Swedish presidency in the EU Council: supreme diplomatic skills needed

Views: 23Sweden’s term at the helm of the Council of the European Union is going to be particularly challenging due to mounting continental crises in growth, energy, post-pandemic syndrome, etc. Tough legislative agenda is expected during a half-year presidency, which required agreement among the member states, as well as the Commission and European Parliament on […]

The European Single Market: 30 years of four “basic freedoms”

Views: 46The EU member states are celebrating the 30th anniversary of its Single Market (SM) as one of the major achievements of the European integration. During over three decades, the SM – by establishing “four basic freedoms” – i.e. through free movement of goods, services, people and capital among the member states – has made […]

The ERC’s agenda and the EU research and innovation perspectives

Views: 38According to the President of the European Research Council (ERC) Maria Leptin, expressed recently in the Robert Foundation’s policy paper, the EU is able to “produce the cutting-edge knowledge needed for economies on the technological frontier to grow further and for Europe to remain a leader at global level”. However, numerous barriers are on […]

US-EU: automotive bilateral competition resolved

Views: 28The US government by the last days of December acknowledged a beneficial European automotive companies approach to the American market according to the US Commercial Clean Vehicle Credit scheme under the Inflation Reduction Act, IRA. The guidance, in part, reflects the constructive US approach in the work of the EU-US IRA’s Task Force; besides, […]

Damage to health: can citizens sue their governments?

Views: 40The judges of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) founded that the EU legislation did not confer citizens’ right to sue the state. However, it stressed that individuals can force governments to take measures to comply with the EU-wide legislation concerning ecological limits to growth connected to air pollution.

New efforts in the European energy supply and security

Views: 36Joint gas purchasing under the EU Energy Platform has been supported by a regulation which the EU-27 energy ministers adopted on December 19, 2022 to provide a necessary legal basis. It is another vital step in preparation for next winter; the EU institutions have made extensive efforts during 2022 to reduce Russian gas supply: […]

European legislative future: perspectives for 2023-24

Views: 26Presidents of the three most vital EU institutions –the Parliament, Council and Commission – signed a joint declaration on the legislative priorities for the EU member states during 2023-24. Joint declaration formulates the EU’s vital components of European integration in the years to come: numerous working documents accompanying the declaration include 164 key legislative […]

Supporting green growth in the Baltic Sea States

Views: 22The European Commission and the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) signed an InvestEU guarantee agreement worth up to €114 million; the agreement will unlock NIB financing of up to €480 million for investments in sustainable infrastructure, research, innovation and digitalisation across several Baltic Sea countries. It is expected to, in turn, mobilise public and private […]

European energy market: recent transformations

Views: 23Gas pipeline supplies to the EU states this winter from Russia have been reduced by 80 percent (compared to the last year); it was acknowledged by the European Commission. Transformed gas supply distribution has invoked unprecedented pressure on the global energy markets, with severe knock-on effects on Europe’s energy system. The EU institutions have […]