Politics
Human rights breaches in Afghanistan and Venezuela
On Thursday, the European Parliament adopted two resolutions on the respect for human rights in Afghanistan and Venezuela.
The repressive environment in Afghanistan, including public executions and violence against women
MEPs are gravely concerned by the humanitarian and human rights crisis in Afghanistan. The Taliban have, they say, dismantled the judicial system, ordered judges to fully implement Sharia law and have virtually eliminated women and girls from public life. This amounts to gender persecution and gender apartheid, according to MEPs, who call on the Taliban to immediately restore the full and equal participation of women and girls in public life, particularly access to education and work.
Parliament urges the de-facto Afghan authorities to abolish capital punishment and to immediately halt public executions and the barbarous persecution and discriminatory policies in particular against women, LGBTIQ+, ethnic and religious minorities.
MEPs insist that any EU engagement with the Taliban can be maintained only under strict conditions set by the Council and in accordance with the UN Special Rapporteur’s recommendations.
Parliament supports Afghan civil society’s call to hold the de-facto authorities accountable for their crimes, particularly via the International Criminal Court investigation by establishing an UN Independent Investigative Mechanism, and by expanding EU restrictive measures.
The resolution was adopted by 513 votes in favour, 9 against and 24 abstentions. For further details, the full version will be available here. (14.03.2024)
The case of Rocío San Miguel and General Hernández Da Costa, among other political prisoners in Venezuela
Parliament strongly condemns the Maduro regime in Venezuela for imprisoning hundreds of political prisoners held in conditions that fail to meet the United Nations standard minimum rules for their treatment.
Demanding their immediate and unconditional release, Parliament exhorts the regime to cease repressing and attacking civil society and the opposition. MEPs want the EU to increase sanctions, including on high-level officials, members of the security forces, members of the regime’s Supreme Tribunal of Justice and Maduro himself.
They urge the International Criminal Court to include ongoing human rights violations and arbitrary detentions in its investigation into alleged crimes against humanity committed by the Maduro regime. Parliament calls on the international community to support a return to democracy in Venezuela, particularly in view of the elections, in which the leader of the opposition to the regime, María Corina Machado, shall fully participate.
MEPs also urge the Chilean authorities to investigate fully the murder of Ronald Ojeda, a former political prisoner who escaped the Maduro regime, and urge the Venezuelan authorities to re-establish the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and guarantee their access to prisons.
The resolution was adopted by 497 votes in favour, 22 against and 27 abstentions. For further details, the full version will be available here. (14.03.2024)
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Commission has approved a new round of 135 projects under the Technical Support Instrument (‘TSI’), to support Member States to prepare, design and implement a total of 390 reforms in 2025.
The selected projects will help the Member States address reforms in key priority areas to strengthen the Union’s resilience and competitiveness and to improve citizens’ lives across the EU. Two-third of the projects are linked 15 flagship projects aimed at addressing common reform needs in the EU, such as impoving the quality of public administration, provide a better business environment for SMEs, or to make energy systems fit for the green and digital transition.
TSI helps Member States to deliver on key political priorities
In line with the key priority to strengthen the Union’s competitiveness, the TSI will support 109 reforms to help Member States improve their business environment, close the innovation gap, build a net-zero economy, and promote the Union’s economic security. For example, the TSI will support 38 reforms in 22 Member States to reduce unnecessary administrative burden for SMEs, to promote start-ups and scale ups and to enable them to be more productive, competitive and resilient.
More than 130 reforms to support the digital transition have been selected in 2025, with a strong focus on Artificial Intelligence (‘AI’) and innovative technologies. These will support Member States to reap the productivity gains from technology towards tomorrow’s economy. For example, with the project “FutureProof Education”, the TSI will support schools in Germany, Sweden, and Ireland to develop guidance for the responsible and meaningful use of AI in schools, as well as to set up AI literacy programmes.
Supporting collaboration among Member States towards a modern and efficient public administration
In 2025, 40 multi-country projects will address common challenges of Member States through the TSI. Multi-country projects promote the development of common approaches and include peer learning and the exchange of best practices. For example, 14 Member States will work together to effectively implement EU tax legislation to modernise and simplify tax and customs procedures and reduce the administrative burden for SMEs.
Enhancing the capacity of Member States’ public administrations and their cross-country collaboration is vital for the modernisation of our Union. This year, 119 reforms supported by the TSI will assist Member States in strengthening their public administrations to effectively tackle current and future challenges. In line with the ComPAct communication adopted in October 2023, TSI will support efforts of the Member States to converge on closing skills gaps, enabling digital transformation, and preparing administrations to lead the green transition.
