EU web links

A collection of links to web sites of the European Union institutions and other European business web sites.

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Employment contracts — 26 September 2017, 22:32 CET

The following pages present the minimum requirements set by the EU employment laws. The following information aims to give an overview of employment contracts rules, but won't cover all the details of the rules and provisions.

Fair Taxation of the Digital Economy — 21 September 2017, 18:48 CET

The European Commission Communication 'A Fair and Efficient Tax System in the European Union for the Digital Single Market' was adopted on 21 September 2017. The taxation of the digital economy is part of the EU's fair taxation agenda. It wants an ambitious EU agenda on the matter and a common EU approach to influence the international discussions and develop meaningful solutions to taxing the digital economy to be agreed at the international level by spring 2018.

State of the Union 2017 — 13 September 2017, 15:43 CET

On Wednesday 13 September 2017, the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, delivered his annual speech on the State of the European Union at the European Parliament. The speech takes stock of Europe's current political and economic landscape. It is an opportunity to review the work of the EU over the past year, and to look ahead to the priorities of the coming year.

Vacuum cleaners — 01 September 2017, 12:44 CET

Vacuum cleaners are subject to EU energy labelling and ecodesign requirements. From September 2017, the most efficient vacuum cleaners will carry a label of A+++. These ratings take into account the vacuum cleaners' total power and how efficiently that power is used to pick up dust. With more efficient vacuum cleaners, Europe as a whole can save up to 20 TWh of electricity per year by 2020. This is equivalent to the annual household electricity consumption of Belgium. It also means over 6 million tonnes of CO2 will not be emitted – about the annual emissions of eight medium-sized power plants.

International carbon market — 16 August 2017, 23:44 CET

International carbon markets can play a key role in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions cost-effectively. The number of emissions trading systems around the world is increasing. Besides the EU emissions trading system (EU ETS), national or sub-national systems are already operating or under development in Canada, China, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Switzerland and the United States.

Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) — 10 August 2017, 23:05 CET

Created in 1979, RASFF - the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed - enables information to be shared efficiently between its members (EU-28 national food safety authorities, European Commission, EFSA, ESA, Norway, Liechtenstein, Iceland and Switzerland) and provides a round-the-clock service to ensure that urgent notifications are sent, received and responded to collectively and efficiently. Thanks to RASFF, many food safety risks had been averted before they could have been harmful to European consumers.

How is the EU progressing towards its Europe 2020 targets? — 20 July 2017, 23:37 CET

The Europe 2020 strategy, adopted by the European Council in June 2010, is the European Union's agenda for jobs and growth for the current decade. As a main objective, the strategy strives to deliver high levels of employment, productivity and social cohesion in the Member States, while reducing the impact on the natural environment. To reach this objective, the EU has adopted targets to be reached by 2020 in five areas: employment, research & development (R&D), climate change & energy, education and poverty reduction.

EU Stability and Growth Pact — 13 July 2017, 13:48 CET

The Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) is a set of rules designed to ensure that countries in the European Union pursue sound public finances and coordinate their fiscal policies.

Invasive alien species — 12 July 2017, 23:25 CET

Invasive Alien Species are animals and plants that are introduced accidentally or deliberately into a natural environment where they are not normally found, with serious negative consequences for their new environment. They represent a major threat to native plants and animals in Europe, causing damage worth billions of euros to the European economy every year. As invasive alien species do not respect borders, action at the European level will be more effective than action at the Member State level.

Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor — 06 July 2017, 23:07 CET

The Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor is designed to help national, regional and municipal policy makers identify local strengths and opportunities and benchmark their cities against similar urban centres using both quantitative and qualitative data. The platform allows users to browse the 168 selected cities and the quantitative and qualitative information about their performance in the Countries and Cities pages.

Single Market Scoreboard — 06 July 2017, 22:40 CET

The Single Market is based on a large body of EU law, accompanied by national transposition measures. However, it is essential to ensure that the Single Market does not exist only on paper but also in reality for citizens and businesses who want to work, travel, shop, invest or do business across borders. This requires effective governance of the Single Market by the European Commission and by the EU and EEA Member States, as well as effective implementation "on the ground", in the Member States. This scoreboard aims to give an overview of the practical management of the Single Market.

EU-Japan trade agreement: texts of the agreement in principle — 06 July 2017, 18:37 CET

The agreement in principle – shared with the EU’s Member States and the European Parliament, this website sets out what is in the agreement: summary of the agreement, explanatory factsheets, infographics and the published chapters

European citizens' initiative — 05 July 2017, 16:48 CET

A European citizens' initiative is an invitation to the European Commission to propose legislation on matters where the EU has competence to legislate. A citizens' initiative has to be backed by at least one million EU citizens, coming from at least 7 out of the 28 member states. A minimum number of signatories is required in each of those 7 EU Member States.

