Business Bridge paves the way for Ukrainian SMEs to access the EU single market. Its launch aligns with two historic decisions taken by the European Council: to open accession negotiations with Ukraine on 14 December 2023, and the political agreement of 1 February 2024 to provide Ukraine with financial support through the €50 billion Ukraine Facility. The project, launched under the ReadyForEU initiative, will provide €3.75 million in assistance to selected Ukrainian businesses. These businesses will be able to apply for financial assistance, supporting their path to the single market. They will be entitled to receive financial assistance of €2,500 covering business services, such as market research, legal, organisational, or financial advice, participation in EU trade fairs, or legal guidance on intellectual property rights. Beyond empowering Ukrainian SMEs, the Business Bridge project seeks to provide new business partnerships for EU companies. In addition, a second project under the ReadyForEU initiative is still ongoing: the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs - Ukraine, which will allow 430 new Ukrainian entrepreneurs to gain business skills and experience abroad. 

The Commission has adopted a Recommendation to combat counterfeiting, both offline and online, and enhance the enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR). The Recommendation, also known as the EU toolbox against counterfeiting, aims to foster collaboration between rights holders, service providers, and law enforcement, while encouraging best practices and the use of modern tools and technologies. It consists of strategic initiatives to combat counterfeiting and strengthen the enforcement of intellectual property rights, setting out dedicated tools to increase companies' resilience and ability to better protect their intangible assets, including against cyber-theft.

The fight against forced labour is a political priority for the Commission. The agreed text follows the Commission's proposal of 14 September 2022. The new rules will provide the EU with a tool to ban products made with forced labour from the single market. It is estimated that around 27.6 million people are in forced labour, in many industries and in every continent across the world. Under the agreement, the Commission will investigate cases and take decisions where the risk of forced labour is outside the territory of the Union, while EU countries will investigate and take decisions in case the forced labour is found inside the EU.

The new rules will facilitate the use of mobile machinery, including cranes, harvesters, forklifts, or snow cleaners, on public roads. It will consolidate the Single Market by replacing 27 sets of national legislation by a single, harmonised one. This will eliminate existing barriers to the free circulation of mobile machinery on public roads, while ensuring a high level of road safety. Furthermore, the new Regulation will reduce compliance and administrative burden, with cost savings estimated at up to €846 million over a period of 10 years.

The Commission is marking the 15th anniversary of the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs (EYE) programme, a landmark initiative designed to shape the future of entrepreneurship across Europe. This milestone underscores EYE's success in fostering international collaboration, enriching entrepreneurial skills, and driving innovation. To date, the programme has created nearly 12,000 business exchanges in over 45 countries. 2023 marked a historic high with over 5,000 applications, demonstrating the programme's resounding success. The EYE programme has a strong approval rating, with 98% of new entrepreneurs recommending it, and 92% of participants maintaining contact after their exchange. Additionally, 20% of host entrepreneurs plan to set up joint business activities with new entrepreneurs.

Skills rank as a primary concern for businesses across Europe and are correspondingly high on the EU political agenda. Net Zero Skills Academies form a significant component of the Commission’s strategy to address these demands. However, what does this entail in practice? This Business Planet episode explains the efforts being made to equip our workforce with the skills needed to ensure a net-zero future for Europe!
 

On 19 March, the Commission organised a high-level conference on the future of the Single Digital Gateway. The event was an opportunity to take stock of the Single Digital Gateway, which four years into its implementation, offers a range of practical information, advice and access to various administrative procedures to help businesses expand abroad and citizens to exercise their rights when living, travelling, working or studying in the EU. The Commission also laid out plans for the next stage in the development of the Single Digital Gateway, with the objective of helping to consolidate the Single Market’s integration and to support Europe’s competitiveness.

The European Cluster Collaboration Platform (ECCP), in collaboration with the Automotive Cluster Bulgaria, successfully concluded the 3^rd Cluster Booster Academy in Sofia, Bulgaria, on 11-12 March. This session aimed to strengthen participants' grasp of cluster management strategies, with a particular focus on addressing future challenges like sustainability and digitalisation.
 

