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Once dispersed in the environment, microplastic particles under 5 mm in size are extremely difficult to remove and very persistent. Today, they are present in the air, soil, freshwater, seas, oceans, plants and animals, and in several components of the human diet. Human exposure to microplastic particles is therefore widespread, raising concerns about potential health impacts. The EU has committed to addressing microplastic pollution in two action plans –on the new circular economy and on zero pollution ...

Teachers play an essential role in providing high-quality education and making education a rewarding experience for all learners. This makes teachers key to achieving a true European education area (EEA) that offers improved access to quality education and lifelong learning for all. However, the current shortage of teachers is a widespread issue across the European Union (EU). Not only is the teaching workforce ageing but the profession has become less attractive owing to factors such as challenging ...

This EPRS paper analyses how the European Commission has delivered on the policy agenda set by its President, Ursula von der Leyen, and her College of Commissioners when they took office in December 2019, and by further commitments taken over the years to address new issues, crises and challenges. It provides an end-of-term assessment of the delivery of the agenda's six key priorities, on the eve of the ninth legislature's last plenary session, two months before the 2024 European elections. The von ...

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 ...

Genom att utöva sina olika uppgifter befäster Europaparlamentet sin institutionella roll i utformningen av den europeiska politiken. Parlamentet säkrar respekten för de demokratiska principerna inom EU genom sitt deltagande i lagstiftningsprocessen, sina budget- och kontrollbefogenheter, sin medverkan i fördragsöversyner och sin interventionsrätt vid Europeiska unionens domstol.

The supplementary protection certificate (SPC) is a specific intellectual property right that extends the basic patent's market exclusivity for plant protection products. The unitary patent became operational in the EU on 1 June 2023, unifying patent protection in all participating Member States. Despite this significant change, SPCs, which are inseparable from patent protection, remain regulated at national level. This fragmented regulatory approach has proven ineffective, leading to excessive administrative ...

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 ...

Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis and Commissioner Gentiloni are invited to the 15th Recovery and Resilience Dialogue (RRD) under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) Regulation. The previous RRD took place on 5 February 2024. This briefing comments on the Commission’s RRF midterm review in section 1, focuses on some of the Commission’s recent preliminary assessments related to payment requests submitted by Czechia, Denmark, and Malta in section 2, summarises the state of play of the implementation ...

This paper presents findings from the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) midterm evaluation, with a particular focus on assessments from various stakeholders regarding its setup and initial implementation. It also builds on the latest activities and assessments by previously published papers summarizing the stakeholders views at the EU, national, regional, and local levels in connection with the national Recovery and Resilience Plans. Additionally, it offers a collection of the most recent opinions ...