European Commission - Daily News Daily News 27 / 10 / 2026 Brussels, 27 October 2026 Road safety statistics for 2025 confirm drop in EU road deaths Today, the European Commission released the final figures on road fatalities for 2025 , reporting 19,350 deaths due to road crashes. This represents a 3% decrease from 2024 and a 15% decrease from 2019, equivalent to 580 fewer deaths on European roads compared to 2024, an...
European Commission - Daily News Daily News 27 / 10 / 2026 Brussels, 27 October 2026 Road safety statistics for 2025 confirm drop in EU road deaths Today, the European Commission released the final figures on road fatalities for 2025 , reporting 19,350 deaths due to road crashes. This represents a 3% decrease from 2024 and a 15% decrease from 2019, equivalent to 580 fewer deaths on European roads compared to 2024, and 3,400 fewer deaths compared to 2019. Results (fatalities per million) confirm that Sweden (19 per million) and Denmark (24 per million) have the safest roads in the EU. Despite their progress since 2019, Bulgaria (71 per million), and Romania (68 per million), alongside Croatia (65 per million), continue to report the highest fatality rates in the EU. Provisional data for 2026 shows a positive trend with a higher number of countries reporting a reduction of fatalities above 5% in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025 than those reporting increases in road deaths. The Commission will continue to monitor these trends closely and support Member States in addressing emerging concerns. Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, Apostolos Tzitzikostas , said: “Road safety is about more than rules and regulations. It is about protecting lives and preventing tragedies that affect families and communities across Europe. In the European Union, every life lost on our roads is one too many. Our goal is clear: to ensure that every citizen, wherever they travel and whatever their mode of transport, can reach their destination. This means making our roads safer, strengthening prevention and ensuring that every journey ends safely.” The 2026 EU Road Safety Conference will take place on 23 November, in Brussels, marking the halfway point in Europe's 10-year strategy to halve road deaths and serious injuries by 2030. Winners of the 2026 Excellence in Road Safety Awards, celebrating the continent's most inspiring and impactful road safety initiatives, will be announced during the event. You can find more information on the 2025 road safety statistics online. (For more information: Anna-Kaisa Itkonen – Tel.: +32 2 295 75 01; Anni Juusola - Tel.: +32 2 296 09 86) European programme supporting early-career researchers attracts growing interest Demand for EU research support has risen significantly in recent years, reflecting growing interest in Horizon Europe grant schemes among researchers in Europe and worldwide. The latest European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant call , supporting researchers at the start of their careers, has drawn 7,710 proposals, a 60.4% increase on the previous competition. This is the third consecutive annual rise, following increases of 22% and 13% in the two preceding calls. With a budget of €594 million, the 2027 call - which closed on 14 October - is expected to fund roughly 1 in 20 applicants. The ERC supports investigator-driven frontier research across all scientific disciplines. The latest figures reflect growing demand for its grants. Applications for Advanced Grants , which help more established researchers, rose 37% between 2024 and 2026 – from 2,534 to 3,458 proposals. In the case of the Synergy Grants that fund small research groups, proposal numbers increased 34% to 957 in 2026, after a 30% rise in 2025. Lastly, the Consolidator Grant call for mid-career scientists attracted 3,060 proposals, a slight dip from 2025 but still 32% above the 2024 level. This year, the ERC Scientific Council widened the eligibility windows for the Starting and Consolidator Grant calls, to better reflect the different career paths across scientific disciplines enabling more researchers to apply for funding. Pressure is rising well beyond the ERC. The 2026 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowships call received a record 21,627 applications - the highest number ever submitted to any funding action in the history of the EU research and innovation programmes. ERC supported researchers' work has been recognised with some of the world's most prestigious scientific honours, including Nobel Prizes awarded to 16 grantees. (For more information: Louise Bogey – Tel.: +32 229-69776; Isabel Arriaga e Cunha – Tel.: +32 229- 521176) Commission approves €319 million Austrian State aid for first-of-a-kind semiconductor manufacturing facility The European Commission has approved €319 million in Austrian State aid to support the upgrading of Infineon Technologies Austria AG's (‘IFAT') existing semiconductor facility in Villach, Carinthia. The measure will contribute to strengthening the EU's position and autonomy in the semiconductor value chain in line with the objectives set out in the Commission's Communication 'A Chips Act for Europe' and the Commission's 2024-2029 Political Guidelines . Austria notified the Commission of its plan to support IFAT's ‘Empowering Fab' project, which will establish high-volume manufacturing of power gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor devices, which provide superior energy efficiency, greater power density and faster switching, and which enable more compact systems compared to traditional silicon-based semiconductor devices. GaN can be used in a wide range of key applications, including artificial intelligence, energy infrastructure, electric mobility and robotics. It enables higher energy efficiency, greater power density, better switching performance and more compact systems. The project builds on IFAT's existing 200 mm power GaN manufacturing capabilities in Villach and will enable transitioning to larger 300 mm wafers. The facility will be first-of-a-kind in the EU, as power GaN devices are currently manufactured only on wafers of up to 200 mm and no comparable 300 mm power GaN manufacturing capacity is available in the EU. The aid will take the form of a direct grant of €319 million. Under the measure, IFAT agreed to ensure that the project will have a broader positive impact on the EU semiconductor value chain, to expand its collaboration with start-ups, SMEs, universities