Pesquisar
Slovenia's National Recovery and Resilience Plan: Latest state of play
EU support for the implementation of Slovenia's modified national recovery and resilience plan (NRRP) amounts to €2 685.3 million, and includes €1 612.9 million in grants and €1 072.4 million in loans. This amount is by €203.3 million higher than that initially approved and takes into account a June 2022 update of the maximum financial contribution form the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), additional loans requested by Slovenia, and non-repayable allocation for REPowerEU made available in ...
Revision of the Driving Licence Directive
On 1 March 2023, the European Commission published its legislative proposal on driving licences – a matter of EU competence – with the purpose of enabling the free movement of persons and goods throughout the EU by modernising the driving licence system. This involves making driving licence rules future-proof, improving road safety and simplifying the rules for those wanting to get a driving licence. The proposal provides for accompanied driving for young learners, zero tolerance for drink- driving ...
The European Parliament and the origins of environmental policy
Drawing on a wide array of sources and literature, this study examines the role of the European Parliament in the establishment of the European Community's environmental policy. It argues that Parliament played a key role in placing this nascent policy issue on the agenda. It influenced the definition of what the policy should include, what it should focus on, and which instruments should be used to address environmental problems. In this process, Parliament filtered ideas, issues and political objectives ...
The European Parliament and the origins of consumer policy
Drawing on a wide array of sources and literature, this study examines the role of the European Parliament in the establishment of the European Community's consumer policy. It argues that Parliament played a key role in placing this nascent policy issue on the agenda. It influenced the definition of what the policy should include, what it should focus on, and which instruments should be used to address the problems facing European consumers. In this process, Parliament filtered ideas, issues and ...
Understanding EU action on Roma inclusion
The Roma are Europe's largest ethnic minority. Out of an estimated total of 10 to 12 million Roma in Europe as a whole, some 6 million live in the European Union (EU) and most of them are citizens of an EU Member State. A significant number of Roma people live in very poor socio-economic conditions. The social exclusion, discrimination and segregation they face are mutually reinforcing. Their restricted access to education and difficulties entering the labour market result in low income and poor ...
France's National Recovery and Resilience Plan: Latest state of play
France's National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) is a subpart of 'France Relance', a larger recovery strategy France adopted in 2020 at national level, worth €100 billion in total (4.1 % of France's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019). The NRRP had an initial value of €40.9 billion (total costs), while the plan as amended in 2023 is worth €41.9 billion. Under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), at the core of the Next Generation EU (NGEU) instrument, France's RRF grant allocation decreased ...
Bulgaria's National Recovery and Resilience Plan: Latest state of play
Under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the EU response to the crisis triggered by the pandemic, Bulgaria was initially allocated €6 267.3 million in grants. In line with the RRF Regulation, on 30 June 2022, the European Commission recalculated the maximum grant amounts for all Member States; this resulted in a just over 9 % cut for Bulgaria, lowering the total to €5 688.8 million. To take this into account, as well as factor in the impact of inflation, Bulgaria submitted a modified national ...
HOT – A head office tax system for small companies
When businesses start operating across borders, they are faced with a new and unfamiliar corporate tax system in each EU Member State. As a result, businesses with cross-border activities have to spend time and resources on understanding and complying with complex local corporate tax rules. This represents a significant administrative burden, in particular for small companies. To lower tax compliance costs, the European Commission tabled on 12 September 2023 a proposal for a Council directive to ...
Slovakia's National Recovery and Resilience Plan: Latest state of play
On 11 July 2023, the Council approved Slovakia's amended national recovery and resilience plan (NRRP, Plán obnovy) and allocated €6 408.5 million in grants for its implementation (Slovakia did not request loans). The allocation is €79.4 million higher than that initially approved (6 July 2021). The difference results from a 2022 update of the maximum financial contribution from the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), which reflects changes in real gross domestic product (GDP) over time, and the ...
EU anti-coercion instrument
It is widely held that geopolitical tensions in the world are on the rise. One of the clear indicators of this phenomenon is the increasing use of economic tools for the pursuit of strategic and geopolitical goals. This can take the form of coercion used by one country against another through restrictions on trade or investment in order to interfere with their sovereign choices. In response to the EU and its Member States becoming the target of deliberate economic coercion in recent years, on 8 December ...