The EU Modernisation Fund’s disbursements: supporting “green deal”

Views: 47In its second year of operation, the European “modernisation fund” has disbursed over €4 billion in support of 61 projects in eight beneficiary countries. During summer 2022, about €2.4 billion was already disbursed to support 45 investment proposals; it is now complemented by another €1.71 billion disbursement to support another 16 investment projects into […]

New efforts in the European energy supply and security

Views: 37Joint gas purchasing under the EU Energy Platform has been supported by a regulation which the EU-27 energy ministers adopted on December 19, 2022 to provide a necessary legal basis. It is another vital step in preparation for next winter; the EU institutions have made extensive efforts during 2022 to reduce Russian gas supply: […]

European legislative future: perspectives for 2023-24

Views: 29Presidents of the three most vital EU institutions –the Parliament, Council and Commission – signed a joint declaration on the legislative priorities for the EU member states during 2023-24. Joint declaration formulates the EU’s vital components of European integration in the years to come: numerous working documents accompanying the declaration include 164 key legislative […]

New EU agro-policy: strategic guidelines and national plans

Views: 79In mid-December 2022, the Commission finalised national strategic plans in ago-policies: 2023 is going to be the year of new directions in the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy, CAP with orientations on not only on fair, flexible, greener and more social agricultural production; the EU CAP will also promote sustainable and high quality agro-food both […]

The EU’ dilemma: balancing between the “free markets” and/or regulated growth

Views: 32The EU explores both a “sense of victimization” and a drive to change integration patterns: presently the EU-27 is being squeezed by both the US and China on most vital issues in green growth and sustainability. Trading partners from over Atlantis and the Far East are showing some positive examples; is the EU able […]

Supporting green growth in the Baltic Sea States

Views: 25The European Commission and the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) signed an InvestEU guarantee agreement worth up to €114 million; the agreement will unlock NIB financing of up to €480 million for investments in sustainable infrastructure, research, innovation and digitalisation across several Baltic Sea countries. It is expected to, in turn, mobilise public and private […]

European energy market: recent transformations

Views: 38Gas pipeline supplies to the EU states this winter from Russia have been reduced by 80 percent (compared to the last year); it was acknowledged by the European Commission. Transformed gas supply distribution has invoked unprecedented pressure on the global energy markets, with severe knock-on effects on Europe’s energy system. The EU institutions have […]

Batteries in the European market: opportunities for business

Views: 50Present preliminary political agreement reached between the European Parliament and the Council strives to formulate rules to support all three directions, which would pave the way to new directions in corporate activities too. When finally accepted, the new rules will be introduced gradually starting from 2024…   

VAT in business: challenges and modern reforms

Views: 37New data in recent EU-VAT report shows that the ‘VAT Gap’ (the difference between expected VAT revenues and those actually collected) stood at €93 billion in the EU-27. On some estimates, about one quarter of that is directly attributed to VAT fraud, which remains a major problem in the states and European continent. At […]

European circular economy initiatives: new opportunities for business

Views: 45The Commission adopted a couple of legislative drafts to assist the member states’ economies and businesses towards more circular and carbon neutral development. The EU has already adopted the “green deal”, which is aimed at ensuring that all packaging in the EU market is reusable or recyclable in an economically viable manner by 2030. […]