Commission proposes strengthened cooperation to combat tax fraud
Today, the European Commission proposed an amendment to strengthen cooperation between the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (‘EPPO’), the European Anti-Fraud Office (‘OLAF’), and Member States. The proposal provides a legal basis for the exchange of information and access to VAT data, enhancing the EU’s ability to combat fraud against the financial interests of the Union.
By introducing real-time digital reporting of cross-border trade as part of the ‘VAT in the digital age’ package, Member States will get the valuable information they need to step up the fight against VAT fraud, especially carousel fraud.
Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth, Wopke Hoekstra, said: ‘Fighting VAT fraud is a priority for me and for the Commission. This proposal will strengthen our ability to safeguard our financial interests and ensure fair play in the Single Market. Those who seek to profit through fraud will be held to account. With digital tools and better information sharing, we’re building a stronger, fairer tax system for everyone.’
A press release is available online.
(For more information: Anna-Kaisa Itkonen – Tel.: +32 2 295 75 01; Paula Clara Ritter-Moschtz – Tel.: +32 2 296 40 83)
Eight in ten workers find a job after receiving support from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund
More than eight in ten (81%) dismissed workers have found a new job within 18 months of receiving European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) support, according to a report published today by the European Commission.
The latest biennial EGF Activity Report highlighted the key role of the fund in helping dismissed workers retrain and reintegrate into the job market.
Through its support, workers were able to acquire new skills, including digital skills, prepare for new employment opportunities through mentoring, career guidance and job search assistance, or start their own businesses.
The report’s figures are based on the final implementation reports for EGF measures submitted in 2023 and 2024, covering support for more than 5,300 workers.
The report also shows that, in 2023 and 2024, the Commission received seven requests for EGF support from three Member States (Belgium, Denmark and Germany), offering support to 5,600 workers who had previously lost their jobs. In these two years, the Fund invested pound 16.4 million in training, job search and other forms of support.
Executive Vice-President for Social Rights and Skills, Quality Jobs and Preparedness, Roxana Mînzatu, said: ‘The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund is crucial in helping dismissed workers rejoin the labour market, including many from the car industry and other sectors undergoing major transformations. By supporting people to learn new skills, find new jobs or set up their own businesses, the EGF gives them a real opportunity to remain part of the labour market and receive an income. It also strengthens the resilience of Europe’s labour markets and economies.’
Since 2007, the EGF has provided pound 719 million in 185 cases of mass redundancies, offering support to more than 175,000 dismissed workers across 20 Member States. For more information, read the full 2023-2024 EGF activity report.
(For more information: Eva Hrncirova – Tel.: +32 2 29 88433; Eirini Zarkadoula-Tel.: +32 2 29 57065)
European Solidarity Corps to benefit from increased budget of pound 175.3 million in 2026
Today, the European Commission launched the European Solidarity Corps 2026 call, marking a double anniversary year: 30 years of EU volunteering, which started in 1996 with a pilot of the European Voluntary Service, and 10 years of the European Solidarity Corps. With an increased budget of pound 175.3 million, the programme will continue to empower thousands of young people to engage in solidarity actions across Europe and beyond.
Since its creation in 2016, the European Solidarity Corps has offered life-changing opportunities to more than 150,000 young people and reinforced community building through over 22,000 projects in solidarity, humanitarian aid and development cooperation. The 2026 programme builds on these achievements and will continue to fund projects contributing to its four priorities for 2021-2027: inclusion and diversity, environmental sustainability, digital transformation, and democratic participation.
More information is available to the press release.
(For more information: Eva Hrncirova – Tel.: +32 2 29 88433; Eirini Zarkadoula-Tel.: +32 2 29 57065)
Commission publishes guidelines to help Member States support small-scale fishers and enhance transparency in the allocation of fishing opportunities
Today, the European Commission published guidelines seeking to help Member States in supporting small-scale fishers and enhancing transparency and good governance in the allocation of fishing opportunities by EU countries.
