Explainers

Environmental crime is one of the world’s most profitable organised criminal activities, and has a major impact not only on the environment, but also on human health.

Discover how the EU is making your digital environment safe, easy and respectful of basic freedoms.

Find out how the EU will scale up its manufacturing of clean technologies, and accelerate progress towards the transition to climate neutrality.

How are fishing quotas set between the EU and the UK after Brexit? From January 2021, the rights to catch fish are set through annual bilateral consultations.

The EU is working on new rules to speed up access to digital data used to investigate and prosecute criminal offences, regardless of the location of the data.

The European Health Union is a package of regulations to reinforce coordination and to strengthen the role of EU agencies in order to be better prepared to fight cross-border health threats such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Waste can be a resource. New EU rules on waste shipments aim to boost the circular economy while ensuring that waste exports do not cause pollution.

The EU negotiates and maintains international agreements with partners worldwide to manage and share fish resources.

Multiannual management plans are a key tool of the EU’s common fisheries policy and set rules for managing fish stocks sustainably in specific sea areas.

To be considered cooperative for tax purposes, third-country jurisdictions are screened on a number of criteria, established by the Council in 2016. Those criteria relate to tax transparency, fair taxation and anti-BEPS measures.