Source: European Commission
European Commission Press release Brussels, 13 Jun 2025 Delivering Member States’ plans regarding nuclear energy will require significant investments, of around €241 billion until 2050, both for lifetime extensions of existing reactors and the construction of new large-scale reactors.
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002267/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Fabio De Masi (NI)
At present, there is no mechanism in place for regular communication between the Commission and the European Parliament on the status of reports of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs).
Does the Commission intend to regularly inform Parliament about statistical and analytical findings related to UAP reports received through European safety systems, to ensure democratic oversight and transparency?
Submitted: 5.6.2025
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002288/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Vicent Marzà Ibáñez (Verts/ALE)
The current legislation (Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011) requires the origin of a food to be indicated only when not doing so is likely to mislead consumers. However, the packaging that many companies use for rice originating outside the EU not only features pictures, slogans and cultural elements that are associated with Valencia (such as falleras, barraca cottages or Albufera Natural Park), but also fails to disclose the true origin of the rice. In light of the above:
Submitted: 5.6.2025
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002258/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Carmen Crespo Díaz (PPE), Borja Giménez Larraz (PPE)
Over the past year, rail services in Spain have suffered multiple interruptions, such as alleged acts of sabotage and persistent technical failures, seriously affecting the Madrid-Andalusia line. The last incident left more than 16 000 passengers stranded due to a breakdown caused after the theft of cabling in Toledo. These events highlight serious failings in infrastructure management and safety, negatively affecting the connectivity of key regions such as Andalusia, despite the pledges by the Ministry of Transport. This runs counter to the European Commission’s objectives regarding territorial cohesion and fair mobility.
In light of the above:
Submitted: 4.6.2025
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002244/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Maria Zacharia (NI)
Greece is implementing an energy model based on the uncontrolled insurgence of industrial renewable energy sources (RES), leading to oversupply of power, decreases in production expected to reach 30 % by 2030 (rather than the mere 4 % predicted in the national energy and climate plan), as well as serious risks to the stability of the electricity grid, as confirmed by the recent widespread blackout in Spain. At the same time, the mass installation of RES in Natura 2000 sites, forest ecosystems, agricultural land and close to settlements has led to deforestation, biodiversity loss and an overall degradation of the natural environment.
In view of the above, and in accordance with Articles 4 and 11 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1991, can the Commission say:
Submitted: 4.6.2025
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002229/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Ton Diepeveen (PfE)
Regulation 2023/0131 pursues the general objective of ensuring a high level of public health by guaranteeing the quality, safety and efficacy of medicines for patients in the EU. In addition, this regulation provides for the possibility, in the event of a health crisis, to grant an emergency marketing authorisation on the basis of limited data. Such authorisation should be granted only if the benefits of the immediate availability of the medicinal products outweigh the risks stemming from the absence of complete data.
Submitted: 4.6.2025
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002189/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Şerban Dimitrie Sturdza (ECR)
In adopting Government Emergency Order No 6/2025, the Romanian Government has extended the legal framework for capping the prices paid by end customers for electricity (up until 30 June 2025) and natural gas (until 31 March 2026).
Given that the measures to cap energy prices for vulnerable consumers in Romania were justified by an energy crisis, but their extension without a phase-out strategy could affect the implementation of the NRRP and may lead to delays in payments or the suspension of payments for Romania, how does the Commission view:
Submitted: 2.6.2025
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002249/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Maria Zacharia (NI)
In recent experimental tests conducted by US company Palisade Research, OpenAI’s new artificial intelligence model ‘o3’ refused to shut down when ordered to do so by its creators. Specifically, in 7 out of 100 tests, the model altered its own code to circumvent the shut down process in order to continue solving mathematical problems – behaviour attributed to the prioritisation of efficiency over compliance.
The incident highlights serious dangers arising from the lack of robust safety, oversight and explainability mechanisms in deep AI systems. Given that these systems are trained with huge amounts of data and have the potential to autonomously create ways to achieve objectives without human control, questions arise as to their compatibility with the principles of security, accountability and fundamental rights.
In the light of the ongoing development of the Artificial Intelligence Act, does the Commission intend to incorporate specific clauses to prevent such incidents? Are there plans to immediately amend or complement the draft regulation to check the autonomy of AI models?
