The Parliament approved nearly €455 million in EU Solidarity Fund aid in response to recent natural disasters in Romania, Italy and Türkiye. This will go towards emergency and recovery operations, preventive equipment, the protection of cultural heritage, and clean-up operations.

After 10 years, a major project to restore the Pompeii archaeological site has come to a successful conclusion thanks to €105 million of EU support, including €78 million of cohesion funding. 70 buildings were rebuilt and the site is now accessible to people with reduced mobility.

The European Parliament has approved a new trade tool to defend the EU from economic blackmail. The Anti-Coercion Instrument will let the EU respond with countermeasures, should it or member states face economic blackmail from a foreign country. It is due to be adopted by the Council this month.

The Commission is recommending carrying out risk assessments on four critical technology areas for the EU’s economic security – advanced semiconductors, artificial intelligence, quantum and biotechnologies. The Commission will now engage with Member States to carry out these risk assessments.

As of 1 October, new rules will put a fair price on carbon emitted during the production of certain goods entering the EU, and encourage cleaner industrial production in non-EU countries. For now, they will apply to imports of cement, iron, steel, aluminium, fertilisers, electricity and hydrogen.

The new digital platform features a public catalogue of cancer imaging datasets and improves the use of innovative data-driven solutions for cancer treatment and care. It links up 36 datasets of images of 9 cancer types for a total of over 200 000 image series of about 20 000 individuals.

According to a new Eurobarometer survey published by the European Commission on digitalisation of travel documents, 68% of Europeans consider this to be an important step to accelerate border checks, increase security and facilitate travelling to or from the Schengen area.

The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency is investing €7 billion into transport infrastructure projects across the EU. Projects funded under these new calls for proposals will help make the trans-European transport network more sustainable.

The Commission has adopted measures that restrict microplastics intentionally added to products. A major step to protect the environment, the new rules will prevent the release of about half a million tonnes of microplastics into the environment and prohibit their sale.

The European Investment Bank has approved framework financing of up to €1.7 billion for Solaria to support the construction of some 120 photovoltaic power plants. Mostly located in Spain, as well as Italy and Portugal, they will have a total capacity of around 5.6 GW.

The Commission will invest €90 million in 17 new research projects contributing to the EU Mission: ‘A Soil Deal for Europe'. These projects will work on restoring and protecting soil health for the sustainable production of healthy food, protecting biodiversity, and building climate resilience.

The European Chips Act that enters into force today puts in place a comprehensive set of measures to ensure the European Union's security of supply, resilience and technological leadership in semiconductor technologies and applications.

The EU is releasing €140 million of basic needs and livelihoods assistance to support education, health, agriculture and women's economic empowerment in Afghanistan. The funds will go towards providing livelihood solutions to women, girls and other vulnerable groups, in particular.

The European Commission has launched a public consultation on Erasmus+, the European Union's flagship programme for education, training, youth, and sport. This initiative provides an opportunity for individuals and organisations to express their opinions and contribute to the evaluation of Erasmus+.

In a new scientific report, the European Food Safety Authority has recommended avoiding the permanent use of boxes, cages and crates in commercial breeding establishments. This is to support legislative measures to improve the welfare of cats and dogs kept for sport, hunting and companion purposes.

The European Commission today proposed to extend the temporary protection for people fleeing Russia's aggression against Ukraine from 4 March 2024 to 3 March 2025. This will provide certainty and support for more than 4 million persons enjoying protection across the EU.

The EIB and the UN signed an agreement that enables the EIB to finance EU-UN joint initiatives on climate action.

While inflation has been trending lower, it continues to persist at elevated levels. The ECB's primary aim is to bring it back to the 2% target. To achieve this, the decision was made to increase three key ECB interest rates by 25 basis points.

The Council has extended sanctions against those undermining Ukraine's territorial integrity for another six months until March 15, 2024.