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On the 22^th of May 2018, EU member states approved a set of measures to make the EU's waste legislation fit for the future, as part of the EU's wider circular economy policy. The three new Directives - which are based on the European Commission's Circular Economy package of proposals presented in December 2015 - aim to prevent waste and, where this is not possible, significantly step up recycling of municipal and packaging waste. Landfilling will be phased out, whereas the use of economic instruments, such as Extended Producer Responsibility schemes, will be promoted. The new legislation aims to strengthen the "waste hierarchy" obligating member states to take specific measures to prioritise prevention, re-use and recycling above landfilling and incineration. (More⁷)

On the 16^th of January 2018, the first-ever Europe-wide strategy on plastics was adopted. It is a part of the transition towards a more circular economy. Under the new plans, all plastic packaging on the EU market is to be recyclable by 2030, the consumption of single-use plastics should be reduced and the intentional use of microplastics is meant to be restricted. (More)

On the 2^nd of May 2018, European Commission put forward a proposal for a long-term budget ("multi-annual financial framework, MFF") for the 2021-2027 period. Overall, the Commission proposes a long-term budget of 1,135 billion euro in commitments. As compared to the previous MFF, the Commission proposes to multiply budget allocations in "Research, Innovation & Digital" by factor 1.6  and in "Youth" by 2.2. At the same time, the Commission proposed reductions to the budget allocations to the Common Agricultural Policy and Cohesion Policy to reflect the new context and to free up resources for other activities. More investments are especially proposed on the policy fields in which the added value of common EU action is expected to be high. These areas include: research, migration, border control or defence. A major innovation in the proposed budget is the strengthened link between EU funding and the rule of law in the member states. To achieve this, the Commission has proposed a Regulation for a rule of law mechanism. (More) 

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• On the 18^th of July 2018, the European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) announced that the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) has mobilised 335 billion euro in additional investment across the EU since July 2015, under the Investment Plan for Europe ("Juncker Plan"). Backed by a budget guarantee from the European Union and own resources from the EIB Group, 898 operations have been approved, which are expected to trigger 335 billion euro in investment across the 28 EU member states. This is more than the original goal of 315 billion euro set in 2015 when EFSI was launched, helping to close the investment gap left as a result of the financial and economic crisis. 700.000 small and medium-sized companies are set to benefit from improved access to finance. Given the EFSI's success, the European Council and the European Parliament on the 13th of September 2017 agreed to extend its duration and capacity to 500 billion euro by end-2020. (More¹²)
• On the 13^th of December 2017, the Regulation¹³ on the extension of the duration of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) until the end of the current multiannual financial framework in 2020 came into effect. The extension should enable the EFSI to provide at least 500 billion euro of total investments by 2020.  
• On the 19^th of October 2017, the European Commission announced that the "The Investment Plan for Europe - the Juncker Plan" is expected to trigger 240.9 billion euro in investments. This represents just over three-quarters of the 315 billion euro target of total investments mobilised that was originally earmarked. According to the European Investment Bank's (EIB), operations so far approved under the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) have a total financing volume of 47.4 billion euro and are located in all 28 member states. Around 461,000 small and medium-sized businesses are expected to benefit from improved access to finance as a result of agreements supported by the Plan. The Commission and the EIB Group estimate that the EFSI has so far supported 300,000 jobs across the EU. By 2020 that figure should be 700,000. (More¹⁴)
• On the 13^th of September 2017 - one year after Commission President Juncker announced the proposal in his State of the Union speech - the European Parliament and member states came to an agreement in principle on the extension and strengthening of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the core of the Investment Plan for Europe. The agreement extends the EFSI's duration as well as it increases its financial capacity. The EFSI's initial three-year timeline (2015-2018) is now extended to 2020 (the end of the current Multiannual Financial Framework). The target of investment to be triggered is increased from 315 billion euro to at least half a trillion euro by 2020. (More¹⁵)
• On the 23^rd of December 2016, the European Commission put forward an preliminary evaluation of the "Investment Plan for Europe". In 18 months since the EFSI guarantee was launched, the EIB Group loans backed via the EFSI fund have moved beyond the halfway point of the initial target of mobilising 315 billion euro in additional investments in the real economy by 2018. As of December 2016, the operations approved under the Investment Plan for Europe now represent a total financing volume of 30.6 billion euro . These operations are now present in all 28 Member States and are intended to trigger total investments of over EUR 164 billion. (More¹⁶)
• On the 14^th of September 2016, the European Commission issued a Proposal for a Regulation on Extending the Duration of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) - one year after the EFSI took up operations. Through the involvement of private investors, President Juncker and Vice-President Katainen aim to leverage the initial fund allocation of 21 billion euro to a total investment of 315 billion euro. According to the Commission, roughly one-third has been achieved. EFSI funds of 12.8 billion euro have so far kicked off 249 projects amounting to 100 billion euro of total investments. This equals a leverage effect of 8. Yet the intended leverage factor 15 has not been reached so far. On top of that, the Commission launched another element of the Investment Plan, the European Investment Project Portal (EIPP), an online platform bringing together European project promoters and investors from the EU and beyond. (More)
• On the 11^th of July 2016 the European Commission adopted two new "off-the-shelf", i.e. "ready-to-use" financial instruments for EFSI investments, to ease access to funding for young businesses and urban development project promoters. A collective co-investment facility to provide funding to start-ups and SMEs, enabling them to develop their business models and attract additional funding. Total investment combining public and private resources can amount to up to 15 million euro per SME. Urban development funds, to support sustainable urban projects, in public transport, energy efficiency or the regeneration of urban areas. Total investment combining public and private resources can amount to up to 20 million euro per project. (More)
• On the 22^nd of February 2016 the European Commission, in partnership with the European Investment Bank (EIB), published guidelines to help local authorities and project promoters make full use of the opportunities of combining European Structural and Investment (ESI) Funds with the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI). (More)
• On the 25^th of June 2015, the Regulation on the European Fund for Strategic Investments went into effect.