After 24 months of work, the SHAPE-EU project organised their final event held on 21 February to present their results. The event showcased invaluable insights and best practices for promoting social and affordable housing across the EU. The partnership has developed blueprints for a just energy transition with affordability and livability at its heart. Coordinated by Housing Europe and co-funded by the European Union’s Single Market Programme, the goal of the project is to support public, social and cooperative housing providers, public authorities, and SMEs to deliver social and affordable housing district renovations, which include innovative features, such as the use of smart and circular technologies and new approaches created and managed jointly with the local communities. Watch the recording here.

The annual Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) Convention is a leading event for the world’s mineral exploration, bringing together up to 30,000 attendees from over 130 countries. This year, representatives from GROW, TRADE, RTD, HaDEA and the EU Delegation attended the convention and presented opportunities and achievements in the field of R&I, clean and resilient value chains for raw materials.  

Discover what Europe is doing to achieve ambitious decarbonization goals in the latest episode of the Business Planet program, produced in collaboration with Euronews. 

On 11 March, the Commission published the transition pathway for the agri-food industrial ecosystem, which focuses on the food processing industry. It highlights that the food system's competitiveness and resilience require fair returns for all players in the value chain, smart sustainability investments to limit food inflation, support for the international attractiveness of EU agri-food exports, and implementation of circular business models.

On 12 March, the Commission published the transition pathway for a more resilient, digital and green retail ecosystem. The pathway points toward a just and fair transition for all ecosystem actors, including workforce, consumers and businesses of all sizes and types. It encourages business stakeholders, social partners as well as national, regional and local authorities to engage in the co-implementation process and contribute to a competitive, sustainable, resilient and fair retail ecosystem.

The Commission has launched two competitions to promote smart and sustainable tourism in the EU. These competitions aim to enhance networking and bolster destinations while facilitating the exchange of best practices. Is your city the next leading example of Smart Tourism in Europe? Apply now to become the 2025 European Capital or Green Pioneer of Smart Tourism.

The 1^st of a series of 4 EU Sustainable Finance days will take place in Madrid on 10 April. It will be followed by events in Vilnius, Warsaw and The Hague in the course of the year. It is an opportunity to learn about EU Sustainable Finance policies, EU financing instruments (such as InvestEU’s Sustainability Guarantee) support tools (such as the InvestEU-backed Green Gateway and Enterprise Europe Network’s sustainability advisors) and other Commission actions supporting SMEs’ access to sustainable finance. 
 

The conference will bring together policymakers, corporate leaders, academics, and institutional representatives to discuss specific challenges facing advanced manufacturing. It will provide insights for the incoming Commission on current bottlenecks and areas of opportunity, to ensure the industry remains competitive and supports the green transition.

GROW is back at the Hannover Messe. 2024 marks the largest EU presence at the leading industrial fair so far:
•    President von der Leyen will speak at the Opening Ceremony (Sunday 21 April)
•    A high-level conference “Investing in EU Industry” will take place on Monday, 22 April (14:00 - 16:30) - Registration or web stream available here.
•    Cooperation with the European Investment Bank (EIB) 
•    Exhibition stand of 500m2 in hall 12 (D-05) 
•    Presentations and panels with European Commission as well as EIB experts and representatives of industry in the on-stand auditorium from Monday to Friday (also web streamed) 
 

The Big Buyers Working Together (BBWT) team is organising its first in-person Annual Event 2024. This event will offer a unique opportunity for sharing knowledge, forging connections, exchanging insights, and weaving the fabric of collaboration among public buyers on innovative and sustainable procurement.
 

This event will help unveil the vast potential of public procurement data and give an opportunity to discuss with all stakeholders on how to tackle the complex landscape of procurement data in the future. Join us for insightful contributions, discussions, and exchanges on topics such as the public procurement data space, the transformative impact of artificial intelligence, and eForms – the exclusive standard for publishing procurement data since October 2023. These topics will be presented by expert speakers from national authorities, EU institutions, NGOs, and procurement specialists.
 

The Commission will host the 9^th edition of the European Cluster Conference, the EU’s flagship event dedicated to industrial clusters, which has been organised every two years since 2008 to highlight the role of clusters in driving regional economic growth, fostering innovation, and deepening the Single Market. This year's edition will focus on the role of clusters in building new and reshaping existing value chains and in creating hotspots to attract investments in Europe.
 

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