After one year in office, the launch of a bold manifesto including the voices of youth, an emphasis on gender equality, and a fresh approach to enlargement, Oliver Röpke, President of the EESC is making waves with a Blue Deal.
In a plea to coalition partners and the European Commission, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) called for more subsidies to secure industrial production and jobs.
The EU’s cohesion policy accounts for the biggest chunk of its budget, yet it is distributed through back-door negotiations, far away from public attention. For transparency's sake, this needs to change – especially as new, less-developed countries will still join the bloc.
Wealthier European Union regions are concerned that enlargement could result in a reduction in cohesion funds, but the European Commission said it is still too early to start talking about money.
The European Central Bank (ECB), the European Investment Bank (EIB), and the International Energy Agency (IEA) have called for a faster transition towards clean energy, with ECB President Christine Lagarde arguing for a "green Capital Markets Union" and EU-issued green bonds.
33 years after German reunification, wealth disparities still form the “most significant differences” between the former West and the East, German government Commissioner Carsten Schneider said, but differences within the government make it impossible to counteract.
Romania’s ballooning public deficit has warranted European scrutiny as spending has increased thanks to an overly generous special pensions system for a select number of public officials while revenues have been hurt by a number of tax exemptions.
The Romanian government is under increasing pressure to reign in its soaring budget deficit, risking punitive measures by the EU Commission if the budget deficit is not brought back under control before the end of the year.
The European Commission’s plan to reshuffle cohesion funds to finance innovative technologies is heightening concerns over the repeated use of the EU’s place-based policy to address new emerging needs and EU’s recentralising tendencies.
Hungary needs to fulfil all conditions required to unblock EU funds as soon as possible to ensure they reach citizens and businesses, EU lawmakers from the budgetary control committee said, as rule of law problems persist.
In a parliamentary debate on the European Commission’s proposal for new fiscal rules, EU lawmakers offered views diverging widely along both ideological and national lines, putting the Parliament’s ability to make its voice heard in the upcoming negotiations in doubt.
The impasse between the EU and Hungary over access to the bloc’s post-pandemic recovery funds remains, despite moves by Hungarian lawmakers this week to adopt new laws to address EU rule of law concerns.
The EU's cohesion policy, which aims at reducing regional disparities, benefits high-skilled, richer households more than low-income households and exacerbates inequality within EU regions, according to a recent study.
The German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development on Monday (27 March) launched a new digital platform to reinforce German commitment to the reconstruction process in Ukraine.
The European Commission put forward ambitious proposals last week that aim to position the EU as a global leader in green industry growth, yet how the plans will be financed remains an open question.
Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic presented a new relief package worth €1.7 billion at a meeting behind closed doors of Croatia’s Economic and Social Council (GSV) on Monday. The new measures are grouped into three main areas, intended to offset the rising …
Joint borrowing is currently not an option to help member states finance the green transition, Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said on Monday (13 March), marking a shift from previous calls for 'mutualised tools' at the European level.
The EU’s Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (TCTF), which allows member states to subsidise sustainable technologies, is welcomed by advocates for green industrial policy - but some NGOs fear it will be counterproductive for the environment and SMEs.
The government has found ways to address the milestones needed for Romania to get the second payment of the national recovery and resilience plan – funds that the Commission has blocked since January. Romanian officials and Commission representatives have discussed the …
The government and the European Commission reached a last-minute agreement on a controversial pension system reform which paves the way for Madrid to receive the next tranches of the EU’s Next Generation funds. After months of work and tangible divergences between …
The unexpected announcement by the Spanish construction giant Ferrovial to move its headquarters from Madrid to The Netherlands over better tax policies prompted a storm of reactions in Spain on Thursday, with left-wing junior coalition member Unidas Podemos accusing the …
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), which investigates fraud and corruption related to EU funds, launched 23 investigations in Croatia in 2022 for cases with total estimated damages of over €313 million, according to their annual report released on Wednesday. Since …
Slovakia has approximately €122 million earmarked for developing renewable electricity production in the National Recovery plan.
According to draft conclusions for an EU leaders' meeting at the end of March, seen by EURACTIV, member states seem to agree on more country-specific fiscal paths instead of relying on one-size-fits-all numerical targets.
