Did you know that the European Commission has made a pledge to plant an additional 3 billion trees by 2030? Last Monday, we were delighted to be joined by Commissioner Mairead McGuinness, the Ambassadors of a number of EU states to Ireland, the children from Kilternan Church of Ireland National School and staff from Eurofound for our special tree planting event co-organised with Crann - Trees for Ireland on the occasion of National Tree Week 2024 (see below for more on this).

The European Commission has fined Apple over €1.8 billion for abusing its dominant position on the market for the distribution of music streaming apps to iPhone and iPad users (‘iOS users') through its App Store. In particular, the Commission found that Apple applied restrictions on app developers preventing them from informing iOS users about alternative and cheaper music subscription services available outside of the app (‘anti-steering provisions'). Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager said: "For a decade, Apple abused its dominant position in the market for the distribution of music streaming apps through the App Store. They did so by restricting developers from informing consumers about alternative, cheaper music services available outside of the Apple ecosystem. This is illegal under EU antitrust rules".

The European Commission decided last Friday to allocate an additional €68 million to support the Palestinian population across the region to be implemented through international partners like the Red Cross and the Red Crescent. This comes in addition to the €82 million to be implemented through UNRWA in 2024, bringing the total to €150 million. Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi said: "With today’s decision, the Commission is diversifying its assistance for the innocent Palestinian people in Gaza. At the same time, the commitment of UNRWA to introduce robust measures to prevent possible misconduct and minimize risk of allegations is welcome".

The European Commission this week presented the first-ever European Defence Industrial Strategy. It sets out a clear, long-term vision to achieve defence industrial readiness in the European Union. High Representative Josep Borrell said: "Russia’s brutal war of aggression against Ukraine has brought back high intensity warfare to Europe. After decades of under-spending, we must invest more on defence, but we need to do it better and together".

From today (Thursday 7 March), Apple, Alphabet, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft and ByteDance, the six gatekeepers designated by the Commission in September 2023, have to fully comply with all obligations in the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The DMA establishes new rules for 10 defined core platform services, such as search engines, online marketplaces, app stores, online advertising and messaging, and gives new rights to European businesses and end-users. Commissioner Thierry Breton said: " European users have more control over their data and are now empowered to make choices they did not have before due to default settings. Any company found to be non-compliant will face severe sanctions, including as last resort a breakup".

The team from Maynooth Post Primary School in Co Kildare representing Malta won first place at the Model Council of the EU annual debate for secondary school students which took place last Friday 1 March in Dublin Castle. The winning team – Hannah Adams, Adrien Kells and Aoibhin Geraghty - and their classmates will travel to Strasbourg in October to take part in Euroscola, where they will become MEPs for a day in the European Parliament. Ardscoil Rís from Dubin and St Leo's College from Carlow took joint second place. Honourable mentions were also given to the following schools: Coláiste Chill Mhantáin in Burkeen, Co Wicklow, Loreto Secondary School, Clonmel and Deansrath Community College, Dublin.

Commissioner Mairead McGuinness helped get National Tree Week (3-10 March) off to a great start last Monday with children from Kilternan Church of Ireland National School, ambassadors from a number of EU countries and staff from the European Commission Representation and Eurofound. The tree planting event was organised by the Representation in conjunction with Crann - Trees for Ireland. The participation of the school is linked to a project called EasyTreesie Easy Treesie – Planting 1M trees with Ireland's 1M children.

Ireland's Third Age Foundation has won the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) Civil Society Prize for mental health. The charity earned the prize for its social engagement network AgeWell, which tackles loneliness in old age by offering companionship and help to those who are isolated, frail and vulnerable. In total, the EESC rewarded five non-profit organisations for their outstanding contribution to fighting mental health disorders, which have risen dramatically in the EU. The Third Age Foundation took home a prize of €14,000 while the four runners-up each received €9,000.

The European Parliament and the Council of the EU reached a political agreement this week on the regulation prohibiting products made with forced labour on the Union market. The Regulation covers products made in the EU for domestic consumption and exports, and also imported goods, without targeting specific companies or industries and all types of forced labour. This is particularly important because it is estimated that around 27.6 million people are in forced labour worldwide.

The European Parliament and the Council of the EU this week reached political agreement on the revision of the Plant Health Law proposed by the Commission. The revised regulation will help protect plant health in the EU more effectively, which is vital for a competitive and sustainable agricultural and horticultural production. The measures include, for example, increased phytosanitary guarantees and a more transparent procedure for granting temporary derogations from import prohibitions.

To respond to life-threatening outbreaks of infectious diseases in Yemen and the subsequent health emergency among the affected population, the EU organised 13 Humanitarian Air Bridge flights to deliver vital assistance to civilians during the month of February. These flights enabled humanitarian partners to cover the immediate needs of the population and support Yemen's preparedness for potential future outbreaks of infectious diseases such as cholera.

