In a speech to this week's plenary session of the European Parliament, President von der Leyen spoke about the success of the 2004 EU Enlargement, the start of accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova and the threat Russia poses to Ukraine and to Europe. She said: "The decisions we took together in the 90s and 2000s led to that special Day of Welcomes in Phoenix Park in Ireland. It led to one of the great European success stories. And the decisions we will take in the next weeks, months and years will decide who wins the future of Europe. So together, let us stay united. Let us stay strong with Ukraine. And let us stay ambitious on enlargement and reform. This is how we will make good on that European promise once again – just as we did 20 years ago. Long live generation of 2004".

The annual European State of the Climate Report, published jointly this week by the EU Copernicus Climate Change Service and the UN World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), showcases the continued alarming trend of rising temperatures and climate change impacts across Europe. In 2023, Europe experienced its warmest year on record, impacting citizens with a surge in extreme heat stress days, and heatwaves. Precipitation levels were 7% above average in 2023, raising flood risks in many areas of Europe. The average sea surface temperature across Europe was the highest on record with the Atlantic Ocean west of Ireland recording sea surface temperatures as much as 5°C above average.

The European Commission this week has opened a second formal proceedings against TikTok under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The Commission is concerned that the “Task and Reward Program” of TikTok Lite, which allows users to earn points while performing certain “tasks” on TikTok - such as watching videos, liking content, following creators, inviting friends to join TikTok, etc. - has been launched without prior diligent assessment of the risks it entails. Commissoner Thierry Breton said: "We suspect TikTok “Lite” could be as toxic and addictive as cigarettes “light”. Unless TikTok provides compelling proof of its safety, which it has failed to do until now, we stand ready to trigger DSA interim measures including the suspension of TikTok Lite feature which we suspect could generate addiction".

The European Commission has welcomed this week's adoption by the European Parliament of the 'Right to Repair' Directive. The new rules ensure that manufacturers provide timely and cost-effective repair services and inform consumers about their rights to repair. Goods repaired under the warranty will benefit from an additional one-year extension of the legal guarantee, further incentivising consumers to choose repair instead of replacement. Once the directive is formally approved by Council and published in the EU Official Journal, member states will have 24 months to transpose it into national law.

At this week's final plenary session of the current European Parliament, MEPs gave their final green light to the EU Disability Card and the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities. The new rules will establish an EU-wide disability card to make sure that persons with disabilities have equal access to preferential conditions, such as reduced or zero entry fees, priority access and access to reserved parking. The new rules will only apply for short stays, with an exception for disability card holders that move to another member state for a mobility programme, such as Erasmus+.

The European Parliament this week adopted a package of laws strengthening the EU’s toolkit to fight money-laundering and terrorist financing. The new laws ensure that people with a legitimate interest will have immediate, unfiltered, direct and free access to beneficial ownership information held in national registries and interconnected at EU level. In addition to current information, the registries will also include data going back at least five years. The laws also give Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) more powers to analyse and detect money laundering and terrorist financing cases as well as to suspend suspicious transactions.

The European Commission has sent a reasoned opinion to Ireland for failure to address shortcomings in the transposition of the Industrial Emissions Directive. The Industrial Emissions Directive lays down rules designed to prevent and reduce harmful industrial emissions into air, water, and land, as well as prevent the generation of waste. The Commission sent a letter of formal notice to Ireland in February 2022. However, Ireland's legislation still does not correctly transpose certain permitting requirements.

The European Commission has called on Ireland to transpose into national law the Directive streamlining measures for advancing the realisation of the trans-European transport network. The Directive aims at smoother completion of key TEN-T core network projects by making permit-granting and public procurement procedures clearer. It covers cross-border and missing links on the core TEN-T corridors, and corridor projects exceeding €300 million. The deadline to transpose the Directive into national law was 10 August 2023.

The EU and China have agreed on a joint roadmap for cooperation on circular economy. This roadmap defines the actions that both the EU and China will take to implement in 2024 under the EU-China Memorandum of Understanding on the circular economy. Actions outlined in the roadmap focus on plastics, including the ongoing negotiations for a global plastics treaty, but also battery value chains and remanufacturing. Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius said: “Closer and continuous engagement with China is key to achieving not only our circular economy but also other shared environmental ambitions.”

