Archive

Year: 2020

  • #EUinTwo: Implementing the Circular Economy

    March 26, 2020

    As a key area of the European Green Deal, the recently announced Circular Economy 2.0 has put in place specific and ambitious actions to transform Europe’s economy. The Commission is focused on reducing the environmental and social impact of products by making sure that by 2030 all products will be circular, increasing the use of secondary raw materials and tackling waste at the source. These measures go hand in hand with greater use of the...

  • #EUinTwo: The Commission’s plan to beat cancer

    March 25, 2020

    Every year, 3.5 million people in the EU are diagnosed with cancer. Directly affecting 40% of EU citizens, cancer impacts the economy, health systems, and European society. To tackle this issue, the European Commission launched a new mandate on World Cancer Day. Officially titled Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, the plan aims to strengthen the European approach at four key stages: prevention, diagnosis, treatment and survivorship. However, concrete actions have yet to be determined. To help...

  • Paving way to a Circular Economy

    March 12, 2020

    On 11 March the Commission published it New Circular Economy Action Plan which will facilitate the EU’s transition to a circular economy, to achieve the 2050 net-zero emissions target. According to Commissioner for the Environment, Virginijus Sinkevičius, the Plan has the goal to strengthen the competitiveness of EU industry, empower consumers and protect the environment. By introducing a sustainable products policy framework, it will be easier for consumers to identify sustainable and circular options on...

  • The road to Europe Fit for the Digital Age

    February 19, 2020

    Tech policy is at the forefront of the Von der Leyen Commission’s ambitions for making Europe Fit for the Digital Age; one of the six main ambitions of the President's political guidelines. Indeed, digital transformation touches every corner of our lives, bringing new opportunities, but also new risks. There is growing awareness in Europe of the potential of technology and its central role in transforming our society and economy across all sectors. Over the next...

  • #EUinTwo: Artificial Intelligence in the Commission’s first 100 days

    February 5, 2020

    Throughout 2018, the European Commission’s approach to Artificial Intelligence (AI) was gradually ticking over with a non-legislative Communication on AI for Europe, and the ongoing work of the grandiosely titled ‘High-Level Expert Group Artificial Intelligence’ who were trying to define ethical principles for a ‘human-centric’ AI. However, this was up-ended in July 2019, when the then President-elect of the Commission, Von der Leyen, used her political guidelines to declare that she would “put forward legislation”...

  • Brexit Day: What’s next?

    January 31, 2020

    Read the broader analysis from our FleishmanHillard consultants across our network on what comes next after the UK leaves the EU! The significance of UK’s departure from the EU should not be underestimated. For Brussels the very underpinning of peace and prosperity in Europe for the last decades is being put into play. Failure in Brexit Phase 2.0 is not an option. Yet the stakes are stacked equally as high for the UK government. The...