Coronavirus: 200th EU disinfection robot delivered to European hospital, a further 100 confirmed (21/09/2021)
This week the Commission delivered the 200th disinfection robot – to Consorci Corporació Sanitària Parc Taulí hospital in Barcelona. The robots, donated by the Commission, help sanitise COVID-19 patient rooms and are part of the Commission's action to supply hospitals across the EU to help them cope with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Further to these initial 200 robots announced in November last year, the Commission secured the purchase an additional 100, bringing the total donations to 300.
Commission refers Poland to the Court of Justice of the European Union for undermining the independence of the national telecommunications regulator (23/09/2021)
The Commission has decided this week to refer Poland to the Court of Justice of the European Union for breaching EU law safeguarding the independence of the national regulatory authority (NRA), the Office of Electronic Communications (UKE).
EU Electronic Communications Code: Commission calls on Member States to fully transpose new telecom rules into national law (23/09/2021)
The Commission has sent this week a reasoned opinion to Estonia, Spain, Croatia, Ireland, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia and Sweden for not having notified the Commission about the full transposition of the European Electronic Communications Code.
Audiovisual media: Commission calls on Member States to fully transpose EU rules on audiovisual content (23/09/2021)
The European Commission has sent this week a reasoned opinion to Czechia, Estonia, Ireland, Spain, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Slovenia and Slovakia for failing to provide information about the implementation of the EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) into their national laws. The new rules apply on all audiovisual media, both traditional TV broadcasts and on-demand services, as well as video-sharing platforms. They aim to create a regulatory framework fit for the digital age, leading to a safer, fairer and more diverse audiovisual landscape.
State of the Union: Commission proposes a Path to the Digital Decade to deliver the EU's digital transformation by 2030 (15/09/2021)
The Commission has proposed this week a Path to the Digital Decade, a concrete plan to achieve the digital transformation of our society and economy by 2030. The proposed Path to the Digital Decade will translate the EUʼs digital ambitions for 2030 into a concrete delivery mechanism. It will set up a governance framework based on an annual cooperation mechanism with Member States to reach the 2030 Digital Decade targets at Union level in the areas of digital skills, digital infrastructures, digitalisation of businesses and public services. It also aims to identify and implement large-scale digital projects involving the Commission and the Member States.
State of the Union: Commission calls on Member States to improve journalists' safety across the EU (16/09/2021)
On 15 September 2021, on the occasion of her State of the Union Address, President Ursula von der Leyen said: “Information is a public good. We must protect those who create transparency – the journalists. That is why today we have put forward a recommendation to give journalists better protection.”
San Sebastian Film Festival 2021: Four EU-supported films compete for awards (17/09/2021)
Four EU-funded films are competing in the 69th edition of the San Sebastian International Film Festival, which has kicked off today. ‘Inventory' by Darko Sinko, ‘Prayers for the Stolen' by Tatiana Huezo, ‘The Crossing' by Florence Miailhe and ‘107 Mothers' by Peter Kerekes are competing within the Official Selection category. The winners of this year's festival will be announced on 25 September during the Festival Closing Gala.
Leading European companies support the digitalisation of SMEs with the Digital Volunteers Pilot Programme (13/09/2021)
The Digital Volunteers Pilot Programme brings together digital experts from large companies who work as mentors in SMEs to digitally upskill their employees and digitalise their business activities. The participation of more than 40 leading European companies was facilitated by cooperation between the European Commission and the Conseil de Cooperation Economique. It runs until November 2021 with wider deployment taking place in 2022.
Venice International Film Festival: Three EU-supported films won awards (13/09/2021)
The winners of the 78th edition of the Venice International Film Festival were announced on Saturday 11 September, with three films funded by the EU winning awards.
High-level conference to weigh up EU and international work on Artificial Intelligence (13/09/2021)
Experts, policy-makers and members of the European and international communities will meet during a high-level conference on AI in Slovenia on 14-15 September.
High-Level Conference on AI: From Ambition to Action - Registrations are open (14/09/2021)
On 14 and 15 September 2021, members of the European and international community are invited to join Europe’s High-Level Conference on Artificial Intelligence.
Venice Film Festival 2021: Six EU-supported films nominated for awards (01/09/2021)
Six EU-funded films have been nominated for awards at the 78th edition of the Venice International Film Festival. ‘Il buco’ by Michelangelo Frammartino has been selected in the Venezia 78 competition.
Have your say on children’s rights online (01/09/2021)
How can we ensure that we promote, protect, respect and fulfil the rights of all children and young people when they go online? Have your say in the #DigitalDecade4YOUth consultation, running from 1 September until 11 October 2021.
