Latest Copernicus satellite launch will improve services for farmers, fishermen and other users of land and sea maps. In the night from 6 to 7 March, a 5th satellite of Europe's Earth observation programme Copernicus was successfully sent into orbit. Copernicus already helps save lives at sea, improves our response to natural disasters such as earthquakes, forest fires or floods, and allows farmers to better manage their crops. For example, the European Commission's Emergency Response Coordination Centre activated the EU Copernicus...

On 13 March 2017, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) held a high-level conference in Rome to mark the sixty-year anniversary of the founding treaties of Europe, signed in Rome itself on 25 March 1957. Rather than celebrating the occasion in pomp, the EESC preferred to focus on the important milestones achieved and, above all, explore three issues that are crucial if we are to overcome the current crisis and guarantee a better future for Europe: tackling growing...

Antonio Tajani made the case for European unity in his first speech as Parliament President at the start of a Council summit. “Today more than ever we can see how important European unity is,” he told political leaders at the summit in Brussels on 9 March. “Europe needs to be changed not weakened. All the institutions need to work harder to find the answers which ordinary Europeans are looking to us to provide.” The summit is dedicated to issues such...

EU leaders reviewed progress in a number of priority areas, reaffirmed the unity of the EU-27 and continued the debate on the future of the European Union. Prior to the main agenda, President Juncker welcomed the re-election of Donald Tusk as President of the European Council for a second two-and-a-half year mandate. Jobs, growth and competitiveness Leaders welcomed the encouraging economic situation across Europe. The March European Council is the first meeting in almost a decade where all 28 economies are expected...

The European Council deliberated on the attached document. It was supported by 27 Members of the European Council, but it did not gather consensus, for reasons unrelated to its substance.  References to the European Council in the attached document should not be read as implying a formal endorsement by the European Council acting as an institution. Download the full report here Compliments of the European Council

The Council agreed to adjust the EU's multi-annual financial framework for 2014-2020 to bring it in line with new priorities. The agreed changes reinforce the EU's support for tackling the migration crisis, strengthening security, boosting growth and creating jobs. They will allow the EU to respond more easily to unexpected needs without changing the MFF expenditure ceilings. And they will help to avoid an excessive backlog of unpaid bills. "This first-ever revision of the multi-annual budgetary framework will ensure that the...

At today’s meeting the Governing Council of the ECB decided that the interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility will remain unchanged at 0.00%, 0.25% and -0.40% respectively. The Governing Council continues to expect the key ECB interest rates to remain at present or lower levels for an extended period of time, and well past the horizon of the net asset purchases. Regarding non-standard monetary policy measures, the...

The Commission is marking International Women's Day with the publication of a new report on equality between men and women, which shows that EU legislation, guidelines, actions and funding possibilities are supporting noticeable but uneven progress in EU Member States. Sixty years ago, equality between women and men was embedded in the Rome Treaty as one of the European Union's fundamental values. Fast forward to today and women's employment rate has reached an all-time high level. However, the gender...