European Union

As the second-largest food company internationally, PepsiCo is well aware of the evident challenges that the food system is facing and has openly endorsed the collaborative work that the European Commission has led in putting together the code of conduct.

The European Parliament’s spokesperson will hold a last-minute briefing on the 5-8 July plenary session today at 16.30.

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

The European Parliament’s spokesperson will hold a last-minute briefing on the 5-8 July plenary session today at 16.30.

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

A rebound in global gas demand to 2024 following the record fall last year is poised to knock the world off track from reaching its goal of net zero emissions by 2050, the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned on Monday (5 July).

What are the goals of the new EU Environment Action Plan to 2030 and what has to be done to achieve them?

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

What are the goals of the new EU Environment Action Plan to 2030 and what has to be done to achieve them?

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

Written by Svetla Tanova-Encke.

The planned deployment of 5G technology in Europe comes with many expectations, but also with some serious concerns. What do we know about the technology behind the fifth generation of mobile networks? What are the benefits for society and the economy? How will the new technologies be implemented and regulated? Does 5G have an impact on our health and on the environment? Is 5G a security risk?

The new 5G digital knowledge map from the European Science-Media Hub (ESMH; https://map.sciencemediahub.eu/5g) addresses this complex topic in a new interdisciplinary and interactive way. It looks at the new technology from different angles: from the technology itself and the politics surrounding it, to business, health concerns, cybersecurity and impacts on society. The idea is to present all these aspects and the interlinkages among them as objectively as possible in a wider context.

An interactive, playful way to explore a complex issue

The vast content, equivalent in terms of size to an 80‑page publication, is presented in a visual, interactive and non-linear way, allowing the reader to explore the information across different layers.

At first glance, you will see an overview of the map with all its parts. (5G technology, regulation and politics, economy, health concerns, and impact on society). From this first level, zoom in to click on in-depth information on your chosen topic. The details can be found in 81 different explanatory ‘bubbles’. These highlight scientific findings wherever possible and for full transparency, provide links to a total of 488 sources.

The map is enriched with 11 interviews (the majority in video format) with experts in the different fields. Nine infographics complement the content visually. Finding specific information is made easy through a search bar and table of contents, and a glossary explains the technical terms. The ESMH team worked with many knowledgeable experts, including within EPRS, to ensure the information is trustworthy. The map was produced in cooperation with Kontextlab (Munich, Germany), who developed software combining the visual structures of mind and concept maps with multiple layers and a content management system, to build and publish digital knowledge maps. Their expertise lies in using new techniques to explain complex topics in the most accessible way for a general audience.

What content can you find in the different sections? 5G technology

This section explains the technological details. This part of the map presents the 5G system, the underlying technological components and key services made available by 5G from a technical point of view – such as Massive Machine Type Communication or Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication. Several infographics illustrate technical aspects in detail.

Regulation and politics

In this important section, the map covers policy-making, the standard-setting process and the related work at the European level. The international relations and cybersecurity aspects of 5G are also explained here. The map includes interviews with several policy-making, international relations and cybersecurity experts.

Economy

This section shows expectations related to businesses and jobs. The map explores what 5G means more concretely for the future of e.g. e-health, smart cities and smart factories, self-driving vehicles or augmented virtual reality.

Health concerns

A major part of the map is dedicated to health concerns. Here, the main takeaways from two STOA studies (recently completed) dealing with the impact of 5G on health and the environment are incorporated. The aim is also to illustrate the scientific discussion and link it to the currently available knowledge – from researchers and from entities such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and its International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), or the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP).

Impact on society

Here, we explain the positive expectations, as well as the concerns around 5G technologies. Experts discuss the relationship between technologies, people, democracy and data protection. In this section, you will also find information about the phenomena of conspiracy theories and misinformation.

Follow us on Twitter at @EP_ScienceTech to stay informed about our activities. https://twitter.com/EP_ScienceTech/status/1400107164686077955

Your opinion counts for us. To let us know what you think, get in touch via stoa@europarl.europa.eu.