The Commission has observed that some of the reported allocation methods do not appear to address adequately emerging challenges faced by EU fisheries. This is especially evident for small-scale coastal fishers, who are more impacted by the energy crisis, natural fluctuation of stocks, competition for the use of the marine space, climate change, degradation of marine environment, invasive species as well as unfair competition from illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
With these guidelines, the Commission invites EU countries to reflect on the methods and criteria they use to allocate fishing opportunities, notably through some good practices examples. Some of these practices are particularly well-suited to addressing the specific needs of small-scale and coastal fishers.
The Commission recognises the important role of small-scale coastal fisheries, which represent nearly 75% of all fishing vessels registered in the EU and nearly half of all employment in the fishing sector. It places special emphasis on their close links with the social and economic fabric of coastal communities, their close connection with the local environment, society and their important role in European cultural heritage.
Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans Costas Kadis said: ‘These guidelines invite EU countries to reflect on the allocation of fishing opportunities, bearing in mind that small-scale fishers are the most vulnerable to structural and unexpected challenges. Small-scale fishers are the backbone of our coastal communities. We must recognise their role and provide them with the necessary support.’
More information is available online.
(For more information: Maciej Berestecki – Tel.: +32 2 296 64 83; Anna Wartberger – Tel: +32 2 28 20 54)
Commission seeks views on Strategy for Rights of Persons with Disabilities
The European Commission has launched a public consultation to gather views from across civil society on how to enhance the Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030. Since 2021, new challenges and opportunities have emerged for persons with disabilities. Post-pandemic societal changes, and speedy technological developments are among the factors affecting the lives of persons with disabilities in the EU and globally. A new impetus is therefore needed to respond to their needs, building on the achievements of the first half of the Strategy. Today’s consultation seeks feedback on how the EU can act effectively to lower accessibility and inclusion barriers and strengthen support.
A new set of actions will be put forward in 2026 aiming to improve the lives of persons with disabilities across Europe and globally. The overall objectives of the Strategy will remain in place while, new actions will build on a mid-term progress report,and also address the concluding observations issued by the United Nations in April 2025 on the EU’s implementation of the UN Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Hadja Lahbib, Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management, said: ‘Today we take another important step in building our Union of Equality. With this wide consultation we want to hear from citizens with disabilities, from their support networks, from organisations defending their rights or providing disability support services, and from all stakeholders. Better supporting persons with disabilities concerns us all.’
In parallel to the public consultation, the Commission carries out targeted consultations with the European Disability Platform, which gathers together Member States and EU-level disability civil society organisations, as well as social partners and other civil society organisations. The consultation will run until 6 February. More information on the Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030 can be found online.
(For more information: Eva Hrncirova-Tel.: +32 2 298 84 33; Anna Gray – Tel.: +32 2 298 08 73)
President von der Leyen co-hosts the final pledging event of the ‘Scaling up Renewables in Africa’ campaign and participates in G20 summit in Johannesburg
On the 21 of November, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the President of the Republic of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, will host the final pledging event of the ‘Scaling up Renewables in Africa’ campaign. The event will happen in the margins of the G20 Summit in Johannesburg.
The one-year campaign was launched at the last G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro with the objective to drive new commitments from governments, financial institutions, the private sector and philanthropists to accelerate Africa’s clean energy transition. The aim is to expand access to electricity for African people – currently, 600 million people still lack access to electricity – and to accelerate Africa’s economic growth, through decarbonized industrialization.
The campaign has been organised in collaboration with international advocacy organization Global Citizen, the technical support of the International Energy Agency and in coordination with the World Bank.
The European Union is already supporting Africa’s clean energy transition, through Global Gateway. Since the start of the campaign, Team Europe has announced several pledges – projects of electrification, modernising power grids, and expanding access to renewable energy for the whole African continent and for specific countries. These investments will provide a key contribution to the overall objective of tripling global renewable energy capacity by the end of this decade and to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to more sustainable energy. Key announcements have taken place in September 2025 in the margins of the United Nations General Assembly and in October 2025 during the Global Gateway Forum in Brussels.
