Following a review under the recommendation on the gradual lifting of the temporary restrictions on non-essential travel into the EU, the Council updated the list of countries, special administrative regions and other entities and territorial authorities for which travel restrictions should be lifted. In particular, Israel, Kosovo, Lebanon, Montenegro, the Republic of North Macedonia and the United States of America were removed from the list. Non-essential travel to the EU from countries or entities not listed in Annex I is...

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Today, the Commission proposed a Path to the Digital Decade, a concrete plan to achieve the digital transformation of our society and economy by 2030. The proposed Path to the Digital Decade will translate the EUʼs digital ambitions for 2030 into a concrete delivery mechanism. It will set up a governance framework based on an annual cooperation mechanism with Member States to reach the 2030 Digital Decade targets at Union level in the areas of digital skills, digital infrastructures, digitalisation of businesses and...

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Carbon pricing shows serious promise as a tool in the fight against climate change Deterring the use of fossil fuels, such as coal, fuel oil, and gasoline, is crucial to reducing the buildup of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Carbon pricing provides across-the-board incentives to reduce energy use and shift to cleaner fuels and is an essential price signal for redirecting new investment to clean technologies. Here are five things to know about carbon pricing. 1. Carbon pricing can be readily...

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Following the launch of the Trade and Technology Council (TTC) at the EU-U.S. Summit in June by U.S. President Joe Biden and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the EU and the U.S. are today announcing the details for its first meeting on 29 September 2021 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It will be co-chaired by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, and Trade Representative Katherine Tai, together with European Commission Executive Vice-Presidents Margrethe Vestager, and Valdis...

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Economic situation in the euro area The director of the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC), Andrea Ammon, updated the Eurogroup on the COVID-19 epidemiological situation. Ministers followed up with a discussion on the economic situation and exchanged views with the chair of the European Parliament's committee on economic and monetary affairs, Irene Tinagli. Our efforts are feeding improved euro area growth prospects that matter for the EU citizens, their jobs and their income. The decisions of the European Central Bank,...

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Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, and Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the ECB. Frankfurt am Main, 9 September 2021 | Good afternoon, the Vice-President and I welcome you to our press conference. The rebound phase in the recovery of the euro area economy is increasingly advanced. Output is expected to exceed its pre-pandemic level by the end of the year. With more than 70 per cent of European adults fully vaccinated, the economy has largely reopened, allowing consumers to spend...

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The European Commission has today adopted an independently evaluated Green Bond framework, thus taking a step forward towards the issuance of up to €250 billion green bonds, or 30% of NextGenerationEU's total issuance. The framework provides investors in these bonds with confidence that the funds mobilised will be allocated to green projects and that the Commission will report on its environmental impact. Now that the framework has been adopted, the Commission will soon proceed with the first green bond issuance...

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The Commission has today adopted its second annual Strategic Foresight Report – “The EU's capacity and freedom to act”*. This Communication presents a forward-looking and multidisciplinary perspective on the EU's open strategic autonomy in an increasingly multipolar and contested global order. The Commission has identified four main global trends, affecting the EU's capacity and freedom to act: climate change and other environmental challenges; digital hyperconnectivity and technological transformation; pressure on democracy and values; and shifts in the global order and...

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Keynote speech by President Charles Michel at the Tallinn Digital Summit | Thank you for your invitation. It's both a pleasure and a challenge to speak to you today. When it comes to digital, Estonia stands at the vanguard in Europe. And this Tallinn Digital Summit is the place to be. Estonia is geographically on the periphery of the EU, but you have positioned yourself at the very heart of our Digital Revolution. Today I’d like to outline the role that...

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