News

On Tuesday lunchtime 30 July Dr Alexander Vindman, former director for European Affairs on the White House’s National Security Council, will address a hybrid IIEA event on "The Russia-Ukraine War: Its Causes, Conduct, and Geopolitical Context". In his address to the IIEA, Dr Vindman will examine the Russia-Ukraine War: Past, Present, and Future. He will discuss the roots of the war and its conduct to date, highlighting the conflict’s effects on European security, the trans-Atlantic alliance, and broader geopolitics. Dr Vindman will also provide analysis on how the war is likely to unfold and conclude.

This panel discussion will look at what the next steps might be for the EU following the European Parliament elections, which took place in June. The panellists will look at where we are in the various post-election processes, as regards to appointments to the top EU jobs, the formation of the parliamentary groups, and the formation of the new Commission. Speakers include: Professor John O’ Brennan from Maynooth University and Director of the Maynooth Centre for European and Eurasian studies; Frances Fitzgerald, former government minister and MEP; and Marian Harkin TD and former MEP. This hybrid event will take place at 1pm.

The European Commission this week sent Amazon a request for information under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The Commission is requesting Amazon to provide more information on the measures the platform has taken to comply with the DSA obligations related to the transparency of recommender systems and their parameters, as well as to the provisions on maintaining an ad repository and its risk assessment report. Amazon must provide the requested information by 26 July 2024.

From 7 July, new rules on vehicle safety apply to all new vehicles sold in the EU. Thanks to the EU General Safety Regulation, vehicles now sold in the EU have to be equipped with a series of new safety features to assist the driver and help better protect passengers, pedestrians and cyclists across the EU.

The European Commission has launched a call for applications for members of the new Technology Council for Advanced Materials. This high-level group will coordinate efforts to meet future needs for advanced materials in Europe and is key to building a single advanced materials ecosystem. The Technology Council will comprise representatives from Ministries of research and industry of Member States, high level representatives from the academic world, research and technology organisations, as well as industry and the Commission. The deadline for applications to be submitted is 9 September 2024 at the latest.

On Wednesday lunchtime 31 July, the European Parliament Liaison Office in Ireland will hold their next EU Basics Webinar. This one-hour webinar will cover the following: why the EU matters in your personal life; how the EU works and why voting matters; how have half a century of EU membership influenced Ireland; and how can you get involved. Register at the link below.

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

On the agenda: the Work Programme of the Hungarian Presidency; the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF); the state of play of the economic and financial impact of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine; the Stability and Growth Pact; convergence reports; the G20; and financial services.

On the agenda: the European Semester; labour and skills shortages; and the employment of persons with disabilities.

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

On the agenda: the work programme of the Hungarian presidency; trade-related agricultural issues; and ways to improve the long-term viability of rural areas.

At a time when migration is one of the most pressing issues on the international agenda – and one of the most polarising – Amy Pope, Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), will reflect on why it is important to change the global narrative – from one that is highly politicised to one that captures the potential and rich benefits of this global phenomenon. This IIEA online event takes place at 12 noon on Friday 12 July.

Applications for paid graduate traineeships in the European Court of Justice for the five-month period starting on 1 March 2025 are currently open. To be eligible, applicants much be nationals of a Member State of the European Union, subject to duly justified exceptions; have completed a university course in law, political science or economics or in a related field, attested by a diploma (or, exceptionally, an equivalent course of study); have a thorough knowledge of an official language of the European Union and a good knowledge of another official language of the European Union; and have not already undertaken a traineeship (whether paid or unpaid) in an institution or body of the European Union.

Ireland's National Recovery and Resilience Plan Annual Event will mark the submission and approval of Ireland’s first payment request under NextGenerationEU worth €324m, as well as the approval of the REPowerEU addition to the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP). The event will also provide stakeholders with an opportunity to network and engage with projects and programmes across EU funding streams. The event will include keynote addresses from Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, Paschal Donohoe; Minister for Finance, Jack Chambers; and Paolo Gentiloni, European Commissioner for Economy.

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

The 2023/2024 annual report on European SMEs, out this week, evaluates their economic performance in 2022 and 2023, and forecasts their outlook for 2024 focusing mainly on three key variables: value added expressed in both current and constant prices, employment and number of firms. The report shows that there were 62 SMEs per 1,000 inhabitants in Ireland in 2023, above the EU average of 57. It also shows that Irish SMEs had the highest value added per person employed in 2023 at €119,500, over double the EU average of €54,500.

The Chips Joint Undertaking (Chips JU) this week announced the opening of calls to support semiconductor research and innovation initiatives in photonics, competence centres, and a cloud-based semiconductor design platform as part of the Chips for Europe initiative under the Chips Act. The total EU funding available for these calls is €325 million, which should be topped up by additional financing from participating states of the Chips JU. This new round of calls will further support Europe's semiconductor industry by establishing a pilot line for photonic integrated circuits (PICs). Detailed information about the calls and application process will be given via information sessions on 11-12 July 2024.

Nine months after the initiation of an ex officio anti-subsidy investigation, the European Commission today (Thursday) imposed provisional countervailing duties on imports of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) from China. Based on the investigation, the Commission has concluded that the BEV value chain in China benefits from unfair subsidisation, which is causing a threat of economic injury to EU BEV producers. The individual duties applying to the three sampled Chinese producers are: BYD: 17.4%; Geely: 19.9%; and SAIC: 37.6%. Other BEV producers in China, which cooperated in the investigation but were not sampled, are subject to the 20.8% weighted average duty. The duty for other non-cooperating companies is 37.6%.

The European Commission this week authorised two genetically modified maize crops and renewed the authorisation for another genetically modified maize crop for food and animal feed. The Commission's authorisation decisions only allow these genetically modified maize to be imported for use in food and animal feed, but not to be cultivated in the EU. Following a comprehensive and stringent assessment procedure, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) issued a favourable scientific assessment concluding that these genetically modified maize are as safe as their conventional counterparts.

At last Friday's EU-Egypt Investment Conference in Cairo, President von der Leyen announced the conclusion of over 20 deals between European companies and Egyptian partners, worth over €40 billion, in sectors ranging from hydrogen to water management, from construction to chemicals, from shipping to aviation and automotive. Furthermore, the EU and Egypt signed a Memorandum of Understanding for a Macro-Financial Assistance operation of €1 billion. The memorandum lays out the reforms that Egypt will take forward in order to receive the funds.