and research institutions, for instance by providing access to hardware and software kits and to its laboratory facilities, to develop educational and skills training activities to support the development of a qualified workforce, and to share with Austria potential project-related profits beyond current expectations. The Commission assessed the Austrian measure under EU State aid rules, in particular Article 107(3) (c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU and the principles set out in the European Chips Act . The Commission found that the measure facilitates the development of an economic activity by creating semiconductor manufacturing capacity, the facility is first-of-a-kind in Europe, the aid has an ‘ incentive effect ', as without the public support, the company would not carry out these investments in Europe, and that the measure has a limited impact on competition and trade within the EU. It is necessary and appropriate to ensure the resilience of Europe's semiconductor supply chain. In addition, the aid is proportionate and limited to the minimum necessary based on a proven funding gap, and has wider positive effects such as enhanced security of supply. The non-confidential version of the decision will be made available under the case number SA.113427 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 2 299 47 74) Commission clears acquisition of ACG by Itochu and TC The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of joint control of Aviation Capital Group LLC (‘ACG') of the US by Itochu Corporation (‘Itochu') and Tokyo Century Corporation (‘TC'), both of Japan. The transaction relates primarily to the aviation leasing sector. The Commission concluded that the notified transaction would not raise competition concerns, given the companies' limited combined market position and the companies' limited market positions resulting from the proposed transaction. 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.12484 . (For more information: Ricardo Cardoso – Tel.: +32 2 298 01 00; Sara Simonini – Tel.: +32 2 298 33 67) ANNOUNCEMENTS Commissioners Jørgensen and Kubilius convene European dialogue on refineries Tomorrow, the European Commission convenes the first dialogue on European refineries . The meeting will be co-chaired by Commissioner for Defence, Andrius Kubilius, and Commissioner for Energy, Dan Jørgensen. It will be attended by industry representatives, European refiners, emerging fuel producers, engineering companies, relevant industry associations and NATO. The dialogue aims at exploring short-term measures to maximise production of the fuels that are most urgently needed, including jet fuel and diesel, essential for military operations. In a volatile geopolitical context, Europe needs to preserve sufficient refining capacity, together with stocks and diversified imports, in order to respond to possible supply disruptions. Refining is a strategic sector: EU refineries provide about 70% of the jet fuel and 85% of the diesel consumed in Europe. Ensuring reliable access to military-relevant fuels, as well as resilient storage and distribution infrastructure, integrating defence needs into forthcoming EU energy security legislation and sustainable fuels strategies are crucial elements of the EU's efforts to strengthen defence readiness, including through the Military Mobility Package , presented by the Commission in November 2025. The launch of the dialogue on European refineries was announced by President von der Leyen earlier this month among EU actions to address the current energy crisis. The goal is to bring down costs and to ensure Europe has the supplies needed, including for defence. In a longer-term perspective, and as announced in AccelerateEU , the Commission has also started the process to revise current rules to ensure the availability of strategic fuel stocks and their accessibility for military needs in exceptional circumstances. The Commission continues to work with the industry and Member States to tackle the most immediate impacts of the current crisis, while addressing the structural issues of the energy system. (For more information: Anna-Kaisa Itkonen – Tel.: +32 2 295 75 01; Thomas Regnier — Tel. + 32 2 299 10 99; Cristiana Marchitelli – Tel: +32 2 298 94 07; Kateřina Horáková - Tel.: +32 2 299 93 10) Commissioner Albuquerque hosts implementation dialogue on digital finance Today, Maria Luís Albuquerque , Commissioner for Financial Services and the Savings and Investments Union, is hosting an implementation dialogue on digital finance with representatives from the financial industry, consumer organisations, and civil society. The discussions will focus on how key EU digital finance rules are being implemented in practice. It will give stakeholders the chance to share their experiences, highlight challenges, and discuss areas where rules or procedures could be improved. The aim is to ensure that the EU's digital finance framework works effectively in practice, while supporting innovation, consumer protection, and a well-functioning financial sector. The dialogue will feature two sessions. Session 1 will focus on the EU framework for crypto-assets and assess the overall fitness of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) . Session 2 will review the practical implementation of the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) . Both sessions will examine early implementation experience. Commissioner Albuquerque said: “Europe needs a digital finance framework that supports innovation, resilience and competitiveness. MiCA and DORA are essential to building a secure and effective digital financial system, but they must also work well in practice for those implementing them every day. I am keen to hear from stakeholders' concrete experience on how we can achieve the objectives of these rules more efficiently”. Implementation dialogues underscore the Commission's efforts to promote the EU's competitiveness by directly engaging stakeholders in policy implementation. As outlined in the Commission's Communication on Implementation and Simplification for the 2024-2029 mandate, all Members of the College of Commissioners must host such dialogues annually. A summary of the conclusions from today's dialogue will be available online . (For more information: Ricardo Cardoso – Tel.: +32 2 298 01 00; Saul Louis Goulding – Tel.: +32 2 296 47 35) 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/26/2270 <@rel_link@>
Speech Brief