In primo piano

The COVID-19 crisis has had a major impact on the EU-27 economy with some sectors, such as the cultural and creative and also aerospace industries, hit harder than others. The study requested by ITRE committee looks at the impact of COVID-19 on the EU economy and how the impact is distributed across sectors. It analyses the resulting structural changes and the implications for strategic value chains. The authors' recommendations include national recovery plans tailored to industry's needs.

The climate change caused by global warming has massive and mostly negative effects on economies, societies and the environment. Climate action objectives were integrated into the 2014-2020 Cohesion Policy both at the design stage and during the implementation of programmes. This will also be the case in programming period 2021-2027, when roughly 25% of total Cohesion Policy will be spend for prevention and adaptation to the climate change.

The first application of Article 50 of the Treaty on the European Union leaves a number of institutional issues unanswered. This study looks into the constitutional and institutional challenges that the European Union faced during the Brexit negotiations. It analyses whether the current wording of Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union was applied in an adequate manner and allowed for an efficient and properly organised withdrawal procedure.

This paper focuses on the pension rights of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) before and after the year 2009. The study presents detail on pension rights of Members of the European Parliament, looking at arrangements in the Member States prior to the entry into force of the Members’ Statute in 2009 and EU-level pension arrangements. A comparative analysis of the different schemes is provided.

Shortages of medical products during the COVID-19 pandemic and shifts in the international order have made reshoring of production a topical issue in EU policy debates. This study, requested by the INTA committee, discusses economic and political reasons for reshoring. Analysing supply security, the debate on EU strategic autonomy, and the success of reshoring policies elsewhere, the authors suggest that reshoring should focus on critical sectors and products with supply bottlenecks.

These briefings discuss how free trade agreements (FTAs) can help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) discussing the main challenges, concerns and benefits for SMEs doing business in third countries. Different barriers that can affect SMEs without international operations and SMEs that are already internationalized are described and initiatives at the EU and national level to support SMEs are highlighted. The briefings conclude with a set of support recommendations.