In the online event series ‘Horizon Implementation Days’, the European Commission will provide information on three dates on various aspects of applying for funding under the Horizon Europe research framework programme.

The first event offers a general overview of the Horizon Europe programme and show you how to search for funding calls and research partners on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.
Thursday, 13 March 2025, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm
Finding opportunities and submitting a proposal in Horizon Europe

The second event gives an insight into the preparation of the grant agreement and introduces the central validation service of the European Research Executive Agency (REA). It also deals with the scientific and technical description of the project proposal, its legal and financial aspects and how to avoid common mistakes.
Thursday, 20 March 2025, 9:30 am – 12:45 pm
Grant Agreement preparation in Horizon Europe

The third event deals with the administration of ongoing projects, regarding change requests, reporting, payments and so on.
Thursday, 3 April 2025, 9:30 am – 1:00 pm
Grant Management in Horizon Europe

Participation is free of charge and takes place via a YouTube livestream. Registration in advance is not necessary.

You can find further information on Horizon Europe at the National Contact Point for the EU Horizon Europe programme in Germany.

Equal Pay Day and the gender pay gap

Every year, Equal Pay Day draws attention to the fact that women around the world earn less than men. It highlights the percentage difference in the average gross earnings of women and men. This difference is also known as the gender pay gap.

According to Eurostat statistics on the gender pay gap, working women in the EU earn on average 12.7% less per hour than men. The European Parliament gives the definition and causes of the gender pay gap in the EU.

Equal pay for equal work for men and women is one of the European Union’s founding principles, enshrined in Article 157 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The implementation and enforcement of this principle remain a challenge. Owing to a lack of pay transparency, pay discrimination often goes undetected, and victims face difficulties in making claims for redress.

The EU is tackling the problem of the gender pay gap with various measures. The aim is to promote the principle of equal pay through regulations on pay transparency and the monitoring of their implementation.

There are considerable differences in the gender pay gap between EU countries. Equal Pay Day is now established in 12 different EU countries. At national level, EU countries are also combating the gender pay gap.

International Women's Day

Every year since 1911, on 8 March, women around the world have brought gender equality to public attention on International Women's Day.

Gender equality is also a fundamental principle of the European Union, but it is not yet a reality.

With the Gender equality strategy, the EU is pushing to accelerate gender equality, especially in the following areas:

• Promoting equal economic independence for women and men,

• closing the gender pay gap,

• advancing gender balance in decision making,

• ending gender based violence,

• promoting gender equality beyond the EU.

The European Parliament is also fighting for gender equality, the protection of women's rights and the closing of the pay gap between women and men.

Efforts in the EU to promote women's rights, ensure equal pay and end violence against women can also be found at the European Council

Access to a wealth of data aligned with the main dimensions of the Gender Equality Strategy can be found at the Gender Equality Strategy Monitoring Portal.

Progress on gender equality in the EU and its Member States is reported in the 2024 Annual Report on Gender Equality.

To strengthen and promote gender equality across the EU, the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) was established in 2010.

On the EIGE website you will find information on gender equality, the Gender Equality Index 2024 and a gender statistics database.

EUROSTAT – the statistical office of the EU also provides gender statistics for the EU, a selection of indicators from areas such as education, the labour market, income and life expectancy, which are particularly important for measuring differences between women and men.

To gain a deeper understanding of the issues, the European Council Library has compiled a library guide with relevant resources on gender equality.
Browsing through the tabs you will find books and articles, EU publications, podcasts, videos and websites.

The European Parliament has given its approval to the second EU Commission chaired by Ursula von der Leyen. With 282 votes against and 36 abstentions, 370 MEPs voted in favour of the College of 26 Commissioners proposed by Mrs von der Leyen.

In accordance with Rule 129 (7) of the European Parliament's Rules of Procedure, a majority of the votes cast was required to confirm the College.

Details of the votes cast by individual MEPs are published in the minutes of the plenary session on 27 November 2024.

This is Ursula von der Leyen's second term as President of the Commission. Her first Commission was confirmed by Parliament in November 2019.

Before the vote, Ursula von der Leyen presented her team and programme in her speech.
The new European Commission will begin its work on 1 December 2024.

The proposed College of Commissioners was examined in public hearings of the European Parliament between 4 and 12 November 2024.

More on the hearings for the confirmation of the Commissioners-designate by Parliament

List of Commissioners-designate and their portfolios 2024-2029

Infographic: The role of the European Parliament in the appointment of the Commission

Parliament's Rules of Procedure – Annex VII: Confirmation of the Commission (July 2024)

On 28 November 2024, the European Council appointed by written procedure the European Commission for the period from 1 December 2024 to 31 October 2029.
European Council decision

Results of the 2024 European elections

From 6 to 9 June 2024, 360 million eligible voters were called upon to elect the 720 members of the European Parliament (EP). Voter turnout rose slightly to 51.05% compared to 50.66% in the last European elections in 2019.

All election results (EU-wide, national, broken down by national parties and political groups, seats by political group and country as well as the gender ratio of members).

Voter turnout in Hesse was also slightly higher than in 2019 (58.4%) at 63.0%.

All regional results for Germany's federal states, districts and independent cities have been published by the Federal Returning Officer.

A new European Parliament

The newly elected European Parliament took up its work on 16 July 2024 in its constituent session.

Parliament President Roberta Metsola was re-elected, while two former Commissioners resigned their posts and moved to the European Parliament.

Ursula von der Leyen has been elected President of the European Commission for the second time for a five-year term.

In the run-up to the vote, Ursula von der Leyen presented her political guidelines for the European Commission 2024-2029.

Background
Article 14 of the Treaty of the European Union provides that the EP “shall elect the President of the Commission.” Ursula von der Leyen has been Commission President since 2019 and was the EPP’s lead candidate in the 6 – 9 June European elections.

This year, the Language Resource Centre organized the European Day of Languages at TU Darmstadt for the first time.

Our European Documentation Centre (EDC) was there for you and provided information about European language policy.

Background “European Day of Languages”
On the initiative of the Council of Europe (not an EU institution), the European Day of Languages has been celebrated together with the EU Commission since 2001.
The aim is to encourage people of all ages to learn more languages in and out of school. The Council of Europe wants to promote multilingualism throughout Europe in the belief that linguistic diversity can contribute to a better understanding between cultures and is one of the central components of our continent's cultural heritage.

Are you a TU member and would like to improve your language skills or learn a new language?

The Language Centre at TU Darmstadt offers a wide range of language courses.

If you would like to go abroad, these centres at TU Darmstadt can support you:
Advisory on scholarships and funding for stays abroad – The International Relations Office provides advice on financing stays abroad during your studies.
Studying abroad – The International Relations Office provides advice on opportunities to study abroad in online consultation hours.
International Teacher Training – The Center for Teacher Training advises on opportunities for study abroad and internships abroad in the teaching profession.

Further information on European language policy

Language policy of the Council of Europe

Overview of EU language policy and the role of the European Parliament (EP).

Eurobarometer survey on Europeans and their languages, May 2024. This report provides information on citizens' language skills, language use and attitudes towards language learning in the European Union. It also allows us to see the evolution over time, as the survey results are compared with the previous language survey from 2012.

The European Union has 24 official languages. Languages take you further is a practical taste of each one of them that just might help you peek behind some of those doors.