#eu-policy

#eu-policy

A draft of the measure, released in October, urged "the establishment of a harmonised European digital age limit of 16 years old as the default threshold under which access to online social media platforms should not be allowed unless parents or guardians have authorised their children otherwise." They also recommended setting a harmonised EU digital age limit of 13, under which no minor would be permitted to access social media. The same minimum age would apply to video-sharing platforms and so-called "AI companions," whose popularity among adolescents has raised concerns in several EU states.

Women across the EU symbolically begin "working for free" from today, as the bloc marks the point in the calendar when pay inequality means women, on average, stop earning relative to men. With the EU gender pay gap standing at 12%, 22 November represents the date after which women's work is, in effect, unpaid compared with their male colleagues. The European Commission used the occasion to warn that progress on closing the gap remains painfully slow and could take decades at the current pace.

"ça me fait ni chaud ni froid" (I'm neither hot nor cold - or more precisely 'I don't care').

But the bloc is yet to put forth a concrete proposal to do so, pushing the decision to December, EU Council chief Antonio Costa announced. "Russia should take good note of this. Ukraine will have the financial resources it needs to defend itself against Russia's aggression and in the foreseeable future. The technical, legal and financial aspects of Europe's support need to be worked on, and we will return to this issue in the December European Council," Costa said.

At a summit of auto industry leaders in Brussels on Friday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU would fast-track its planned review of a 2035 internal combustion ban in light of the current difficulties facing the European car industry. In 2022, it was decided that no new cars with internal combustion engines would be registered in the EU from 2035, with the goal of reducing emissions.

"I believe that the Franco-German tandem is now perfectly coordinated to create a stronger Europe in the areas of economy, trade and currency,"

The Tobacco Taxation Directive overhaul, stalled by Big Tobacco lobbying, is crucial for harmonizing tax regimes and curbing youth uptake of new tobacco products.