Today in Cairo, on the occasion of the visit of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and her meeting with the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah El Sisi, the EU and Egypt issued a joint statement on climate, energy and the green transition. President von der Leyen said: “I look forward to working with Egypt as COP27 Presidency to build on the good momentum from last year in Glasgow. Egypt is also a crucial partner in our efforts to move away from Russian fossil fuels and towards more reliable suppliers.” The joint statement commits both parties to work together on a global just energy transition, on improving adaptation capacity, mitigating loss and damage due to climate change, and on increasing climate finance to respond to the needs of developing countries. The cooperation will have a particular focus on renewable energy sources, hydrogen, and energy efficiency. In light of the new geopolitical and energy market reality after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and following the President’s visit to Israel earlier this week, today in Cairo the EU also signed a trilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the export of natural gas to Europe from Israel and other sources in the Eastern Mediterranean region via Egypt’s LNG infrastructure. The MoU, which will help the EU achieve the diversification goals set out in the REPowerEU Plan, was signed by Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, together with Ministers El Molla and Elharrar. The three parties will work together on the stable delivery of natural gas, in a way that is consistent with long-term decarbonisation objectives and based on market-oriented pricing. They will also promote the reduction of methane leakage, and in particular examine new technologies for reducing venting and flaring and explore possibilities for the utilisation of captured methane throughout the entire supply chain.
Commission launches infringement proceedings against the UK for breaking international law and provides further details on possible solutions to facilitate the movement of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland
The European Commission has today launched infringement proceedings against the United Kingdom for not complying with significant parts of the Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland. Despite repeated calls on the UK government to implement the Protocol, it has failed to do so. This is a clear breach of international law. The aim of these infringement proceedings is to restore compliance with the Protocol in a number of key areas where the UK hasn’t been implementing it properly – ultimately with the goal of protecting the health and safety of EU citizens. At the same time, the Commission is today providing additional details on the possible solutions it put forward in October 2021 to facilitate the movement of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The position papers published today explain how the movement of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland can be significantly facilitated. The Commission calls on the UK government to engage seriously and constructively with these suggested solutions. As usual, the Commission will proceed in close collaboration and constant dialogue with the European Parliament and Council. European Commission Vice-President, Maroš Šefcovic, said: “Trust is built by adhering to international obligations. Acting unilaterally is not constructive. Violating international agreements is not acceptable. The UK is not respecting the Protocol. That is why we are launching these infringement proceedings today. The EU and the UK must work together to address the practical problems that the Protocol creates in Northern Ireland due to Brexit. I am still convinced that with genuine political will to make the Protocol work, we can reach our objectives. I call on my UK counterparts to engage in good faith and explore the full potential of the solutions we have put forward. Only joint solutions will create the legal certainty that people and businesses in Northern Ireland deserve.”
Forest fires: European Commission puts its firefighting fleet in place for the 2022 season
As of today, the EU’s fleet of firefighting aircraft will be operational to help European countries fight forest fires throughout peak season. The fleet is part of rescEU, a European reserve of resources that responds to emergencies. Positioned in Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Spain and Sweden, 12 firefighting airplanes and 1 firefighting helicopter will be ready for deployment this summer when wildfires require a joint European response to save lives, livelihoods and the environment.
Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic said: “Last year we witnessed the second worst forest fire season on record in the EU. This served as a painful reminder of devastating effect that forest fires have on the lives of Europeans. As of today, the entire EU’s rescEU fleet of 13 firefighting aircraft is operational as to ensure a layer of additional protection for lives, livelihoods and the environment. This would not be possible without the cooperation of Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Spain and Sweden who are hosting the firefighting helicopter and planes. With this fleet in place, the EU boosts the continent’s preparedness to face forest fires.”
Scientific forecasts for this year’s forest fire season predict above-average risks for central Europe and across the Mediterranean. Especially the summer months tend to be warmer and drier than previous years.
rescEU firefighting capacities in 2022
The 2022 rescEU firefighting fleet includes 12 airplanes and 1 helicopter from six EU Member States, ready to be deployed to any EU country in times of need.
The fleet consists of:
* 2 firefighting airplanes from Croatia, 2 firefighting airplanes from France, 2 firefighting airplanes and one helicopter from Greece, 2 firefighting airplanes from Italy, 2 firefighting airplanes from Spain and 2 firefighting airplanes from Sweden.
