2023
'This is Europe' – an initiative proposed by the President of the European ºÏ·¨²©²ÊÍøÕ¾, Roberta Metsola – consists of a series of debates with EU leaders to discuss their visions for the future of the European Union. In his address to the European ºÏ·¨²©²ÊÍøÕ¾ on 19 April 2023, the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, emphasised three topics: i) democracy and the rule of law, ii) strategic autonomy, and iii) migration. He called for greater protection of minorities and respect for the rule of ...
Independence and transparency policies of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)
This study has been commissioned by the European ºÏ·¨²©²ÊÍøÕ¾â€™s Policy Department for Economic, Scientific and Quality of Life Policies, Directorate-General for Internal Policies at the request of the ENVI Committee. It analyses EFSA’s independence and transparency policies and examines how legislative provisions have been implemented by EFSA and whether rules and practices adopted by EFSA can be improved.
Mapping of long-term public and private investments in the development of Covid-19 vaccines
This study provides a mapping of funds contributed by different actors for the R&D and the expansion of the production capacity of COVID-19 vaccines, with a focus on those authorised in the EU. Nine vaccines are examined. It is found that governments, mainly the US (with some not-for-profit entities) decisively supported corporate investments, either for R&D, manufacturing, or both, by nearly EUR 9 billion, i.e. on average EUR one billion of grants per vaccine, with, however, vast variance across ...
Workshop on COVID-19: EU Crisis Preparedness and Response
These proceedings summarise the presentations and discussions during the workshop on ‘COVID-19: EU Preparedness and Response’, held on 8 March 2023. The five presentations touched, inter alia, upon the impact of COVID-19 at EU level, and how the EU has been prepared, how it responded to that crisis, and the lessons learned following the pandemic. These workshop proceedings were provided by the Policy Department for Economic, Scientific and Quality of Life Policies for the Special Committee on COVID ...
Social and Economic Consequences of COVID-19
This study considers the consequences of measures aimed at countering the effects of COVID-19, in particular the Temporary Framework for State aid, EU Digital COVID Certificates and other measures implemented by EU Member States. The study examines the consequences of the measures on industry, small and medium-sized enterprises and focuses on the cultural and creative industries. Consequences for workers and working practices were also considered, and lessons learnt identified. This document ...
Workshop on long COVID - Workshop Proceedings
These proceedings summarise the presentations and discussions of the workshop on ‘long COVID’ organised for the European ºÏ·¨²©²ÊÍøÕ¾â€™s Special Committee on the COVID-19 pandemic on 9 March 2023. The six presentations touched, inter alia, upon the current state of knowledge on the disease’s clinical profile, potential causes and underlying mechanisms, impacts on patients and society, and lessons to be learned from post-acute infection syndromes and chronic diseases. The speakers and Members could discuss ...