News

The European Commission has authorised the first-ever vaccine against the Chikungunya virus - a disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes. While the virus is not endemic in the EU, the effects of climate change have led to an increased presence of mosquitoes that transmit serious diseases in Europe. A recent report from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) confirmed the presence of the Aedes albopictus mosquito in 13 EU/EEA countries and the Aedes aegypti mosquito recently established in Cyprus, which can contribute to the spread of Chikungunya, Zika, dengue and yellow fever.

Canada has joined the growing group of non-EU countries who have associated to the EU's research and innovation programme, Horizon Europe, and will work jointly on large-scale projects tackling our biggest challenges. Canada associates to the Pillar II of Horizon Europe, which funds collaborative research projects across a wide range of domains. Canadian entities can now join and lead research consortia with some of the world's best research organisations to tackle global challenges together. They will get the opportunity to be funded directly from the programme, while Canada will contribute to its budget.

Starting from this week, beverage containers (of up to 3 litres capacity) sold in the EU must have their caps and lids attached if made of plastic. This requirement comes under the EU directive on reducing the impact of certain plastic products on the environment. Plastic caps and lids are found 2-3 times more often than bottles and animals can confuse them with food. Attaching caps to bottles reduces plastic pollution and prevents them from being eaten by animals.

To ensure the EU stays on track to meet its digital transformation ambitions, EU countries need additional investments in digital skills, high-quality connectivity, and uptake of Artificial Intelligence. These are the main conclusions of the second report on the State of the Digital Decade published by the European Commission this week. In its country report for Ireland, the Commission recommends that more be done to increase the number of ICT specialists and to achieve the EU target on e-Health by developing digital solutions such as patient apps and shared care records.

Since the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020, reports of crimes against Armenian cultural heritage in the territory have emerged. In this panel, two experts will discuss abuses of cultural heritage in general and, specifically, the alleged or potential destruction of Armenian cultural heritage following the assertion of Azerbaijani control over Nagorno-Karabakh. They are Derek Fincham, Professor at the South Texas College of Law Houston, and Lori Khatchadourian, Associate Professor of Near Eastern Studies and Anthropology at Cornell University.

In this IIEA webinar, Dr Tim Oliver, Director of Studies, and Senior Lecturer for the Institute for Diplomacy and International Governance, Loughborough University and Dr Lisa Claire Whitten, Research Fellow at Queen's University Belfast, will discuss the implications and outcomes of the UK general election taking place on Thursday, 4 July.

In an address to the IIEA Radu Magdin, CEO, EU Affairs and Global Operations at Smartlink Communications, will discuss what he sees as the ‘Romania-Moldova-Ukraine Triangle’ in geopolitics. As Russia’s full-scale invasion continues to cause significant destruction to infrastructure in Ukraine, global and regional supply chains have endured disruption. While the world considers how best to assist Ukraine in its reconstruction, Dr Magdin will reflect upon the opportunities and challenges that supply chains may face in helping Ukraine rebuild. This in-person event takes place at 1pm on Thursday 11 July.

On 1 July Hungary took over the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union which it will hold until 31 December 2024 when Poland will take over. The Presidency's programme is structured around seven priorities: acceptance of a New European Competitiveness Deal; the reinforcement of the European defence policy; a consistent and merit-based enlargement policy; stemming illegal migration; shaping the future of the cohesion policy; a farmer-oriented EU agricultural policy; and addressing demographic challenges.

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.

The Representation hosted a stakeholder event this week on the EU Migration and Asylum Pact. Opening the event, Head of Representation Barbara Nolan said: "Migration is a global reality. Asylum seekers should be treated uniformly across Europe, and the EU is working towards this". The event was also addressed by Michael Shotter, Director at the Directorate General for Migration and Home Affairs, and by Andrew Munro, Assistant Secretary at the Department of Justice, who outlined Ireland’s ambitious programme to implement the Pact by June 2026. Click on the link below for more on the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum.

