Zoeken
EU economic developments and projections
This briefing provides a summary of the recent economic developments in EU Member States and gives an overview of relevant economic projections forecasted by major EU and international institutions. Annex 1 includes the latest GDP data and forecasts for all EU Member States. Annex 2 provides the latest inflation data and developments.
Robert Schuman
In 1958, Robert Schuman was elected president of the European ºÏ·¨²©²ÊÍøÕ¾ary Assembly, predecessor to the European ºÏ·¨²©²ÊÍøÕ¾. This French politician, who was particularly sensitive to the tensions between France and Germany, is regarded as one of the 'founding fathers' of what is now the European Union. After the Second World War, he supported the establishment of the Council of Europe and helped to bring many other European projects to fruition. With his declaration of 9 May 1950, considered the ...
Critical medicines act
In light of the current geopolitical situation, and in response to the growing issue of medicine shortages in the EU, on 11 March 2025 the European Commission put forward a proposal for a regulation on a critical medicines act. The proposed regulation seeks to strengthen the availability of critical medicines in the EU and the security of supply of these medicines by reducing the dependency on single suppliers and third countries and boosting pharmaceutical manufacturing in the EU. It also aims to ...
Monetary Dialogue in March 2025: Summary of parliamentary scrutiny activities
This paper provides a summary of all scrutiny activities of the European ºÏ·¨²©²ÊÍøÕ¾ related to euro area monetary policy in occasion of the March 2025 Monetary Dialogue with the European Central Bank (ECB). It covers the topics chosen by the competent Committee and related expertise papers provided in advance of the Dialogue, the actual topics addressed during the Dialogue, a brief overview of results from the Monetary Policy Expert Panel Survey, the latest written questions made by Members to the ...
Transforming animal farming through artificial intelligence
By 2033, global meat protein consumption is projected to increase by 3 %, which is expected to result in higher greenhouse gas emissions. Artificial intelligence (AI) and the internet of things have the potential to revolutionise the livestock sector by enabling farmers to increase productivity while reducing environmental impact. AI-powered systems support real-time monitoring of animal health, behaviour and welfare, allowing for the early detection of disease and stress and enabling personalised ...
European Peace Facility – For Ukraine, but not only
The European Peace Facility (EPF) was created in March 2021 as a funding instrument aimed at enhancing the EU's ability to prevent conflicts, build and preserve peace, and strengthen international security and stability. The EPF rests on two pillars. The first is to fund EU military operations and missions under the common foreign and security policy. The second is to provide assistance to countries in the EU's eastern neighbourhood, the Middle East and Africa to strengthen security in their respective ...
Family reunification rights: Refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection
Separating family members can have devastating consequences on their wellbeing and ability to rebuild their lives. This is true for everybody, but especially so for people who have fled persecution or serious harm and have lost family during forced displacement and their flight from danger. For beneficiaries of international protection, family separation can affect their ability to engage in many aspects of the integration process, from education and employment to putting down roots, and harm their ...
Key challenges faced by LGBTI asylum applicants in the EU
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans-gender and intersex (LGBTI) asylum applicants are recognised as a vulnerable social group under European Union (EU) legislation, and are therefore entitled to international protection. However, it is up to applicants to prove that they are indeed LGBTI, which can be challenging. As they often come from countries where being a member of the LGBTI community exposes individuals to persecution and violence, there is normally little documentary evidence they can produce to ...
Observers in the European ºÏ·¨²©²ÊÍøÕ¾
Accession to the European Union is a long process, requiring not only legislative, administrative and economic adaptation to EU standards, but also a degree of adaptation to the working methods of the EU institutions. One of these new working methods candidate countries must navigate is how the European ºÏ·¨²©²ÊÍøÕ¾ organises its activities, how members interact, and how to build alliances and dialogue among the various political families represented in ºÏ·¨²©²ÊÍøÕ¾. ºÏ·¨²©²ÊÍøÕ¾'s rules of procedure allow ...
Malta's National Recovery and Resilience Plan: Latest state of play
Malta's National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) had an initial value of €344.9 million, while its amended plan is worth €336.3 million. Under the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), at the core of the Next Generation EU (NGEU) instrument, Malta's RRF grant allocation decreased from €316.4 million to €258.3 million. In April 2023, Malta submitted a request to amend its NRRP, to which it added a new REPowerEU chapter with an additional grant allocation of €30 million. It also requested ...