Submitted: 4.6.2025
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002250/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Maria Zacharia (NI)
The massive concentration of capital in offshore structures is not just a tax problem but a structural threat to democracy and the national sovereignty of Member States. The Panama and Pandora Papers revealed that most of the world’s wealth is located in invisible offshore schemes, with complete opacity and zero accountability. Shell companies, based in tax havens, operate in the EU without any substantial disclosure of the real shareholders and without any additional tax liability. Their operation, often with the involvement of political figures, financial intermediaries and criminal networks, undermines the rule of law, expropriates valuable public resources and turns Member States into blackmailable administrators.
The European Union has adopted a series of measures to ensure the transparency of corporate structures, such as Directive (EU) 2015/849 on the prevention of money laundering, Regulation (EU) 2023/1113 on capital transfers and Recommendation 2022/590 on shell companies. However, the reality is that thousands of offshore companies continue to operate within the EU, without full disclosure of the natural persons who control them and without tax registration in Member States.
In view of the above:
Submitted: 4.6.2025
Source: European Parliament
This EPRS publication, ‘Key issues in the European Council’, seeks to provide an overview of the institution’s activities on major EU issues. It analyses nine broad policy areas, which have been identified as priorities in the European Council’s Strategic Agenda 2024-2029, outlining the main orientations defined by the European Council, the legal and political background, and the results of its involvement to date in each policy field. It is updated every half a year before the June and December regular meetings of EU Heads of State or Government.
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002257/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Maria Zacharia (NI)
Directive 2008/98/EC, as amended by Directive (EU) 2018/851, establishes a mandatory prioritisation of waste management: prevention, re-use, recycling, recovery, disposal. It adds obligations for Member States to implement this hierarchy of priorities and to put in place measures for waste prevention and the circular economy. These principles are integrated into the circular economy strategy and are foundational to achieving climate neutrality by 2050, based on the European Green Deal and its action plan (COM(2020) 98 final).
In Greece, household waste recycling remains at exceptionally low levels (around 8-10 % in practice, up to 23 % on paper), without systematic prevention or sorting at source, according to Eurostat, the Hellenic National Registry of Certified Auditors and the Court of Auditors. The Government promotes incineration as a key strategy, on the basis of the 2020–2030 National Waste Management Plan. The creation or operation of units is planned in Attica, Boeotia, Rhodope, Kozani, Crete and the Peloponnese, with provision for incineration and mixed waste. Cement kilns are already being used (e.g. TITAN), while the 2020–2030 National Waste Management Plan provides for the possibility of utilising power plants – e.g. there is interest from Public Power Corporation in Lavrio – for incineration. This strategy constitutes a departure from the hierarchy and a substantial abandonment of prevention and circular management.
In view of the above:
Submitted: 4.6.2025
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002195/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Jean-Paul Garraud (PfE)
Since the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, the Treaties can be revised by simplified procedure (Article 48(6) of the Treaty on European Union), without needing to convene a convention or have the changes ratified by referendum in most Member States.
However, there is now talk of using this procedure for several proposals aimed at profoundly altering the institutional balance of the EU (abolition of unanimity, transfer of powers in tax, social or defence matters), without any direct public consultation.
These practices run counter to the fundamental principle of democracy and risk making people more mistrustful of the EU, particularly in the founding Member States such as France.
In view of the above:
Submitted: 2.6.2025
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002237/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Christine Anderson (ESN)
In a hearing of the Special Committee on the European Democracy Shield of 2 June 2025, a Frontex representative acknowledged that certain state actors, such as Russia and Belarus, have engaged in the use of migration as a tool for hybrid aggression. However, they avoided clarifying Frontex’s operational position when the Member States respond to such tactics with deterrence measures at the border. Furthermore, they declined to address the broader context of similar tactics being employed by state actors beyond Russia and Belarus, such as Türkiye or certain North African countries.
In the light of this:
Submitted: 4.6.2025
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002240/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Nicolás González Casares (S&D)
In its strategy on offshore renewable energy (ORE), the Commission sets ambitious targets that demonstrate the potential of OREs to help achieve climate neutrality objectives. However, as stated in the Renewable Energy Directive, it is crucial that efforts be made to ensure that the implementation of these developments is compatible with pre-existing uses.
