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Political advertising is central to informing and influencing how people vote, and may affect citizens' perceptions of the legitimacy of their own political system, particularly when published in the run-up to elections. Rules governing political advertising are therefore key to guaranteeing citizens' fundamental rights and the integrity of democratic processes. Rules governing political propaganda during electoral periods are naturally therefore a focal point of electoral law. Traditional rules ...

To support its economy, provide mobility for people and goods and ensure the connectivity of all regions, while also limiting negative impacts on climate and environment, the EU has been building a multimodal transport network across its territory: the trans-European transport network (TEN T). The TEN T policy is based on the 2013 Union guidelines defining the technical requirements for the planned transport infrastructure and network layout. TEN-T construction is also supported by EU funding, an ...

In July 2021, the European Commission tabled a proposal to establish a new EU authority to counter money laundering and the financing of terrorism (AMLA). This was part of a legislative package aimed at implementing the 2020 action plan for a comprehensive Union policy on preventing money laundering and the financing of terrorism. The AMLA would be the centre of an integrated system composed of the authority itself and the national authorities with an AML/CFT supervisory mandate. It would also support ...

While shell companies – company entities that have no or minimal economic activity – can serve useful commercial and business functions, they are sometimes abused by companies or individuals for aggressive tax planning or tax evasion. To ensure sustainable public finances under the exceptional circumstances imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, in December 2021 the European Commission presented a directive on preventing shell companies from misusing their structure for tax purposes ('Unshell'). The proposal ...

On 17 November 2021, the European Commission tabled a proposal to revise EU rules on shipments of waste. The proposed regulation aims at easing shipments of waste for reuse and recycling in the EU, to support the transition to a circular economy; ensuring that waste exported from the EU is managed in an environmentally sound manner in the destination countries; and stepping up enforcement to counteract illegal shipments of waste. While supporting the proposed streamlining and digitalisation of procedures ...

This briefing offers a pre-legislative synthesis of the positions of national, regional and local governmental organisations on the European Commission's forthcoming initiative, 'digital in education and skills'. It forms part of an EPRS series offering a summary of the pre-legislative state of play and advance consultation on a range of key European Commission priorities during its 5 year term in office. It seeks to present the current state of affairs, examine how existing policy is working on ...

On 14 July 2021, as part of the 'fit for 55' package, the Commission presented a legislative proposal for a revision of the Regulation setting CO2 emission performance standards for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles (vans). To raise the contribution of the road transport sector to the EU's climate targets, the proposal sets more ambitious 2030 targets for reducing the CO2 emissions of new cars and vans and allows only zero-emission vehicles from 2035. In the European Parliament, the proposal ...

New technologies come with new risks, and the impact of cyber-attacks through digital products has increased dramatically in recent years. Increasingly, consumers have fallen victim to security flaws linked to digital products such as baby monitors, robo-vacuum cleaners, Wi-Fi routers and alarm systems. For businesses, the importance of ensuring that digital products in the supply chain are secure has become pivotal, considering three in five vendors have already lost money owing to product security ...

Governments seek to protect low-income households from the risk of poverty by regulating minimum wages and setting up support programmes that include both social insurance and social assistance transfers. At their centre are guaranteed minimum income schemes as last-resort income support. While minimum income schemes exist in all EU Member States, they are not always adequate; they do not reach all those in need, nor do they motivate people to return to the labour market. In many EU countries, the ...

On 14 July 2021, the European Commission presented a package of proposals to make the EU's climate, energy, land use, transport and taxation policies fit for reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 % by 2030, compared with 1990 levels – the 'fit for 55' package. The package includes a proposal to ensure a level playing field for sustainable air transport, also known as the ReFuelEU Aviation initiative. In the draft regulation, the Commission proposes obligations on fuel suppliers to ...