#EU funds

[thoughtlessarse]

Languages: Deutsch

A draft Italian government’s decision that would leverage resources received under the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) to cut public spending risks setting a dangerous precedent for future joint EU public funding, Italian MEP Rosa D’Amato from the Greens and the European Free Alliance group told Euractiv. She warned that the decision signed by Italy’s ministers for the economy and for internal affairs, Giancarlo Giorgetti and Matteo Piantedosi—setting out budget cuts to municipalities and regions—would hit local authorities that were among the primary recipients of the post-pandemic RRF funds the hardest, affecting in particular southern regions. The funding cuts, which would be part of the Meloni government’s upcoming spending review, would imply cuts of €1.25 billion from 2024 to 2028 – split into a 50% reduction from current expenditure and another 50% based on “the contributions allocated to each authority from the RRF resources”. In a letter sent to the European Commissioner for the Economy Paolo Gentiloni on Wednesday (29 May) and seen by Euractiv, the Green MEP requested a formal assessment of the measure to assess whether it breaches RRF objectives.

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One of the EU's more laudable purposes is the redistribution of wealth from the richer regions to the poorer. This decision rides roughshod over that. The south of Italy is the poorest part of the country. It's also where Meloni's Brothers of Italy and Salvini's Northern League win the least votes. I'm pretty sure both Meloni and Salvini have advocated for the north of Italy to leave the country in the past.

[jcmarchi]

Romanian AI Helps Farmers and Institutions Get Better Access to EU Funds - Technology Org

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/romanian-ai-helps-farmers-and-institutions-get-better-access-to-eu-funds-technology-org/

Romanian AI Helps Farmers and Institutions Get Better Access to EU Funds - Technology Org

A Romanian state agency overseeing rural investments has adopted artificial intelligence to aid farmers in accessing European Union funds.

Gardening based on aquaculture technology. Image credit: sasint via Pixabay, free license

The Agency for Financing Rural Investments (AFIR) revealed that it integrated robots from software automation firm UiPath approximately two years ago. These robots have assumed the arduous task of accessing state databases to gather land registry and judicial records required by farmers, entrepreneurs, and state entities applying for EU funding.

George Chirita, director of AFIR, emphasized the role of AI-driven automation was groundbreaking in expediting the most important organizational processes for farmers, thereby enhancing their efficiency. Since the introduction of these robots, AFIR has managed financing requests totaling 5.32 billion euros ($5.75 billion) from over 50,000 beneficiaries, including farmers, businesses, and local institutions.

The implementation of robots has notably saved AFIR staff approximately 784 days’ worth of document searches. Over the past two decades, AFIR has disbursed funds amounting to 21 billion euros.

Despite Romania’s burgeoning status as a technology hub with a highly skilled workforce, the nation continues to lag behind its European counterparts in offering digital public services to citizens and businesses, and in effectively accessing EU development funds. Eurostat data from 2023 indicated that only 28% of Romanians possessed basic digital skills, significantly below the EU average of 54%. Moreover, Romania’s digital public services scored 45, well below the EU average of 84.

UiPath, the Romanian company valued at $13.3 billion following its public listing on the New York Stock Exchange, also provides automation solutions to agricultural agencies in other countries, including Norway and the United States.

Written by Vytautas Valinskas

[head-post]

Slovakia to change rules on NGO participation in monitoring EU funds

NGOs in Slovakia will soon no longer be able to choose civil society representatives to monitor EU funds, as the government plans to entrust that task to the Plenipotentiary for the Development of Civil Society, according to Euractiv.

Earlier this summer, the Slovak Ministry of Investments, Regional Development and Informatisation (MIRRI) proposed changes to the way EU funds were managed in Slovakia. The changes include a significant change to the “partnership principle,” an EU regulation that requires the participation of all relevant stakeholders, including NGOs, in EU funding decisions.

Traditionally, the selection of civil society representatives for this process has primarily been the responsibility of NGOs. However, the new proposal shifts this responsibility to the Office of the Government Plenipotentiary for Civil Society Development (OSCSD).

NGO staff are also practitioners who are often the most knowledgeable in their field. In Slovakia, they are involved in key areas such as the Monitoring Committee of the Slovak Operational Programme and the committees overseeing the programme’s main investment objectives. Martina Paulíková, an activist involved in monitoring Programme Slovakia, stated:

Apart from pointing out risks or problems in the use of EU funds, we add our specific expertise in areas where the state does not have the capacity or legislative possibilities to try new things.

Some expressed concern that the changes could lead to experts being removed from committees and replaced with less critical third sector representatives, which could weaken oversight. However, the Ministry of Investment defends the changes:

The goal of the EU management system adjustment is to broaden the nomination process to include more NGOs, provide a more detailed outline of procedural steps, and establish a clear and transparent evaluation process for civil society representatives in monitoring bodies.

