On Tuesday, for the first time ever the Commission issued social bonds on the market, to raise money under SURE, the EU new safety net for preserving employment in areas severely hit by the pandemic. SURE, which has overall firepower of up to €100bn, will give national governments the necessary resources to finance measures to tackle unemployment and loss of income, as well as some health-related measures.

Making Europe healthier, fairer and more prosperous, while accelerating its long-term transformation into a greener economy, fit for the digital age, is the core of the Commission’s work programme for the next year, adopted on Monday afternoon. 

The European Commission has launched this week Access2Markets online portal to help small and medium-sized firms trade beyond the EU’s borders. The new portal responds to requests from stakeholders to better explain trade agreements and help companies ensure their products are eligible for duty discounts. It will serve both companies that already trade internationally and those that are only starting to explore opportunities in foreign markets.

This week the European Commission proudly announced the six Natura 2000 Award winners for 2020. Given the unique circumstances in 2020, the six winners of the 2020 Natura 2000 Awards were announced at an exclusive hybrid Ceremony, on 14 October 2020. 

The Commission adopted the EU Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability as the first step towards a zero pollution ambition for a toxic-free environment declared in the Green Deal. The goals are boosting innovation for safe and sustainable chemicals, and increasing protection of human health and the environment against hazardous chemicals.

The ambition to at least double renovation rates of buildings in the next decade and ensure renovations lead to higher efficiency and sparingly use of energy and resource, is at the core of the Renovation Wave Strategy, released by the EU Commission on Wednesday. 

The EU executive has decided on Tuesday to lengthen and extend the scope of the state aid Temporary Framework adopted on 19 March this year to support the economy in the context of the Covid-19 outbreak. All sections of the Temporary Framework that were initially set to expire at the end of this year are now prolonged for six months until 30 June 2021.

The EU is to announce on Wednesday a major building renovation project seeking to cut down energy costs and polluting emissions while providing a big boost to the construction industry, the AP reported. EC President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday that the Union “must speed up” the pace of renovations and added most efforts will go to schools, hospitals and social housing.

As of Sunday, 11 October, the EU framework for screening of foreign direct investment (FDI) will become fully operational. Over the last eighteen months following the adoption of the first EU investment screening regulation, the Commission and Member States have put in place an effective coordination framework. 

The European Commission says it has sealed a deal with pharmaceutical company Gilead to buy 500,000 treatment courses of remdesivir.