During the pledging summit, which will be broadcast live on EBS [add link], President von der Leyen and other leaders, as well as private sector representatives will announce new pledges for scaling up renewables in Africa, as well as unveiling the total amount of funds mobilised during the campaign.
A day before the event, President von der Leyen will take part in the EU-South Africa Leaders’ meeting together with President Costa and President Ramaphosa. On 22 November the G20 Summit starts, the first on African soil, and first since the African Union joined as a permanent member. It will be followed by the EU-African Union Summit in Luanda on 24-25 November.
(For more information: Olof Gill – Tel.: +32 2 296 59 66; Guillaume Mercier – Tel.: +32 2 298 05 64)
Commissioners Hoekstra and Jørgensen at second week of COP30*
Next week, Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth, Wopke Hoekstra, will lead the EU negotiating team during the second week (17-21 November) of the COP30 UN Climate Change Conference in Belém, Brazil. He will be working with the Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU and the Member States to ensure COP30 makes progress in keeping the goals of the Paris Agreement within reach. Starting today until 17 November, Commissioner for Energy and Housing, Dan Jørgensen will also participate in a series of COP30 energy-related events, including the dedicated Energy Days, to push forward the transition away from fossil fuels and towards more renewable energy and energy efficiency worldwide.
President von der Leyen participated at the COP30 General Plenary on 6-7 November where she reaffirmed the EU’s full commitment to achieving climate neutrality by 2050, emphasizing that Europe is staying the course on its climate commitments and Paris Agreement goals.
The EU is in Belém with a strong EU negotiating mandate to advance the global clean transition and progress on the implementation of the Paris Agreement and a new EU NDC to reduce net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 66.25 – 72.5% below 1990 levels by 2035. It will cover all sectors of the economy as well as all GHGs. This ambitious range will put the Union on the right path to the 2040 climate target, on which the EU is making steady progress as negotiations are set to begin.
While in Belém, Commissioner Hoekstra will attend the plenary sessions and a number of high-level ministerial meetings, including on climate action, just transition, pre-2030 ambition, and the Baku dialogue on adaptation. Commissioner Jørgensen will participate in a number of high-level ministerial meetings and dialogues with a strong focus on methane emissions reduction, grids and storage, the EU-LAC energy transition, the carbon market coalition and global efforts in transitioning away from fossil fuels.
More details are available online in the calendar of the Commissioners. Audiovisual coverage from COP30 will be available on our EBS portal. Certain speeches will be available on the Commissioner’s webpages (here and here).
(For more information: Anna-Kaisa Itkonen – Tel.: +32 2 295 75 01; Ana Crespo Parrondo – Tel.: +32 2 298 13 25; Cristiana Marchitelli – Tel: +32 2 298 94 07)
Commissioner Brunner to discuss polarisation in European societies with religious leaders
On Monday, Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, Magnus Brunner, will meet with religious leaders of Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Buddhist faiths to discuss the role religious organisations can play to counter polarisation in societies. Commissioner Brunner will invite participants to exchange on the experiences of their communities on these issues. In particular, they will discuss the role that new technologies, such as social media and artificial intelligence, can play in shaping the general discourse.
Magnus Brunner, Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, said: ‘The European Union is unique in maintaining a regular dialogue with churches, religious, philosophical, and secular organisations. Politics must always reflect the interests of all, and the EU itself was built by values that derive from faith – human dignity, peace, and freedom. At a time when hate and conflict seek to divide us, our dialogue with religious leaders is more than a symbol, it is a forum for solidarity and unity.’
Article 17 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU mandates the Union to maintain open, transparent and regular dialogue with churches, philosophical and non-confessional organisations. It provides an opportunity for community leaders to engage directly with EU institutions on EU policies.
