Many diners enjoy this dish with the outdoor space on the terrace of the restaurant in Paris, praising the food that is quite new to the European region. The ornate dish won many nods and compliments from the adventurous clientele. A chef from Paris who has just prepared a pasta dish of insects, sweet potatoes and sautéed larvae, said: “This is an ideal dish for beginners to eat insects. Their taste is quite attractive and very little. who don’t like it.” French restaurant serving food of the future is not for the faint of heart In January 2021, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) deemed the larvae of the beetle, Tenebrio molitor, fit for human consumption. By May 2021, this agency approved the sale of this ingredient in the food market. It is predicted that to meet the growing world population, insects will soon be included in the cuisine of the future. The European Food Safety Authority has studied more than a dozen different applications for insect food products, including crickets and locusts. Insects in general can provide a sustainable and low-carbon food source for the future. Local resident Soheil Ayari, after dining with her two daughters, said: “I feel like I’m in a traditional restaurant except for what I’m eating. But honestly, the taste is very good. like regular food”. Ayari’s young daughter is also very excited about the new dish, saying: “Insects are eco-friendly and more than that, they are also very good.” Laurent Veyet raises worms at the store, their food is porridge and vegetables. Although, at first glance, the larvae look like maggots unappealing to enjoy, they are in fact the larvae of beetles, which are rich in protein, fat and fiber. With a versatile ingredient, the beetle larvae can be used to cook curries, salads, or ground to make flour into pasta, cookies or bread. Stefan De Keersmaecker, spokesman for health and food safety at the European Commission said: “Insects are very nutritious. They really help us transition to a healthy diet and food system and more sustainable”. For chef Laurent Veyet, he faces a two-part challenge. It is about winning public opinion and learning how to create attractive insect dishes combined with a variety of foods. “You have to find the right flavors and the right accompaniments. That’s what any chef will tell you,” says Laurent Veyet.

Social network icon Facebook. Photo: AFP/VNA This is the first antitrust investigation that European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager has launched against the world’s number one social media provider and the latest she has launched into an American “tech giant”. Ms. Vestager had previously forced Alphabet – Google’s parent company to pay a fine of 8 billion euros (about 9.7 billion USD) and is conducting a similar investigation to Amazon and Apple. During the Facebook investigation, Ms. Vestager said she would review Facebook’s huge data warehouse collected from 7 million companies that have participated in advertising on this social network. The European Commission (EC) and the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) are investigating the possibility of Facebook exploiting its dominant position in the social network or digital advertising by collecting collects and uses data, and examines Facebook’s “distortion” of the advertising market through service classification. Ms. Vestager stressed that in today’s digital economy, data should not be used in ways that undermine competition. This tech giant may have to change its business model with large fines. Reacting to the EU and UK’s decision, Facebook said it will fully cooperate with the authorities of both sides to demonstrate that Facebook’s integrated “Marketplace” and dating platform provides all people with more choices and all operate in a highly competitive environment. In the role of “gatekeeper”, Facebook as well as other social networking platforms have collected a large amount of personal private information of users based on privacy terms to develop an integrated platform. Marketplace aims to increase competitive advantage over competitors. In the past, the UK has rarely conducted independent antitrust investigations into US tech giants. Since withdrawing from the EU, the UK’s antitrust division has become an independent global regulator. Andrea Coscelli, CEO of the CMA, has pledged to tackle companies like Google and Facebook with a series of antitrust lawsuits, and said he is open to working alongside colleagues in Brussels.

