European Parliamentary Research Service Blog
Economic and Social Policies
US: Economic indicators and trade with EU
Written by Gyorgyi Macsai and Giulio Sabbati (Members’ Research Service) with Igor Tkalec (GlobalStat, EUI). The US-EU trading relationship is one of the biggest in the world, even though the overall value of traded goods dropped in 2020 in the pandemic. The EU and US economies account for about half the entire world’s GDP, and … Continue reading
Harnessing the new momentum in transatlantic relations: Potential areas for common action during the Biden presidency
Like-minded strategic partners, natural and historical allies or an Atlantic bridge are among the terms used to describe the complex relationship between the European Union (EU) and the United States of America (USA). Continue reading
EU climate action in ocean governance and fisheries policy
The European Green Deal places climate action at the heart of a wide range of new legislative and non-legislative initiatives and includes ambitious goals such as achieving climate-neutrality by 2050 and preserving and protecting biodiversity. Continue reading
Biodiversity protection: Where do we stand?
Under the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030, part of the European Green Deal, the EU has therefore set itself new targets for the next decade. Continue reading
Trade policy for the Biodiversity Strategy 2030
Human economic activity has surpassed for years the rate of biosphere regeneration and total biodiversity stock of the planet. Continue reading
What if objects around us flocked together and became intelligent? [Science and Technology podcast]
Smart objects have evolved beyond the original idea of the internet of things (IoT): to offer a better way to track products, replace obsolete barcodes and improve logistics. Continue reading
Coronavirus: Latest developments [What Think Tanks are thinking]
This note offers links to recent commentaries, studies and reports from international think tanks on the coronavirus and related issues. More studies on the topics can be found in a previous edition in this series, published in February 2021. Continue reading
Establishing the new EU strategy on adaptation to climate change
The Commission’s communication builds on Article 4 of the proposal for a European climate law regulation, which requires the Member States and the EU to enhance their adaptive capacity, strengthen their resilience and reduce their vulnerability to climate change. Continue reading
Plenary round-up – May 2021
Following a joint debate, Members voted on Industry, Research and Energy Committee (ITRE) own-initiative reports on developing EU strategies on hydrogen and on energy system integration. Continue reading
Outlook for the special European Council meeting of 24-25 May 2021
On 23 April 2021, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, called a special European Council to be held on 25 May 2021; it was subsequently announced on 9 May, that the meeting would commence on the evening of 24 May. Continue reading
Roaming Regulation review [EU Legislation in Progress]
Nevertheless, five years after its implementation, the Commission needs to review the Roaming Regulation, with a view to extending the roaming market rules by 10 years. Continue reading
Matching priorities and resources in the EU budget: Climate action, migration and borders
Underpinned by the European Green Deal strategy, climate action will receive the bulk of its resources through the incorporation of climate considerations and objectives across all relevant EU funding instruments (climate mainstreaming). Continue reading
Outcome of the meetings of EU leaders in Porto on 7-8 May 2021
On 8 May 2021, EU Heads of State or Government met in Porto for an informal European Council, preceded on 7 May by a social summit, organised by the Portuguese Presidency. The informal European Council was followed by an EU–India leaders’ meeting, attended remotely by the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. Continue reading
Alcohol labelling [Policy Podcast]
Labelling of ingredients and nutritional values on alcoholic drinks already has a long history. First attempts to label ingredients were made in the late 1970s, resulting in the Council not being able to agree on any of the proposed models. Continue reading
What if consumers could use devices to sequence DNA? [Science and Technology podcast]
The genetic ‘alphabet’ contains four ‘letters’ or, in other words, four chemical codes for the information stored in DNA, representing a sequence that, if unwrapped, can stretch up to two metres and fill a book of one million pages. Continue reading
European Pillar of Social Rights: Gothenburg, Porto and beyond [Policy Podcast]
The social pillar is to be the fifth pillar of the economic and monetary union. It is to serve as a compass for updating the EU’s welfare states and labour markets to the new realities of life and work in the 21st century. Continue reading
Digital markets act [EU Legislation in Progress]
In December 2020, the European Commission published a proposal for a regulation on contestable and fair markets in the digital sector, otherwise referred to as the digital markets act (DMA). Continue reading
The six policy priorities of the von der Leyen Commission: State of play in spring 2021
During the new European Commission’s first one hundred days in office, however, the European Union, and indeed the whole world, were to be profoundly affected by the sudden outbreak of the coronavirus crisis, with the developing pandemic soon evolving into a multi‑faceted global crisis. Continue reading
Customs programme: Supporting cooperation to strengthen the customs union [EU Legislation in Progress]
On 18 June 2018, the Commission put forward a proposal for a regulation establishing a Customs programme for cooperation in the field of customs over the 2021-2027 MFF period, a successor to Customs 2020. The programme’s main objective is to fund actions aimed at strengthening the customs union. Continue reading
Building up resilience to cross-border health threats: Moving towards a European health union [EU Legislation in Progress]
On 11 November 2020, the European Commission put forward a proposal for a regulation on serious cross-border threats to health. Continue reading
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