Main results Charles Michel, President of the European Council, and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, represented the EU at this year’s G7 summit hosted in Carbis Bay, Cornwall. During the three-day meeting the G7 leaders discussed a wide range of pressing topics, including COVID-19, pandemic preparedness and economic recovery; geopolitical challenges and foreign affairs; trade and development; promoting open societies and democratic values; and fighting climate change and protecting the environment. The summit took place under the UK...

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Today, the Commission launched 11 new European Partnerships together with industry, to boost investments in research and innovation and to overcome major climate and sustainability challenges, towards making Europe the first climate neutral economy and delivering on the European Green Deal. In line with the goals of the ‘twin' green and digital transition, the Partnerships will also deliver on the EU's digital ambitions for the next decade, Europe's Digital Decade. They will receive over €8 billion from Horizon Europe, the new EU...

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Patent waiver will enhance global access to affordable COVID-19 vaccines Voluntary licensing, transfer of know-how and technology key to ramping up global production in long term Call on US and UK to abolish export ban on vaccines and raw materials More support for global vaccine distribution mechanism COVAX To accelerate global vaccine rollout, MEPs demand the temporary lifting of intellectual property rights protection for COVID-19 vaccines. In a resolution adopted with 355 votes in favour, 263 against and 71 abstentions,...

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As economies reopen in various parts of the world, the price of some commodities has soared, including the prices of prominent industrial metals. The extent to which the metals price rally may lose steam depends on how multiple factors will play out. As our latest chart of the week shows, metals prices have increased by 72 percent relative to their pre-pandemic levels—reaching a nine-year high in May (in inflation adjusted terms). The increase has been broad-based across industrial metals—copper is...

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Producing and consuming more goods and services for the same amount of work sounds too good to be true. In fact, it’s entirely possible. Higher productivity is one of the key ingredients to higher economic growth and incomes. It’s all about how workers become more productive. For many of us, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we work and spend. The question is how these changes will affect our productivity, both now and into the future. 'The pandemic accelerated the...

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