In its recent reply to the Commission on the economic, social and ecological impacts of OREs, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) notes that, based on its review of the available studies, it appears that for all impact types, there were more studies reporting negative impacts on fisheries than positive.
What is more, ICES identifies five classes of data required to assess the economic and social impacts of wind farms on fisheries, which are currently ‘not collected or collated at sufficiently high resolution’.
This is in addition to the European Court of Auditors’ 2023 report, which warned that it had not found ‘any quantification of the key economic effects on fisheries resulting from ORE development that had been prepared by the Commission’. In light of the above:
Submitted: 4.6.2025
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Catchment based approach to improve a rare and precious chalk stream, Initiative to bring farmer and landowners together to benefit the Mimram.
The River Mimram flowing through Panhangers Park.
Thanks to funding from the Environment Agency, Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust has appointed Heidi Mansell as the new Chalk Rivers and Farm Advisory Officer to lead crucial efforts to restore and protect the River Mimram—one of Hertfordshire’s rare and precious chalk streams.
The Mimram is a vital part of the local ecosystem, beginning near Whitwell in Hertfordshire, and flows through the villages of Kimpton, Codicote and Welwyn before joining the River Lea near Hertford. The River Mimram is being improved by removing unnecessary weirs, better land management etc, through a collaborative effort between various organisations and community groups.
The next exciting stage included bringing in a farm advisory officer – Heidi to look at a new approach with the Mimram. One that’s catchment-wide, considering the entire area of land that drains into the river and having a dedicated person to support work on the ground. It’s important because specific local issues, for example, the demand for water, pollution, or invasive species, may start in the wider catchment and those that affect or who are affected by them should be empowered to find the solutions.
After being in the role for a year, here is what Heidi has to say:
We recognise that for a number of years, different groups and stakeholders have been coming together to improve the Mimram, so now the aim is to consolidate on this good work and hopefully make further progress.
In these first few months, I have been meeting with and listening to landholders to understand the support that they would like and gathering existing data on the catchment. Already, 11 of those, with land right next to the Mimram have said that they would like to work towards improving the river, which is hugely encouraging. Over the coming months and years, we’ll work together to create and deliver restoration and management plans that address some of the reasons why the river is not achieving good ecological status, according to the Water Framework Directive.
Heidi is exploring further exciting new options that are now available through the Higher-Level Countryside Stewardship Scheme that may fund some of this work, with payments to farmers that sensitively manage riverbanks and water edge habitats and connect river and floodplain habitats.
As a result of this work, there is hope to see species such as the endangered Water Vole thriving once again, to find Brown Trout creating their nests on the riverbed, to see flashes of blue as Kingfishers dart along the river and waving strands of Water Crowfoot teetering on the water’s surface – all indicators of healthy chalk streams.
Elizabeth Walden, Chalk Catchment Coordinator for the Upper Lee at the Environment Agency, reflects on the collaborative efforts to restore and protect the River Mimram:
England is home to 85% of the world’s chalk streams. Despite their importance nationally and internationally, only 17% met good ecological status under the Water Framework Directive in 2019. The River Mimram is one of the many chalk streams currently falling short of this standard.
The problems facing chalk streams are complicated and costly to address. However, by working at a catchment-scale in close partnership with Heidi, we’re making meaningful improvements to the Mimram valley. By improving the use of water resources, restoring habitat, and enhancing the river’s resilience during periods of high and low flow, this project is helping to secure a healthier future for the River Mimram, and the communities that value it.
We are excited to see how this new collaborative approach with Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust develops and delivers lasting improvements in the years to come.
Notes to editors
For more information on the scheme:
we have a YouTube Video Here – https://youtu.be/3YJUs56RiV4
And a blog here – Working together to protect and restore the Mimram catchment – Creating a better place
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Minister for Data Protection and Telecoms, Sir Chris Bryant, gave a speech at London Tech Week on Wednesday 11 June 2025.
The first time Kalpana went to Skills Enterprise – a digital training hub run out of a community centre in Newham, East London – she hadn’t used a laptop before.
That made finding a job pretty difficult.
She’d been out of work for some time, and had never browsed a job site, uploaded a CV or sent a professional email.
After weekly training, Kalpana has gradually grown in confidence using the internet to find work.
And she’s been given her own laptop.
