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Europe Daily Bulletin No. 13643
Contents Publication in full By article 8 / 29
ECONOMY - FINANCE - BUSINESS / Taxation

Taxing products high in fat, salt and sugar could have positive effects on health, according to European Commission

A significant increase in the retail prices of products high in fat, salt and sugar can lead to measurable changes in consumption, the European Commission pointed out in a study published on Friday 16 May. However, it is difficult to identify significant changes in consumer behaviour in Member States with very low tax rates (see EUROPE B13611A17).

Eleven EU Member States and Catalonia have introduced some form of taxation on these products. Of these, nine countries - Belgium, Croatia,...

Contents

EXTERNAL ACTION
UNITED KINGDOM: defence, fisheries, youth mobility, energy - five years after Brexit, EU and UK open new “era” in their relations
FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Ukraine, Middle East and sanctions against Russia on agenda of EU Foreign Affairs Council
AFRICA: strengthening cooperation between EU and African Union on agenda of a third ministerial meeting
HUMANITARIAN AID: European Humanitarian Forum - Hadja Lahbib reaffirms EU’s long-term commitment to international organisations
RUSSIA: Moscow takes EU to WTO over Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism
SECURITY - DEFENCE
DEFENCE: European ministers to discuss support for Ukraine and implementation of White Paper for European Defence
ECONOMY - FINANCE - BUSINESS
ECONOMY: despite uncertainty linked to global trade tensions, Commission remains convinced European economy will rebound in 2026
TAXATION: taxing products high in fat, salt and sugar could have positive effects on health, according to European Commission
SECTORAL POLICIES
HOME AFFAIRS: external border security - EU co-legislators agree on gradual roll-out of EU Entry/Exit System
DIGITAL: France, Spain and Greece call on European Commission to introduce age limit for use of social networks within EU
PATENTS: seven EU countries ask European Commission to resume work on Standard Essential Patents
ENERGY: delegated act on low-carbon hydrogen - European Commission defends its position to national experts
ENERGY: ‘REPowerEU’ strategy – share of Russian gas imports into EU has fallen from 45% to 19% in three years
ENERGY: after ACER, Commission publishes its opinion on statutory documents of new European Network of Network Operators for Hydrogen
AGRICULTURE: EU Council agreement on reform of Common Market Organisation
AGRICULTURE: EU Council approves European Commission’s proposal for a targeted amendment to POSEI regulation to benefit Mayotte
ENVIRONMENT: Montenegro becomes fifth non-EU country to join LIFE programme
CLIMATE: Climate Action Network Europe calls on European Commission and EU Member States to “hold line for ambitious action”
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS - SOCIETAL ISSUES
GENDER EQUALITY: Roxana Mînzatu hears MEPs’ calls for financial and legislative resources to combat disparities and invisibility of care work
INSTITUTIONAL
ROMANIA: relief from EU leaders after Nicușor Dan’s victory in Romanian presidential elections
NEWS BRIEFS
CONSUMERS: European Commission launches a public consultation to strengthen its future consumer protection policy
CULTURE: Italian writer Nicoletta Verna wins 2025 European Union Prize for Literature
GENDER EQUALITY: in drawing up its next strategy, European Commission wishes to take account of opinions of society as a whole
EMPLOYMENT: more than 6.1 million workers were trained in 2024 under ‘Pact for Skills’, according to European Commission
ENVIRONMENT: PAN Europe concerned about widespread exposure to ‘pesticide cocktails’ in European diet
FINANCE: new regulation on benchmarks published in Official Journal of European Union
KOSOVO: renewed tension between Serbian minority and country’s authorities worries EU
RESEARCH: European Commission rewards best nuclear innovations
SYRIA: EU welcomes creation of national authorities for transitional justice and missing persons