The EU and Kenya signed an Economic Partnership Agreement on Monday. With the agreement, the EU is opening its market completely to goods from the East African country. Kenya, however, excludes some sectors, including many agricultural products, chemicals, and textiles. This is intended to protect local manufacturers from overpowering competition.Both sides had already reached an […]
The EU Commission gave the green light on Tuesday for the disbursement of €4 billion from the Covid recovery program to Germany. If the Council of Member States agrees as expected in December, the first tranche from the Next Generation EU program can flow to Berlin. The German government applied for the payment in mid-September.In […]
The Spanish Council Presidency has presented initial proposals on how the increased financial requirements can also be covered by restructuring the EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). The proposal contains three options: According to it, funds from other programs amounting to €8.1 billion, €13.1 billion, or €23.1 billion could be reallocated in order to raise additional […]
The trade talks between the EU Commission and the four Mercosur states are entering the final phase. “The technical negotiations are ready for a political push”, said Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis yesterday after the meeting of EU trade ministers. Spanish State Secretary Xiana Margarida Méndez Bértolo said that she hoped for the necessary political impetus […]
Geopolitical tensions have breathed new life into Europe’s trade policy. However, this does not make the negotiations a sure success, as the provisional failure of the agreement with Australia recently demonstrated. The trade ministers of the 27 member states are therefore eagerly awaiting what Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis will tell them today about the ongoing […]
The other governments and the EU Commission have so far done their best to avoid interfering in the German budget deficit crisis. But they are watching very closely to see what consequences the German government draws from the Federal Constitutional Court’s KTF ruling. After all, the response of the coalition with the traffic light system […]
The EU Commission is holding back its assessment of the budget crisis in Germany, triggered by the recent ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court. “We are monitoring the situation and are in contact with the German authorities,” said Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis on Tuesday. He added that it would only be possible to say more about […]
Negotiations between the EU institutions on the legal act to promote climate-friendly industries are expected to begin on December 17. As expected, the European Parliament adopted its position on the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) on Tuesday. The Member States, in turn, want to finalize their own demands at the Competitiveness Council on 7 December. Then, […]
The Federal Government’s Regulatory Control Council is calling for further efforts at EU level to reduce bureaucracy. Although there are individual proposals from the EU Commission, said NKR Chairman Lutz Goebel, “this is not enough”. The Von der Leyen Commission has also proposed many more new laws than its predecessors. It must therefore “take a […]
The EU Commission is allowing member states to pay certain energy price subsidies for companies for longer. Yesterday, the authority extended the relevant parts of the Temporary State Aid Framework (TCTF) until the end of June 2024. Governments would otherwise have had to discontinue programs such as the German energy price brake at the end […]