The fifth generation of communication technologies, known as 5G, is fundamental to achieving a European gigabit society by 2025. But how will this affect our health and that of our children? Is 5G really safe?
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document.html?reference=EPRS_BRI(2020)646172

Source: © European Union - EP

In the EU, the distinction between delegated acts and implementing acts was introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon. The distinction seems clear only at first sight. Delegated acts are defined as non-legislative acts of general application, adopted by the European Commission on the basis of a delegation contained in a legislative act. In contrast, implementing acts are not defined as to their legal nature, but to their purpose − where uniform conditions for implementing legally binding Union acts are needed. Under no circumstances may an implementing act modify anything in the basic act. Both delegated and implementing acts are subject to judicial review by the Court of Justice of the EU which controls their conformity with the basic act.

- The evolving powers of the European Parliament
- Understanding delegated and implementing acts
- The European Parliament's right to challenge Commission delegated acts
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Source: © European Union - EP

Key to a fair single market, EU rules do not allow State aid, unless it is used to promote general economic development, for example, when tackling the challenges of global competition or the ongoing financial crisis … The European Parliament agrees with this general principle, but calls for less and better targeted state aid in the future.
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document.html?reference=EPRS_BRI(2020)646164

Source: © European Union - EP

The Commission proposes, Parliament and Council decide … has been the traditional approach to law-making in the European Union, until now … But the increasing need to put the citizens' voice at the heart of EU law-making, giving the European Parliament greater power to propose laws, is challenging this assumption and could open the door to a more democratic Union.
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document.html?reference=EPRS_BRI(2020)646174

Source: © European Union - EP

Since 2012 – when Xi was first made General-Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) – the China-Russia relationship has evolved into an informal alliance in the face of what both countries consider a rising threat from the West to their regimes. China's response to Russia's war on has so far been much closer to Russia than it was in 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea. At the same time, developments since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 have increased Russia's dependency on China, which some now qualify as a rising 'vassalisation' of Russia.

- Original publication on the EP Think Tank website
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Source: © European Union - EP

In recent years an increasing number of attacks and threats against journalists have been documented and reported in Europe. Physical attacks against journalists as well as online threats and harassment in reprisal for journalists' work are on the rise in several EU countries. Around the world, the number of dead and wounded journalists is still too high, as is the number of journalists who are detained, imprisoned and mistreated. The most recent Council of Europe assessment of press freedom in Europe reports that war remains a threat to press freedom and the safety of media workers. Reporters without Borders confirms that the situation is particularly dangerous for journalists, who are sometimes deliberately targeted by military fire despite displaying 'Press' identification.

- Original publication on the EP Think Tank website
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Source: © European Union - EP

The European Parliament's Sakharov Prize honours the work of people who stand up for these freedoms and rights. This year's Sakharov Prize is to be awarded to María Corina Machado, leader of Venezuela's democratic forces, and President-elect Edmundo González Urrutia. They represent all Venezuelans both inside and outside the country who are fighting to restore freedom and democracy.

- Original publication on the EP Think Tank website
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Source: © European Union - EP

The EU's priorities for the 5-year institutional cycle are outlined in the European Council's Strategic Agenda. Subsequently, the European Commission sets its priorities in the president's political guidelines, which are a first step in operationalising the EU priorities outlined in the Strategic Agenda. These priorities will then be translated into concrete initiatives included in the Commission's annual work programmes, before being submitted to the European Parliament and the Council of the EU in the form of legislative (and non-legislative) proposals. This briefing outlines the main policy priorities for the EU in the coming years, and analyses the differences inviews of the European Council and the European Commission.

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Source: © European Union - EP

Recent shocks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, have revealed not only the single market's vulnerability in crises, but also the extent to which the EU's competitiveness relies on a well-functioning single market, ensuring unhindered access to the goods, services, and strategic inputs EU supply chains need. Although the single market has generally been a success, recent analyses, including those put forward by Enrico Letta and Mario Draghi in 2024, clearly demonstrate that it remains highly fragmented, limiting EU companies' ability to scale up and compete internationally, and preventing EU citizens from reaping the full benefits.

- Original publication on the EP Think Tank website
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Source: © European Union - EP

News media are now faced with digitally native younger generations who often pay more attention to influencers and celebrities than they do to journalists, even when it comes to news. The teaching of media literacy skills is more necessary than ever to help people - especially children and young people - understand the difference between news circulating on social media and news provided by professional media sources.

- Original publication on the EP Think Tank website
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Source: © European Union - EP

In a year when the European Union enters a new institutional cycle, it is timely to look ahead to the strategic choices our political leaders may be asked to make in the next five years. These choices will undoubtedly be taken against a backdrop of heightened global uncertainty with geopolitics shifting quickly in new and unexpected ways. This ESPAS Global Trends Report 2024 is a contribution to the ongoing debate about the future of Europe, its role in the world and its ability to adapt and change to meet fresh challenges and harness new opportunities. This report attempts to identify the key global trends, analyse their significance for Europe, assess the agency the European Union has to influence global thinking, and sets out some of the main strategic choices policymakers may be required to make choices that will have a strong bearing on the kind of Europe we will live in by 2040.

- Choosing Europe's Future: The ESPAS global trends report 2024
- Choosing Europe's future: The 2024 ESPAS report
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Source: © European Union - EP