Visitors who are granted a “Digital Certificate of Covid-19” can enter many European countries from July 1. After two weeks of consecutive declines in the number of new Covid-19 cases, Spain recently announced the relaxation of entry regulations for travelers from 10 countries, including the requirement to test negative for the virus. SARS-CoV-2. Meanwhile, North Macedonia also closed almost all Covid-19 treatment centers and makeshift hospitals after the number of cases dropped by 90%. Germany, Italy and Cyprus are also expected this week to allow food and beverage restaurants to open for service. In the recently approved border opening plan, the leaders of the European Union (EU) set out two main conditions. Firstly, the EU only reopens its borders to those countries that have controlled the Covid-19 epidemic well for a certain period of time, with indicators of the infection rate among the population equal to or lower than that of the EU. Second, only those who have been granted a “Covid-19 Digital Certificate” can travel freely. For Europeans, the “Digital Certification of Covid-19” is expected to take effect from July 1, and is expected to become the “key” to open the economy, especially. is the tourism industry. Because European countries have lost hundreds of billions of euros since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, closing their borders with the outside for nearly a year. According to statistics, the “smokeless industry” contributes about 14% of Spain’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), over 13% of Italy’s GDP, nearly 8% of France’s GDP and even up to 20% of GDP of Spain. Greek. Therefore, if this summer tourist season fails, the economies of countries such as Greece and Spain are at risk of not being able to recover. The emergence of medical certificates not only helps promote tourism within the EU countries, but also allows visitors from countries outside the union to enter, especially visitors from the US and UK, two countries. The country has the highest rate of vaccination against Covid-19 in the world today. Gloria Guevara of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) called the “Digital Certification of Covid-19” a big step towards the recovery of the tourism industry, helping EU countries in time. welcome a large number of visitors in the summer tourist season. Currently 46 per cent of the EU’s adult population has received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, while 300 million more will be delivered soon. The EU’s goal is to fully immunize 75% of adults by the end of July. If according to plan, EU countries can confidently reopen safely. Along with the tourism industry, many other business and manufacturing sectors will also recover. The European Commission (EC) predicts that the bloc’s economy will grow 4.2% this year. Although the “Digital certification of Covid-19” is considered the “key” for Europeans to regain their former rhythm, according to health experts, the opening of borders and the easing of controls epidemic still needs to be conducted with caution. European countries will have to closely monitor and make specific assessments in each phase. The World Health Organization (WHO) also recommends that the vaccine is considered a “light at the end of the tunnel”, but its effectiveness has not been fully evaluated while the strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus continued to appear. Therefore, countries around the world need to choose safe steps. Step 1: Visit https://www.bluezone.gov.vn or download directly at App Store or CH Play. Step 2: Once downloaded, the application will ask for permission to use Bluetooth to record contact with other users who have installed Bluezone. If Bluetooth is not already on, drag the status bar and turn on Bluetooth; or go to Settings, select Bluetooth and turn it on. Step 3: Once the installation is done, click Scan Around. If someone near you less than 2m has used Bluezone, the application will automatically identify these users and put them in the contact list.

Polish Health Minister Adam Niedzielski (Image: Thefirstnews) According to Minister Niedzielski, in addition to the certificate using the software application, people will be able to request a hard copy at any medical facility or vaccination center. The official start of the Covid-19 certification system will take place on July 1. Fully vaccinated people with EU Covid-19 certificates will be exempt from travel-related restrictions such as testing or quarantine. The EU Covid-19 Digital Certificate was proposed by the European Commission in April to facilitate safe and free movement within the EU during the Covid-19 pandemic. Currently, in addition to Poland, there are 6 other EU countries that have issued Covid-19 certificates. It is expected that all EU countries will introduce this solution on July 1 (with a transition period of 6 weeks).

International tourists returned to Venice after Italy lifted restrictions for EU countries, the UK and Israel. Source: Reuters “Vaccine passport” or “vaccination certificate” is a document that travelers use to prove that they are fully vaccinated, have recovered from Covid-19 or have a negative test result. These vaccine certificates are expected to be digitized for display on smartphones, however a paper version should still be available. In addition, visitors must also receive vaccines that have been recognized by the EU. If you come from a “safe” country according to the EU’s assessment and complete 2 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine at least 14 days before departure, you will be exempted from isolation or testing when you arrive in Europe. Currently, only seven non-EU countries are on this list, including Australia, Israel, New Zealand, Rwanda, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and China. However, this list will be added and published in a few days.

Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine vial. Photo: Reuters. The European Commission, on May 28, approved the use of the Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer and its partner BioNTech for children 12 years of age and older, paving the way for the implementation of vaccinations for children of all ages. widely within the bloc, after similar decisions were made by the US and Canada. The decision came after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) advocated the use of the vaccine in children aged 12 to 15 years earlier. This vaccine has been used in the European Union for people 16 years of age and older. For the 12-15 age group, the two doses of the vaccine are also given at least three weeks apart, as with adults, the EMA said. According to the EMA, each EU country will decide whether and when to provide the vaccine to adolescents. While awaiting the decision of the EMA, on May 27, Germany outlined a plan to provide vaccines for children from 12 years old from June 7. Italy also said that it is preparing to expand its Covid-19 vaccination campaign to people over 12 years old. Immunizing children and adolescents is seen as an important step towards achieving “herd immunity” and taming the pandemic. On May 28, Japan also joined other countries that decided to give the Pfizer vaccine to children as young as 12 years old. Since March, Pfizer and Biontech have released trial data showing that their Covid-19 vaccine is 100% effective in protecting against infectious disease in a trial of 2,260 adolescents aged 12 to 15 years. .

Icon of Tik Tok video sharing app on smartphone screen in Paris, France. Photo: AFP/VNA According to the European Commission, consumer protection authorities in several EU member states have expressed concern about the way TikTok runs hidden ads aimed at children and the contractual provisions of its policy. of this entertainment application. The agency said TikTok has a one-month deadline to respond. The TikTok application, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, is facing many similar complaints around the world. Last month, the UK accused the company of illegally collecting the data of millions of children in Europe. Earlier, in February, the European Union for the Protection of Consumers (BEUC) complained TikTok to authorities in 15 EU countries, accusing TikTok of failing to protect children against inappropriate advertisements. cases, thereby violating the rights of consumers in the EU. In the US, some lawmakers accused TikTok of sharing user data with the Chinese government, although the company that owns the app, Bytedance, still denies this. TikTok insists that users’ data in the US is stored in the country itself and that China has no authority over content not stored in the country. TikTok continuously faces many complaints in the context that this application is gradually becoming more popular among young people due to limited activities from living to studying of this group during the COVID epidemic. -19.

The above proposal is one of several to address a shortcoming in the Voluntary Code of Practice on Misinformation released in 2018 and signed by Google, Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft, Mozilla and TikTok. this switch. Google and other big tech firms will have to commit to limiting ‘ad embedding’. The EC wants platforms to tighten eligibility requirements and content review processes for programs to monetize content and share advertising revenue on its service to prevent the participation of competitors. posting content that is systematically considered disinformation. In contrast, ad technology companies must define the criteria used to place ads and apply measures to verify ad placement. The EC also wants companies to clearly and specifically label advertisements (related to politics or other areas, etc.), and distinguish them as paid content. The newly updated code also provides for the first time key performance indicators to allow authorities to verify that these companies are living up to their commitments. The EC will publish the updated Code of Conduct on May 26.

The switch to electric vehicles will affect at least 178,000 jobs in the German auto industry. Photo: VNA Ifo’s research presents a number of potential challenges in the future as governments work to phase out diesel and gasoline-powered vehicles in favor of low-emissions, even zero-emission vehicles. waste. In a statement released alongside the report, Ifo said an estimated 75,000 workers in Germany’s car manufacturing sector will retire by the middle of the decade. But if by 2025, the production of cars powered by internal combustion engines falls to levels previously predicted under current emissions regulations, the switch to electric vehicles will affect little. 178,000 jobs in the German auto industry. This group, Ifo explained, would include workers manufacturing product groups directly or indirectly dependent on internal combustion engines, with 137,000 of these working directly in the auto industry. Ifo President Clemens Fuest described the transition to electric vehicles as a major challenge, especially for auto parts suppliers as midsize companies dominate the sector. . He assessed that it is important to maintain skilled jobs in the production of vehicles using internal combustion engines and electric vehicles without changing the industry structure. The report comes after the German federal government announced its ambition to have 7-10 million new registered electric vehicles in the country by the end of the decade. In January 2021, Germany’s road traffic regulator said sales of electric vehicles in Germany will be more than 194,000 units in 2020, a threefold increase from the previous year. Internationally, the European Commission has also expressed its desire to have at least 30 million zero-emissions cars on the road by 2030, as part of its “Smart and Sustainable Transport Strategy.” . According to the International Energy Agency, about 3 million new electric cars were registered last year, a record number and up 41% from 2019.

