Europe, the continent, the life of each of the 450 million citizens of the 27 Member States would be completely different without the project that today makes up the European Union. And even more so in this, the legislature of all crises, which this Sunday is set to be sentenced with the most important elections to the European Parliament in its history. In 2020, the EU facilitated the joint purchase of millions of vaccine doses to address the Covid-19 pandemic, which claimed tens of thousands of lives; helped pay for ERTE that protected almost 42 million jobs in the EU; It has protected those fleeing the war in Ukraine and helped the country invaded by Russia with a weapons fund and an unprecedented financial lifeline, and it has facilitated the joint acquisition of gas to resist the energy crisis and the Kremlin’s blackmail.
The Union has also promoted less epic measures and regulations, but with a direct impact on daily life. Such as the right to repair, which establishes that manufacturers will no longer be able to refuse to repair a washing machine, dishwasher or mobile phone and that the price of this work must be affordable. Or the single charger for your mobile. In Spain (which joined the community club in 1986), 53% of the laws that have been approved in the Cortes in these five years of European legislature have come from Brussels or Strasbourg.
In the case of some community partners, with a lighter welfare state umbrella, EU regulations have led to the establishment of a minimum wage or a specific crime of gender violence that already existed in Spain. The EU has also had failed projects, or environmental regulations that began very ambitiously and that have been weakened by pressure from the right and industry, and the fear of losing competitiveness.
The EU is also rights, progress, projects, obligations that are often taken for granted. Or they are overlooked: the euro, the possibility of traveling freely throughout Europe, a single market, the protective umbrella of a European court, the Erasmus study programme, through which many millions of people have passed and who are now looking towards new horizons outside the community club. But in a period in which reality has led to the dynamiting of oceanic taboos of the common project that was born almost 70 years ago, these last five years have been crucial. This is how Europe has changed the lives of its citizens.
Vaccines. When the coronavirus pandemic shook the world in 2020, the fear, selfishness and nationalism of some almost overwhelmed European solidarity. With fierce competition for masks, for every gram of paracetamol and for respirators, access to vaccines was expected to be difficult and reserved for the richest countries in the community club. The European Commission then proposed a common strategy for collective purchasing from several laboratories of millions of doses of immunizations against covid-19 (authorized by the European Medicines Agency) for its 450 million inhabitants. Some contracts also had some controversy (and there are still questions about whether some laboratories were favored over others), but the truth is that the formula was a success.
Reserve for the sale of combustion vehicles. A European regulation will prohibit sales in the EU of new cars and vans that have combustion engines from 2035. The measure is designed to drive the rapid decarbonisation of new car fleets in Europe and aims to ensure that the EU reduces its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 by at least 55% compared to 1990 levels. Some formations, such as Several within the European People’s Party (EPP) want to review the ban this term.
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Cheaper money to pay the ERTE. When Europe had to confine itself to stop the spread of the coronavirus, many EU countries resorted to temporary employment protection mechanisms, known in Spain as ERTE: a measure that allowed companies to keep their workers without having to lay them off. keep your job and, above all, a good part of your income. The tool required a lot of money and the EU launched the Support to Protect Employment in an Emergency (SURE) program, with 100 billion euros in cheaper loans so that partners could finance the ERTEs. . Brussels calculations speak of 42 million jobs saved and a saving for the States of 9,000 million. Spain received almost 22,000 million euros; It was second on the list, after Italy.
Weapons for Ukraine. Following Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the EU broke one of the biggest taboos, which prohibited the purchase of weapons. The Union, its 27 member states, have financed weapons for kyiv through a European intergovernmental fund that adds to a large financial lifeline to help support Ukraine, funds for reconstruction and measures to protect refugees fleeing the war and that today protect more than four million people.
No more little bottles of shampoo in hotels. A new environmental regulation wants to put an end to the tens of thousands of small single-use plastic containers of gel, shampoo or conditioner that hotels deliver to their guests. The objective is to gradually remove this system (15% less in 2024), which is also used for sauces in restaurants and which generates tons of waste, in order to opt for larger, refillable and reusable containers. .
