The sixth day of the semi-lockdown imposed to curb the coronavirus epidemic shows that although difficult, Brussels is learning to live at a slow pace.

The Commission said that the model of take, make, use, discard has reached its limits and tabled on Wednesday a new Circular Economy Action Plan. It is part and parcel of the Green Deal and its objective has to do with stronger competitiveness that protects the environment and also gives more rights to consumers.

The European business community gathered on 5 March at Cercle de Lorraine in Brussels to mark the BusinessEurope Day and to debate the EU agenda for the next five years.

There is no significant reduction in private car usage, and air pollution in many cities still exceeds safety levels, a new report of the European Court of Auditors (ECA) shows. The auditors concluded there was no clear indication that EU cities were fundamentally changing their approaches to moving people around cities and shifting urban traffic to more sustainable and environmentally friendly modes of transport.

With the new EU Disability Strategy for the next decade under preparation, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) convened in Brussels a big conference to present the Committee's contribution on the topic. It also zoomed in on various areas of work of the EU, drawing attention to the crosscutting character of disability rights.

Accession is no longer achievable within one to two government mandates, but has become an almost generational project. So the best would be to offer the Western Balkan countries membership of the Single Market. This is ambitious, it requires implementing 60 to 80% of the acquis, but it is also very concrete and meaningful, says Alexandra Stiglmayer, General Secretary of the European Stability Initiative, in an interview to Europost.

After 48 hours of negotiations, the leaders of EU27 did not find unity on the next 7-year budget at the special summit convened by European Council President Charles Michel on 20 February. The sitting was extended into a night of lengthy, strenuous talks.

On Tuesday, nine transport ministers met in Brussels with EC Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal Frans Timmermans and Transport Commissioner Adina Valean to express their concerns about the controversial texts in Mobility Package I.

With the rapid eruption of AI and automated decision-making processes in the internal market, questions are now more than the answers. Along with the undeniable advantages that new technologies offer, there are growing concerns about the risk of consumers being misled or discriminated against. 

If we start work this year, the EPPO budget for 2020 needs to be reopened, significantly increased and the budget for 2021 adjusted accordingly, stressed the newly appointed EU Chief Prosecutor, Laura Kovesi.