According to a new EU report, Ireland (+4.9%) is one of a number of EU countries that is expected to see a substantial rise in ageing costs (pensions, health care, long-term care, etc) over the coming years. Ireland’s currently has the highest share of population aged under 20 years old (26%), the second lowest median age (38.8 years) and is second lowest in terms of share of population aged 65 or above in the EU (15%). However, the composition of Ireland’s population is set to change significantly with the share of the population aged 65 and over set to steadily rise from 15% in 2022 to 29% in 2070.

The European Commission is inviting comments on commitments offered by Vifor to address competition concerns over the alleged disparagement of its closest - and potentially only – competing treatment in Europe for intravenous iron treatment, Pharmacosmos' Monofer. Following the opening of a formal investigation in June 2022, the Commission preliminarily found that Vifor is dominant in several national markets for the provision of intravenous iron medicines, including Ireland. It is concerned that Vifor may have restricted competition in the market for intravenous iron treatment by illegally disparaging Monofer, an iron deficiency treatment by its closest competitor in Europe, Pharmacosmos.

According to Eurostat, 79.1% of Ireland's 20-64 year olds were in employment in 2023, up from 66.5% in 2013 and from 75% in 2019. This is above the EU average employment rate of 75.3%, which is also up from 66.8% in 2013. Among the EU countries, the highest employment rates in 2023 were recorded in the Netherlands (84%), Sweden (83%) and Estonia (82%). The lowest rates were recorded in Italy (66%), Greece (67%) and Romania (69%). The Eurostat figures also show that the over-qualification rate in Ireland was 28% in 2023, 4th highest overall in the EU where the average is 22%. Women (28.4%) in Ireland were a little more likely to be over-qualified than men (27.5%)

ESB and the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) are holding a joint full-day international conference, ACCELERATE: The Transition to a Net Zero Future on Friday 26 April at the Dublin Royal Convention Centre, 1 Ship Street Great, D08 E6PD Dublin 8. The conference will explore Ireland’s progress towards a clean energy future, looking at developments and innovations that will be key to accelerating the transition to net zero while addressing the challenges facing Ireland, Europe and beyond.

In collaboration with the European Parliament Liaison Office in Ireland, DiasporaVote will host an event in Dublin where different speakers, different parties, and people from all over Ireland will be educated on the importance of voting in the upcoming European elections. This event will have an informational element to it as well as a Q and A element so that people are equipped with everything they need to vote in this year's European elections and other elections to come. The event will take place on Tuesday afternoon 30 April at Europe House, 12-14 Lower Mount Street, Dublin 2. DiasporaVote is a global organisation dedicated to empowering people of color and marginalised communities to exercise their voting rights and amplify their voices in democratic processes.

In her address to the IIEA, Nadia Calviño, President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), will outline her priorities for her term as EIB President. President Calviño will discuss how the EIB and Ireland have been working together to invest in a sustainable future for all and will outline her vision for how Ireland and the EIB can develop closer cooperation in the coming decade. This hybrid event starts at 3.15 pm.

On Thursday evening 2 May, European Movement Ireland and the European Parliament Liaison Office will host an in-person event, ‘EU Elections Town Hall – Ireland South Constituency’. Moderated by Journalist, Author and Broadcaster Flor MacCarthy, this event will see journalists and academics discuss topics such as the role of the European Elections, the impact of the European Parliament in our daily lives, and the role of voters in shaping our future. The format of the event will be a panel discussion followed by a Q and A session with audience members, including MEP candidates. Speakers include: Dr. Theresa Reidy, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Government and Politics, University College Cork; Gerard Arthurs, Lecturer in International Relations & Politics, South East Technological University – Waterford; and, Karen Coleman, Editor, EuroParlRadio. This event will take place from 7 to 8 pm at the Banking Hall, UCC Centre for Executive Education, 1 Lapp’s Quay, Centre, Cork, T12 VF82.

On Friday afternoon 3 May, The Wheel is organising an online event about Ireland's 2024 MEP candidates and how they will support the community and voluntary sector if elected. The Wheel will present their EU Elections manifesto outlining members’ priorities for the sector so the candidates can respond to these asks. There will also be a Q&A session giving audience members the opportunity to raise their communities’ priorities.