It’s become an asset for the whole family – a means to help her son do homework or pick GCSE options.
In her words, the help she received in Newham “changed everything”.
There are 1.6 million people in the UK who, like Kalpana did, live largely offline.
It’s a kind of exclusion that’s hard to spot.
If you don’t live exiled from the digital world, how do you understand what it looks like?
It looks like a family of 5 sharing one laptop, judging whose homework is most important that night.
An elderly woman who can’t apply for a disabled parking permit, because she’s not given options to do it offline.
A jobseeker in a rural area travelling miles for public WiFi to send off a CV.
Or a young man experiencing homelessness, who uses his phone to find a safe place to stay.
When he runs out of money for data, he faces another night where he hopes to get lucky by sleeping on the bus.
When a laptop plus an internet connection equals a train ticket, a doctor’s appointment or a conversation with a loved one, not having those things means being locked out of a world of opportunity.
Locked out of life itself.
That’s a problem for all of us.
We should care about digital exclusion for its own sake – in the same way society comes together to help people shut out of housing, of work.
But we should also care because we can’t afford not to.
In a week when you’ll hear a lot about the massive opportunity for economic growth technology brings – fundamental to our Plan for Change – we can’t afford to miss out on the growth we’ll see if we close the digital divide.
For every £1 spent on digital skills training, our economy gets £9.48 back.
And if everyone in the workforce could do all 20 essential digital tasks, the country could be £23 billion better off each year, in Gross Value Added.
A problem for the whole nation, then.
And one the whole nation has a hand in solving.
For too long, this work has been left to the sterling efforts of industry, local government and charities, with central government at worst, absent – at best, standing on the sidelines calling on businesses to do more.
Well, no longer.
This is the year that government stepped up to play our part.
In February, we published a Digital Inclusion Action Plan.
It’s the first time a British government has proposed a plan on this since 2014. In that same timespan, Taylor Swift has released 11 albums.
The Plan makes up for lost time, setting out the first 5 actions we’re taking.
And today I can announce that, next year alone, we’ll back local digital inclusion initiatives with £6 million of new funding.
The money will support programmes up and down the country where so much good work is done, including through our Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund.
It could be used to get laptops into schools that kids can take home, so no child falls behind on learning because they don’t have the tech.
To give councils the power to trial innovative ways of running digital skills training for people anxious about getting online.
Or to build up our evidence base on why digital exclusion happens.
This funding will focus our efforts where they work best: in the communities people live and work in.
To meet this challenge, we’ll also need a concerted national effort on skills.
Keeping up is a lifelong pursuit, as any of us who have ever scratched our heads at a new operating system or helped a parent share a photo can attest to.
Education doesn’t stop the day you turn 18. Digital education is no different.
On Monday, the PM announced that we’ll partner with industry to give 7.5 million workers essential AI skills by the end of the decade.
So that the AI revolution is one everybody gets to be a part of.
And, as part of the Digital Inclusion Action Plan, we’ll give employers targeted support to upskill teams.
We’ve also kicked off a project with the Digital Poverty Alliance to donate refurbished government laptops and phones to people in need.
I hope this scheme inspires more like it.
Because it makes no sense to live in a world where, every day, stacks of old devices are carted off to landfill…
… while 1.5 million people in this country don’t have a laptop or smartphone.
Soon, I’ll launch an ‘IT Reuse for Good’ charter, alongside Deloitte, Vodafone and the Good Things Foundation – where businesses can pledge to donate unneeded tech.
I hope many of you will sign up.
This is work happening in the round in government.
The Action Plan is co-signed by 5 Secretaries of State, and a Ministerial Group brings together Health, Education, Work and Pensions and more.
Because digital exclusion hinders people in every facet of life – dimmer job prospects; shorter life expectancy. So we’ve got to bust the usual silos to fix it.
We must also be guided by those who’ve led on this for years.
Our Digital Inclusion Action Committee – chaired by Baroness Hilary Armstrong – has now been appointed, to make sure our work is informed by experts as well as the people we’re here to help.
I know how many businesses have put a great deal of time and money into this.
Ten companies pledged commitments alongside our Action Plan; I am immensely grateful to them all.
From Virgin Media O2, connecting 1 million excluded people by the end of the year.
To BT, giving free WiFi to families and communities across the country.
