Commissioner Tzitzikostas visits Cyprus for maritime conference and presidential talks
Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, will be in Cyprus on Sunday and Monday, where he will meet with Cypriot leaders, the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organisation and attend the Maritime Cyprus Conference 2025, a headline event on the international shipping agenda.
On Sunday, the Commissioner meet with President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, in Nicosia. They will discuss the government’s priorities, as well as solutions to transport and tourism challenges faced by Cyprus. Commissioner Tzitzikostas will also visit a Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) project with Minister of Transport, Alexis Vafeades.
On Monday, Commissioner Tzitzikostas will speak at the Maritime Cyprus Conference taking place in Limassol. The conference brings together more than 1000 participants, including shipowners, shipping executives, regulators, and state officials from all over the world. The Commissioner will notably exchange with Secretary-General of the IMO, Arsenio Dominguez, and Deputy Minister for Tourism, Kostas Koumis. He will also meet with Annita Demetriou, President of the House of Representatives.
During his meetings with Cypriot leaders the Commissioner will discuss major EU files, which will be on the agenda when Cyprus takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2026.
(For more information: Anna-Kaisa Itkonen – Tel.: +32 2 295 75 01; Anni Juusola – Tel.: +32 2 296 09 86)
Commission consults on revised State aid rules for better access to affordable housing
The European Commission has today launched a public consultation on the revision of the State aid rules to help Member States with affordable housing. This revision of the services of general economic interest (‘SGEI’) rules will address challenges related to housing affordability that go beyond social housing. The goal is to allow EU countries to support affordable housing in a faster and simpler way, by revising SGEI Decision 2012/21/EU. This will contribute to the Commission’s efforts to address European citizens’ housing needs, which will also include a proposal for a European affordable housing plan.
Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera, in charge of competition policy, said: “One of the major social challenges in Europe is the difficulty of accessing affordable housing. Tackling this issue requires joint efforts with different authorities contributing through a wide range of measures. From a competition perspective, we are responding to the requests from national authorities by submitting a concrete proposal for a review of the SGEI rules to facilitate the funding of affordable housing for public consultation today’.
Any interested citizen, business, public authority or association can contribute to the public consultation until 4 November 2025 via the COMP Website.
A press release is available online.
(For more information: Thomas Regnier – Tel.: +32 2 299 10 99; Luuk de Klein – Tel.: +32 229 94774)
Commission restricts the use of ‘forever chemicals’ in firefighting foams
Today, the European Commission adopted new measures restricting the use of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in firefighting foams under the REACH Regulation, the EU’s chemicals legislation. This is an important measure that protects people and the environment from the risks posed by PFAS.
The restriction marks a major step towards the Commission’s objective to minimise PFAS emissions. Firefighting foams have been a major source of pollution in the EU. Without this restriction, around 470 tonnes of this kind of chemicals would continue to be emitted into the environment every year, contaminating soil and water. Additionally, firefighters would also continue to be exposed to PFAS present in the foams used.
A press release is available online.
(For more information: Thomas Regnier – Tel.: +32 2 299 10 99; Rya Perincek – Tel: +32 460 76 25 10)
Commission signs joint procurement contract for COVID-19 vaccines to ensure preparedness and protection of citizens ahead of winter season
The European Commission has signed on the request of 14 countries a joint procurement framework contract with the Spanish pharmaceutical company HIPRA. The participating countries will be able to order up to 4 million doses of the protein-based COVID-19 vaccine Bimervax®, as needed depending on national context and with no minimum number of doses to be bought. The contract will run for a period of up to two years, with vaccines ready for delivery in time for the current vaccination season.
Hadja Lahbib, Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management, said: ‘With COVID-19 cases and new variants emerging, protection against these viruses is essential, especially for the most vulnerable. With today’s joint procurement, we are enhancing our preparedness and securing a supply of necessary medical countermeasures against the ever-present threat of COVID-19. This vaccine from HIPRA follows an end-to-end approach, from R and D to production, located entirely in Europe, strengthening our strategic autonomy and diversifying our portfolio of vaccines. We are committed to reinforcing our health security for a safer, healthier and better protected Europe.’