Antimicrobial Resistance — 29 June 2017, 22:30 CET

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is the ability of microorganisms to resist antimicrobial treatments, especially antibiotics. AMR not only has a direct impact on human and animal health - due to the failure in the treatment of infectious diseases - but also carries a heavy economic cost. AMR is a natural phenomenon but an accumulation of factors, including excessive and inappropriate use of antimicrobial medicines on humans and animals and poor infection control practices, transformed AMR into a serious threat to public health worldwide.

Personal Pensions Products — 29 June 2017, 18:18 CET

Personal pensions (also known as 'private pensions') are long-term savings products that individuals contribute to on a voluntary basis, complementing state and workplace pensions. They have a role to play in linking long-term savers with long-term investment opportunities. The Commission is exploring ways to increase choices for retirement saving and build an EU market for personal pensions.

Non-Financial Reporting — 26 June 2017, 23:44 CET

EU law requires large companies to disclose certain information on the way they operate and manage social and environmental challenges. This helps investors, consumers, policy makers and other stakeholders to evaluate the non-financial performance of large companies and encourages these companies to develop a responsible approach to business. Directive 2014/95/EU lays down the rules on disclosure of non-financial and diversity information by large companies. This directive amends the accounting directive 2013/34/EU. Companies are required to include non-financial statements in their annual reports from 2018 onwards.

EU Market Access Strategy — 26 June 2017, 21:47 CET

Free trade can only exist when businesses can actually access their markets. Being a promoter of open trade, the European Union wants to ensure that access to markets is facilitated for all.

Transparency for intermediaries — 21 June 2017, 22:28 CET

On 21st June 2017, the European Commission proposed new transparency rules for intermediaries that design or sell potentially harmful tax schemes. Intermediaries are firms or persons, such as consulting firms, banks, lawyers, tax advisors, accountants, etc. which can help their clients to set up schemes to reduce their tax bills. Most services provided by intermediaries are legitimate. However, recent cases, such as the Panama Papers, exposed the role that some of these intermediaries may play in international tax avoidance and evasion by designing schemes that are specifically set up to help their clients escape taxation.

EU immigration portal — 15 June 2017, 23:09 CET

Welcome to the EU Immigration Portal. On these pages you can find practical information about coming to work or study in the EU for more than 90 days and on how to join your family in the EU. If you already are in the EU and you would like to know more about your rights or you would like to move from one EU country to another, you can also find relevant information on this Portal.

Taxation and Investment in Ireland (Deloitte) — 15 June 2017, 17:09 CET

The Taxation and Investment Guides are a first stop for investors wishing to gain a working perspective on the operating conditions and investment climate – including the legal, accounting and taxation framework – in the countries covered in the Deloitte International Tax Source. In addition to the Ireland Highlights and Taxation and Investment Guide, the links open the door to the Deloitte International Tax Source and a wide range of materials and information on the tax consequences of doing business across borders.

European Consensus on Development — 07 June 2017, 23:40 CET

The European Consensus on Development is a shared vision and framework for action for development cooperation for the European Union (EU) and its Member States. It is a blueprint which aligns the Union's development policy with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

EU activities in the field of higher education — 31 May 2017, 13:57 CET

Through its Erasmus+ and Horizon 2020 programmes, the EU supports international exchanges for students, academic staff and researchers, as well as structured cooperation between higher education institutions and public authorities in different countries. The objective is to create new opportunities for people in higher education to learn from one another across national borders and to work together on joint projects to develop good learning and teaching, undertake excellent research and promote innovation.

EU school policy — 31 May 2017, 13:54 CET

The European Commission works with EU countries to develop their school education systems. While each country is responsible for the organisation and content of its education and training systems, there are advantages in working together on issues of shared concern.

Article 50 talks with the United Kingdom - documents — 22 May 2017, 23:16 CET

The European Commission's transparency policy for the Brexit negotiations aims to ensure full transparency during the whole negotiating process. Commission negotiating documents which are shared with EU Member States, the European Council, the European Parliament, the Council, national parliaments, and the United Kingdom will be released to the public and will be published here. These documents include, but are not limited to: Agendas for negotiating rounds; EU position papers; Non-papers; EU text proposals.

European Investigation Order — 22 May 2017, 22:32 CET

The "European Investigation Order", which entered into force on 22 May 2017, simplifies the work of judicial authorities when they request evidence located in another EU country. It is a tool to simplify and speed up cross-border criminal investigations. Directive 2014/41/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 April 2014 regarding the European Investigation Order in criminal matters