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BRUSSELS: The European Union's executive is working past a Monday deadline to assess Hungary pandemic recovery plan and unlock EU grants and loans amid allegations it might not to meet all the requirements to tap into the funds. EU Commission spokeswoman, Arianna Podesta, said that the Commission was still analyzing replies its received last Friday and might take as much as weeks to process. "We are working constructively to conclude our assessment as fast as possible. Should our assessment require more weeks rather than days, we will propose to Hungary to agree on an extension of the 2-month deadline." Even when EU nations get the green light from the bloc's executive arm to obtain the billions in funds, they will steel need the approval of other member states too. Critics have said that corruption safeguards might be insufficient in the Hungarian plan. The delay comes against a background of increasing strife between several of the EU institutions and Budapest, with Brussels claiming there is a rollback in the nation's democratic credentials while corruption runs rampant. The EU has said it would grant extensions on the national recovery plans to ensure workable and precise plans rather than blueprints not properly vetted for lack to time. So far, five members requested extensions, Poland, Estonia, Romania, Sweden and Finland. These range from a few weeks to the end of September. During the assessment period, EU authorities are locked in dialogue with the country concerned and can send observations or ask questions. The country can provide information or adjust its plan as things progress.

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European Union still assessing Hungary's pandemic plan to unlock funds - Times of India

Rumors have persisted for some time now that the European Union will amend its climate targets and adopt more ambitious goals intended to significantly reduce the regions CO2 emissions. Now, a new report from Bloomberg suggests that these plans will include effectively banning the sale of new ICE vehicles starting in 2035 by requiring that all new vehicles produce zero emissions by that date.

Under the revised plan, new vehicle emissions will first be required to drop to 65 percent starting in 2030, which will be supported by a vast increase in charging infrastructure. Its all part of the EUs Fit for 55 proposal, expected to be revealed next week, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Europe by 55 percent of its 1990 levels by 2030 ahead of becoming the first continent in the world to achieve net-zero emissions by the year 2050.

Current European Union emissions targets aim to reduce vehicle emissions by 37.5 percent by 2030, making the new proposal a significant jump. The proposal also calls for renewable energy to increase from 32 percent to 40 percent by 2030 and will require that electric vehicle chargers are installed every 37 miles along major highways.

Earlier this year, Ford of Europe committed that by mid-2026, 100 percent of its passenger vehicle lineup will be zero-emissions capable, all-electric, or plug-in hybrid and that it will becompletely all-electric by 2030, though the automaker also recently admitted that it could reach the latter goal before 2030. One potential roadblock emerged recently, however, as some European officials want to phase out plug-in hybrid models by 2025.

Ford is joined by a number of other automakers making similar pledges, including its new partner Volkswagen, which recently stated that it will stop selling ICE vehicles in Europe by 2035, though this new proposal would obviously force it to accelerate that goal. Ford currently has a number of new European electric vehicles in development, including one or possibly two built on VWs MEB platform.

Well have more on the EUs Fit for 55 proposal soon, so be sure andsubscribetoFord Authority for non-stop Ford newscoverage.

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European Union Working Towards 2035 Sunset Of ICE Vehicles: Report - Ford Authority

The European Commission said Wednesday that successful vaccination drives and government stimulus will allow the eurozone economy to make up the ground lost because of the pandemic by the end of the year, instead of early next year as previously forecast.

The commission, the European Unions administrative arm, said in its official summer forecast that the 19 countries in the eurozone will grow 4.8 percent in 2021, half a percentage point more than previously forecast.

The European Union, which includes the eurozone plus eight additional countries, will also grow 4.8 percent this year, compared with an earlier forecast of 4.2 percent, the commission said.

The European economy is making a strong comeback with all the right pieces falling into place, Valdis Dombrovskis, executive vice president of the commission, said in a statement.

Consumer spending will pick up as people get back to work, while businesses will invest in expansion, the commission said, though it warned that the spread of new variants remains a risk.

Annual inflation in 2021 will average 1.9 percent in the eurozone, the commission forecast, because of strong demand and shortages of some goods. For most of 2019 and 2020, inflation in the eurozone was below 1 percent.

