The onset of the Covid-19 crisis saw the European Commission set out ambitious plans to not only mitigate the economic fallout from the pandemic, but also to map the way ahead for the eventual recovery. In this Just the Facts, we take a look at what the EU has done to assist Member States during the pandemic and what has been planned for the economic recovery of the EU. Introduction: First…
The tourism sector has been one of the hardest hit by the Coronavirus lockdowns. The European Commission has estimated severe loss of revenue in European tourism that supports some 27 million jobs across in the EU. But how is the EU providing support for this important European sector? This Just the Facts in our series…
Introduction: While the course navigated so far in Brexit is incomplete, the knotted issue of fisheries has being climbing the political ladder. Michel Barnier has stated that an EU – UK trade deal cannot be agreed without an agreement on fisheries. In this Just the Facts, we will explore why the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) may cause Brexit talks to run aground. What is the Common Fisheries Policy? The CFP, an exclusive competency since 1983, has four pillars…
Introduction As the COVID-19 crisis developed across the EU in February and March, much attention has been given to the closure of land border crossings and to the suspension of air travel across the EU. The European Commission has responded by introducing measures to mitigate this, as explored in a recent EM Ireland ‘Just the…
AS COVID-19 APPEARS to have reached its peak in many countries across the EU, governments are now examining ways in which current restrictions can be lifted without risking a second wave of infections. In its ‘roadmap’ for a pan-European exit strategy, the European Commission made a series of recommendations to the 27 EU member governments in advance of lifting current restrictions. One recommendation is that countries…
Europe Day, 9 May, is extra-special this year as it is also the 70th anniversary of the Schuman declaration, which created the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). Then French foreign minister, Robert Schuman’s big idea was to generate economic interdependence to make war between France and Germany impossible, hence sharing coal and steel production,…
THE EUROPEAN UNION’S response to COVID-19 experienced a blow in early April as the president of the European Research Council (ERC), Mauro Ferrari, resigned. The resignation of the pharmaceutical sciences professor – fewer than three months following his recruitment – as the Coronavirus pandemic escalated throughout Europe was, as one would expect, unexpected. The catalyst…
WITH MANY COUNTRIES suspending air travel and implementing social distancing measures to limit the spread of COVID-19, it has left some 300,000 EU citizens in need of help to be repatriated home. The EU, via its Union Civil Protection Mechanism helps Member States do this. What is the Civil Protection Mechanism? The Union Civil…
IN THE TIME OF A PANDEMIC, every day is a day of milestones. 26 March, a Thursday, marked the day that the United States overtook Italy in cases of COVID-19; marked the day that Spain’s death toll exceeded 4,000 and Italy’s exceeded 8,000; and marked the day that 500,000 cases of the virus were confirmed…
MOST FILM CRITICS would probably agree that Paul Giamatti is a great actor, admired for his range of roles in a number of films. Think Saving Private Ryan, Sideways, and Cinderella Man, for which he was nominated for an Oscar for best-supporting actor, among others. Giamatti is not as instantly recognisable as most Hollywood superstars,…