The European Parliament and the Council of the EU this week reached agreement on the Cyber Solidarity Act, proposed by the Commission in April 2023. The new regulation will improve the preparedness, detection and response to cyber security incidents across the EU. To detect major cyber threats quickly and effectively, the new regulation establishes a ‘cyber security alert system’, which is a pan-European infrastructure composed of national and cross-border cyber hubs across the EU. The new regulation also provides for the creation of a cybersecurity emergency mechanism to increase preparedness and enhance incident response capabilities in the EU.

New Eurostat figures show that there were 1.54 live births per woman in Ireland in 2022, down from 1.78 in 2021 and from 2.05 in 2010. Ireland is now just above the EU average of 1.46, which was down from 1.53 in 2021 and from 1.57 in 2010. France had the highest total fertility in the EU (1.79 live births per woman) in 2022, followed by Romania (1.71), Bulgaria (1.65), and Czechia (1.64). The lowest fertility rates were seen in Malta (1.08 births per woman), Spain (1.16) and Italy (1.24).

In this IIEA hybrid event, which has been organised to mark International Women's Day, an expert panel will share their perspectives on the recently passed EU Combatting Violence Against Women Directive. The panel will discuss the various measures contained within the Directive, and will assess whether the Directive goes far enough in placing enough onus on EU Member States to tackle violence against women. Speakers at this event will include: Frances Fitzgerald MEP, Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur for the Directive; Sarah Benson, CEO, Women’s Aid; and, Rachel Morrogh, CEO, Dublin Rape Crisis Centre.

The European Urban Initiative is hosting an online event on 11 March 2024, 1-3 pm, to inform about City-to-City Exchanges. A City-to-City Exchange is when one city facing a challenge in sustainable urban development teams up with another city from a different EU Member State that has expertise to help solve the problem. The European Urban Initiative provides financial support for the actual visits and assigns an expert moderator who can help in the planning and moderation of the visit.

On Thursday morning 14 March, the Creative Europe Desk Ireland MEDIA Office is hosting a Networking Breakfast on the Audiovisual Media Services Directive supported by Coimisiún Na Meán. The focus of this event will be the EU’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive. Marta Sanagustin Riazuelo, Head of Sector in the Audiovisual and Media Policy Unit in the European Commission's Directorate General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, will give an overview of these amendments to the AVMSD.

The President of the European Court of Human Rights Siofra O’Leary will discuss what sort of challenges the Court is facing as it seeks to uphold democracy, the protection of human rights, and the rule of law across 46 States. Further, President O’Leary will address what challenges the Court’s judicial work poses for national systems and why, despite some legitimate criticism of the Convention system, we in Europe should not lose sight, at this critical point in history, of what that system was established to do: namely, to monitor compliance with the minimum standards necessary for a democratic society operating within the rule of law.

The European Commission's Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries has launched a call to organise European Maritime Day events between 1 April and 31 October 2024. European Maritime Day In My Country events aim to raise awareness about the importance of the oceans and seas and to engage the public, particularly young people. Anyone can organise an event, and it can target any audience as long as the activity clearly highlights the importance of the ocean and maritime issues. Event organisers will not receive any financial support. However, they will receive a set of promotional material, including sustainable branded cotton bags, notebooks and a European flag. Plus they will gain greater visibility for their actions related to the ocean and maritime activities.

The European Commission co-finances and directly organises campaigns and events to promote EU farm products worldwide. Two funding opportunities are now open, with a budget of €176.4 million to co-finance SIMPLE and MULTI campaigns. The deadline to apply is 14 May 2024.

Fifty beautiful, sustainable and inclusive projects have been shortlisted for this year's New European Bauhaus Prizes. One Irish project has been shortlisted under the "reconnecting with nature" category. The Eco Showboat, a solar powered electric boat and floating work of art, toured Irish rivers and canals for two years, criss-crossing the Irish midlands, connecting artists, scientists and communities with the aim of sparking widespread environmental action through artistic creation, trans-disciplinary collaborations and science workshops. In total, 20 projects will be awarded prizes of which two will be selected by public vote. See below if you wish to take part in the vote.

The call for applications for the 3rd edition of the EU Organic Awards opened this week and will run until 12 May 2024. Eight awards will be given in seven categories. Any EU actor or institution along the organic value chain with a noteworthy project contributing to the greater affordability and/or accessibility of organic products in the EU can apply. Last year, the Merry Mill in Co Laois won the award for "Best organic food processing SME".

The European Commission this week launched the 2024 European Capital of Innovation Awards (iCapital). The prize is awarded to European cities that are front-runners of innovations that benefit their citizens. The contest will award a total of six prizes for two categories: the European Capital of Innovation and the Rising Innovative City. The city winning the 2024 European Capital of Innovation title will receive €1 million while the first two runners-up of this category will be rewarded with €100,000 each. In the Rising Innovative City category, the winner will be rewarded with €500,000 accompanied by two runners-up that will receive €50,000 each. Cork city took 3rd place in the 2023 Rising Innovative City award.

The European Commission has launched an online survey to gather directly the views of EU farmers. The survey is open from 7 March to 8 April, and will help to identify the sources of administrative burden and complexity stemming from CAP rules as well as other rules for food and agriculture, both in relation to their application at national level and also to the recording and reporting obligations linked to them. The preliminary results will be presented by mid-April.