Repair instead of throw away. EU citizens will be able to demand the repair of a washing machine, coffee machine or mobile phone. A new regulation that seeks to promote the circular economy and savings will force producers to offer to fix a broken or defective product (even if the warranty has expired) instead of encouraging the purchase of another; and the repair must be at a “reasonable” price and time. In the EU alone, 35 million tons of devices that could be repaired are thrown away.
Transparency in media shareholders. Another regulation that comes from the EU has established safeguards for the use of spyware, forces the media to be transparent about who their shareholders are and about the appointment of directors of public media and their financing. It also guarantees journalists the protection of their sources. The media law, which came into force in Spain a few weeks ago, and which seeks to protect plurality and independence, establishes the creation of a European council that will be in charge of monitoring the situation of press freedom on the continent.
Artificial intelligence. The EU has become the first region in the world to have a comprehensive law to regulate artificial intelligence (AI). The regulation, which focuses especially on so-called “general-purpose AI”, for example the popular ChatGPT, demands transparency and common requirements. In addition, it establishes rules that allow AI to be controlled, developers to share important information with suppliers (many European SMEs) and seeks to avoid an “excessive burden” for companies.
The Pajares tunnels for high speed. Just a few weeks ago, on May 21, the first high-speed trains with passengers circulated between Madrid and Gijón. It has taken 20 years and 4,000 million euros for the AVE to cross the Cantabrian mountain range through 50 kilometers that include 12 tunnels and 10 viaducts, the so-called Pajares variant. More than 16% of this money has come from European budgets, 518 million from regional and cohesion funds, 121 million from the recovery plan and 3.2 million from the European transport network. After all this investment, the journey between Madrid and Oviedo can be made in three hours and eight minutes if the trains are punctual and 30 minutes more if you arrive in Gijón for around 80 euros at the cheapest fare.
Reduction of bureaucratic burdens on farmers. In the midst of farmers’ protests and protests, the EU approved in March to further alleviate the bureaucratic burden of the sector and relax environmental conditions to access direct aid from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), whose sanctions and controls Small farmers will be exempt.
Protection againstgag complaints of the powerful. The Union has passed a law this legislature to put a stop to strategic demands against public participation (known as SLAPP), a strategy of the powerful (companies, politicians or lobbies) to try to suffocate, intimidate and silence human rights activists and defenders with litigation. The new regulation, which seeks to protect them from these lawsuits, gives judges the ability to dismiss a case of this type at an early stage if they consider it to be unfounded, indicating that justice may require the plaintiff to provide a financial guarantee to cover the costs. of the trial (including those of the victim), or decide that the party who initiated the case may be subject to a sanction.
Against sexist violence. The EU has issued the first major European law against sexist violence, which criminalizes practices such as female genital mutilation or forced marriage and establishes that Member States must guarantee assistance and protection for survivors of this scourge. In addition, the regulation reinforces the fight against cyberbullying — a particularly serious problem against women — since it now considers “cyber exhibitionism the disclosure of private information on the Internet without consent.” In April, the European Parliament also gave the green light to the reform of the European directive against human trafficking, which will now include the exploitation of women for the practice of surrogacy and illegal adoption as new criminal offenses.
European disability card. The EU is moving towards a European disability card and a parking card for these citizens that will be valid throughout the EU. These credentials will facilitate mobility and guarantee rights in the different Member States on equal terms. Also, according to the regulation, access to preferential conditions will be given to use public transport in all Union countries, attend cultural events and visit museums, leisure and sports centers.
I limit the large digital platforms. A new regulation (the Digital Services Act or DSA) forces giants such as Google, Meta or Amazon to quickly remove illegal content (from child sexual abuse material to cyberbullying) and combat misinformation. If not, companies face heavy fines.
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