News

The European Commission has decided to close the Article 7(1) TEU procedure for Poland by withdrawing its reasoned proposal that had triggered this procedure in 2017. On 6 May 2024, the Commission finalised its analysis on the rule of law situation in Poland in the context of the Article 7(1) TEU procedure. The Commission considers that there is no longer a clear risk of a serious breach of the rule of law in Poland within the meaning of that provision.

Applications opened this week for the 2024 Lorenzo Natali Prize, the EU's flagship journalism award. Journalists reporting on issues related to climate, environment and energy, digital and infrastructure, gender equality, human development, migration and forced displacement, peace and governance, sustainable growth and jobs, and youth are invited to apply online until 11pm (Irish time) on 30 June.

The 2024 call for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Networks under Horizon Europe, the EU's key funding programme for research and innovation, opened for submissions this week with a deadline to apply of 27 November 2024. The call will dedicate €608.6 million to fund over 160 projects in all scientific fields and the training and skills development of 2,400 doctoral candidates.

New figures published this week by Eurostat show that 63% of Ireland's 25 to 34 year olds had a third level education in 2023, the highest share in the EU and up from 54% in 2016. The EU average for 2023 was 43%. Ireland was followed by Cyprus (62%) and Luxembourg (60%). At the bottom of the scale were Romania (23%) and Hungary (29%). Third level education comprises ISCED levels 5 to 8.

The European Commission this week unveiled its new AI Office, established within the Commission. The AI Office aims at enabling the future development, deployment and use of AI in a way that fosters societal and economic benefits and innovation, while mitigating risks. The Office will play a key role in the implementation of the AI Act, especially in relation to general-purpose AI models. It will also work to foster research and innovation in trustworthy AI and position the EU as a leader in international discussions.

The vast majority of bathing water sites in Europe met the European Union's most stringent ‘excellent' bathing quality standards in 2023, according to the latest annual Bathing Water report published this week. This represents 85.4% of the EU's popular bathing waters. For Ireland, 77% of the 148 bathing water sites monitored in 2023 were rated as “excellent”, remaining below the EU average of 85.4%, and down from 79.1% in 2022.

The European Commission has welcomed the adoption this week by the Council of the EU of a new sanctions regime against the accelerating and systematic repression of human rights, democracy and the rule of law by the Russian authorities. The new regime will allow the EU to target also those who provide financial, technical, or material support for, or are otherwise involved in or associated with people and entities committing human rights violations in Russia. If also introduces trade restrictions on exporting equipment, which might be used for internal repression, as well as on equipment, technology or software intended primarily for use in information security and the monitoring or interception of telecommunication.

The European Commission is providing €201 million in EU humanitarian funding to address the needs of the most vulnerable people affected by the humanitarian crisis in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Nigeria. The funding will support food security and assistance for malnutrition, health care and protection, water, sanitation and hygiene, shelter and education activities, as well as the transportation of humanitarian workers and supplies to remote and inaccessible locations.

The EU and Australia this week signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a bilateral partnership to cooperate on sustainable critical and strategic minerals. This partnership aims to support several common objectives, while based on mutual benefits. In particular, it seeks to enable the EU to diversify its supplies of materials necessary for the green and digital transitions, whilst contributing to the development of Australia's domestic critical minerals sector.

At the 8th edition of the Brussels Conference on 'Supporting the future of Syria and the region', the EU pledged €2.12 billion for 2024 and 2025. This assistance will support both Syrians inside Syria and those in neighbouring countries, as well as their host communities in Türkiye, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq. Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič said: "Syrians continue to be heavily affected by ongoing hostilities, water and food shortages, protection issues, lack of access to basic services and violations of International Humanitarian Law. A staggering 16.7 million people in Syria – half of whom are women and children – still need life-saving support".

The European Commission has launched a Call for evidence to seek feedback on the scope and content of its evaluation of the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation, as amended in April 2023 (‘MVBER'), and of the related Supplementary Guidelines, also as amended in April 2023 (‘SGL'). The role of both the MVBER and of the SGL is to assist companies in the automotive sector to assess the compatibility of their vertical agreements with Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The purpose of the evaluation is to gather facts and evidence on the functioning of this framework and to assess the extent to which it is still fit for purpose.

The European Commission has welcomed the final adoption by the Council of the EU this week of the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA). The Act aims to scale up the EU's manufacturing capacity of the technologies needed to achieve climate-neutrality such as solar panels, wind turbines, heat pumps, batteries, electrolysers and nuclear technologies, among others, including key components of such technologies, such as photovoltaic cells or the blades on wind turbines.

The first-ever EU rules to curb methane emissions from the energy sector in Europe and across the globe were adopted this week. The new regulation obliges the fossil gas, oil and coal industry in Europe to measure, monitor, report and verify their methane emissions according to the highest monitoring standards, and to take action to reduce them. It also requires EU gas, oil and coal operators to stop avoidable and routine flaring and to reduce flaring and venting to situations such as emergencies, technical malfunctions or when it is necessary for safety reasons. The new regulation is expected to enter into force in June.

The European Commission this week issued a ‘yellow card' to Senegal, a notification of the need to step up actions in the fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing. Deficiencies identified in the monitoring, control and surveillance systems of Senegal relate to vessels flying the flag of Senegal and operating in waters outside the country's jurisdiction, as well as in the controls carried out on foreign fishing vessels at Dakar port. In addition, illegal exportations from Senegal to the EU market have been detected.

Information on this meeting will be available shortly at the link below.

Twenty-six town centres are set to benefit from funding of up to €200K each under THRIVE, the Town Centre First Heritage Revival Scheme, awarded under Ireland’s two European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Regional Programmes. THRIVE aims to allow Local Authorities and citizens to reimagine and revitalise town centres though the renovation and reuse of publicly owned vacant or derelict heritage buildings. It is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union under the Southern, Eastern and Midland Regional Programme 2021-2027 and the Northern and Western Regional Programme 2021-2027.

The European Commission is sending a letter of formal notice to Ireland over its failure to notify national measures transposing the amended Eurovignette Directive, whose transposition deadline was 25 March 2024. Adopted originally in 1999, the Directive sets common rules on distance-based charges (tolls) and time-based user charges (vignettes) for the use of road infrastructure. These rules stipulate that the cost of constructing, operating, and maintaining infrastructure can be recovered through tolls and vignettes. The amending Directive extended the rules to include passenger cars and small heavy-duty vehicles.

Information on this meeting will be available shortly at the link below.

Information on the G7 summit will be available shortly at the link below.

The European Parliament Liaison Office in Ireland is hosting a one-hour webinar on EU basics from 12 noon to 1pm on Thursday 13 June. The webinar will offer an introduction into how the European Union works and what role it plays in our lives. Each webinar will start with a presentation followed by a Q&A for participants. There is no prior knowledge required. The topics covered range from the EU’s law making process, to areas where the EU makes rules and where it does not, to how half a century of EU membership have influenced Ireland. Anyone interested to participate can register via the links below.