Background
The TSI helps Member States deliver on their reform agenda in a wide range of policy areas. It provides tailor-made expertise to Member States’ authorities who apply for support on an annual basis. It does not come in the form of financial support but consists of the provision of high-quality and tailored expertise and knowledge and can take the form of strategic or technical advice, studies assessing reform needs, training, or in-country missions by experts.
The TSI has been providing technical support to all 27 Member States to implement more than 2000 cutting-edge reforms in a wide range of areas such as revenue administration and public financial management, public administration and governance, growth and business environment, labour market, education and social services, migration, and financial market and access to finance. So far, the TSI has supported close to 500 reforms linked to the Recovery and Resilience Plans.
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The Commission has today paid an advance of €100 million from the EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF) to Spain to help finance its recovery efforts following the October 2024 DANA storm in Valencia. This is the maximum amount allowed under the EUSF as advance payment.
Spain’s official EUSF application for DANA-related damages, submitted in January 2025, is currently being assessed by the Commission. Once this assessment is concluded, the Commission will make a proposal for the total amount to be granted from the EUSF to Spain.
Executive Vice-President for Cohesion and Reforms, Raffaele Fitto, stated: “The DANA storm has caused profound devastation in Valencia with hundreds of lives lost and many homes and infrastructure destroyed. Our commitment to supporting the people and the region through this challenging recovery remains unwavering.”
The EU Solidarity Fund is a post-disaster relief instrument providing financial support to EU Member States and candidate countries for their recovery efforts in the aftermath of severe natural disasters.
The funding can be used to restore essential infrastructure such as energy, water, health, education, or telecommunications systems, as well as for measures to protect cultural heritage or for clean-up operations. Granting an advance payment does not prejudge the final amount of the EUSF assistance to be granted, which will depend on the Commission’s assessment of Spain’s application and on budgetary availability.
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European Urban Initiative: 20 innovative projects selected to transform cities across Europe
The European Commission and the Hauts-de-France Region, as the Entrusted Entity for the European Urban Initiative (EUI), have announced the results of the third call for innovative actions. With €94 million in funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), 20 selected projects from 13 EU Member States will test innovative solutions in real urban environments, supporting cities in their transition to a greener and more digital future. Projects include giving a second life to used EV batteries in Tilburg, the Netherlands, and repurposing vacant public buildings for the needs of the community in Košice, Slovakia. Each project will receive up to €5 million from ERDF, co-financing 80% of the eligible costs.
Beyond their implementation in selected cities, these projects will serve as blueprints for other urban areas across Europe. A part of this funding will also support knowledge transfer and the replication of successful solutions tested by these projects in other EU cities, further amplifying their societal and economic impact.
The full list of winners can be consulted on EUI website.
Background
In the 2021-2027 programming period, Cohesion policy has a strong urban dimension, and its support to sustainable urban development has been reinforced to help cities take active role in designing and implementing policy responses to their local challenges and needs.
As a result, cohesion funds will invest over €100 billion in cities, with more than €24 billion directly managed by cities for designing and implementing investments under Cohesion policy programmes.
The EUI is a key instrument of the European Union’s Cohesion policy, specifically targeting city authorities to strengthen urban innovation and capacity- and knowledge-building for sustainable urban development. The EUI allows cities to test innovative and creative solutions to address their specific urban challenges, ensuring that the solutions developed and tested are transferable and replicable across other EU cities.
The 20 projects selected today will join to the community of 36 ongoing projects selected within the previous two calls: the first call (in 2022), which focused on the New European Bauhaus, and the second call (in 2023), which was dedicated to themes on greening cities, sustainable tourism, and harnessing talent in shrinking cities.
With a budget of EUR 395 million, the EUI builds on the legacy of the Urban Innovative Actions, the Commission’s initiative implemented during the 2014-2020 programming period, but it has a stronger focus on innovation led by cities themselves and on sustainability of innovation as well as replicability in other cities.
Beyond innovation, the EUI supports the capacities of all urban areas across the EU. It provides evidence for policymaking and shares knowledge on sustainable urban development, including via the Urban Agenda for the EU and Portico, the European urban knowledge platform.
The experience of the EUI implementation will also contribute to the preparation of a comprehensive EU Agenda for Cities in the course of 2025 that is aimed at taking stock of EU initiatives and instruments the European Commission has put in place over the years with a view to streamlining and simplifying the current support and making it accessible to all potential city beneficiaries. The Agenda also aims to examine how to enhance processes through which the concerns of cities could be stronger reflected in future EU policy making. The call for evidence concerning the content of the Agenda targeted at the public at large will soon be opened at the Have your say portal of the European Commission.
More information
Selected projects
European Urban Initiative
Cohesion Data Platform
Kohesio Projects Platform
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