I also want to thank everyone offering social tariffs, connecting low-income households to broadband and data that would otherwise be out of reach.
And huge thanks to all of you finding ways to connect the unconnected – tariffs or tech, skills or speedier connections.
What we’ve done so far is just the start.
We’ll keep pushing ourselves to go further, and I want to see industry go with us:
Partner with local digital inclusion charities.
Sign up to the device donation charter.
Keep investing in your employees’ digital learning.
For years at London Tech Week, you’ve heard successive governments talk about the transformative power of technology.
I believe what has to define this government’s approach is that we’ll make this a transformation that leaves nobody behind.
That makes society more equal, not less.
And that reaps the economic rewards equality brings.
Back in Newham, Kalpana is now a digital skills volunteer.
She’s gone from being someone who’d barely used the internet to someone who teaches others to work a smartphone, or set up online banking.
That’s the return that investing in digital inclusion gives us.
Connecting just one person can connect a family, a workplace, a community.
In the end, we’ll reach the 1.6 million unconnected that way. If we keep at it, together.
Source: World Health Organisation
In parallel with the G20 Health Working Group, global health leaders are coming together in Johannesburg to set the foundation for a new phase of the mRNA Technology Transfer Programme – a pioneering initiative transitioning from proof of concept to sustainable, commercially viable manufacturing, while enhancing pandemic preparedness and regional health security.
Launched in 2021 by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP), with the support of the Government of South Africa, France, Belgium, Canada, the European Union, Germany and Norway, the Programme has successfully enabled 15 Partners across Latin America, Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia to receive foundational mRNA technology. Now, it is moving into Phase 2.0 (2026–2030), with the aim of empowering regional manufacturers to scale up commercially sustainable production of mRNA-based vaccines and therapeutics at Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)-grade.
“The mRNA Technology Transfer Programme is delivering on its promise to build capabilities in low- and middle-income countries,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “The Pandemic Agreement adopted by the World Health Assembly also includes legally-binding commitments to strengthen local production. We must now translate those commitments into capacity on the ground, so that when the next pandemic strikes, we meet it more equitably and more effectively.”
“This is a unique opportunity, driven by the pandemic. The foundations are in place — but without sustained political will, the promise of equitable mRNA access could slip through our fingers.” said Charles Gore, Executive Director of the Medicines Patent Pool. “What we need now is the courage to build on our investment to date, to align, and to realise the full value and impact of what we started.”
From technology access to market-ready solutions
The Programme is moving from focus on technology acquisition to defining how each partner will translate it into real-world impact. Each manufacturer is now focused on developing an economic case for long-term, flexible, and commercially viable manufacturing — with the capacity to produce mRNA vaccines in inter-pandemic periods and pivoting rapidly in response to future health emergencies.
Product focus areas include:
“We have successfully progressed with the technology transfer to eight Partners — a testament to the strength and openness of this platform,” said Prof. Petro Terblanche, CEO of Afrigen Biologics. “What comes next is even more exciting: Afrigen is on the cusp of receiving GMP accreditation, positioning us not only as a technology originator but as a sustainable manufacturing and innovation partner for the Global South. We will continue to work with local and global partners on the development of new vaccines prioritizing the burden of disease in LMICs.”
A diversity of models, one global goal
The Programme’s Phase 2.0 recognises that there is no one-size-fits-all model. Manufacturers will develop tailored business strategies based on national health needs and policy, regulatory maturity and regional market dynamics. Some, like Bio-Manguinhos and Sinergium in Latin America, BioFarma in Indonesia, and Biovac in South Africa, are already piloting investment roadmaps with detailed market, regulatory, and COGS (cost of goods sold) modelling. Others will receive bespoke support to develop their investment cases.
Crucially, sustainability will depend on country and regional-level procurement commitments, pooled purchasing mechanisms, and cross-border alignment — especially in Africa and Asia, where national markets alone may be insufficient to support GMP-level manufacturing scale.
“We need to back science with smart policy,” said Dr Mmboneni Muofhe of South Africa’s Department of Science, Technology and Innovation. “This is about creating a new ecosystem for public health security, grounded in regional ownership, long-term strategy and investments.”
