As part of its 2024 European Semester Spring Package, the European Commission published this week the Spring 2024 Post-Programme Surveillance Report for Ireland. Post-programme surveillance reports assess the economic, fiscal and financial situation of Member States that have benefited from financial assistance programmes, focusing on their repayment capacity. Ireland retains the capacity to repay its debt according to the report. The European Semester package also includes country reports analysing the economic, employment and social developments in each EU country, including Ireland, and providing policy guidance

Fáilte Ireland this week announced the first round of approved investment grants for projects under the EU Just Transition Fund which are being delivered as part of its Regenerative Tourism and Placemaking Scheme 2023-2026, co-funded by the EU and the Government of Ireland. In total, 22 projects have been approved for €27.1 million investment. These include walking and cycling trails on former industrial peatland, and investment in Local Authority and State Agency tourism and visitor experience projects in the Midlands Region. Head of the Commission Representation in Ireland Barbara Nolan, said: "Investing in sustainable tourism will not only generate local jobs but is also a step further in positioning the Midlands as an attractive tourist destination in the heart of Ireland".

EU Environment Ministers this week formally adopted the – first of its kind – regulation on nature restoration. This law aims to put measures in place to restore at least 20% of the EU’s land and sea areas by 2030, and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050. It sets specific, legally binding targets and obligations for nature restoration in terrestrial, marine, freshwater, forest, agricultural and urban ecosystems. Specific measures include protecting pollinators and grassland butterflies, protecting urban green spaces and planting at least three billion additional trees by 2030 at the EU level.

The European Commission has identified 151 regions in the EU as Regional Innovation Valleys (RIVs), as part of the New European Innovation Agenda (NEIA). By bringing together a range of regions across Europe with different innovation levels and linking up their key innovation actors, RIVs aim to strengthen regional innovation ecosystems, bridge the innovation gap in Europe and improve Europe's overall innovation performance. The EU will support this initiative with €116 million. The three Irish regions are included in the 151 - the Northern and Western region, the Southern region and the Eastern and Midland region.

Ireland's South East Energy Agency (SSEA) hosted the first European Climate Pact National Conference in Dublin this week. The aim of the Conference was to improve networking, engagement and collaboration between the Pact Community, the European Commission Representation in Ireland, and the country coordinator (SEEA), who are all working towards the shared goal of building a more sustainable Europe and helping the EU to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. The conference was addressed, among others, by Helen Kearns, Head of Communications at the Commission Representation, and by Paulo Caridi, Head of Unit in the Commission's Directorate General for Climate Action. They both welcomed Ireland's 18 new EU Climate Pact Ambassadors and commended them on the important role they are undertaking in their communities.

The European Commission this week decided to register two European Citizens' Initiatives, entitled ‘Air-Quotas' and ‘Stop Destroying Videogames'. The ‘Air-Quotas' initiative calls for the Commission to establish a citizens' carbon quota mechanism in each country that will encourage businesses to decarbonise through consumer demand. The organisers of the ‘Stop Destroying Videogames' initiative call for the Commission to introduce a requirement for publishers selling or licensing videogames in the EU to leave such games in a functional (playable) state, and to prevent publishers from remotely disabling videogames.

The European Union and its Member States have announced that they will contribute over €750 million, including close to €220 million from the EU budget, to the African Vaccines Manufacturing Accelerator (AVMA) launched this week in Paris. Through this innovative instrument, developed by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance together with Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), it will be possible to enhance the predictability of demand for vaccines made in Africa and to support the sustainable growth of Africa's manufacturing base. The EU and its Member States France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Luxembourg are together the largest contributors to the initiative.

During a visit this week to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), EU Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič announced EU plans to provide close to €99 million in total in humanitarian assistance for the country this year. Between conflict, poverty, malnutrition and frequent disease outbreaks, humanitarian needs in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are among the highest in the world. There are currently over 7 million displaced people within the DRC – the second highest number in Africa, after Sudan.