• On the 13^th of January 2015 the European Commission presented a Proposal for a Regulation on the European Fund for Strategic Investments and amending Regulations (EU) No 1291/2013 and (EU) No 1316/2013. This proposal sets outs the legal framework necessary to implement the first two strands of the ‘Investment Plan for Europe.’ The purpose of the EFSI shall be to support investments in the Union and to ensure increased access to financing for companies having up to 3000  employees, with a particular focus on small and medium enterprises, through the supply of risk bearing capacity to the EIB ('EFSI Agreement'). As for the budgetary implications, the EU guarantee provided for the EFSI amounts to 16 billion euro and is fully available from the entry into force of this Regulation. For the event of potential calls on the guarantee, a guarantee fund is created and provisioned for 50 per cent of total EU guarantee obligations by 2020. (press release)

   

On the 30^th of May 2017, the European Commission adopted new initiatives on school and higher education, including a proposal on graduate tracking to help Member States collect information on what graduates do after their studies. (More)

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On the 10^th of June 2016 the European Commission adopted a new and comprehensive Skills Agenda for Europe. The aim is to ensure that people develop a broad set of skills from early on in life and to make the most of Europe’s human capital, which will ultimately boost employability, competitiveness and growth in Europe. This New Skills Agenda for Europe calls on Member States and stakeholders to improve the quality of skills and their relevance for the labour market. (More)

On the 1^st of December 2016 the EU Commission launched the Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition, together with Member States, companies, social partners, NGOs and education providers, to help meet the high demand for digital skills in Europe which are essential in the job market and society. The Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition is one of the ten key initiatives proposed by the EU Commission under the New Skills Agenda for Europe, presented in June 2016. A series of partners, including over 30 organisations and groups such as European Digital SME Alliance, ESRI, SAP, ECDL and Google are pledging to further reduce the digital skills gap as part of the Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition. The Commission called on more stakeholders to join the Coalition and endorse its Charter. (More)

On the 13^th of July 2016 the EU Commission launched a second-stage consultation with social partner organisations at European level. The aim of the consultation is to seek their views on how to reduce obstacles to women's participation in the labour market, by improving work-life balance and possibilities for women and men to make use of their rights more equally. This consultation follows a first-stage social partner consultation and a broad public consultation, which closed earlier on the 17^th of February 2016²⁸. (More²⁹) 

On the 1^st of August 2016, the European Commission published the composition of the EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste announced in the 2015 EU Action Plan for Circular Economy. The Platform brings together 70 member organisations, both from the public and private sectors, in order to maximise the contribution of all actors and support achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 12: to halve per capita food waste at the retail and consumer level by 2030, as well as to reduce food losses along the food production and supply chains. (More)

On the 14^th of September 2016 the Commission presented its mid-term review of the multiannual EU budget (2014-2020). Without touching the upper spending limits agreed with the European Parliament and Council, the proposed package will free up an additional €6,3 billion in financing by 2020. The money will go to foster job creation, investment and economic growth and to address migration and its root causes. It also makes proposals how to make the EU budget better equipped and quicker to respond to unforeseen circumstances, while financial rules will be simplified and focused on results (More)

On the 22^nd of November 2017 the EU Commission presented a communication on the next steps for a sustainable European future, encompassing the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development, as well as governance, within the EU and globally. (More)

On the 13^th of January 2015 the Commission presented its legislative proposal for its ‘Investment Plan for Europe.’ The proposal creates the necessary legal framework and provides the budgetary allocations for the first two strands of the Plan in the framework of the EU's legal order. (More)

On the 20^th of May 2015 the Council and the European Parliament adopted the proposal for a regulation to increase financing of operational programms of the Youth Employment Initiative which was put forward by the Commission. (More)

On the 17^th of September 2015 European Commission proposed guidance to Member States to better help long-term unemployed return to work.This proposal foresees that all jobseekers who have been jobless for more than 12 months receive an individual assessment and that they receive a job integration agreement, offering them a concrete and personalised plan back to work before reaching 18 months of unemployment. (More)

On the 2^nd of March 2015 the European Commission published the results of its public consultation held in 2014 on the Europe 2020 strategy. Proposals to review EU’s ten-year jobs and growth strategy will be presented before the end of 2015. (More)