The European Commission announces a €150m financial contribution to the Venture Centre of Excellence (VCOE) programme, at the HTID® event in Paris The contribution from the European Commission is an anchor investment in the VCoE with additional contributions expected from private investors predominately in the Pharma and Med-tech industry, Co-developed by EIT Health and the European Investment Fund, the VCoE is expected to catalyse over €2bn into the European Life Sciences industry. The VCOE programme will start operations...

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The pandemic is exacting a heavy toll on Europe. More than 240,000 people have lost their lives. Millions have suffered the illness themselves, the loss of loved ones, or major disruption in their work, their businesses, and their daily lives. The economic impact of the pandemic has been enormous. Our latest Regional Economic Outlook for Europe forecasts a 7 percent decline in Europe’s GDP in 2020. The recovery from this crisis will be uneven and partial. While real GDP is projected to...

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Today, the Council reached an agreement on next year's fishing opportunities in the Baltic Sea, focusing on fish stock recovery. Ministers agreed to continue decreasing the fishing opportunities for several fish stocks in the Baltic Sea to help them recover. Ministers decided to continue the closure of the Eastern Baltic cod fishery and to provide only a by-catch quota, which was again significantly reduced compared to last year's. The biggest cuts in the total allowable catches (TACs) were for the herring of the Western and...

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Today, the Council agreed its negotiating position (general approach) on the post-2020 common agricultural policy (CAP) reform package. This agreed position puts forward some strong commitments from member states for higher environmental ambition with instruments like mandatory eco-schemes (a novelty compared to the current policy) and enhanced conditionality. At the same time, the agreed position allows member states to have the necessary flexibility in how they would reach environmental goals. For instance, there would be a two-year pilot phase...

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The European Commission issued a €17 billion inaugural social bond under the EU SURE instrument to help protect jobs and keep people in work. The issuing consisted of two bonds, with €10 billion due for repayment in October 2030 and €7 billion due for repayment in 2040. There was very strong investor interest in this highly rated instrument, and the bonds were more than 13 times oversubscribed, resulting in favourable pricing terms for both bonds. President of the European Commission...

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Today, the Commission adopted its 2021 work programme, designed to make Europe healthier, fairer and more prosperous, while accelerating its long-term transformation into a greener economy, fit for the digital age. It contains new legislative initiatives across all six headline ambitions of President von der Leyen's Political Guidelines and follows her first State of the Union Speech. While delivering on the priorities set out in this work programme, the Commission will continue to put all its efforts into managing the crisis, and into making Europe's...

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Several senior EU representatives are participating to the 2020 edition of the Annual Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (October 5-23), which are held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis speaks at two high-level climate and sustainable finance events. On October 12, he joined the Fourth Ministerial-Level Meeting Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action. He will also speak alongside IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and other counterparts at the event...

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When paying for coffee, we swipe, tap, wave, and soon may wink—a quick and painless exchange of coffee for money. But when paying for imports or sending remittances, we often fill-out forms, wait for days, and pay—too much. Progress to improve cross-border payments has been slow, but is just about to take off. That is how history evolves—one small step at a time, until it suddenly leaps forward. The confluence of new technologies and renewed determination among policymakers are making significant...

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I. COVID-19 1. The European Council assessed the current epidemiological situation, which is unprecedented and gives rise to very serious concern. 2. It welcomed the progress achieved so far on overall coordination at EU level against COVID‑19, including the recommendation on a coordinated approach to the restriction of free movement. It calls on the Council, the Commission and the Member States to continue the overall coordination effort based on the best available science, notably regarding quarantine regulations, cross-border contact tracing, testing...

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