EU Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen visited Ireland earlier this week when she met with Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence, Micheál Martin, and Minister of State for International Development and the Diaspora, Seán Fleming. The Commissioner also met with representatives of Irish business as well as civil society organisations involved in development issues. She closed her visit with an address to the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) on the Global Gateway investment strategy: "More than halfway to 2030, the world is on track to deliver a meagre 15% of the sustainable development goals. We need to adopt a new approach. This is the idea behind Global Gateway. Ireland is already partnering with the EU on 26 Team Europe initiatives. Together, we're having an impact in countries across the globe. I look forward to deepening our partnership with Ireland when it takes up the Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2026".

The European Commission has launched a targeted consultation to seek feedback from the business community and public authorities on a proposed new procedure aimed at enabling public access to justice for specific Commission decisions on State aid measures, for challenges based on grounds related to alleged breaches of EU environmental law. In particular, the Commission is seeking feedback on the impact of the proposed procedure on investment decisions and project implementation by the business community, and more generally on the roll-out of EU policies. The consultation will run from 1 July to 6 September 2024

The European Commission this week informed Meta of its preliminary findings that its “pay or consent” advertising model fails to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA). In the Commission's preliminary view, this binary choice forces users to consent to the combination of their personal data and fails to provide them a less personalised but equivalent version of Meta's social networks. Commissioner Thierry Breton said: "Our preliminary view is that Meta’s “Pay or Consent” business model is in breach of the DMA. The DMA is there to give back to the users the power to decide how their data is used and ensure innovative companies can compete on equal footing with tech giants on data access".

New Eurostat figures show that youth (under 25s) unemployment in Ireland was down to 7.7% in May 2024 from 10.2% in May 2023. This is the second lowest rate of youth unemployment in the EU after Germany at 6% and is well below the EU (14.4%) and Euro Area (14.2%) averages. In real terms, it means that 9,000 fewer young people in Ireland were unemployed this May compared to May of last year. Across the EU, the highest rates of youth unemployment were recorded in Spain (26.6%), Sweden (24.1%), Greece (23.8%) and Portugal (23%).

The EU-Kenya Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) entered into force this week, representing a key milestone in the EU-Kenya Strategic Partnership. The agreement will boost bilateral trade in goods, increase investment flows, strengthen the ties between reliable partners, and facilitate mutually advantageous economic relations in a sustainable manner, stimulating job creation and economic growth. It will also unlock new economic opportunities, as the EU is Kenya's first export destination and second largest trading partner.

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.

The European Commission welcomed the adoption last weekend by the Council of the EU of a new set of sanctions against Belarus, in view of its involvement in Russia's illegal war of aggression against Ukraine. The new measures are tailored in view of the specific characteristics of EU-Belarus trade and affect various sectors of the Belarusian economy, including trade, services and transport. The Commission will continue to monitor the possible circumvention of sanctions on Russia via Belarus and stands ready to support further alignment between the two sanctions regimes.

The European Commission has selected 14 new European Universities alliances under the 2024 Erasmus+ European Universities call. This brings the total to 64, delivering on the goal of the European strategy for universities to set up at least 60 alliances by mid-2024. The 14 new alliances encompass 130 higher education institutions, including the University of Limerick which is one of 9 universities in the EMERGE (Empowering the Margins of Europe through Regional and Global Engagement) group. The new alliances will receive up to €14.4 million each for 4 years. They will start their activities in the autumn.

At their meeting last week, EU leaders

At last Friday's European Council, EU leaders elected António Costa as President of the European Council, proposed Ursula von der Leyen as candidate for President of the European Commission and chose Kaja Kallas as candidate for High Representative. The proposed candidate for President of the Commission will now need to be elected by the European Parliament by a majority of its members. The formal appointment of the High Representative requires the agreement of the president-elect of the European Commission. The Commission president, the High Representative and the other Commissioners will, as a body, be subject to a vote of consent by the European Parliament before their formal appointment by the European Council.