The European Union: Artificial Intelligence Act

28 May 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  137 minutes

Flag_of_Europe (Latest update: 28 November 2024) The Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) is a regulation proposed on 21 April 2021 by the European Commission which aims to introduce a common regulatory and legal framework for artificial intelligence. Its scope encompasses all sectors (except for military), and to all types of artificial intelligence. As a piece of product regulation, the proposal does not confer rights on individuals, but regulates the providers of artificial intelligence systems, and entities making use of them in a professional capacity.   read more…

European Heritage Label

4 April 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  6 minutes

© Andrijana F/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Andrijana F/cc-by-sa-4.0

The European Heritage Label is a recognition awarded by the European Union to buildings, documents, museums, archives, monuments or events which are seen as milestones in the creation of today’s Europe. The program is managed by the European Commission.   read more…

EU Global Gateway

19 March 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  7 minutes

© European Commission/cc-by-4.0

© European Commission/cc-by-4.0

The Global Gateway Initiative is a worldwide strategy by the European Union to invest in infrastructure projects and establish economic partnerships, based on certain principles. The project was initiated by the EU Commission, under the leadership of Ursula von der Leyen. It is part of the current plans for European strategic autonomy, and establishing bigger, more democratic and more sustainable trade networks for Europe and its partners. The initiative is also seen as an alternative or rivalry to the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative, which EU leaders heavily criticised because of human rights abuse concerns and economic risks, disadvantages and a one-sided trade relation. The EU wants to encourage links, and not dependencies, according to Ursula von der Leyen. As of December 2022, Global Gateway has been criticized for failing to provide concrete details on projects and drawing heavily on already-existing programmes.   read more…

Berlaymont building, the headquarters of the European Commission

1 April 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, EU blog post series, European Union, House of the Month Reading Time:  8 minutes

© flickr.com - Amio Cajander/cc-by-sa-2.0

© flickr.com – Amio Cajander/cc-by-sa-2.0

The Berlaymont is an office building in Brussels, Belgium, which houses the headquarters of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). The structure is located at Schuman roundabout at Wetstraat 200 Rue de la Loi, in what is known as the “European Quarter“. The unique form of the Berlaymont’s architecture is used in the European Commission’s official emblem.   read more…

European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture

3 August 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Architecture, Design & Products, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  6 minutes

© europa.eu

© europa.eu

The European Union Prize for Contemporary ArchitectureMies van der Rohe Award is a Prize given biennially by the European Union and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe, Barcelona, “to acknowledge and reward quality architectural production in Europe”.   read more…

Horizon 2020

31 July 2017 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  12 minutes

Horizon 2020 is a funding programme created by the European Union/European Commission to support and foster research in the European Research Area (ERA). It is the eighth of the Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development funding research, technological development, and innovation with the focus on innovation, delivering economic growth faster and delivering solutions to end users that are often governmental agencies. The programme’s name has been modified to “Framework Programme for Research and Innovation”. The framework programme is implemented by the European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, either by various internal directorate general (DGs), such as the directorate general for research and innovation (DG RTD) or the Directorate General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, or by executive agencies such as the Research Executive Agency (REA), the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME), or the ERC Executive Agency (ERCEA). The framework programme’s objective is to complete the European Research Area (ERA) by coordinating national research policies and pooling research funding in some areas to avoid duplication. Horizon 2020 itself is seen as a policy instrument to implement other high-level policy initiatives of the European Union, such as Europe 2020 and Innovation Union. The programme runs from 2014–2020 and provides an estimated €80 billion of funding, an increase of 23 per cent on the previous phase. Horizon 2020 is also implementing the European environmental research and innovation policy, which is aimed at defining and turning into reality a transformative agenda for greening the economy and the society as a whole so as to achieve a truly sustainable development.   read more…

The European Union: Institutions

8 July 2017 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Editorial, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  30 minutes

The Politics of the European Union are different from other organisations and states due to the unique nature of the European Union (EU). The EU is similar to a confederation, where many policy areas are federalised into common institutions capable of making law; however the EU does not, unlike most states, control foreign policy, defence policy or the majority of direct taxation policies (the EU does limit the level of variation allowed for VAT). These areas are primarily under the control of the EU’s member states although a certain amount of structured co-operation and coordination takes place in these areas. For the EU to take substantial actions in these areas, all Member States must give their consent. EU laws that override national laws are more numerous than in historical confederations; however the EU is legally restricted from making law outside its remit or where it is no more appropriate to do so at a national or local level (subsidiarity) when acting outside its exclusive competencies. The principle of subsidiarity does not apply to areas of exclusive competence.   read more…

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