Animalhealth Europe Association: Hans-Guenther Dittrich from the German animal pharma company MSD has been appointed as president of the AnimalhealthEurope association.

The European Commission has given a positive assessment to Spain’s recovery and resilience plan, which will be financed by €69.5 billion in grants.

40% of the plan’s total allocation for reforms and investments supports climate objectives

The European Commission has given a positive assessment to Italy's € 191.5 billion recovery and resilience plan, consisting of € 68.9 billion in grants and € 122.6 billion in loans.

37% of the plan's total allocation for reforms and investments supports climate objectives

The European Commission has given a positive assessment to France’s recovery and resilience plan, which will be financed by €39.4 billion in grants. The financing provided by the Recovery and Resilience Facility – at the heart of NextGenerationEU – will support the implementation by 2026 of crucial investment and reform measures put forward by France to emerge stronger from the COVID-19 pandemic.

46 % of the plan’s total allocation for reforms and investments supports climate objectives

As of 27/28 July 2021

Source: 2021 Rule of Law Report

Low and Relatively Low Level of Corruption

Influence peddling or trading in influence occurs when an individual who has real or apparent influence over someone else another person exchanges their influence for undue advantage. There are demand and supply sides to this act. The person holding an influential position solicits benefits in exchange for using his or her influence to unduly and unfairly advance the interests of a select third party. An influence peddler receives or accepts the benefit (usually a bribe) from the third party so that he or she can exert her/his influence on another party’s decision. 

Application and Project Selection

Source: EC Rule of Law Report 2021

The 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI shows that EU Member States continue to be among the world’s best performers.

The European Commission has released its second-ever rule-of-law report, which includes updates on how lobbying rules have changed in EU countries in the 10 months since the last report was published. The Commission states  that ‘Lobbying is a legitimate act of political participation,’ and that ‘It needs to be accompanied by strong requirements of transparency and integrity to ensure accountability and inclusiveness in decision-making.’