The fleet is strategically positioned across EU Member States, which operate and maintain the aircrafts. Through its fully EU-financed rescEU fleet the European Commission is boosting the capacity of national responders across Europe.
Eurobarometer: Europeans set defence and energy autonomy as key priorities for 2022
A Eurobarometer released today shows that European citizens support massively a common security and defence policy and expect the EU to phase out its dependency on Russian sources of energy. The survey also confirms the large support for the EU’s response to the Russian aggression against Ukraine.
The EU’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – In line with the results from the Flash Eurobarometer published on 5 May, today’s poll confirms that the majority of Europeans (59%) are satisfied with the EU’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and with their own government’s reaction (57%). Humanitarian actions are the most supported (93%) followed by welcoming in the EU Ukrainians fleeing the war (91%).80% support economic sanctions on the Russian government, companies and individuals and 70% the financing of supply and delivery of military equipment to Ukraine.
Defence and security – The vast majority EU citizens (81%) are in favour of a common defence and security policy among EU Member States, with at least two thirds of respondents supporting this view in each country. Furthermore, 93% agree that Member States should act jointly when it comes to defending the EU’s territory and 85% think that the co-operation in defence matters at EU level should be increased.
Energy autonomy – The Eurobarometer also shows a large support to RePowerEU’s objectives. For 87% of respondents, the EU should reduce its dependency on Russian sources of energy as soon as possible. 80% agree that the energy policy can contribute to defending EU’s strategic interests. 86% think that reducing imports of oil and gas and investing in renewable energy is important for our overall security and 87% that increasing energy efficiency will make us less dependent from energy producers outside the EU. 85% would like the EU to invest massively in renewable energies.
Tackling climate change – 85% of Europeans think that tackling climate change can help improve their own health and well-being and the same proportion believe it can create new opportunities for innovation, investment and jobs. Although 49% fear that tackling climate change could harm our economy, 83% think that it can help to reduce the costs of greater ecological damage in the future. Furthermore, 81% believe that on the long run, renewable energy can limit the price we pay for our energy consumption.
Key priorities – The Eurobarometer shows that, in light of the current situation, Europeans consider defence and security (34%) and ‘making the EU and its Member States more autonomous in energy supply’ (26%) as the areas to be most prioritised in 2022. Dealing with the economic situation (24%), with environment and climate change (22%) and with unemployment (21%) follow closely.
The Coronavirus pandemic – The majority of respondents are satisfied with the way the EU has handled the vaccination strategy (58%) and with the way their own government has handled it (59%).
New exascale era for European supercomputing: five new hosting sites announced
Today, the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking announced five new sites for the next generation of European supercomputers, following the related selection procedure. This includes the first European exascale supercomputer, JUPITER, which will be hosted in the Jülich Supercomputing Centre in Germany. Exascale capability (supercomputers capable of over a billion billion calculations per second) represents a major technological milestone for the EU, and greatly promotes European scientific excellence. This will benefit complementary technologies, such as quantum computing, digital twins, and big data. It will be financed equally by Germany and the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking. Four more sites have been selected to host supercomputers, which will have petascale or pre-exascale capabilities: the National Infrastructures for Research and Technology in Greece, the Governmental Agency for IT Development in Hungary, the National University of Ireland (Galway), and the Academic Computer Centre in Poland. These machines will power further development of novel scientific and industrial applications in personalised medicine, development of new drugs, wind farm design modelling, and biomolecular research. Executive Vice-President for a Europe Fit for the Digital Age Margrethe Vestager said: “These five new supercomputers will support us in the development of high-precision models. This will help us tackle societal challenges and facilitate advance research in the fields of climate change, cosmology, engineering, materials science and more.” The new sites will be connected and available to serve a wide range of European users in the scientific community, as well as industry in particular small and medium businesses, and the public sector across the EU and participating countries. Earlier this week at a dedicated event, the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking inaugurated another supercomputer: LUMI, located in Kajaani, Finland. LUMI is the fastest and most energy-efficient supercomputer in Europe, ranked also the third fastest in the world.
