The European Commission welcomes today's agreement in the Council of the EU on the Security for Action for Europe (SAFE) Instrument. As proposed in the ReArm Europe Plan / Readiness 2030, the Commission will raise up to €150 billion on the capital markets, providing financial levers to EU Member States to ramp up the investments in key defence areas like air missile defence, drones, or strategic enablers. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission said: “Exceptional times require exceptional measures. I welcome today's...

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The Council adopted today its negotiating position (general approach) on one of the proposals of the so-called ‘Omnibus I’ legislative package, which simplifies and strengthens the EU’s carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM). The proposal seeks to provide simplification and cost-efficient compliance improvements to the CBAM regulation, without compromising its climate goals, as about 99% of embedded emissions in the imported CBAM goods would remain covered. The overall aim is to reduce the regulatory and administrative burden, as well as compliance...

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Countries must urgently address policies that are driving the continued expansion of steel excess capacity to prevent further erosion of market stability and fair competition in the steel industry, according to a new OECD report. The OECD Steel Outlook 2025 shows that excess capacity is projected to rise to 721 million metric tonnes (mmt) by 2027, exceeding by around 290 mmt the combined steel production of OECD countries in 2024. This surge is being driven by continued capacity expansion, despite weak growth...

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Today, the European Commission has taken further steps to support the EU's transition to a low-carbon economy. Four new pieces of secondary legislation and a communication relating to the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) will help the EU's industry to become more resilient, competitive and reduce their carbon footprint. These rules clarify which manufacturing projects can benefit from specific provisions in the Act, such as on permitting, strategic project status and on non-price criteria. They will help scale up the manufacturing of net-zero technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and leverage the competitive advantage of the EU's clean tech industry.  The Commission has today adopted the following acts:   Components primarily used for net-zero technologies under the NZIA   The...

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