Ireland's GDP is projected to grow by 5.5% in 2023 and by 5.0% in 2024, according to the European Commission's Spring 2023 Economic Forecast published earlier this week. This is the highest predicted growth rate in the EU where, on average, GDP is expected to grow by 1.0% in 2023 and by 1.7% in 2024. The forecast for Ireland also estimates that inflation will moderate gradually throughout 2023 to reach 2.6% in 2024.

The European Commission has this week put forward proposals for the most ambitious and comprehensive reform of the EU Customs Union since its establishment in 1968. Embracing the digital transformation, the reform will cut down on cumbersome customs procedures, replacing traditional declarations with a smarter, data-led approach to import supervision. At the same time, customs authorities will have the tools and resources they need to properly assess and stop imports which pose real risks to the EU, its citizens and its economy.

President von der Leyen kicked off a series of international engagements this week that will take her to Iceland, Japan and the Republic of Korea. A united response to Russia's war and steadfast support to Ukraine, a multifaceted approach to EU relations to China, efforts to enhance economic security and a common decarbonisation endeavour will be at the core of the President's discussions with partners. Ahead of her travels, the President said: "The first topic – a big and important topic – is of course Ukraine. And here, it is about our united response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but it is also about our prolonged, reliable support for this brave nation."

The European Commission this week adopted a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) establishing a framework for structured regulatory cooperation in the area of financial services with the United Kingdom. The MoU, once signed by both Parties, will create the administrative framework for voluntary regulatory cooperation in the area of financial services between the EU and the UK, outside of the TCA structures. Commissioner Mairead McGuinness said: "I am confident that our relationship and future engagement in financial services will be built on a shared commitment to preserve financial stability, market integrity, and the protection of consumers and investors."

Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič this week announced the successful outcome of the first-ever international tender for joint purchasing of EU gas supplies. By leveraging its collective economic weight, the EU managed to attract bids from a total number of 25 supplying companies equivalent to more than 13.4 billion cubic meters of gas (bcm) – surpassing the 11.6 bcm of joint demand that EU companies submitted through the recently established AggregateEU mechanism.

The Council of the EU this week gave the final go-ahead to a regulation that aims to minimise the risk of deforestation and forest degradation associated with products that are placed on or exported from the EU market. The regulation sets mandatory due diligence rules for all operators and traders who place, make available or export the following commodities from the EU market: palm oil, cattle, wood, coffee, cocoa, rubber and soy. The rules also apply to a number of derived products such as chocolate, furniture, printed paper and selected palm oil based derivates.

The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard (‘Activision') by Microsoft. The approval is conditional on full compliance with the commitments offered by Microsoft. The commitments fully address the competition concerns identified by the Commission and represent a significant improvement for cloud gaming as compared to the current situation.

The European Union and India held their first ministerial meeting of the Trade and Technology Council (TTC) earlier this week in Brussels. The EU and India have set up the TTC as a coordination platform to address key trade, trusted technology and security challenges. Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager said: "Today we took an important step in deepening our strategic cooperation with India on key digital, green and trade issues. Together, we will address challenges with trusted technology and security."

Ireland (+12.3%) saw the largest rise in greenhouse gas emissions in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to the fourth quarter of 2021, a little above its GDP growth over the same period, according to new figures from Eurostat. On average, across the EU, greenhouse gas emissions fell by 4% over the same period despite a rise in GDP of 1.5%. The largest falls in emissions were recorded in Slovenia (-15.9%), Netherlands (-9.9%) and Slovakia (-6.9%). Apart from Ireland, only three other EU countries recorded an increase: Latvia (+6.8%), Malta (+6.4%) and Denmark (+1.9%).

A new Eurobarometer on 'Understanding Europeans’ views on reform needs' reveals that Irish people are more likely to think their public administration lacks transparency (35%) than the EU average (29%). However, Irish people were also far less likely to describe their public administration as slow in providing services (29%) compared to an EU average of 47% or as complex and burdensome (25%) compared to an EU average of 48%. When asked how their interactions with their public administration could be improved, over half of Irish people said they would like 'more channels to directly contact the administration, including in-person'.

On Tuesday afternoon 23 May, Dr. Sarah Lohmann, Acting Assistant Professor in the Henry M. Jackson School for International Studies, will address an IIEA webinar on "The Ukraine War and Critical Energy Infrastructure: The Growing Hybrid Threats to Europe?". In her remarks, Dr Lohmann will discuss the emerging methods and media being used against Ukraine and its European allies, and what remains to be done to keep critical infrastructure and publics safe in this hybrid warfare environment.

Contemporary Public Services are rapidly expanding their use of technology and IT solutions as digitalisation continues to take hold globally. With this, comes the increased need to consider ethical AI adoption and utilisation from a range of angles. HECAT, led from the South East Technological University Waterford in association with two fellow EU Horizon 2020 research projects ETAPAS and TechEthos, will launch their latest policy event exploring key ethical dimensions of Public Service AI based on research findings to date. This event will take place via Zoom on Friday 26 May at 10am GMT and is open to anyone with an interest in Public Service AI and EU Research. To register for this even, please click on the link below.

The European Commission has launched an open public consultation to gather views and evidence from citizens and interested parties on the implementation of the "polluter pays" principle in the EU. The Commission will use the opinions and evidence gathered to evaluate whether EU and national policies are sufficient to ensure that polluters bear the cost of measures to prevent, control, and remedy pollution. This consultation will be open for feedback until 4 August 2023.