Amazon’s distribution center in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, April 25, 2020. Documentary photo: AFP/VNA The appeal comes after the LuxLeaks scandal exposed in 2014 revealed 500 tax agreements between Luxembourg and more than 350 international businesses, including many billion-dollar tax frauds and involving corporations. such as Apple, IKEA, Pepsi… These corporations have had tacit agreements with the tax authorities of Luxembourg to enjoy lower tax rates than prescribed. In the case of Amazon, in 2017 European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager accused Luxembourg of having an illegal arrangement with the online commerce giant to pay less tax than other businesses. other profession. Accordingly, Luxembourg has offered a preferential tax policy for Amazon, helping nearly three-quarters of the company’s profits not be taxed. At the heart of the EU’s allegations is Amazon’s violation of the so-called “market price principle”, which ensures that transactions between subsidiaries are based on prices that other independent companies in the market would charge. must return. At the time of the EU case, Amazon said it had not received any special treatment from Luxembourg, and insisted it had paid taxes in full in accordance with both Luxembourg and international tax law. However, analysts are not too optimistic about the ability of the EU’s requirements to be upheld. Less than a year ago, iPhone maker Apple won a spectacular victory in this same court against the European Commission’s request that Apple pay 13 billion euros in taxes to Ireland in 2016. But whether it wins or loses in the appeal, the European Commission will likely emphasize its goal of targeting corporate profits. The agency is also developing new rules to close tax loopholes, especially for tech giants. In recent weeks, the US side has gradually embraced the idea of ​​a global minimum corporate tax. Negotiations on cross-border corporate tax are underway at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). If successful, this tax policy will make special transactions for multinational companies a thing of the past.

European Commission (EC) spokesman Christian Wigand said the EU wants all citizens of the 27 EU member states to be able to receive a “digital passport”. This powerful card, also known as a “green certificate” or “digital passport”, certifies that a person has been vaccinated against COVID-19, has tested negative for the SARS virus. -CoV-2 or have recovered from COVID-19. “To get ready for safe travel next summer, the use of the pass will be ready by the end of June,” Wigand said. With this card, Europeans can easily travel between member states. Another EU spokesman, Johannes Bahrke, said the 18 EU member states and Iceland will conduct a trial of the “digital passport” over the next two weeks to ensure there are no errors when it comes to travel. officially put into use. European tourism will revive thanks to the medical pass hành This digital pass is seen as a tool for countries that depend on tourists to kick-start the summer holidays for Europeans. This is also an “effective tool” that allows countries to revive their economies that have been exhausted by the epidemic. Mutual recognition of “Medical Passes” – the key to the border gate Currently, some countries around the world have also announced that they will apply the same form as the medical pass in the EU, for example Israel has a “green pass”, the UK will have an application from the National Health Service. (NHS) certificate of vaccination. The “Medical Pass” was initially used for intra-regional travel only. However, the European Commission (EC) is working with non-EU countries to jointly recognize each other’s vaccination certificates, especially with the US. So far, there has been no discussion between Brussels and London about the EU’s recognition of the UK’s NHS application. France, Malta and the Netherlands are among the countries that are piloting through EU certification. Countries are discussing to ensure that the digital passport used for authentication in this country is compatible with other countries’ applications or systems. In addition, the pass must be designed to be accessible via a smartphone app, but must also be able to obtain paper authentication. Technology experts said: “All member countries will connect to the system in June, the deadline is mid-June.” The European Commission believes that this Pass will soon come to life as negotiations on this scheme are underway. sea ​​oats ( according to AFP )