Read more HERE

[thatfrenchacademic]

HELLO THIS IS YET AGAIN ANOTHER REMINDER TO VOTE FOR EUROPEAN ELECTIONS

"AND WHY THE F---- SHOULD I???" Edition

Because the EU has a meh to fucking excellent track record on the following topics and can do good work if you send the right people there:

Data privacy

Queer rights

Women's rights

Culture and Education

Green policies (I know, I KNOW, but still)

Consumer's rights

Food safety

And it's got a shit track records on the following that will keep on getting worse if you do NOT vote:

Immigration and asylum

Authoritarianism and democratic backslide

Fiscal policies

Lack of democratic input

Because you may not be sure if it's worthy it, but we know exactly WHO will be VERY motivated to go vote, and they are not exactly putting a green ballot in the box.

[lindonwald]

the new manga arc was literally made for them

[iforgottheapples]

Hello,

My name is Mohammed from Gaza. I am not a robot or a scammer. Due to the war in Gaza, I lost my mother, father, and brothers, and I sustained severe injuries to my leg. I appeal to you to protect my children and take them out of Gaza and help me complete my treatment abroad because my leg is at risk of amputation due to the lack of necessary treatment 😭. My wife is suffering from uterine cancer and hasn't received a chemotherapy session since the beginning of the events in Gaza. I humbly request a donation of €5 or more to treat my leg, my wife, and my innocent children.

Every passing minute threatens me with losing my leg, my wife, or my children.

My campaign has been documented and my data verified, and you can verify my story by requesting any information you need. Please donate and share my story.

My wife, children, and I are waiting for your donations.

Thank you very much. 🙏🙏

VERIFIED FUNDRAISER FROM GAZA

[agentfascinateur]

Bravo UK 👏👏

And the EU package too.

[muchadoaboutlearning]

browsed through various doctoral programs which excited me and made me wanna hurl cause it's gonna be the biggest commitment if i ever end up doing and then i spiraled into thinking how twenties is the decade that's gonna change so much and i am just gonna spend it learning which sounds amazing but also absolutely scary cause i don't wanna be out of touch from reality, earn and live also which ik i can absolutely do while doing a phd but i just can't visualize it

[thoughtlessarse]

After the adoption of Russian-style foreign agents law, the county’s ruling Georgian Dream party, led by oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, launched its election campaign with conspiracies, sowing discord, and detachment from reality. Tbilisi is gearing up for the decisive elections on 26 October amid risks that may put the nail in the coffin of the nation’s democratic and Euro-Atlantic future, given the ruling party’s increasingly authoritarian tendencies combined with a pro-Russian turn. The Georgian Dream is starting the campaign with a halted EU accession process, sanctions, frozen Western support, and closer ties with Russia and China, while leveraging conspiracies, disinformation campaigns, repression, and fear. It was since Russia’s war in Ukraine, that Georgia’s ruling party has openly become increasingly anti-Western, harnessing disinformation against Western strategic partners, accusing them of attempting to drag the country into the war and open the so-called ‘second front’ in Georgia. This was accompanied by Georgian Dream’s accusations that Western powers supported coup d’etat attempts, directly pointing at their government agencies. This, however, was lifted to a whole new level when the party first introduced Russia-inspired law on foreign agents in March of 2023. The targeting of Western partners and efforts to discredit them, along with the introduction of the bill, was followed by overt attempts to suppress democratic forces and all critical voices in Georgia. This extended beyond repressive punitive practices and smear and hate campaigns leveraged over the years, to setting a precedent for the legalisation of repression, crackdown on party critics and making them unable to function: “If [the NGOs] do not obey [the foreign agents law], the fines will be imposed, then their assets will be frozen. They will not be able to function, nor will they be able to receive funds”, Georgian Dream Party Secretary Kahkha Kaladze told the media a week after the final adoption of the law. As the country gets closer to the fateful elections, with civil resistance and opposition set out the choice the nation needs to make between “Europe [EU] and Russia”, Georgian Dream, having fed war fears, chose to make the elections a choice between “War and Peace”: “It is a referendum between war and peace, between slavery and dignity, between returning to the dark past and moving forward, between total lack of perspective and Georgia’s European perspective”, Ivanishvili said at the campaign launch speech in Tbilisi.

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Georgian Dream was first elected on the promise of EU membership. Since then all they have done is sabotage the process, because, if Ivanishvili is to be believed, he lost money in the collapse of a Swiss bank Credit Suisse, engineered by the West with the sole purpose of depriving him of $2B.

[ask-seer]

Is there anyone willing to purchase this furry gentleman for me? I shall compensate you with art, of course.