Farm to Fork: Ongoing reduction of chemical pesticides’ use in the EU but pace needs to pick up
Today, the Commission published the latest figures showing progress towards the Farm to Fork pesticide reduction targets. Chemical pesticides cause soil, water and air pollution, as well as biodiversity loss, and have negative impact on human health and the environment. Under the Farm to Fork Strategy the Commission is committed to work towards reducing the overall use and risk of chemical pesticides by 50% by 2030. To track the progress towards meeting these targets, the Commission each year publishes figures on the use and risk of chemical pesticides in the EU. For 2020, the figures show that chemical pesticides are less used overall, with a lower associated risk. The use and risk of chemical pesticides declined by 1% compared to 2019, and by 14% compared to the baseline period (2015-2017). The figures also show that the more hazardous pesticides are used significantly less. They declined by 9% compared to 2019, and by 26% compared to the baseline period. This marks the second consecutive year with a meaningful reduction. At the same time, the EU keeps its global position of a prime exporter of food products. While progress is steady and ongoing, its pace is still not fast enough. Member States need to do more to reduce the use and risk of chemical pesticides as called for by scientists and citizens. Data also show that the uptake of low risk and biological alternatives to chemical pesticides is still very low. The Commission is therefore updating rules and financing projects to help increase the availability of these alternatives.In addition, the Commission will adopt new rules on the sustainable use of pesticides shortly to help Member States achieve the targets set out in the Farm to Fork strategy and change course on pesticides and leave unsustainable practices behind.
Ukraine: Commission presents guidance to help people fleeing war access jobs, training and adult learning
Since the beginning of Russia’s unprovoked war against Ukraine and its civilians, over 7 million people have fled Ukraine and reached the EU. So far, only a relatively small number of those of working age have entered the EU labour market, though the number of people wanting to do so is expected to rise. Ensuring a swift and effective integration into the labour market is important both for host communities and for those fleeing the war to rebuild their lives, continue developing their skills and, eventually, support reconstruction in Ukraine. The Commission issued guidance yesterday presenting measures that can be taken by Member States based on lessons learnt and best practices gathered so far, and building on previous measures at EU level, to integrate people arriving from Ukraine into the labour market; and support their access to vocational education and training (VET) and adult learning. The guidance also features several concrete examples of EU-funded projects that can serve as inspiration for Member States’ initiatives in this area and help ensure that they make the best use of support available at EU level. The guidance covers both people eligible for temporary protection under the Temporary Protection Directive as well as those eligible for adequate protection under national law.
New Erasmus+ call for deeper transnational cooperation between universities in Europe
Today, the Commission launched a new Erasmus+ call for proposal search;callCode=null;freeTextSearchKeyword=policy%20experimentation;matchWholeText=true;typeCodes=1,0;statusCodes=31094501,31094502,31094503;programmePeriod=2021%20-%202027;programCcm2Id=43353764;programDivisionCode=null;focusAreaCode=null;destination=null;mission=null;geographicalZonesCode=null;programmeDivisionProspect=null;startDateLte=null;startDateGte=null;crossCuttingPriorityCode=null;cpvCode=null;performanceOfDelivery=null;sortQuery=sortStatus;orderBy=asc;onlyTenders=false;topicListKey=topicSearchTablePageState> to pilot a joint European degree label and to test institutionalised EU cooperation instruments, such as a possible European legal status for alliances, as announced in the European Strategy for Universities. These flagship initiatives of the strategy aim to facilitate deeper transnational cooperation between higher education institutions in Europe.This open and competitive call for proposals has a total budget of € 2 million. Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Mariya Gabriel, said: “With this Erasmus+ pilot, we seek to progress on the flagship initiatives of the European strategy for universities and take transnational cooperation to the next level. We seek to develop a genuinely European dimension in the higher education sector, built on shared values for the benefit of students, staff and the higher institutions alike. We encourage the wider higher education sector to get involved”. The joint European degree label would be issued as a complementary certificate to the qualifications obtained by students graduating from joint programmes delivered in the context of transnational cooperation between several higher education institutions. The testing of institutionalised EU cooperation instruments, such as a possible European legal status for alliances, will support the piloting of existing European instruments to facilitate deeper, long-term and flexible transnational cooperation among higher education institutions. The aim is to give alliances, on a voluntary basis, the latitude to act together, make common strategic decisions, experiment joint recruitment, design joint curricula or pool resources and human, technical, data, education, research and innovation capacities. The deadline for applications’ submission is 6 October. An online information session for applicant.
Source: Cyprus News Agency