If the forecast is accurate, inflation will approach the European Central Banks official target. But the central bank is unlikely to begin withdrawing stimulus to the eurozone economy until there is more evidence that the bloc has fully recovered from the effects of the pandemic.

We will have to keep a close eye on rising inflation, which is due not least to stronger domestic and foreign demand, Mr. Dombrovskis said.

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European Union Economy Projected to Recover Faster Than Expected - The New York Times

ROME (AP) Proponents of womens progress on Tuesday launched a political push in Rome to ensure that global pandemic recovery efforts wont leave women lagging even farther behind, with the chief of the European Unions executive arm lamenting the scarcity of women in political leadership positions.

Advocates are using Italys current leadership of the G-20 grouping to campaign for pay equality, greater involvement in decision-making and elimination of cultural stereotypes that hinder womens advancement.

At the next G-20 summit in Rome, I could be the only woman in the group of leaders, European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told a forum examining where women lag behind and how they can catch up to men.

Italy holds a summit of G20 leaders until the end of October. While von der Leyen didnt elaborate, she appeared to be referring to the prospect that Angela Merkel would no longer be leading Germanys government after elections in September.

There could be no better reminder of how long the road towards gender equality still is, von der Leyen said, speaking by video message at the opening of the three-day forum.

The G-20 accounts for around two-thirds of the worlds population.

The European Union is offering member states hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic billions of euros in recovery funds, but with strings attached. One of the conditions it that economic revival plans encourage more women to participate in the work force.

Italy has chronically had one of the lowest percentages of women in the workplace among fellow EU nations. Premier Mario Draghi has pledged that recovery plans would help boost employment of women. He said otherwise, the nations growth will be less robust.

Italian women for decades have complained about the shortage of affordable day care as well as mens reluctance to help with household chores and child-raising, citing both factors as discouraging their taking and holding jobs.

Draghis Minister of Infrastructure and Sustainable Mobility Enrico Giovannini acknowledged the risk that pandemic recovery funds could end up helping men more than women, especially since many jobs are in the traditionally male-dominated construction sector.

There is a risk that recovery fund projects are more tipped toward male employment, Giovannini told state TV. He suggested countries receiving recovery funds may need to take corrective measures in how they spend the money in order to ensure that doesnt happen.

Von der Leyen said women need the right support if the European Union is to achieve its goal of slashing the gender employment gap by 50% within the decade.

She called for parental benefits, maternity and paternity leave and more and improved care for children and the elderly. These policies require a cultural shift, but also adequate resources, she said.

Italian Senate President Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati noted that in nearly all the G-20 countries women are paid less than men for the same work.

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Women push against being left behind amid pandemic recovery - Associated Press

NICOSIA, July 8 (Reuters) - The European Union will "never, ever" accept a two state deal on ethnically-split Cyprus, the head of its executive said on Thursday.

Ursula von der Leyen, who was visiting Cyprus, said the European Union spoke with one voice on the conflict, which has dragged on for decades and is a key hurdle in Turkey's ambitions of joining the bloc.

"I want to repeat that we will never, ever accept a two state solution. We are firm on that and very united," von der Leyen told a news conference.

Cyprus was split in a Turkish invasion in 1974 triggered by a brief Greek inspired coup. The south is run by an internationally recognised government which represents the entire island in the European Union, while the north is a breakaway Turkish Cypriot state recognised only by Ankara.

United Nations-led efforts which predate 1974 events have failed to unite the island. The present stalemate is steeped in disagreements of the form unification could take - a union of two independent states advocated by a new Turkish Cypriot leadership, or as a loose federation advocated by Greek Cypriots representing Cyprus internationally.

Talks in Geneva earlier this year on the matter ended inconclusively. read more

Disagreement has also focused on competing claims over offshore energy reserves, a dispute connected to quarrels between Turkey and Greece, a key ally of the Greek Cypriots.

"Our neighbours have (an) interest in good bilateral relations. If this is the case, and we also have an interest in good bilateral relations, I want our neighbours to know that if they speak to one of our member states, like for example Cyprus, in whatever tone, they speak to the European Union," von der Leyen said.

Reporting by Michele KambasEditing by Peter Graff

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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EU will 'never, ever' accept two-state deal on Cyprus - Reuters