While mRNA vaccines are already available, this joint procurement contract increases the options for public health systems by offering protein-based vaccines. This type of vaccine contains fragments of a protein that is unique to the virus. These fragments are enough for the person’s immune system to recognise that the unique protein should not be in the body and responds by producing natural defences against infection by COVID-19.
An added benefit of today’s agreement with HIPRA is that its R and D, production and fill and finish are all located in Europe. This strengthens Member States’s strategic autonomy by shortening the supply chain and reducing reliance on third countries for production and export.
As of April 2025, 38 countries have signed the ‘Joint Procurement Agreement’, a mechanism at the EU level to jointly procure medical countermeasures on a voluntary and flexible basis. This mechanism contributes to EU-level preparedness for public health crises or pandemics.
More information can be found online.
(For more information: Eva Hrncírová – Tel.: +32 2 298 84 33; Anna Gray – Tel.: +32 2 298 08 73)
Heilbronn, Assen, and Siena win 2027 European Green Cities Awards
The winners of the European Green Cities 2027 Awards were announced yesterday afternoon. Heilbronn (Germany) will be the European Green Capital in 2027. The European Green Leaf, the award for smaller cities, went to Assen (the Netherlands) and Siena (Italy).
The expert jury crowned Heilbronn as the 2026 European Green Capital winner for successfully top scoring in air quality, water, noise, climate change adaptation and circular economy. The jury was also impressed by the city’s ambitious targets for 2035, as well as the regional collaborations that Heilbronn has built to further improve air quality and noise reduction.
Both Green Leaf winners, Assen and Siena, impressed the jury with their unique approaches to engaging their communities in the green transition. Assen was praised for strong commitment to circularity and climate change mitigation, and innovative waste management policies. The jury also recognised the significant CO2 reductions achieved through building retrofits. The jury commended Siena for its green areas and sustainable land use, as well as effective waste management systems. The jury recognised that the city achieved an impressive 61.4% municipal waste recycling and reduced landfill to just 1%.
The winners will receive a grant for further support in their green efforts: a prize of pound 600,000 for the Green Capital Heilbronn, and pound 200,000 each for the Green Leaf cities Assen and Siena.
This year, a total of 20 cities competed for the awards. An international expert panel of seven independent urban sustainability experts evaluated each application and shortlisted seven finalist cities.
Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy Jessika Roswall said: ‘The European Green Capital and European Green Leaf Awards each year recognise cities that strive to be at the forefront of urban and environmental sustainability. Cities that – simply put – lead by example. I am delighted to congratulate Heilbronn, Assen and Siena for having been awarded these titles for the year 2027. This is both a recognition and responsibility – you are our new ambassadors of the green transition.’
More information on 2027 European Green City awards is available online. A website on the European Green Capital and Green Leaf Awards website is also available.
(For more information: Maciej Berestecki – Tel.: +32 2 299 63 02; Maëlys Dreux – Tel.: +32 2 295 46 73)
The EU is mobilising emergency support to Democratic Republic of the Congo in response to the ongoing Ebola outbreak
The EU is supporting the emergency response to the outbreak of Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo, officially declared on the 4 September 2025 by the Congolese ministry of health. With 42 deaths recorded out of 64 cases, the current outbreak has a fatality rate of around 66%. The most urgent priorities on the ground are establishing access to the extremely remote areas and providing health response by medical experts trained in Ebola-specific equipment to help curb the spread of the virus.
The EU, through its Emergency Response Coordination Centre, has mobilised a diverse response package, including:
Deploying a specially equipped helicopter as part of the EU Humanitarian Air Flight operation;
Delivering a temporary office and accommodation set-up in the most affected Bulape province, hosting 36 healthcare experts for three months;
pound 1.8 million in emergency humanitarian funding to strengthen the first response on the ground by our humanitarian partners.
The EU humanitarian aid office in Kinshasa is closely monitoring developments and is liaising with its humanitarian partners on the ground to ensure rapid response in case of further transmission.
The EU’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) has made tackling deadly filoviruses like Ebola and Marburg a top priority. In 2023, HERA signed a pound 7.4 million contract with the World Health Organization (WHO) to support clinical trials for the development of new vaccines and treatments. Through Horizon Europe, HERA is supporting several projects worth pound 36 million to develop early-stage therapeutics and rapid diagnostics, with more medical countermeasures being considered.