(For more information: Markus Lammert – Tel.: +32 2 296 75 33; Antoine Lomba – Tel.: +32 2 299 32 33)
European citizens to deliver recommendations on intergenerational fairness
The third and final session of the European Citizens’ Panel on Intergenerational Fairness will take place in Brussels and online this weekend. Over the course of this closing session, 150 randomly selected citizens from all 27 EU Member States will finalise and share their recommendations on intergenerational fairness with the Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport, Glenn Micallef. Their recommendations will build upon their discussions over the past two sessions, on how to ensure that decisions taken today do not disadvantage future generations and how to strengthen fairness and solidarity between generations. They will provide valuable input for the preparation of the European Commission’s Strategy on intergenerational fairness, due for adoption in 2026.
Journalists wishing to attend this session in person may contact: COMM-CITIZENS-PANELS@ec.europa.eu.
The livestream and recordings of the plenary discussions will be available on the Citizens’ Engagement Platform.
(For more information: Eva Hrncirova – Tel.: +32 2 29 88433; Eirini Zarkadoula-Tel.: +32 2 29 57065)
EU hosts ‘Day of Dialogue’ in Damascus in support of Syrian civil society
The European Union is tomorrow, 15 November, organising the 9th edition of the ‘Day of Dialogue’, which will be held for the first time in the Syrian capital, Damascus.
This event reflects the EU’s longstanding commitment to support the Syrian people. This year’s edition focuses on Syrian civil society in the country and has been preceded by preparatory consultations across Syria. It is organised in cooperation with Syrian civil society and the Syrian transitional authorities.
High Representative/Vice-President Kaja Kallas said: “After decades of brutal dictatorship, Syria now has a chance to rebuild the country in a way that reflects the will of the Syrian people. A safe, independent, and vibrant civic space is an essential part of this process. Today’s event allows Syrians to express their opinions about the future of their country and have their voices heard. EU support for Syria is not just in words but also in deeds. The EU is providing 2.5 billion euros in aid to help the country rebuild.”
Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica, said: ‘The organisation of the Day of Dialogue for the first time in Syria reflects the European Union’s enduring support for inclusiveness, reconciliation and a safe and vibrant civic space in Syria. This event underscores our readiness to accompany Syrians on their path toward justice, social cohesion, and a peaceful transition that leaves no one behind.’
Commissioner for Preparedness and Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib, said: ‘After 14 years of conflict, organising the Day of Dialogue in Damascus marks a historic milestone – Syrians from all walks of life coming together for a truly Syrian-led dialogue on how to rebuild their country. Syria now stands at a pivotal moment, full of opportunity and responsibility. During my visit to Syria earlier this year, I met members of Syrian civil society, who had returned home to start rebuilding their communities. Their courage and commitment give hope for the future. The EU has always stood by Syrian civil society – and will continue to do so. We will continue to provide humanitarian and recovery assistance to the most vulnerable for as long as necessary and support Syria’s transition from humanitarian assistance to a lasting economic recovery that improves the daily lives of all Syrians.”
For the past 14 years, the EU has consistently supported Syrian civil society as a cornerstone of resilience, inclusiveness and civil engagement. The EU’s support to Syrians remains unparalleled. It has mobilised over pound 38 billion in humanitarian and resilience assistance, making it the largest donor in response to the Syrian crisis. In June, a pound 175 million package was also announced to support Syria’s socio-economic recovery.
Building on this long track of support to Syrians, the 2025 edition of the ‘Day of Dialogue’ will focus on empowering Syrian civil society to play an active role in the country’s peaceful and truly inclusive transition.
The organisation of the ‘Day of Dialogue’ in Damascus marks a significant step in the EU’s support for a safe, enabling, and independent civic space in Syria, and its readiness to accompany Syrians on their path toward reconciliation and social cohesion.
You can find more information here. You can also check the ‘Day of Dialogue’ webpage.