In today's edition of the Capitals, find out more about Luxembourg's PM hospitalised after testing positive for COVID-19, Donald Tusk making his return to Polish politics, and so much more.

Written by Beata Rojek with Morgane Speeckaert.

Each year, millions of live animals are transported by road, sea, rail and air within, and to or from, the European Union, for a number of reasons, such as slaughter, fattening or breeding. To protect their welfare during those journeys, the EU adopted Regulation 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport. An evaluation of the regulation showed that, when correctly implemented and enforced, it had a positive impact on the welfare of animals. However, in some areas weaknesses still persist, largely due to insufficient implementation. In light of these conclusions, and bearing in mind its 2012-2015 animal welfare strategy, the European Commission developed guidelines for handling animals during transport, to be disseminated and used for training of transport personnel and enforcement agents. Despite these measures, however, in recent years, repeated breaches of the rules, resulting in accidents and severe animal welfare crises, have been highlighted by EU and national control bodies and by animal welfare organisations.

On 19 June 2020, the European Parliament set up the Committee of Inquiry on the Protection of Animals during Transport (ANIT). The work of the committee focussed on investigating how EU rules are being implemented by Member States and enforced by the European Commission. It held public hearings with the participation of stakeholders, representatives of national authorities, and experts. Insight from these debates fed into the committee’s report and recommendations to the Council and the Commission.

This briefing is one of four requested by the ANIT Committee to provide research and analysis following the results of a questionnaire sent out by the Committee to Member States. It focuses on one of the topics investigated by the Committee, namely the use and dissemination in Member States of guidelines on the protection of animals during transport. It also gives an overview of available species-specific research on the welfare of animals during transport.

Read this complete briefing on ‘Protection of animals during transport: Guidelines and research‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Senior US and EU diplomats failed on Sunday to get the consent of opposition parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the election law changes agreed in principle by HDZ BiH leader Dragan Čović and SDA leader Bakir Izetbegović. US special...

Several prominent Slovenian public health experts have told parliament the government ignored their views during the pandemic as part of an inquiry investigating the government’s much-criticised handling of the COVID-19 crisis. Epidemiologist Ivan Eržen – who briefly served as director...

Violence broke out at Zagreb’s pride parade for the first time in 10 years on Saturday, with organisers describing an “outbreak of homophobic-fascist violence” consisting of “a series of attacks, arson and insults in different parts of the city.” Zagreb...

GERB party leader and former Bulgarian prime minister Boyko Borissov met with Turkish President Recep Erdogan in Istanbul on Saturday, broadcasting parts of the meeting on the Bulgarian politician’s Facebook page. Borissov thanked Erdogan for good relations, migration policy and...

STEM agency has revealed that 51% of Czechs do not think that the EU would be able to help Czechia face the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We welcome EU taxpayers’ money, but we think that it will be...

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is the first EU leader to be on Reporters Without Borders‘ (RSF) list of “enemies of press freedom”. The list published on Monday includes 37 heads of state and government who according to the RSF...

In a surprising return to Polish politics, former European Council president and ex-prime minister of Poland, Donald Tusk, was elected the head of Poland’s largest opposition party Civic Platform (PO) on Saturday, following the resignation of the party’s vice-president, Borys...

With only 16% of those aged 12-18 having at least received the first COVID-19 dose, the president of the federation of medical orders, Filippo Anelli, said that “with the Delta variant, the recommendation is to get vaccinated soon, before the...

Donald Tusk, who took over as acting head of Polish opposition party Civic Platform on Saturday (3 July), is an unflappable fighter with political roots in Poland's anti-communist movement and experience putting out fires both at home and in Brussels.

The Greek government has decided to impose new restrictions to the unvaccinated and ruled out any likelihood of having a new general lockdown because of the rise of COVID-19 cases. “I cannot make vaccination mandatory. But everyone is now taking...

The UK is showing “no generosity at all” to the EU in a deepening row over the Northern Ireland protocol, said Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney in response to an op-ed by Britain’s chief negotiator David Frost and London’s Northern...