EU Code Week hackathons finale is approaching with student teams addressing local societal challenges (02/09/2021)
In September and October, teams of 15-19 year old students will use their coding and entrepreneurial skills in EU Code Week hackathons in Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Romania and Slovenia. These hackathons are part of a journey that started in spring with online hackathons and mentoring and training during summer. The European final will take place on 14 October.
Commission launches calls worth €12 million in support of news media and the EU public sphere (02/08/2021)
The Commission published four new calls for proposals aiming to stimulate a lively and diverse public sphere and promoting citizens’ access to reliable information across the EU.
All Member States now committed to building an EU quantum communication infrastructure (28/07/2021)
Ireland is the 27th EU Member State to sign the EuroQCI Declaration. This means that all 27 EU Member States have signed it.
Copyright: Commission calls on Member States to comply with EU rules on copyright in the Digital Single Market (26/07/2021)
The Commission has requested Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Finland, France, Croatia, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia and Slovakia to communicate information about how the rules included in the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (Directive 2019/790/EU) are being enacted into their national law.
Coronavirus disinformation: online platforms take new actions and call for more players to join the Code of Practice (29/07/2021)
The Commission has published the reports by Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Microsoft and Google on measures taken in June to combat coronavirus disinformation. The current signatories and the Commission are also calling on new companies to join the Code of Practice on disinformation as it will help broaden its impact and make it more effective.
Commission launches alliances for microelectronics and cloud technologies (19/07/2021)
The European Commission has kick-started two new Industrial Alliances: the Alliance for Processors and Semiconductor technologies, and the European Alliance for Industrial Data, Edge and Cloud.
Five MEDIA-supported films awarded in 2021 Cannes Film Festival (19/07/2021)
Five EU-funded titles have received awards in this 74th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, which concluded on Saturday, 17 July with a closing ceremony.
Commission seeks feedback to improve public sector website and mobile apps accessibility (19/07/2021)
On 19 July, the Commission launched a public consultation on the review of the Web Accessibility Directive.
Media and Audiovisual Action Plan: Commission launches interactive tool on EU support (23/07/2021)
Today the Commission has launched an interactive mapping tool to connect the media and audiovisual sectors with EU funding. It will facilitate access to information about EU funding opportunities for both the audiovisual and the news media sectors.
Adoption of the Council Regulation to establish the new EuroHPC JU (13/07/2021)
On 13 July the Economic and Financial Affairs Council adopted the Council Regulation on establishing the new European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU).
EU founding values: Commission starts legal action against Hungary and Poland for violations of fundamental rights of LGBTIQ people (15/07/2021)
The Commission is launching infringement procedures against Hungary and Poland related to the equality and the protection of fundamental rights.
New rules on Open data and reuse of public sector information start to apply (16/07/2021)
Tomorrow, 17 July 2021, will mark the deadline for Member States to transpose the revised Directive on open data and reuse of public sector information into national law. The updated rules will stimulate the development of innovative solutions such as mobility apps, increase transparency by opening the access to publicly funded research data, and support new technologies, including artificial intelligence.
The Connecting Europe Facility regulation adopted to support connectivity across the EU (07/07/2021)
The European Parliament has adopted the regulation establishing the next Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) programme, which will support investments in Europe's transport, energy and digital infrastructure networks with a budget of €33.71 billion for the 2021-27 period.
Cannes Film Festival 2021: 17 EU-supported films compete for awards (06/07/2021)
17 EU-funded films have been nominated for awards at the 74th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, which has opened its doors this week, for the first time in a physical format since 2019.
EU and Japan strengthen research and innovation collaboration on robotics solutions for active and healthy ageing (08/07/2021)
The Commission and Japanese partners have successfully collaborated in research and innovation projects on the challenges associated with population ageing.
Call for applications for the selection of members: the Strategic Advisory Board for the Destination Earth Initiative - deadline 2 August 2021 (10/06/2021)
The Directorate General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology of the European Commission launches a call for applications concerning the Strategic Advisory Group on the Destination Earth initiative.
Commission launches ‘CharactHer' campaign to empower all talents in the film and media industries (09/07/2021)
Today, at the Cannes Film Festival, the Commission is launching an awareness campaign aimed at fostering diversity and inclusion in the film and news media industries and at highlighting gender equality and the role of women in the sector. The campaign, titled ‘CharactHer', is the first initiative with a clear focus on diversity and inclusion launched under the framework of the Media and Audiovisual Action Plan.
Strengthened Code of practice on disinformation: Commission and signatories call for broader participation (09/07/2021)
The Commission and the signatories of the Code of Practice on Disinformation are launching a joint call today inviting interested parties to become signatories of the strengthened Code of Practice on Disinformation. New signatories are expected to help shape the revised Code together with current signatories.
