The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, delivered a statement on the death of Alexei Navalny: "We are shocked and grieved by today's reports about the death of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny. Our thoughts are with his wife Yulia Navalnaya, his family and with all those in Russia and beyond who believe in a democratic and peaceful future for Russia. We will honour his memory as a freedom fighter".

The EU's landmark rulebook, the Digital Services Act (DSA), entered fully into force last Saturday, 17 February. The rules, which had already applied to a number of very large platforms and very large search engines since 2023, now apply to all platforms and hosting services. This means they will all need to implement a number of different measures including: countering illegal content; protecting minors; banning advertisements that target users based on sensitive data such as political or religious beliefs or sexual preferences; and making it easier to submit complaints.

The European Commission this week presented a set of possible actions to foster the innovation, security and resilience of digital infrastructures across the EU. Fast, secure and widespread connectivity is essential for the deployment of the technologies that will bring us into tomorrow's world: telemedicine, automated driving, predictive maintenance of buildings, or precision agriculture. The package aims to start a discussion on concrete proposals with stakeholders, Member States and like-minded partners on how to shape future EU policy.

The European Commission announced this week that it is investing over €233 million in twelve new Strategic Projects across Europe under the LIFE programme to support the implementation of the EU's environmental and climate ambitions under the European Green Deal. Two of the twelve projects are Irish. MPA-LIFE-IRELAND, which will receive over €15 million in EU funding, aims to designate at least 30% of Ireland's marine territories as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) by 2030. LIFE SNAP Ireland, which will receive over €20 million in EU funding, will target barriers to the implementation of Ireland's Natura 2000 priority action fund. The coordinator of both projects is the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

The European Commission this week presented the mid-term evaluation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the EU's recovery instrument at the heart of the €800 billion NextGenerationEU (NGEU) plan. The RRF was established in February 2021 and has the two-fold objective of helping Member States to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as bolstering their resilience and making our economies and societies greener, more digital and more competitive. The mid-term evaluation shows how the RRF has delivered on its objectives so far.

The European Parliament and the Council of the EU this week reached a provisional political agreement on the revised Ambient Air Quality Directive. Once adopted, the new law will set 2030 EU air quality standards aligned more closely with the WHO global air quality guidelines. This is an important step to better protect our health and move forward on the path to zero pollution in our environment by 2050.

Two of the ten finalists for the 2024 European Prize for Women Innovators, which were announced earlier this week, are from Irish companies. Bàrbara Oliveira, CTO and Co-Founder of Luminate Medical, whose technology helps prevent the side effects of cancer treatment, has been short-listed for the Rising Innovators category. And Cristina Purtill, CEO of Plio Surgical, which developed a magnetic solution to intestinal post-surgery recovery, has been short-listed for the EIT (European Institute of Innovation and Technology) Women Leadership category. The winners across the 3 prize categories will be revealed at the R&I Week Opening event on 18 March 2024.

Irish charity the Third Age Foundation is among the finalists for the 14th Civil Society Prize awarded by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) to non-profit organisations, associations and individuals for projects addressing mental health. The Third Age is contending for the prize with its AgeWell project, together with four other projects: two from Finland and one each from Slovakia and Italy. The EESC will reveal the final ranking of the winners on 7 March. The total prize money of €50,000 will be shared among the five front-runners. The first prize winner will take home €14,000 while the other four finalists will each receive €9,000.

The European Union and Rwanda this week entered an important agreement to nurture sustainable and resilient value chains for critical raw materials. The signature of the Memorandum of Understanding signals both parties' intention to strengthen their partnership for closer integration of raw materials value chains. This cooperation model will bring the possibility for the partner country to diversify their economy and will be a driver for structural transformation as it will promote added value and integrate better standards in the partner country.

Ireland's Southern region was the EU region with the highest per capita GDP in 2022 at 286% of the EU average according to new figures on regional GDP published this week by Eurostat. Luxembourg (257%) was in second place followed by Ireland's Eastern and Midland Ireland (247%). The high levels of GDP in these two Irish regions is partly explained by the presence of some major multinational enterprises. Meanwhile, per capita GDP in Ireland's Northern and Western region was at 105% of the EU average. The EU regions with the lowest per capita GDP levels were the French overseas region of Mayotte (30%), Severozapaden in Bulgaria and the French overseas region of Guyane (both 40% of the EU average).

New Eurostat figures reveal that 36.8% of Ireland's electricity consumption came from renewable sources in 2022, up from 19.8% in 2012 but below the 2020 figure of 39%. On average across the EU, 41.2% of electricity came from renewable sources in 2022, up from 37.4% in 2020. Sweden at 83.3% had the highest share (mainly hydro and wind) followed by Denmark at 77.2% (mainly wind). The lowest shares were reported in Malta (10.1%), Hungary (15.3%), Czechia (15.5%) and Luxembourg (15.9%).

On Wednesday evening 28 February, the French Embassy in Ireland is organising a public conference on the theme: "Women's rights and Gender equality: what's at stake in the 2024 European elections?". Strong voices from France and Ireland will discuss why and how it is essential to capitalise on the 2024 EU elections to firmly establish women’s rights and gender equality at the core of the EU. Further information and a full list of speakers is available at the link below.

Paschal Donohoe TD, President of the Eurogroup and Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform of Ireland, will participate in a fireside chat with Daire Lawler, IIEA Senior Economics Researcher and Chair of the YPN, and a question-and-answer session with members. In his capacity as President of the Eurogroup, the grouping of euro area finance ministers, Minister Donohoe will discuss the challenges and opportunities for the economy of the euro area in 2024, as well as the Eurogroup’s work programme for the first half of the year which is focused on strengthening the 4 C’s: coordination; capital markets; competitiveness; and the common currency.

The Model Council of the EU debate is a simulation of a meeting of the Council of the European Union. On Friday 1 March, 27 schools from across Ireland will gather in Dublin Castle to take part in the 2024 Model Council. Each of the 27 EU Member States will be represented by a team of 3 students from an Irish secondary school. The topic for the 2024 debate is “Reforming the EU for Future Enlargement”.

Catherine Barnard, Professor of EU law and Employment Law and senior tutor and fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, will address an IIEA online event on: “What Happens When Enforcement Doesn’t Happen: The Implications for the Individuals, for Other Employers and for The State.”

Applications are now open for 5 month paid traineeships at the European Commission for the period running from period from October 2024 to February 2025. Twice a year, the Commission offers 5-month paid traineeships for university graduates with good language skills. The traineeship programme is open to all EU citizens, regardless of age. A limited number of places are also allocated to non-EU nationals. The programme is open to all eligible candidates regardless of their sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, religion or belief, membership of a national minority, disability, age or sexual orientation.

Applications opened this week for the 17th Regiostars competition. Regiostars are Europe's yearly awards for cohesion policy-funded projects that demonstrate excellence and new approaches in regional development. Applicants can choose between five thematic areas: A competitive and smart Europe; A green Europe; A connected Europe; A social and inclusive Europe; and A Europe closer to the citizens. The winners of the 5 Categories plus the Public Choice Award will be announced in October. Applications are open until 31 May 2024.