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The COVID-19 pandemic shone a light on the growing importance of digital health technologies, both to enable remote medical care and to facilitate the health response from international, national and local authorities. The European Commission's May 2022 proposal for a regulation on a European health data space aims to improve individuals' access to and control over their electronic personal data (primary use), while facilitating data re-use for the good of society across the EU (secondary use). The ...

Climate change, a global phenomenon, affects every aspect of our lives, including cultural heritage in both its forms – tangible and intangible. Extreme weather conditions expose these important elements of our cultural identity to serious threats. These threats must be addressed to protect valuable sites and preserve them for future generations. Research on climate change is not a novelty, but climate change as it relates to cultural heritage is a relatively new area of exploration and policy. The ...

During its April II session, Parliament is expected to adopt its first-reading position on a proposal aimed at preventing plastic pellet losses to reduce microplastic pollution. The Council has yet to agree its position.

In November 2022, the European Commission presented a proposal for a revision of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (PPWD – Directive 94/62/EC). During its April II 2024 plenary session, Parliament is due to vote on the political agreement reached by Council and Parliament negotiators on 4 March 2024.

Stratospheric ozone absorbs ultraviolet radiation from the sun and reduces the overall amount of radiation reaching the Earth's surface. Ozone-depleting substances (ODS) are human-made chemicals that, once emitted, reach the upper atmosphere and destroy the protective ozone layer, causing what is known as the ozone hole. They have significant adverse impacts on human health and the environment and are also greenhouse gases with high global warming potential. Regulation (EC) No 1005/2009 on substances ...

On 15 March 2024, the Commission put forward a regulation that would amend two regulations concerning the common agricultural policy (CAP) – the CAP Strategic Plans Regulation and the CAP Horizontal Regulation. The proposal is part of the Commission's response to widespread protests by farmers, opposing the CAP's administrative burden and environmental requirements. It was put forward without a formal public consultation and without an impact assessment. The proposal aims to reduce several environmental ...

In October 2022, under the European Green Deal, the European Commission tabled a proposal for a recast of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive. Dating back to 1991, and instrumental to the achievement of European Union water policy objectives, the directive needs to be updated and adapted to new challenges and realities. The recast proposal would introduce new obligations to do more to control pollution due to rainwater, impose stricter standards for nutrient removal and require advanced treatment ...

Highly diverse, soils host more than 25 % of all biodiversity and are the second largest carbon pool on the planet. During its first April 2024 session, the European Parliament is expected to adopt its position at first reading on a European Commission proposal aimed at establishing the first-ever EU-wide common framework on soils.

In February 2023, the European Commission proposed a revision to Regulation (EU) 2019/1242 on CO2 emission standards for new heavy-duty vehicles in the EU. The proposed changes would broaden the scope of the regulation to include urban buses, coaches, trailers and additional types of lorries. The goal is to reduce, by 2040, the average CO2 emissions of new heavy-duty vehicles by 90 % compared to 2019 levels. Council adopted its position in October 2023 and Parliament at its November II 2023 session ...

Delivering climate neutrality by 2050 will require carbon removals to cover remaining hard-to-abate emissions and to deliver, from 2050, negative emissions as per the EU Climate Law. The proposed certification framework seeks to ensure a transparent and credible governance framework for building trust in EU-certified carbon removals and to incentivise further deployment. The co-legislators reached a provisional agreement in February 2024. The European Parliament is expected to vote on the final text ...