Views: 93Since early 2021, the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility, RRF has been transforming the member states’ socio-economic development. The EU-27 states adopted national recovery-resilience plans, NRRPs in line with the RRF’s requirements and according to nation-specific growth reforms. Bringing additional clarity to the EU-wide transformation efforts during the three years in action, the review […]
Category: Good for business
European social market economy: the concept of stable growth
Views: 54The European integration “project” with its seventy years experience is based on a specific development model called “social market economy”, in which the member states’ growth sectors are heavily regulated by the EU institutions. Particularly, the post-pandemic period has shown the growing amount of the EU support for “managing” the states in the transition […]
Education policy in Latvia: urgent reforms are needed
Views: 82The number of students in Latvia during the last two decades dramatically decreased: from about 131 thousand in 2005 to 74 thousand presently. About half of the students enrolled in 52 higher education institutions are in bachelor programs, about a quarter at masters’ level, three percent are in doctoral programs, plus about 20 percent […]
EU’s renewables: third project in the hydrogen value chain
Views: 81Although the renewable hydrogen supply chain in Europe is still in a nascent phase, however, the new Hy2Infra project will deploy the initial building blocks of an integrated and open EU-wide renewable hydrogen network. This project was jointly prepared by seven states: France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Slovakia.
New EU-wide consumer protection rules are expected
Views: 127Consumer protection is within a shared competence among the EU institutions (mainly, the Commission) and the member states’ authorities. The member states, generally, are responsible for enforcing consumer rights, with the EU having some coordinating and supporting functions. Therefore among the rules in place are mostly directives, e.g. regulating “common” better enforcement and modernisation […]
EU’s platform workers directive: socialists and democrats initiatives
Views: 42Three EU’s legislative institutions reached at the end of 2023 an agreement on the platform workers’ directive aimed to improve the working conditions of more than 28 million gig-workers in the EU member states. However, the final agreement was delayed, which was according to European socialists “a failed opportunity” to show the EU-wide intention […]
Green hydrogen in the EU: Global Gateway and the case of Mauritania
Views: 80An impressive group of several partners, including European businesses in energy, electrolysers and steel, with the support of the European Investment Bank, have inaugurated a project aimed at building a green hydrogen system to produce “green steel” in Mauritania.
European market: efforts to adapt to new realities
Views: 54The European “social market economy” concept is being subject to significant alterations under modern global challenges during last decade, in particular the through the increased digitalisation, new ways of producing and offering goods and services, as well as through the interconnected nature of commercial exchanges. Market definition provides guidance on the principles of the […]
Investing in the EU-wide science, research and innovation: latest outcomes
Views: 97Since 2014, there were eight EU-wide research and innovation funding programs with a budget of about €80 billion; Horizon 2020 (officially called Horizon Europe) is presently a functioning one for the coming decade. Its objectives are to stimulate economic growth, create jobs, foster collaboration in research and innovation, support excellent science and industrial leadership […]
European digital market: sustaining competition
Views: 52European digital transition has an important social component: i.e. it should work for all, putting people first and opening new opportunities for business. Digital solutions are also vital in combating climate change and achieving the green transition. However, competition in virtual worlds, generative artificial intelligence, GenAI and other large and small digital “players” is […]