European Union

Greece’s main opposition leader Alexis Tsipras has given his backing to the much maligned AstraZeneca vaccine, questioning why its COVID-19 vaccine was being rolled out without drama in the UK but not in the European Union and implying that political and business interests were at play.

After more than a year of successive lockdowns implemented by European governments to curb the spread of COVID-19, the French authorities are now worried about the mental health of their citizens. EURACTIV France reports.

The implementation of PILUM, a project selected under the 2019 call for proposals for the EU Preparatory Action on Defence Research (PADR) managed by EDA, was officially launched at an online kick-off meeting on 23 April 2021. 

PILUM stands for ‘Projectiles for Increased Long-range effects Using electroMagnetic railgun’. The project, with a budget of approximately €1.5 million, was selected following an EU-wide PADR call for proposals on the topic of ‘Future Disruptive Defence Technologies - Emerging Game-changers’, sub-topic ‘Long-range effects’. 

The main objective of PILUM is to investigate, both theoretically and experimentally, the feasibility of the electromagnetic railgun (EMRG) and its hypervelocity projectiles. The project will address critical scientific and technological gaps and will provide a first proof-of-concept of the electromagnetic railgun as a long-range artillery system.

The PILUM consortium is led by the French-German Research Institute of Saint-Louis (ISL) and encompasses renown RTOs, system integrators, global players in defence systems and SMEs from France, Germany, Poland and Belgium. The project has a duration of 24 months. More information on the consortium can be found on the PILUM project page.

Being part of the PADR programme, PILUM outcomes shall support the European Commission, EDA and Member States for the preparation of the Research Dimension of the European Defence Fund. The project is also closely linked to the activities conducted under EDA’s Capability Technology Groups (CapTech Missiles and Munitions and CapTech Components)

About the PADR

The PILUM project is part of the Preparatory Action on Defence Research (PADR) launched by the European Commission in 2017 to assess and demonstrate the added-value of EU supported defence research and technology (R&T). It paved the way for a proper European Defence Programme to come as part of the European Defence Fund (EDF), under the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework (2021-2027).

The PADR implementation is run by EDA following the mandate via a Delegation Agreement between the European Commission and EDA signed on 31 May 2017. By this agreement the Commission entrusts EDA with the management and implementation of the research projects launched within the PADR.  

 

The European Investment Fund and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology said on Wednesday (28 April) they would collaborate on a project to improve access to digital education.

Moscow on Wednesday (28 April) expelled seven European diplomats after their countries ordered Russian diplomats to leave in solidarity with the Czech Republic, which is engulfed in a diplomatic row with Russia.

The Bulgarian prosecution announced on Wednesday (28 April) it suspects sabotage carried out by Russian intelligence as the probable reason behind four blasts in Bulgarian military depots. The blasts appear similar to the one in the Czech Republic, which recently led to a major diplomatic scandal with Russia.

This Friday Joe Biden will complete 100 days in office as President of the United States. While at the beginning of his term he focused on getting the Covid crisis under control through mass vaccination and a rescue plan, he is now making his mark with plans for major government investments and tax hikes for the rich. Commentators are for the most part impressed.

Around 25,000 people gathered in Paris and across France to protest the decision by the country's highest court, the Court of Cassation, not to put a man accused of murdering his Jewish neighbour on trial, on the grounds that he was in the grips of a delusional fit at the time of the attack due to alcohol and cannabis consumption, and not in control of his actions. He will spend at least 20 years in a psychiatric clinic instead. Europe's press sympathises with the protests.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is in trouble due to a series of unpleasant revelations. Most recently, reports have surfaced that he said last autumn that he wanted "no more f-ing lockdowns - let the bodies pile high in their thousands". At least some of the details came from his former top adviser Dominic Cummings, who left Downing Street in November on bad terms with Johnson. How damaging will the scandals be?