Google faces many legal challenges globally, especially in Europe. The European Commission (EC) fined this giant billions of dollars in three different lawsuits and were appealed by Google. In any case, the world’s largest search company denies misconduct and maintains a view that they make choices that benefit consumers. Since 2010, the EU has launched three different antitrust investigations against Google, involving Google Shopping, Google AdSense and Android, resulting in three fines of nearly tens of billions of dollars. At the same time, Google must adjust its behavior to comply with regulatory requirements. On October 10, 2010, the EC officially investigated Google’s behavior in accordance with Article 9 of Regulation 1/2003 after receiving complaints from ICOMP Organization and a number of other companies. They complain that Google changed its Universal Search algorithm to promote Google Shopping products on the search results page, lowering the ranking of competitors. Therefore, they believe that Google discriminates against, anticompetitive through presentation of search results, depriving users of the ability to choose products and services. On June 27, 2017, Google was found guilty and convicted a fine of EUR 2.4 billion (2.7 billion USD), is the largest penalty for an abuse of monopoly at that time. Google denies the accusations and claims their services have helped the region’s digital economy grow. The penalty is equivalent to 2.5% of Google’s 2016 revenue. Currently, the company in the appeals process wants to mitigate or overturn the penalty. In addition, the EU Competition Commission (EUCC) decided to oversee Google’s PageRank algorithm. Google is responsible for reporting to the EUCC every 4 months. After being penalized, Google split the Google Shopping shopping service into its own company, operating independently. A year later, the EC fined Google again for forcing Android device manufacturers (OEMs) to install Google Search and Android suite of apps. The EC investigates Google based on two lawsuits, one from FairSearch, and one from Aptoide. FairSearch is a consortium founded in 2010, initially consisting of travel-related websites such as Expedia, TripAdvisor, and then a number of big names such as Microsoft, Nokia, Oracle. In April 2013, they filed a lawsuit against the EU, denouncing Google’s behavior with its Android operating system in violation of the EU’s anti-competition law. Meanwhile, Aptoide was filed in June 2014. Aptoide is an Android app market, competing with Google’s Play Store. Aptoide emphasizes Google’s approach making it very difficult for services like them to be installed on users’ devices. In addition, some components that used to belong to the Android Open Source Project have been migrated to the Google service suite, including Gmail, Google Maps and Play Store. So, on April 15, 2015, the EC started an investigation into Google based on the above two lawsuits. Google argues that what it does with Android is no different from what Apple, Microsoft do with iOS and Windows Phone. Device manufacturers can still release an Android phone without the Google suite of apps. On July 19, 2018, the EU declared penalty Google 4.3 billion EUR (5 billion USD). Google appealed in October 2018. According to a company spokesperson, Android makes more options available to users. This is by far the largest penalty imposed by the EU for a company for its anti-competitive behavior. Google has changed the way apps are distributed in the EU, charging OEMs for Play Store access, and in return OEMs no longer have to install Google Search and Google Chrome. In March 2019, Google said European Android users can choose which browser and search engine they want to use on the device. Most recently, March 2019, EU Google penalty 1.49 billion EUR (1.7 billion USD) for preventing competition in the online advertising market. The commission said Google had an exclusive contract with website owners, preventing them from cooperating with Google’s competitors. The investigation involved Google search-mediated search boxes and display ads. These ads are provided by Google AdSense for Search. This is a division of Google that allows websites and apps to monetize search ads. Google’s terms for website owners change over time, from a 2006 monopoly to a “flexible monopoly” a few years later. But EU authorities still believe it hurts competition and allows Google to control how competitors display their search ads, including the size, colors and fonts they use. According to Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, this is a legal offense under EU law. That behavior lasted more than 10 years and deprived other brands of competitiveness, innovation as well as the interests of users. Google stopped using exclusive contract terms in 2016 only after the EC made a formal objection. In June 2019, the company announced an appeal. However, the three above-mentioned penalties do not seem to “disgrace” anything to Google. Shares of Alphabet, the parent company Google, are still growing close to 30% in 2020. Investors seem accustomed to the oversight of countries with Google. Not to mention, the prolonged legal process also makes the authorities tired. The effect that the punishment brings is not clear. For example, despite the change in Google Shopping, less than 1% of service traffic is diverted to other shopping websites. Therefore, the EC is about to overhaul digital regulations, related to the business models of companies like Google. They want Big Tech to be more accountable for content across platforms and ensure that competitors have a chance to compete with the big boys. It is expected to make a big change in business practices, even Big Tech’s business model. Law professor Ioannis Kokkoris from Queen Mary University said this is a move that shows the EU wants to strengthen its leadership position in the enforcement of the technology market. Many other national competition authorities will follow. Meanwhile, Alec Burnside – partner of the law firm Dechert – said that the new EU proposal reflects the increasingly recognized government must have new power to deal with technology giants. For its part, Google or another company may use legal process to highlight the negative impact of regulation on innovation and the overall economy, making the final regulation less stricter than the proposed ban. head. Other than lobbying, however, there is nothing they can do about it to discourage new regulation in the short term. Du Lam (Synthetic)