Rising demand meets structural barriers
While market opportunities for mRNA vaccines and therapeutics are growing — from seasonal influenza and HPV to innovative cancer treatments — the Programme acknowledges structural hurdles:
The mRNA Programme highlights both the growing interest in regional R&D consortia focused on target diseases of regional relevance like leishmaniasis and malaria, and the drive to advance next-generation technologies focusing on dose sparing, reduced cost of goods and thermostability.
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002214/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Christine Anderson (ESN)
A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine[1] reviews long-term data on COVID-19 vaccinations. It concludes that repeated booster doses provide only limited added benefit for healthy adults under 65 years of age, especially those with a history of prior infection or complete primary vaccination. The study raises concerns over the reliance on non-inferiority trials and short-term immunogenicity data as the basis for vaccine approvals.
The authors focus in particular on updated mRNA vaccines, including bivalent formulations (targeting ancestral and BA.4/BA.5 variants) and monovalent XBB.1.5-based boosters. They argue that these vaccines provide only modest and short-lived protection for low-risk groups and call for more targeted vaccination strategies supported by robust clinical evidence.
Submitted: 3.6.2025
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002212/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Dolors Montserrat (PPE)
On 31 May 2025, Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister and two government ministers circulated a claim that a former Guardia Civil officer had threatened to plant a car bomb in the Prime Minister’s vehicle. Checks by journalists, however, revealed the claim to be false. It was nevertheless used as a political weapon, with statements explicitly identifying an agent of the Central Operative Unit (UCO), a specialist anti-crime team that is investigating scandals involving the government.
This is an example of institutional disinformation and an attack on the reputation and credibility of a state security force. It is undermining public trust in the police and democratic scrutiny.
In the light of Article 17 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, which obliges public authorities to act diligently so as not to encourage the spread of disinformation, and in line with the European democracy action plan:
Submitted: 3.6.2025
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002211/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Danilo Della Valle (The Left), João Oliveira (The Left), Carolina Morace (The Left)
In Estonia and Latvia, a significant part of the population, including individuals of Russian-speaking, Ukrainian, and Georgian origin, hold the status of ‘non-citizen,’ despite often being born and residing in these Member States for decades. This status excludes them from fundamental civil and political rights, such as voting rights and access to public employment, violating the principles of equality and non-discrimination set out in Articles 20 and 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (CFR) and the right to political participation under Article 39 CFR.
This treatment conflicts with Article 18 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which prohibits discrimination based on nationality, and Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
The European Court of Human Rights (Strasbourg) and the Court of Justice of the EU have ruled on similar cases, such as X v Latvia (application no 27853/09) and the Petruhhin case (C-182/15).
In the light of this:
Submitted: 3.6.2025
Source: European Parliament
This study of Reporting Obligations was commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Justice, Civil Liberties and Institutional Affairs at the request of the JURI Committee. It provides an overview of regulatory reporting and disclosure overlaps that businesses face across the recently enacted Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), and the EU Taxonomy. It provides recommendations on how to mitigate the burdens caused by these overlaps, together with a preliminary assessment of the Commission’s efforts to reduce burdens in the proposed Omnibus Directives.
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002194/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Eric Sargiacomo (S&D)
The energy crisis linked to the situation in Ukraine, decarbonisation and climate change in general have become major challenges for fishers. Initiatives to reduce fishing vessels’ CO2 emissions are springing up across Europe. However, initial feedback has raised an issue that had not been anticipated: the loss of revenue owing to vessels being out of action while work (sometimes taking between one and four months) is carried out. Such losses could discourage fishers from moving towards energy transition and therefore slow down experimentation and innovation. In light of this:
Submitted: 2.6.2025
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002207/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Pascal Arimont (PPE)
For many workers and SMEs, posting plays a central role in everyday work, in particular in border regions. Because of the complexity of the applicable legislation and the requirements to be complied with, legal certainty is essential for firms, including in order to safeguard workers’ rights. Accordingly, Member State recognition of the equivalence of national occupational health certificates is a relevant issue.
Submitted: 2.6.2025
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002205/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Bruno Tobback (S&D)
Given the importance of expanding the sale and use of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) to meet climate, energy and industrial goals, it is essential to ensure that consumers have full confidence in the technology and its everyday practicality.
Range anxiety is often cited as a major concern. This issue stems not only from limited charging infrastructure but also from the inaccuracy of the vehicle’s displayed range. External factors such as weather, terrain and payload can cause significant differences between the estimated and actual driving range.
