Comunicare

The majority of EU Interior Ministers have agreed to reopen their countries’ borders by 15 June. Following the Council meeting, Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said that the Commission aims to return to a fully functional Schengen Zone by the end of June, but also noted that some Member States expressed reluctance “to take that […]

The European Commission has published its second report on the impact of the coronavirus on EU trade. According to the Chief Economist team of the Directorate General for Trade, the pandemic will result in a decrease in global trade between 10%-16% in 2020. For the EU27, the predicted reduction is expected to be between 9%-15% […]

27 May saw several major announcements by the European Commission, including the European coronavirus recovery plan – dubbed “New Generation Europe” – and a new proposal for the Multiannual Financial Framework (the EU’s budget, MFF). “New Generation Europe” is worth €750bn and built on three pillars: Supporting Member States to Recover; Kick-starting the economy by […]

The European Commission has published a document with Questions and Answers on COVID-19 and farmed and domestic animals. The paper states that there is “no scientific evidence indicating that livestock can be infected with SARS-CoV-2. Furthermore,  preliminary  findings  from  studies  suggest  that poultry and pigs are not susceptible to SARS-CoV-2.” There is also “no report […]

Single Market Commissioner Thierry Breton has spoken out against protectionist measures taken by Member States to give preference to their domestic food and medicines industries. He told the European Parliament’s Committee for Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) that the European Commission has “zero tolerance” for such measures and would not hesitate to react. The […]

On 13 May, the European Commission has published several communications with guidelines and recommendations to help Member States gradually lift travel restrictions and allow tourism businesses to reopen safely after months of lockdown. The package also aims to help the EU tourism sector recover from the pandemic, by supporting businesses and ensuring that Europe continues […]

For the second time, the European Commission has expanded the Temporary Framework to recapitalisation and subordinated debt measures to further support the economy in the context of the coronavirus outbreak. This second amendment expands the Temporary Framework to allow Member States to make well-targeted public interventions in the form of recapitalisation aid to non-financial companies […]

On 6 May, the European Commission presented its Spring 2020 Economic Forecast. The Commission’s economists predict that, in the current quarter, the economic output in the EU is set to be almost 16% lower than in the last quarter of 2019. Although activity is expected to pick up again with the gradual easing of containment […]

On 4 May, the European Commission hosted the Coronavirus Global Response pledging event. The list of speakers includes several European and non-European Heads of States as well as health ministers, CEOs of pharma businesses, and representatives of international foundations and associations. By the end of the live-streamed event, the conference had raised €7.359.463.025 that will […]

The Commission has again approved several state aid schemes under the Temporary Framework that were launched by Member States to support their economies: – two additional Estonian schemes to support companies affected by coronavirus outbreak – two Hungarian schemes worth €1,55 billion and €900 million, respectively, to support companies affected by the coronavirus outbreak – […]