Market exchange rates: “real” and hidden payments

Views: 70Hidden fees in international payments have been always a common place. However, in the EU they have been banned legally since 2020 for cross-border payments among the member states. But, it is still a serious problem in trade outside the EU-27 that cost people and businesses in the EU about €30 billion in 2023 […]

Higher education qualification’s recognition: towards European degree label

Views: 59A year-long EU project, initiated and guided by the European Commission, advised the European Universities Alliances to examine and facilitate the delivery of the joint European degree “label”. The European approach for joint programs, adopted by the member states’ education ministers can ease external quality assurance, based on Bologna process’ criteria, and bring more […]

Supporting agro-sector in the EU states

Views: 71Quite often the EU member states’ leaders are discussing agricultural issues with the EU institutions and, particularly, with the Commission as a main EU executive organ. Thus, recently the Polish Prime Minister Tusk and the Commission President von der Leyen held an in-depth discussion on a new series of the EU proposals. 

European agriculture’s future under discussion: online survey

Views: 75Agricultural policy is about many things, including not only food production and safety, public health, environment, climate and trade; it is also to consider the cumulative impacts of numerous modern challenges on different aspects of agro-policies and tackling climate and biodiversity challenges from other parts of the economy. The EU agro-policy is being discussed […]

Modern European defense strategy based on a specific industrial program

Views: 66The newly created European defense strategy, EDIS is a reaction of the EU institutions and the member states on the EU-wide security challenges. It is aimed, generally at enabling to “transit” from “crisis response” to more feasible “structural defense readiness”. The European defense spending have become too complicated recently: there are too many different […]

European ways for growth through recovery and resilience: midterm review

Views: 109Since 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 […]

European social market economy: the concept of stable growth

Views: 74The 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 […]

New EU-wide consumer protection rules are expected

Views: 145Consumer 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 […]

European market: efforts to adapt to new realities

Views: 73The 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 […]

New European Sustainable Development Report: resolute actions needed

Views: 67At the end of January 2024, the SDSN published the fifth edition of the European Sustainable Development Report, which tracks annually since 2019 the performance of the EU member states and partner countries on the UN 17 SDGs. Suggested ten priority actions provide for serious transformations in the EU-wide policies towards SDGs.