European Commission - Daily News Daily News 07 / 04 / 2026 Brussels, 7 April 2026 Commission greenlights Finland's fourth payment request for €267.1 million under NextGenerationEU Today, the European Commission positively assessed Finland's fourth payment request for €267.1 million under the Recovery and Resilience Facility , the centrepiece of NextGenerationEU . Following its assessment of the payment request, the C...
European Commission - Daily News Daily News 07 / 04 / 2026 Brussels, 7 April 2026 Commission greenlights Finland's fourth payment request for €267.1 million under NextGenerationEU Today, the European Commission positively assessed Finland's fourth payment request for €267.1 million under the Recovery and Resilience Facility , the centrepiece of NextGenerationEU . Following its assessment of the payment request, the Commission found that Finland has satisfactorily completed the 10 milestones and 10 targets set out in the Council Implementing Decision . The reforms and investments tied to this payment request will benefit Finnish citizens and businesses, particularly through advances in the areas of waste management, decarbonisation, labour market, healthcare, social services and the development of innovation in targeted economic sectors . Finland submitted its payment request on 18 December 2025. The Finnish recovery and resilience plan includes a wide range of investment and reform measures supporting climate and digital transition objectives. The plan will be financed by €1.95 billion in grants. A press release is available online . (For more information: Maciej Berestecki — Tel.: + 32 2 296 64 83; Anna Wartberger – Tel: +32 2 28 20 54) Youth4Regions 2026 competition for aspiring journalists launched Today, the European Commission has opened applications for the 10th edition of Youth4Regions , its flagship programme designed to support aspiring journalists. From 10 to 16 October 2026, selected participants will spend a week in Brussels, to benefit from expert-led training, hands-on newsroom experience and exclusive access to both EU institutions and leading media organisations. Applications can be submitted until 7 July 2026 on the programme's website . This year's programme welcomes submissions across four formats: written feature journalism, video journalism, audio journalism, and photojournalism. Youth4Regions is open to students and junior journalists from EU Member States, neighbouring countries, and candidate countries, offering a unique opportunity to develop skills, build professional networks, and gain first-hand insight into EU affairs reporting. 300 young reporters have so far benefitted from such support since the launch of the programme, in 2017. Participants will also have the chance to compete for the prestigious Megalizzi – Niedzielski Prize , honouring exceptional young journalists. It will be awarded on 14 October 2026. Winners will also be appointed Cohesion Correspondents 2027 and be sent on a two-week field mission, reporting from the ground on cohesion policy projects and their impact on people's lives across EU Member States. (For more information: Maciej Berestecki — Tel.: + 32 2 296 64 83; Isabel Arriaga e Cunha – Tel: +32 229-52117) Applications open for 2027 European Capitals of Tourism award Today, the European Commission launches the 2027 edition of the European Capitals of Tourism award. Tourism destinations across Europe are invited to present their most innovative and sustainable tourism initiatives, positioning themselves as leading examples in the field. The Commission will award two destinations that demonstrate exceptional achievements in two categories. The first category is open to destinations with over 100,000 inhabitants and recognises excellence in sustainability, accessibility, digitalisation, and cultural heritage and creativity. The second category is open to destinations with 25,000 to 100,000 inhabitants and recognises smaller destinations leading in sustainable tourism. As one of the EU's largest economic sectors, tourism plays a key role in economic growth and job creation. It contributes to regional development, supports small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and helps preserve cultural heritage. At the same time, the tourism sector faces significant challenges, including geopolitical instability, climate change, skill shortages, and overcrowding in key hotspots. The European Capitals of Tourism initiative recognises and celebrates destinations implementing innovative solutions in areas such as digitalisation, accessibility, sustainability, as well as support for cultural heritage, creativity, and local talent. Applications for the European Capitals of Tourism are now open until 12 June, 17:00 CEST. More information on the awards and the prizes is available online. (For more information: Anna-Kaisa Itkonen - Tel.: +32 2 295 75 01; Anni Juusola - Tel.: +32 2 296 09 86) Commission approves Lithuanian State aid measure to compensate Litgas for operation of LNG terminal The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, the compensation granted by Lithuania to Litgas UAB for supplying a mandatory quantity of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the LNG terminal in Klaipėda. On 31 October 2018 , the Commission approved a Lithuanian measure to compensate Litgas for the operation of the LNG terminal between 2016 and 2024. In September 2021, the General Court partially annulled the Commission decision, finding that the Commission should have opened an in- depth investigation to assess the compatibility of the compensation for the entirety of the boil-off and balancing costs incurred by Litgas between 2016 and 2018. Boil-off costs result from the natural loss of LNG, which occurs in the period from injection of LNG into tanks until its release to the natural gas system. Balancing costs are incurred in response to imbalances between supply and demand for natural gas, for instance under swap contracts. Following the court ruling, the Commission opened an in-depth investigation in December 2022 to re- examine the compatibility of the compensation granted to Litgas between 2016 and 2018 under EU State aid rules, and especially the 2012 Service of General Economic Interest (‘SGEI') Framework . In particular, the Commission examined whether the compensation granted for the entirety of the boil- off and balancing costs incurred by Litgas was necessary, given that these costs were only partially compensated as of 2019. The Commission's investigation confirmed that the compensation granted to Litgas complies with EU State aid rules, in particular with the SGEI Framework. Notably, the Commission found that the methodology used by Lithuania to calculate the amount of compensation for the period was appropriate and correctly applied and that the entirety of the boil-off and balancing costs incurred by Litgas between 2016 and 2018 could be compensated for. The non-confidential version of the decision will be made available under the number SA.44678 in the State aid register on the Commission's competition website once any confidentiality issues have been resolved. (For more information: Ricardo Cardoso – Tel.: +32 2 298 01 00; Luuk de Klein – Tel.: +32 229 94774) Commission clears acquisition of Amicus by BioMarin The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of sole control of Amicus Therapeutics Inc. (‘Amicus') by BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (‘BioMarin'), both of the US. The transaction relates primarily to the development and commercialisation of treatments for rare genetic diseases. The Commission concluded that the notified transaction would not raise competition concerns, given that the companies are not active in the same or vertically related markets. The notified transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure. More information is available on the Commission's competition website , in the public case register under the case number M.12314 . (For more information: Ricardo Cardoso – Tel.: +32 2 298 01 00; Luuk de Klein – Tel.: +32 229 94774) Tentative agendas for forthcoming Commission meetings Note that these items can be subject to changes. Upcoming events of the European Commission Eurostat press releases Calendar items of the President and Commissioners Individual calendars of the President and Commissioners MEX/26/775
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