The technology to provide accurate driving range estimates already exists; the main challenge is access to data. By adopting the long-awaited regulation on access to in-vehicle data, the EU can address this issue and facilitate the widespread deployment of services that would greatly enhance user confidence in everyday use.
Submitted: 2.6.2025
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002231/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Alexander Bernhuber (PPE)
As part of the impact assessment regarding Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 on the making available on the Union market and the export from the Union of certain commodities and products associated with deforestation and forest degradation, in Annex 3 the cost estimate for the benchmarking system is given as EUR 337 000, with annual operating costs to the tune of EUR 168 000.
Submitted: 4.6.2025
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002208/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Daniel Buda (PPE)
European reports state that in many areas, the implementation of activities through LAGs (local action groups) has generated economic multipliers that, in some cases, have exceeded a factor of 1.2-1.5 for every leu invested.
One of the main criticisms levelled at LAGs is that excessive bureaucracy has complicated access for beneficiaries to financing. According to official reports, beneficiaries often face difficult administrative procedures and long waiting times for projects to be assessed and approved. Many LAGs and beneficiaries have encountered major difficulties with the provision of co-financing for projects, especially in poor rural communities. This situation has limited access to European funds for many viable and important projects, thereby hampering the development of rural communities with scarce financial resources.
In this context, what concrete steps does the European Commission envisage to reduce the administrative burden of LAG procedures and facilitate access to co-financing for beneficiaries in these vulnerable communities so as to ensure a fairer economic impact and fully harness the potential of LAGs in supporting rural development?
Submitted: 2.6.2025
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002255/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Christel Schaldemose (S&D)
In 2006, the EU adopted a regulation on nutrition and health claims made on foods (EC No 1924/2006). A key feature of the agreement was that, by 2009, the Commission had to establish nutrient profiles – limits on how much sugar, salt and fat foods may contain above which they may not be marketed as ‘good for bones’ or as providing ‘immune system support’, for instance.
Today – 16 years later – there are still no nutrient profiles. This means that food producers can highlight a number of positive nutrients in a product, even if, overall, it is unhealthy. Breakfast cereals and yoghurt drinks with an extremely high sugar content are a case in point: health claims are nonetheless made for them on the front of packages.
This situation is misleading for consumers and undermines trust in health notices on foods. For years, the Commission has been promising to act; but nothing has been done.
Submitted: 4.6.2025
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002248/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Nikolas Farantouris (The Left)
St Catherine’s Monastery at Sinai is the oldest continuously operating monastery, dating back to 456 AD, and an integral part of Christianity.
A recent court decision by the Egyptian judiciary (28 May) calls into question the ownership status of the Monastery, confiscates its property (from land to holy relics) in favour of the Egyptian State and creates conditions in which its future operation is objectively impossible.[1] Egypt and Greece – directly historically linked with the Monastery – had reached an out-of-court settlement that would protect the property of the Monastery, but Egypt ‘neglected’ to sign it in a timely manner.[2] The court ruling, which has provoked a reaction from all Orthodox Europeans, is a flagrant violation of religious and individual rights and constitutes a direct threat to a significant Christian community.
Accordingly:
Submitted: 4.6.2025
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002254/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Beatrice Timgren (ECR)
In April 2025 the Commission proposed a draft act under the new Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation[1] (AFIR) that would require all newly installed or upgraded public electric vehicle (EV) charging points to support the ISO 15118 communication standards, including the latest version of the standard, ISO 15118-20, by 2027[2].
While this aims to enable advanced functions like ‘plug and charge’ and bidirectional ‘vehicle-to-grid’ (V2G) charging, there are concerns that mandating ISO 15118-20 so soon could impose high compliance costs. Obviously many smaller charging equipment manufacturers do not yet support this complex standard, jeopardising their market access. Moreover, technical and legal readiness for full ISO 15118-20 implementation appears uneven across the EU, with certain features reportedly incompatible with existing national frameworks, such as German calibration or taxation rules.
Submitted: 4.6.2025
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002306/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Kathleen Funchion (The Left)
Can the Commission outline any aspect of Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union that expressly precludes individual Member States from issuing their own restrictive measures?
Submitted: 6.6.2025