The European Commission this week put forward proposals to reform the EU's electricity market design to accelerate a surge in renewables and the phase-out of gas, make consumer bills less dependent on volatile fossil fuel prices, better protect consumers from future price spikes and potential market manipulation, and make the industry cleaner and more competitive. Executive Vice President Frans Timmermans said: "Renewables are our ticket to energy sovereignty and ending our dependence on fossil fuels. We need to update our market design to ensure that this transition happens as quickly as possible, and that consumers can benefit from the lower costs of renewables."

The European Commission today (Thursday) proposed a comprehensive set of actions to ensure the EU’s access to a secure, diversified, affordable and sustainable supply of critical raw materials. The proposals include a European Critical Raw Materials Act that aims to strengthen all stages of the European critical raw materials value chain, diversify the EU's imports to reduce strategic dependencies, improve the EU capacity to monitor and mitigate risks of disruptions to the supply of critical raw materials, and improve circularity and sustainability. The Act is accompanied by a Communication, which outlines how the EU intends to strengthen its global engagement to develop and diversify investment, production, and trade with reliable partners.

Maritime security is vital to the European Union and its Member States. In view of this, the Commission and the High Representative this week adopted a Joint Communication on an enhanced EU Maritime Security Strategy. They also adopted an updated Action Plan through which the Strategy will be implemented. High Representative Josep Borrell said: "At a time of growing geopolitical tensions, the EU must learn to speak the language of power also at sea. With this updated Strategy, we are making full use of our tools to pursue our interests and promote the rules-based order at sea, together with our partners."

In a joint statement issued following their bilateral meeting in Washington last Friday, President Biden and President von der Leyen said: "The United States and the European Union share the most comprehensive and dynamic economic relationship in the world. Our partnership is based on shared values and principles, including the responsibility to protect our planet for future generations and defend our workers. Today, the United States and the European Union are taking new steps to deepen our economic relationship as we build the clean energy economies of the future and address shared economic and national security challenges."

The European Commission this week published a series of recommendations on energy storage, with concrete actions that EU countries can take to ensure its greater deployment. Analysis has shown that storage is key to decarbonising the EU energy system. Allowing excess electricity to be saved in large quantities and used later when it is needed increases the penetration of renewable energy in the power system.

The European Commission this week launched the DiscoverEU spring call, thanks to which 35,000 young people will receive a free rail pass to explore Europe. The application round opened on 15 March and will end on 29 March at 11:00 am. To win a travel pass, young people are invited to apply on the European Youth Portal, answer 5 quiz and one tiebreaker questions. Successful applicants born between 1 July 2004 and 30 June 2005 will be able to travel in Europe for up to 30 days during the travel period 15 June 2023 and 30 September 2024. The call is open to applicants from the EU and the third countries associated to the Erasmus+ Programme.

The European Commission has announced that MSCA (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions) postdoctoral fellowships have been awarded to 1,235 top notch researchers to implement their own research projects while further developing their skills. These researchers will work at top universities, research centres, companies and public organisations and SMEs. In total, the Commission received 7,044 applications of which 17% were selected for funding. Six of the funded researchers will be hosted by the University of Limerick.

According to the European Commission's annual report on the Safety Gate, the European Rapid Alert System for dangerous non-food products, risks related to chemical substances, injuries and choking were the most notified in 2022. In Ireland, 87 alerts were validated on the Safety Gate in 2022, up from 49 in 2021. The three most common product categories notified for Ireland were: chemical products (43%), cosmetics (14%) and toys (13%).

The European Commission this week published the 2022 General Report on the Activities of the European Union. The Report provides the European Parliament, European citizens, and stakeholders with a comprehensive overview of the EU’s most significant achievements in 2022. Download it from the link below.

The latest Eurostat figures show a fall in life expectancy at birth in 2021, in the EU and in Ireland, probably as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the EU, life expectancy at birth was 80.1 years in 2021, down from 81.3 years in 2019, i.e. a fall of 1.2 years. In Ireland, life expectancy at birth was 82.4 years in 2021, down from 82.8 years in 2019 (i.e. a fall of 0.4 years). However, when compared to 2015, life expectancy at birth in Ireland in 2021 was still up by almost one year. As in other EU countries, life expectancy for Irish women (84.3 years) was greater than for Irish men (80.5 years).

On 20 March in Brussels, the European Commission and the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU will host an International Donors' Conference to support the people in Türkiye and Syria affected by the recent devastating earthquakes. The Conference will be co-hosted by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and by Prime Minister of Sweden, Ulf Kristersson, for the Swedish Presidency of the Council, and organised in coordination with the Turkish authorities.

The Representation's annual Model Council of the European Union debate takes place this year in City Hall on Tuesday, 21 March. The debate is a simulation of a meeting of the Council of the European Union. Each of the 27 EU Member States will be represented by a team of two students from a secondary school who will debate a mock legislative proposal to set the EU renewable target to 45% by 2030. Following a welcome from the Head of the European Commission Representation in Ireland, Barbara Nolan, the event will be opened by Ossian Smyth TD, Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform & the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications. Martina Fitzgerald, CEO of Scale Ireland and former RTÉ political correspondent will chair the debate. The judges will be Noelle O’Connell, CEO of European Movement Ireland, Mary McCaughey, Head of Information and Communication at Eurofound: the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions and Seán Murphy, Senior Manager, Public Affairs, ESB.

European Movement Ireland and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung are hosting an online event, ‘The Good Friday Agreement and the EU after 25 years’ on Thursday afternoon, 23 March. This event will reflect on the past 25 years of the Good Friday Agreement and the key role the European Union played. The panel will speak to the challenges faced in reaching an agreement and Northern Ireland’s relationship with Ireland, the EU and EU member states throughout the last 25 years.

On Wednesday, 29 March, the European Commission will hold a public information event in Ireland to outline the main components of TRAD23 - the new call for tenders to provide translation services for the European Commission. This event will take place at Europe House, 12-14 Lower Mount Street, Dublin, D02 W710. This event will take place in person, but it will also be possible to follow it virtually (Webex). For full details, click on the link below.