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A new Eurobarometer survey released today finds that skills shortages are one of the most serious problems for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the EU. The challenge of skills shortages has grown over the years and now encompasses all EU Member States and all sectors of the economy.

The 8th Raw Materials Week brings together a range of stakeholders to discuss raw materials policies and initiatives and to provide an overview of ongoing EU activities in this sector. It includes the 10th annual High-Level Conference of the Europe Innovation Partnership (EIP) on raw materials.

The Commission and the Spanish Presidency of the Council open the 2023 SME Assembly, the most significant annual event for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Europe. The 2023 SME assembly takes place in Bilbao, Spain, with some participants joining online, and will last until Wednesday.

The Commission welcomes the political agreement reached today between the European Parliament and the Council on the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA). The Act sets out a series of comprehensive actions to ensure the EU's access to a secure, diversified, affordable and sustainable supply.

Today, the Biomethane Industrial Partnership (BIP), launched with the support of the European Commission, publishes its first reports during the first European Biomethane Week ‘Countdown to 2030: from targets to action’ on how to speed investments to reach 35 bcm of sustainable biomethane by 2030.

Today, at the Global Gateway Forum taking place in Brussels, the EU signed three Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with partners to develop critical raw materials value chains and boost transport connectivity.

The International Olympic Committee has signed up to the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the sale of counterfeit goods on the internet as an IP Rights Holder. They join the 33 other stakeholders already working together under the agreement.

Commission President von der Leyen and President of Namibia Hage Geingob endorsed the roadmap for the EU–Namibia strategic partnership on sustainable raw materials value chains and renewable hydrogen, backed by €1 billion in investments by the EU, EU countries & European financial institutions.

From cast-off clothes to fishing nets Europeans produce a staggering 12.6 million tonnes of textile waste per year. Most is burned, dumped in landfills or exported. But fibre-to-fibre recycling is another option that a new European Commission scheme will push companies to take.