If interested, we can discuss this on dms about your request for my request.

[ EDIT: I GOT A COMISISONER All is good,, i got furries ]

[head-post]

Italy’s post-RRF spending cuts create risky case for EU funding

The Italian government’s draft decision to use resources from the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Fund (RRF) to cut public spending risks setting a dangerous precedent for future EU co-financing, Italian MEP Rosa D’Amato of the Greens and the European Free Alliance group told Euractiv.

She warned that the decision signed by Italian economy and interior ministers Giancarlo Giorgetti and Matteo Piantedosi, which includes budget cuts for municipalities and regions, will hit hardest local authorities, which have been among the main recipients of RRF funds since the pandemic, and will particularly affect southern regions.

The funding cuts, which will form part of the Meloni government’s forthcoming spending review, involve a €1.25bn reduction in spending between 2024 and 2028 – 50 per cent of current spending and a further 50 per cent of “contributions allocated to each authority from RRF funds.”

In a letter sent to European Commissioner for the Economy Paolo Gentiloni on Wednesday and made available to Euractiv, the Greens MEP asked for a formal assessment of the measure to determine whether it violates the RRF’s objectives.

She said the move would breach the principle of additionality enshrined in Article 5 of the 2021 RRF measure, which states that “support from the fund does not replace budgetary expenditure and respects the principle of additionality.”

RRF funding totalled €6.1bn and covered public crèches and kindergartens as well as urban development projects. Marco Leonardi, professor of economics at the University of Milan, told Euractiv:

From the very beginning, municipalities have warned the government of the risk of making investments such as in kindergartens and then being left without the current expenditure transfer needed to hire, for example, kindergarten teachers.

Leonardi said the cuts envisaged in the draft regulation, which are based on RRF payments, are “exactly the opposite of what should be done and are an incredible negation of the core principle of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRP)” – the national rollover of the RRF programme.

Read more HERE

[reasonsforhope]

“The European Union has finalized a law that will ban the trade of commodities associated with deforestation and forest degradation.

On Dec. 6, the European Council, Parliament and Commission struck a preliminary deal to adopt the deforestation-free regulation, proposed by the European Commission in 2021. The Parliament and the Council will still have to formally approve the agreement.

Once adopted, the law will be the first of its kind in the world to tackle global deforestation by banning deforestation and forest degradation, regardless of whether it’s legal or not, from supply chains.

“The EU is a large consumer and trader of commodities that play a substantial part in deforestation — like beef, cocoa, soy and timber,” said Marian Jurečka, the environment minister of the Czech Republic, which negotiated on behalf of the 27 EU member countries.

The EU is responsible for 16% of tropical deforestation associated with international trade, second only to China.

“Protecting the environment around the world, including forests and rainforests, is a common goal for all countries and the EU is ready to take its responsibility,” Jurečka said.

Under the law, companies will be required to issue a due diligence statement verifying that goods they import into the EU market don’t come from deforested land and have not led to forest degradation anywhere in the world after Dec. 31, 2020. Operators and traders will also have to prove that the goods are legal by complying with all relevant applicable laws in force in the country of production.

The law covers commodities like palm oil, cattle, timber, coffee, cocoa, rubber and soy, as well as manufactured products like beef, chocolate, furniture and printed paper. The EU has identified these commodities as the main agricultural drivers of deforestation...

Some green groups have lauded the decision to adopt the law, with WWF [World Wildlife Fund] calling it “groundbreaking.”

“We have made history with this world-first law against deforestation,” said Anke Schulmeister-Oldenhove, senior forest policy officer at WWF’s European policy office. “As a major trading bloc, the EU will not only change the rules of the game for consumption within its borders, but will also create a big incentive for other countries fueling deforestation to change their policies.”

By requiring companies to invest in addressing deforestation and forest degradation in their supply chains as a requirement for access to the EU market, the law will raise the bar for the agricultural sector, according to Helen Bellfield, policy director at U.K.-based NGO Global Canopy.

“This is very welcome news for the world’s forests,” she said.” -via Mongabay, 12/7/22

[willcodehtmlforfood]

"The two biggest beneficiaries were Wales and Cornwall, which was categorised as one of the poorest regions in northern Europe.

To continue, ministers pledged to match EU funding for the duration of the parliament, setting up the UK shared prosperity fund (UKSPF) last December promising that the government, rather than Brussels, would choose where money was spent – part of the Brexit dividend.

But it hasn’t turned out like that; in Wales, people speak of a cliff edge in funding that has caused “despair” and “disappointment”.

Hundreds of voluntary organisations have had to shut up shop or end support programmes for the most vulnerable in society because of government delays in replacing EU funding, it has emerged."