login
login
Image header Agence Europe
Europe Daily Bulletin No. 13630
Contents Publication in full By article 30 / 37
NEWS BRIEFS / Economy

Greece and Latvia in turn activate national opt-out clause of Stability Pact

29/04/2025 (Agence Europe) – After Germany (see EUROPE 13629/2), Greece and Latvia have officially activated the national opt-out clause of the Stability and Growth Pact in order to be able to commit to major military spending between 2025 and 2029 without breaching EU fiscal rules. According to Balazs Ujvari, spokesman in charge of budgetary issues at the European Commission, the EU institution expects many similar requests from Member States between now and the end of April or the beginning of May. On Wednesday 4 June, it will report on the coordinated activation of the flexibility of the Stability Pact as part of its country-specific recommendations on fiscal and economic policies. (MB)

Contents

SECTORAL POLICIES
CLIMATE: as risks multiply, European ministers want to speed up adaptation and recognise role of technological innovation
CLIMATE: in face of disinformation, European ministers focus on education, responsible digital tools and positive and accessible narrative
ENERGY: European Commission does not want to “speculate” on reason for exceptional power cuts in Spain and Portugal
ENERGY: Bruegel recommends EU-wide guidelines for fair allocation of electricity system costs
JUSTICE: European Public Prosecutor’s Office brings action before EU Court for Court of Auditors’ refusal to cooperate in criminal investigation - summary of action published
MIGRATION: reform of suspension mechanism for ‘visa-free’ travel - European Parliament and EU Council identify possible bottlenecks and compromises
MIGRATION: at least 142 people criminalised for assisting migrants in Europe in 2024, according to NGO PICUM
DIGITAL: six investigations and two fines - one year after its implementation, European digital markets act delivering its first concrete results
OCEANS: EU pledges over €300 million for ocean conservation at ‘Our Ocean’ conference
FISHERIES: NGOs bring complaint against three EU countries tolerating destructive fishing in marine protected areas
TRANSPORT: European Union wishes to defend rest times for crews of vehicles engaged in international road transport at UN
TRANSPORT: risk of injury on shared electric bikes and scooters continues to fall, according to Micro-Mobility for Europe
INSTITUTIONAL
BUDGET: EU Member States discuss potential new own resources, having failed to adopt package submitted by European Commission in 2023
EXTERNAL ACTION
UNITED KINGDOM: EU Member States to discuss state of relations with UK and new areas of cooperation on 30 April
SERBIA: Marta Kos stresses need for government to respond to European aspirations of Serbian citizens during visit to Belgrade
MIDDLE EAST: Mounir Satouri warns, “We are complicit in a genocide in Gaza”
DEVELOPMENT: EU to provide €291 million to ‘International Finance Corporation’ through Better Futures joint guarantee mechanism
COUNCIL OF EUROPE
SERBIA: commissioner for human rights denounces threats to democracy in Serbia
AZERBAIJAN: commissioner for human rights calls for release of Anar Mammadli and dozens of Azerbaijani dissidents
ECONOMY - FINANCE - BUSINESS
BANKS: EU Council expected to support rules maintaining more flexible bank liquidity requirements than ‘Basel III’ standards
FINANCE/CLIMATE: EU and EEA banks have substantial exposure to companies in sectors that contribute significantly to climate change, according to EBA
COMPANIES: EFRAG submits work plan to European Commission in response to mandate to simplify sustainability reporting standards
COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EU
JUSTICE: Malta’s citizenship by investment programme is contrary to EU law, says Court of Justice
PUBLIC PROCUREMENT: EU Court of Justice clarifies conditions enabling concession contracts to be modified without call for competition
SECURITY - DEFENCE - SPACE
SPACE: successful launch of Biomass satellite to study forest carbon
NEWS BRIEFS
CENTRAL AFRICA: Cameroon and Chad inaugurate strategic cross-border bridge financed by EU
MYANMAR: EU sends 608 tonnes of humanitarian aid in one month
CANADA: Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa congratulate Mark Carney on his general election victory
TRADE: several associations call on Ursula von der Leyen to protect medical technology from US tariffs
ECONOMY: Greece and Latvia in turn activate national opt-out clause of Stability Pact
CIRCULAR ECONOMY: recycling lobbies call on European Parliament and EU Council to defend a “solid” regulation on end-of-life vehicles
ENERGY: European Commission to keep 2028 deadline for assessing impact of introducing PPA contracts for nuclear power
ENERGY: ACER provides recommendations for protecting exchange of cybersecurity information
MIGRATION: regulation on return of irregular migrants in EU – names of various European Parliament rapporteurs starting to emerge
REGIONS: European Commission launches ‘preparatory action’ to support innovation with 200 territories in Europe
HEALTH: European Commission signs contract for purchase of 27 million doses of influenza vaccine
TRANSPORT: total value of EU-Ukraine trade via ‘solidarity lanes’ estimated at around €211 billion since May 2022