New figures from Eurostat show that the cost of household goods and services in Ireland was at 142% of the EU average in 2023, just behind Denmark in top place at 143%. Ireland was the most expensive country in the EU for tobacco (258% of the EU average) and the second most expensive for alcohol (201%). It also had the third highest prices for restaurants and hotels (128% of the EU average). The cost of food was also above the EU average (111%). Clothing, however, was a little below the EU average (96%). Overall, the cheapest countries in the EU were Bulgaria and Romania (each at 60% of the EU average).

Per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Ireland stood at 211% of the EU average in 2023, second only to Luxembourg at 239%, according to new figures published this week by Eurostat. However, the figures also show that Active Individual Consumption (AIC) was below the EU average in Ireland (94%) in 2023. AIC includes all goods and services that households use, irrespective of whether they were purchased and paid for by households directly, by government, or by nonprofit organisations and can be considered as an indicator of the material welfare of households. AIC was highest in Luxembourg in 2023 at 138% of the EU average.

Ireland had the joint 2nd lowest share (with Bulgaria) of agricultural land devoted to organic farming in the EU in 2022 at just over 2%, well below the EU average of 10.5%, according to Eurostat. Only Malta (1%) had a lower share than Ireland. The figures show that Austria at 27% had the highest share, followed by Estonia (23%) and Sweden (20%). Overall, the share of land used for organic farming in the EU is increasing - from 14.7 million hectares in 2020 to 16.9 million hectares in 2022.

In cooperation with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Eurofound is organising its latest Dublin Briefing, on self-employment, on Tuesday morning 25 June at Europe House, 12-14 Lower Mount Street, Dublin 2. The in-person, off-the record briefing with Eurofound experts will examine self-employment and platform work and how to improve the situation of these workers. Drawing on the latest data from Eurofound’s European Working Conditions Telephone Survey, the expert briefing will cover the working conditions of different groups of self-employed people. While most self-employed people enjoy good working conditions, autonomy and good earning potential, the policy debate at both EU and Member State level has increasingly focused on the most vulnerable, especially those finding themselves in false and bogus self-employment. If you are interested in attending this event, please register at the link below.

In his presentation Gerald Knaus, founder and chairman of the European Stability Initiative, will argue that migration fears drive populist leaders like Viktor Orban and Donald Trump to undermine post-war liberal democracies. Using examples from Austria, France, Italy, and Germany, Dr Knaus will demonstrate how these fears have enabled the far-right to achieve their strongest results in recent European elections. He will offer suggestions on how to improve migration management in Europe by moving towards a more humane legal system which balances border control and human rights by introducing fast and fair asylum procedures, strategic deportations, and legal mobility for migrants. He will also discuss partnership agreements and other options to deter illegal migration. This online event takes place at 1pm on Wednesday 26 June.

In his address to the IIEA, Michael Kenny will discuss the main themes of his new book, Fractured Union, which provides a comprehensive analysis of how and why the UK’s Union has, in his opinion, come near to breaking apart in recent years. Michael Kenny is Professor of Public Policy and the inaugural Director of the Bennett Institute for Public Policy at the University of Cambridge. This hybrid event takes place at 1 pm on Thursday 27 June.

The European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) recently launched a recruitment competition for Administrators (AD7) in the field of Crisis management and Migration and internal security. On Wednesday morning 3 July, Ireland’s Permanent Representation to the EU will host a webinar on this competition starting at 11:00 am (Irish time). Attendees will hear from colleagues working in this policy area, as well as hearing from EPSO regarding the competition process. Anyone interested in attending this online event should register by 2 July 2024.

The European Commission has opened a public consultation to collect feedback from everyone, in addition to the organisations and individuals directly involved in or benefiting from the Creative Europe programme. The consultation is open until 6 September 2024. Creative Europe is the European Commission's programme for providing support to the cultural and audiovisual sectors.

The European Commission has opened a public consultation to seek feedback from all stakeholders involved in the implementation, management, and delivery of the European Capital of Culture (ECoC) action as well as from the wider public who are either interested or participate in culture. The consultation is open until 24 September 2024.