COVID 19

Three-quarters of consumers (71%) are confident about returning to stores. That is what comes out of a study conducted by the Censuswide Institute that surveyed more than 8.000 consumers in four major markets – the UK, US, China and France. The study also reveals that although nearly half (49%) of global consumers believe they could […]

On 19 August EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan participated in a golf event at a hotel in Galway, together with 80 people, including many politicians. This was in breach with the COVID measures imposed by the Irish Government. This resulted in a media storm, the so-called “Golfgate”, that lead Ireland’s Minister for Agriculture, Dara Calleary, to […]

Following talks with pharmaceutical producers AstraZeneca, Sanofi and Johnson & Johnson, the European Commission has also concluded exploratory talks with CureVac and Moderna to purchase a potential vaccine against COVID-19. The Commission will have a contractual framework in place for the initial purchase of up to 300 million doses on behalf of all EU Member States, to […]

The EU’s €100 billion furlough scheme SURE has received loan requests totalling €91 billion so far. The largest shares of claims come from Italy (€28 billion) and Spain (€20 billion). Other claimants are Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. (Source: POLITICO) In its latest […]

The European Commission has concluded exploratory talks with pharmaceutical producer Johnson & Johnson to purchase 200 million doses of a potential vaccine against COVID-19. The envisaged contract would provide for the possibility for all EU Member States to purchase the vaccine, as well as to donate to lower- and middle-income countries or re-direct to EEA […]

The European Commission has urged Member States to allow the unmarried partners of European citizens and residents to enter the EU, exempting them from travel restrictions placed on some countries (Source: Euractiv) Under the State Aid Temporary Framework, the Commission has most recently approved: a €6 billion German scheme to compensate public transport companies for […]

Justice Commissioner Věra Jourová has warned against a dangerous “wave of disinformation against vaccination” in the EU that has the potential to harm public health (Source: Hospodarske Noviny). Under the State Aid Temporary Framework, the Commission has most recently approved: · A €665 million Austrian scheme to support non-profit organisations and their related entities affected by […]

The European Commission has announced several new measures to strengthen Europe’s preparedness for future outbreaks of the coronavirus. A new communication lists priority actions for national authorities, the Commission and EU agencies. They include actions on increasing testing coverage, contact tracing, the smooth procurement of personal protective equipment and pharmaceuticals, research and support for vulnerable […]

The European Commission has launched its new corona recovery task force. It will be steered by Commission President von der Leyen, along with her three Executive Vice-Presidents, Vestager, Timmermans and Dombrovskis, the Economy Commissioner Gentiloni, the Secretary General and a representative of DG ECFIN. The task force will guide the EU recovery from Brussels (Source: […]

After almost five days of negotiations, the Member States of the European Union have agreed to a deal on the Multiannual Framework for 2021-2027, the EU’s next budget, and the EU’s COVID-19 Recovery Plan, dubbed “Next Generation EU” (NGEU). NGEU will remain worth €750 billion as proposed in May 2020 but will now be composed […]