The European Commission proposes to establish a technology-neutral definition of AI systems in EU law and to lay down a classification for AI systems with different requirements and obligations tailored on a 'risk-based approach'. Some AI systems presenting 'unacceptable' risks would be prohibited. A wide range of 'high-risk' AI systems would be authorised, but subject to a set of requirements and...

The fit for 55 package is part of the Commission's European Green Deal, which aims to set the EU firmly on the path towards net zero GHG emissions (climate neutrality) by 2050. The fit for 55 package includes a regulation establishing a new social climate fund (SCF). The aim of the SCF is to help vulnerable households, micro-businesses and transport users meet the costs of the green energy transit...

Human rights sanctions are nothing new, but the death in 2009 of Russian whistle-blower Sergei Magnitsky in detention resulted in calls for more vigorous action to counter continuing abuses in many countries. Adopted by the US in 2016, the Global Magnitsky Act was the first of a new generation of human rights sanctions programmes, which, in contrast to traditional sanctions targeted at individual...

In 2016, as a response to the shortcomings revealed in the EU's migration management, the Commission presented a proposal to amend and expand the mandate of The European Asylum Support Office (EASO), also changing its name to the European Union agency for asylum to reflect its stronger powers. As part of the asylum reform package, the proposal was put on hold, but was then relaunched as part of th...

In March 2018, the EU introduced a legislative package on the fair taxation of the digital economy. It contained proposals for an interim and a long-term digital tax. However, there was no immediate political agreement in the Council. As finding a global solution at the OECD level or a coordinated EU approach was not yet feasible at the time, some Member States started designing or implementing th...

According to statistics since 2008 over 318 million people around the world have been forcibly displaced by floods, windstorms, earthquakes or droughts, 30.7 million in 2020 alone. This is equivalent to one person being displaced every second. Depending on the frequency and scale of the major natural disasters occurring, there are significant fluctuations in the total number of displaced people fr...

In December 2020, the European Commission proposed the creation of the EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC), to facilitate trade, expand investment, develop compatible standards, boost innovation and strengthen the partners' technological and industrial leadership. The 2021 change of administration in Washington reinvigorated the relationship between the EU and USA. The TTC was formally launch...

The EU is an important market for illicit drugs, both in terms of consumption and production. An estimated 28.9 % of European adults aged 15-65 have used illicit drugs at least once in their lifetime, a majority of them being men. The illicit drugs market is the largest criminal market in the EU, with an estimated minimum retail value of €30 billion per year in the EU alone. Although the EU Member...

On 30 June 2021, the Commission adopted a proposal for a general product safety regulation, which would replace the current General Product Safety Directive, as part of the regulatory fitness-check programme (REFIT). The proposal seeks to address the challenges of product safety of emerging technologies, including use of artificial intelligence (AI) and connected devices, and to establish clear ob...

In this episode, we'll focus on one organisation that has become a pillar of the modern European security order: the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, or OSCE. The OSCE lacks the legal powers and the resources needed to live up to its ambition of becoming a platform for pan-European/trans-Atlantic cooperation. But OSCE agreements, such as the Vienna Document, help to promote mi...

In the European Union, 78 % of native flora and 84 % of crops are either partially or fully dependent on insects for pollination. But significant pollinator loss has been documented over time across the EU. According to the European Red List of Bees, around 9 % of all bee species are threatened in the EU. In this episode, we'll talk about the key role pollinators play in nature, the threats they f...

In May 2020, the European Commission published its 'farm to fork' strategy – 'for a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system' – along with the EU biodiversity strategy, as part of the implementation of the European Green Deal. In those strategies the Commission set a target of 25 % of the EU's agricultural land to be under organic farming by 2030, as well as a significant increase in...

Initial coin offerings (ICOs) are a relatively new method of raising capital for early-stage ventures. They constitute an alternative to more traditional sources of start-up funding such as venture capital and angel finance. This episode explains how ICOs work, looks at potential benefits and challenges, and analyses the regulatory responses they've been met with. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/th...

Fear, worries, insecurity... In this episode, we are talking about the effects of the pandemic on people's mental health, especially young people, and look at the recommendations and guidance given by European and international organisations to deal with this 'silent pandemic'. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document.html?reference=EPRS_BRI(2021)696164 https://youtu.be/KFaWDuHz2m4 Sou...

What is the EU's long term vision for rural areas? In this episode, we'll look at their needs, their potential and challenges, see where current support policies have succeeded and where they've been less successful… and have a quick look into the future. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document.html?reference=EPRS_BRI(2021)690711 https://youtu.be/KnCvakhSTsI Source: © European Union -...

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought new challenges for victims, as well as amplifying the vulnerabilities of those most at risk. Traffickers – like legal businesses – moved to digital modi operandi, making victims even less visible and less able to ask for help and protection. But what is the EU doing about it? Listen to our podcast to learn more! https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document...

Even if the numbers of both young children in early childhood education and of graduates rose in recent years, the number of underachieving 15 year-olds remains high and the participation of adults in learning is low. The European Commission, the Council of the EU and the European Parliament seem to concur that cooperation in education and training needs to be reinforced. https://www.europarl.euro...

While many of the operations and missions the EU supports have military and defence implications, the EU cannot finance activities with military or defence implications from the EU budget. EU Member States therefore have mechanisms to fund expenditure with military and defence implications directly from national budgets. A new one is the European Peace Facility, an off-budget fund with a financial...

Over the past two decades, the European Union (EU) has been entrusted with a growing number of objectives and responsibilities. However, ensuring financing of related activities through the EU budget has often proven problematic, as this has long been capped at around 1 % of the Union's gross national income (GNI). During the preparation of the post-2020 EU multiannual financial framework (MFF), c...

The social pillar is to be the fifth pillar of the economic and monetary union. It is to serve as a compass for updating the EU's welfare states and labour markets to the new realities of life and work in the 21st century. At the Porto Social Summit held on 7-8 May 2021, European leaders and stakeholders reaffirmed their pledge to work towards a social Europe that leaves no one behind, prioritisin...

In December 2020, the European Commission published a proposal for a regulation on contestable and fair markets in the digital sector, otherwise referred to as the digital markets act (DMA). The proposed legislation lays down harmonised rules aimed at regulating the behaviour of digital platforms acting as gatekeepers between business users and their customers in the European Union. This approach...

In its Europe's Beating Cancer plan, published in February 2021, the European Commission suggests several actions concerning alcoholic beverages. One of them is mandatory labelling of ingredients and nutrient content on alcoholic beverages by the end of 2022. Health warnings on labels should follow by the end of 2023. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document.html?reference=EPRS_BRI(202...

The challenges posed by migration have put EU Member States' solidarity to the test. Responding to a European Council request, in September 2020 the European Commission proposed a new pact on migration and asylum. The proposed pact has an external aspect: it aims to reinforce international partnerships with a view to ensuring effective returns, combating migrant smuggling more effectively, and dev...

Coronavirus has accelerated the rise of digital health, a broad concept that includes solutions for telemedicine and teleconsultation, remote monitoring, connected devices, digital health platforms and health apps. The concept also covers the related health data analysis and application in systems based on big data, for instance for epidemiological research and AI-enabled diagnosis support. Nevert...

Serbia and Kosovo have both declared their intention to join the EU. However, despite some initial successes, such as the Brussels Agreement of 2013, the dialogue facilitated by the EU and initiated in 2011 has stalled. The reasons for the very limited results are multiple, ranging from the internal political situation in both countries, to ambiguous and asymmetrical expectations of the normalisat...