Keres

On 19 November 2025, the Commission published a proposal for a Digital Omnibus on AI: amendments to the Artificial Intelligence Act (in force since 1 August 2024) and to Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 on common rules for civil aviation (in force since 11 September 2018). These amendments seek to address implementation issues and reduce the regulatory burden arising from the AI Act. However, its timely application has faced delays, particularly regarding the designation of national competent authorities ...

'In 2026, we will deliver', was the main message of European Council President António Costa after the EU leaders' informal competitiveness retreat at Alden Biesen castle, Belgium, on 12 February 2026. There was a shared sense of urgency on the need to fix the ailing EU economy, which suffers from low productivity, expensive energy, bureaucracy, a fragmented single market, fierce competition from the United States and China, and the unravelling rules-based global order. As usual, no formal conclusions ...

Makis Keravnos, Minister for Finance of Cyprus, is participating in the ECON Committee in his capacity of President of the ECOFIN Council during the Cyprus Presidency (January - June 2026). According to Article 121 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, “Member States shall regard their economic policies as a matter of common concern and shall coordinate them within the Council”. This document provides an overview of the Cyprus Presidency's priorities in ECON matters, including ...

The European Union's competitiveness and prosperity depends on an optimal allocation of resources, particularly savings, within the single market, yet EU capital markets remain fragmented. EU rules are mostly set out through directives, leaving Member States' supervisory authorities latitude in their interpretation and application of the rules. Therefore, although rules are enacted at EU level, the resulting uneven supervisory environment is considered a major cause of fragmentation of EU capital ...

Enhancing the EU's competitiveness is a key priority for the European Council in the current legislative cycle. In a complex geopolitical environment, in which the international rules-based order is increasingly undermined and core alliances are questioned, it is essential for Europe to be able to stand firmly on its own feet. Strengthening the single market and the EU economic base is 'an urgent strategic imperative' in the words of European Council President António Costa, to improve the EU's competitiveness ...

We analyse selected RRF reforms and investments, from milestone design to payment assessment. Our findings suggest that the RRF model can strengthen the effectiveness of the European Semester by translating reform priorities into enforceable commitments. Yet there is scope for improvement. First, uneven milestone design limited conditionality in some cases, calling for a better balance between national ownership and consistency in the drafting of similar reforms. Second, investment conditionality ...

The European Commission has proposed a new regulation to strengthen the cross-border cooperation between national authorities in different Member States in charge of enforcing the 2019 Unfair Trading Practices (UTP) Directive. This targeted update of rules, which would complement the UTP Directive, aims to improve the position of farmers in the food supply chain when buyers are located in another Member State. During the February plenary session, Parliament is expected to vote on the provisional ...

The circular economy aims to break away from the traditional linear 'take make use dispose' model by keeping resources in circulation for as long as possible. Its goal is twofold: to lower environmental pressures and increase economic resilience by reducing reliance on virgin materials and unstable global supply chains. Against this backdrop, the planned circular economy act (CEA) must address several structural challenges currently at the centre of the EU policy debate.

In June 2025, EU Member States that are members of NATO committed to a significant increase in spending on defence to 5% of GDP to be reached withing a decade. 3.5% of GDP would be spent on core defence items, 1.5% on defence-related items. Obviously, such commitments come on top of already tight public finances in most of the economies concerned. Against this background, in autumn 2025, the ECON Committee requested external expertise to better understand the potential synergies and tensions between ...

This study explores the competitiveness gap faced by the EU’s seafood sector. Five case studies illustrate how high input costs and relatively low productivity mean that imports, now supply over 80% of the EU’s consumption of fisheries and aquaculture products (FAPs). The policy recommendations provided aim to help secure a more self-sufficient, sustainable, and resilient seafood system. This document was prepared at the request of the Committee on Fisheries (PECH).