Today the European Commission adopted two new "off-the-shelf", i.e. "ready-to-use" financial instruments for ESI Funds investments, to ease access to funding for young businesses and urban development project promoters. In the 2014-2020 period, the Commission is encouraging Member States to double their European Structural and Investment (ESI) Fundsinvestments used through financial instruments, such as loans, equity and guarantees, in line with the objectives of the Investment Plan. Regional Policy Commissioner Corina Crețu said: "Financial instruments are an efficient way to invest in...

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As holder of the EU-presidency the Netherlands sought to bring member states together on key issues such as migration, the internal market and safety. This e-zine, the last in a series of three digital English-language publications, highlights some of the outcomes and results that were achieved during the Netherlands EU-presidency in the first half of 2016. Taken together, the articles, graphics and videos provide an incomplete but representative overview across the various policy areas. Compliments of the Netherlands EU Presidency 2016

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Good morning, I would like to express my sympathy to the President of the United States and to the people of this great nation for the tragic events which happened yesterday night in Dallas, Texas. These events like others are proving and showing that we are living in a world which is developing increasingly to more complexity and to more uncertainty. The threats to our security take many forms and they are not located in any one place. Therefore, our first duty is...

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Dan Albert’s farm is far from traditional. There are no picturesque, rolling fields, no tractors tilling soil; there is no white farmhouse or red barn. For that matter, there is no soil, or sunlight. The farm, Farmbox Greens, is inside a two-car garage behind Mr. Albert’s Seattle home. It consists of 600 square feet of microgreens grown in vertically stacked trays beneath LED lights. The ability to grow in such a small space is the result of hydroponics, a system in...

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InnovFin: First EIB financing under the InnovFin Energy Demonstration Project programme to support the development of commercial “WaveRoller” wave energy technology In its commitment to support innovative technologies, the European Investment Bank (EIB) will invest up to EUR 10 million in AW-Energy, a pioneering start-up company from Finland which developed “WaveRoller” wave energy technology. The investment will support and speed up the commercial roll-out of European wave energy technology. This is the first project to be supported by the InnovFin...

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MEPs debate on Wednesday 6 July the best way to protect whistle-blowers. Although whistle-blowers provide an important service to society, it's not without risk as they often face prosecution. On 29 June Antoine Deltour was convicted of theft for having leaked details of controversial tax deals with multinationals in Luxembourg. However, revelations by people like him have allowed Parliament to set up inquiry committees to look into LuxLeaks and the Panama papers. Follow the debate live online. The importance of...

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