Flag of the European Union at headquarters in Belgium. Photo: Reuters Reuters recently released a document showing that the European Union (EU) will introduce a series of conditions that force the transport, industry and construction industries to meet in order to be classified into the category. Sustainable investments in Europe. Besides, the EU has yet to decide whether to label gas and nuclear power as a “green” label. According to the document, the EU’s “sustainable financial classification” is a long list of economic activities and regulations that industries must meet in order to be labeled as a sustainable investment in the EU from 2022. This landmark regulation aims to make “green” activities more attractive to investors, while at the same time ensuring that a sustainable investment label is only granted to economic activities that comply. meeting the EU’s targets on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Natural gas is not mentioned in the draft regulations. European nations are divided over whether gas-fired power plants should be considered “green”, and the European Commission (EC) plans to tackle the fuel issue, along with electricity. kernel, in a separate proposal later this year or not. Draft regulations on “green labeling” include detailed definitions of what is considered sustainable investment in different sectors including transportation, energy generation from sources such as wind. and hydroelectricity, building rehabilitation and manufacturing of cement, steel and batteries. For example, emissions at cement plants must be below 0.72 tons CO2 equivalent to each ton of gray cement produced. Meanwhile, car production from now until the end of 2025 will be considered a sustainable investment if these vehicles emit less than 50g of CO2 per km. After 2025, only the production of zero-emission cars will be green-labeled./.

These regulations are part of the EU’s effort to regulate the AI ​​sector and catch up with the US and China in an area that spans from voice recognition to insurance and law enforcement.

This draft provision would prohibit general supervision of citizens, as well as any technology used to manipulate citizens’ behavior, opinions or decisions. The application of AI in the military field is not within the scope of these regulations.

Violations of the aforementioned regulation, depending on the severity, can result in businesses being fined up to 4% of global revenue.

To encourage innovation, Brussels also wants to provide a clear legal framework for billionaires in all 27 member countries of the bloc.

To achieve this, the draft regulation states that companies will require a special validation of deemed “high-risk” applications before being allowed to hit the market.

High-risk systems are those that have “the function of identifying people in public places from a distance through biometric features”, as well as “factors of security in institutions. important public infrastructure ”.

In addition, applications not considered “high risk” will not be subject to any additional regulations other than the applicable ones.

Google and other major tech corporations are very interested in the EU’s AI strategy, as Europe is often the place that sets the standard for how technology is governed around the world.

Last year, Google warned the EU’s definition of AI was too broad and Brussels had to avoid excessive control over a key technology.

The above draft regulations must be ratified by member countries and get the approval of the European Parliament before they can be applied./.