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Image header Agence Europe
Europe Daily Bulletin No. 13542
Contents Publication in full By article 30 / 34
NEWS BRIEFS / Environment

European waters are polluted by PFAS in excess of admissible thresholds, according to European Environment Agency 

10/12/24 (Agence Europe) – A report published on Monday 9 December by the European Environment Agency (EEA) reveals the extent of pollution of European waters by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). These “forever chemicals”, known for their persistence in the environment, are present in 59% of the sites monitored in rivers, 35% in lakes and 73% in transitional and coastal waters, exceeding environmental quality standards for PFOS, one of the 10,000 compounds in this group. The...

Contents

ECONOMY - FINANCE - BUSINESS
TAXATION: disagreement between EU Member States on energy taxation persists
TAXATION: political agreement in EU Council on electronic value added tax exemption certificate
TAXATION: EU Council adopts new rules for withholding tax procedures
ECONOMY: Eurogroup recommends a “slightly contractionary” fiscal stance for 2025 in euro area
STATE AID: de minimis aid ceiling for agriculture raised from €25,000 to €50,000 over three years  
SECTORAL POLICIES
AGRICULTURE: European Commission proposes to strengthen farmers’ position in food supply chain
AGRICULTURE: several EU countries hope an agreement will soon be reached on rules governing use of new genomic techniques
PLANTS: proposal on plant reproductive material stumbles at EU Council over issue of controls 
ENVIRONMENT: at European Parliament, MEPs’ amendments to ‘one substance-one assessment’ package swing between simplification and protection 
ENVIRONMENT: green NGOs receiving LIFE grants should not lobby European institutions, says Piotr Serafin
ENERGY: at dawn of “age of electricity”, role of nuclear energy must be recognised in Europe, according to Fatih Birol
CLIMATE/ENERGY: at Committee of the Regions, Polish Presidency of EU Council wants to guarantee green transition, with emphasis on energy security
DIGITAL: EU launches first “AI Factories” to accelerate innovation and development in Europe
MIGRATION: Amnesty International calls on EU countries not to plunge Syrian refugees and asylum seekers into “further insecurity”
EXTERNAL ACTION
SYRIA: international community must send same message to new Syrian authorities, says Kaja Kallas
MOLDOVA: European Parliament expected to vote on €1.8 billion Facility in early 2025
GEORGIA : EU deplores crackdown on protesters
CHINA: EU delegation concerned about persistent human rights violations
HUMAN RIGHTS: Kajas Kallas reaffirms EU’s determination to be party to European Convention on Human Rights
MERCOSUR: European Commission publishes texts of EU/Mercosur agreement
Russian invasion of Ukraine
UKRAINE: “Russia must not prevail”, European Council expected to warn
INSTITUTIONAL
POLAND25EU: for first half of 2025, Polish Council Presidency unveils its programme and visual identity
SOCIAL AFFAIRS - EMPLOYMENT
EMPLOYMENT: literacy and numeracy skills of adults in Europe have stagnated or even declined over last decade, according to OECD 
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS - SOCIETAL ISSUES
WOMEN’S RIGHTS: “if civil society, progressive elected representatives and activists get organised, we can win against far right”, says Mélissa Camara
NEWS BRIEFS
PATENTS: strong growth in patents for use of artificial intelligence in electricity grids
EUROPEAN COMMISSION: European Commissioners will meet by political family before each weekly meeting of College
ECONOMY: imminent disbursement of €50 million tranche of macrofinancial assistance to Moldova
ECONOMY: EU Council adopts revised post-Covid-19 recovery plans for four Member States
ENVIRONMENT: new rules on classification, labelling and packaging of chemicals come into force
ENVIRONMENT: European waters are polluted by PFAS in excess of admissible thresholds, according to European Environment Agency 
DIGITAL: European regulation on cyber resilience officially comes into force
DRC: EU Council renews EU sanctions linked to support for armed conflict
SUDAN: two Sudanese paramilitary leaders added to EU sanctions list
Kiosk
KIOSK: No. 119