Eurofound is organising its Annual Lecture Living, working and voting in Europe 2024 on 7 May in Dublin with guest speaker, political analyst Ivan Krastev, Chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies and permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM). Opened by Minister of State with responsibility for EU Affairs and Defence Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD, with an introduction by Ivailo Kalfin, Executive Director at Eurofound, the lecture event will also provide an opportunity for the audience to participate in a short question and answer session with Mr Krastev, moderated by Mary McCaughey, Head of Information and Communication at Eurofound. Please register at the link below. For more information about this event, please contact Cristina Arigho at car@eurofound.europa.eu.

In this address to the IIEA, Lutz Güllner, Head of Division for Strategic Communications and Information Analysis at the European External Action Service, will discuss the issue of disinformation and foreign information manipulation and their implications for the EU’s democratic resilience. Mr Güllner will also focus on the ways in which the EU is responding to foreign disinformation and will provide his expert opinion on the further steps the EU could take in this domain. This event takes place online at 1pm on Wednesday 8 May.

To mark Europe Day on Thursday 9 May, the EUNIC Ireland Network (European Union National Institutes for Culture) is organising a free online screening of its 2023 Short Shorts from Europe programme showcasing the diversity of contemporary European cinema. Action, comedy, animation, drama – expect this and more from Short Shorts from Europe – a selection of European short films from eleven member countries of EUNIC Ireland. The programme also features shorts from Cork International Film Festival and TUS Limerick School of Art and Design (Clonmel). The full programme is available at the link below.

Léargas will celebrate Europe Day this year with a virtual cross-sectoral event, The Gathering 2024. The event will provide participants with insights into Erasmus+, ESC and other EU initiatives They will also hear about inspiring projects and partake in a Q&A about funding opportunities. This event is of interest to organisations or individuals working in education, training, sport, community and youth sectors.

On Thursday evening 16 May, the European Movement Ireland and the European Parliament Liaison Office are hosting an in-person event, ‘EU Election Town Hall – Ireland Midlands-North-West Constituency’. Moderated by Journalist, Author, Broadcaster Flor MacCarthy, this event will see journalists and academics discuss topics such as the role of the European Elections, the impact of the European Parliament in our daily lives, and the role of voters in shaping our future. The format of the event will be a panel discussion followed by a Q&A session with audience members, including MEP candidates. Speakers will include: Dr. Brendan Flynn, Head of Discipline Political Science, School of Political Science & Sociology, University of Galway; Karen Coleman, Editor, Europarl Radio; and, Máirín Ní Ghráda, Presenter RTÉ RnaG and TG4. This event takes place from 7-8pm at the Veranda Lounge, The Galmont Hotel, Lough Atalia Road, Galway, H91 CYN3.

In recent years, Europe and much of the world have suffered the largest inflation shock in decades. Central banks have responded with large and rapid increases in interest rates. In his presentation to the IIEA, Philip Lane, Chief Economist of the European Central Bank, will discuss the inflation outlook in the Eurozone at a time when hopes of a return to price stability are rising. This online event takes place at 1pm.

On Thursday evening 30 May, European Movement Ireland and the European Parliament Liaison Office are hosting an in-person event, ‘EU Election Town Hall – Ireland Dublin Constituency.’ Moderated by Journalist, Author and Broadcaster Flor MacCarthy, this event will see journalists and academics discuss topics such as the role of the European Elections, the impact of the European Parliament in our daily lives, and the role of voters in shaping our future. The format of the event will be a panel discussion followed by a Q&A session with audience members, including MEP candidates. Speakers will include: Prof Gavin Barrett, Professor in UCD Sutherland School of Law and Jean Monnet Professor of European Constitutional and Economic Law, UCD; John Lee, Execuitve Editor, Daily Mail Group Ireland; Prof Gary Murphy, School of Law and Government, DCU; and, Alison O’Connor, Columnist, Sunday Times. The event takes place from 7-8 pm at Odyssey Room, The Alex Hotel, 41-47 Fenian St, Dublin, D02 H678.

The European Commission this week announced new calls worth over €1.25 billion to support research under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), part of the EU research and innovation programme, Horizon Europe. The funding will support and provide jobs to about 10 000 talented researchers from all over the world at all stages of their career with research projects covering all fields. This year's funding round will start with the opening of three calls this week: the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships; the MSCA COFUND and the Feedback to Policy initiative.