These are the headlines of our weekly Insight EU Finance Monitoring, published last Friday night. We publish the headlines of our Insight EU Monitoring mails delayed by several days. To receive real-time monitoring emails, subscribe to our annual target group full-text services on the Insight EU Store page.
According to the European Court of Auditors (ECA), the EU did initiate crisis-response measures, but their impact often cannot be demonstrated. The EU’s security-of-supply architecture seems still incomplete. And solidarity between EU Member States leaves a lot to be desired.
The latest package of economic and individual restrictions against Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine increases the pressure on high-value sectors of the Russian economy, like energy, finance, and trade, and makes it ever more difficult to circumvent EU sanctions. The EU Commission explains the new sanctions in Q&A format.
The EU Commission has approved an estimated €3 billion German scheme to support the construction of the Hydrogen Core Network (‘HCN’). The measure will contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the EU Hydrogen Strategy and ‘Fit for 55’ package.
On Tuesday, the 10th edition of the Just Transition Platform Conference kicks-off in Brussels and online, bringing together more than 800 participants from EU regions strongly involved in the Just Transition Mechanism. Participants will discuss the many achievements of the ‘just transition’ on the ground and will exchange best practices.
The European Commission has adopted an amendment to its current Work Programme of Horizon Europe, the EU’s research and innovation programme. The amendment mobilises previously unallocated Horizon Europe funding to increase the 2024 budget by nearly €1.4bn to a total of €7.3bn.
Though EU lobbyists increasingly sign up to the EU transparency register, spontaneous meetings and most EU staff are still exempt from transparency rules. In particular, the EU Auditors warn about risk of NGOs’ funding sources remaining opaque.
More than eight in ten Europeans (81%) believe voting is even more important given the current geopolitical situation. Six in ten citizens (60%) take an interest in the upcoming European elections 6-9 June, 11pp more than at the same point in time prior to the previous vote in May 2019.
The Artemis Accords serve as a framework for international cooperation on space exploration and are based on the Outer Space Treaty and other relevant UN conventions.
EU Court: The name Pablo Escobar may not be registered as an EU trade mark. The public would associate that name with drug trafficking and narco-terrorism.
“Can we help all regions successfully navigate from their past economic profiles into the green transition? Is the green transition feasible? Will it damage the economic fabric? Can it ensure that vulnerable regions and vulnerable groups are not left behind? And can we create a community of practice to drive through this process?” – EU Commissioner Elisa Ferreira
“Our technological shift to net-zero is our industrial strategy. It is what drives our competitiveness. There is no green transition without tech. And our capacity to make one serve the other will decide how successful we are in the next decade. You know this better than anyone because the industries that you represent power these transitions” – EVP Vestager
On the 15 and 16 April, the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union is organising a high-level conference in La Hulpe dedicated to the European Pillar of Social Rights. The aim of the conference is to reflect with key European stakeholders on the future social agenda of the European Union.
The replies to the survey will contribute to the set-up of the future demand aggregation and matchmaking mechanism for strategic raw materials, as included in the Critical Raw Materials Act.
Croatia’s sent its fifth payment request for €821,7 million (net of pre-financing) with €555.7 million in grants and €266 million in loans. Croatia’s fifth payment request concerns a total of 25 milestones and 12 targets.
Economic activity was surprisingly resilient through the global disinflation of 2022–23. As global inflation descended from its mid-2022 peak, economic activity grew steadily, defying warnings of stagflation and global recession. However, the pace of expansion is expected to be low by historical standards and the speed of convergence toward higher living-standards for middle- and lower-income countries has slowed,
In June 2023, Mr Letta was appointed by the European Council to draft an independent high-level report on the future of the Single market, in consultation with member states. The final report is expected to be presented in April 2024.
While media attention has focused on state-sponsored disinformation campaigns and the targeting of our democratic institutions, attacks against digital supply chains – comprised of all external suppliers, partners, and service providers to our governments and operators of critical national infrastructure – pose a less visible but very significant threat.
Brussels, 28 July 2022 Today the European Commission published the results of the 2022 Digital Economy
NEW EUROPEAN BAUHAUS Nouveau Bauhaus européen : soutien à 18 projets menés par des citoyens
Brussels, 26 July 2022 Ahead of the EU-Ukraine Association Council planned to take place on 5 September,
Brussels, 25 July 2022 Romania will receive a total of €31.5 billion from Cohesion Policy
Geneva, 21 July 2022 At a meeting of the Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade
Brussels, 20 July 2022 From 18 to 20 July, a delegation of MEPs from the
Brussels, 19 July 2022 Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine has been accompanied
Brussels, 18 July 2022 Slovakia will receive €12.8 billion for the period 2021-2027 for Cohesion Policy
Brussels, 18 July 2022 The Council today gave its final approval on new rules for
NEW EUROPEAN BAUHAUS “New European Bauhaus”: MEPs ask for dedicated funding and concrete criteria EU-Abgeordneter
Today, the EU Commission has published its first progress report on the 2021-2030 EU Strategy on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life. The progress report shows that in line with the EU strategy, most Member States have taken action against antisemitism since 2021.
The European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) will establish a common framework for media services in the EU’s internal market and introduce measures aimed at protecting journalists and media providers from political interference, while also making it easier for them to operate across the EU’s internal borders. The new rules will guarantee the right of citizens to access free and plural information and define the responsibility of Member States to provide the appropriate conditions and framework to protect it.
While efforts to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) both globally and in the United States intensify, the prospects for broad Congress-passed legislation remain doubtful. In October 2023, President Biden issued a wide-reaching executive order on safe, secure and trustworthy AI. It is a positive step, but implementation will be challenging.
In a resolution adopted on Thursday, MEPs express their deepest sorrow over the innocent victims on both sides. They call for a permanent ceasefire and to restart efforts towards a political solution provided that all hostages are immediately and unconditionally released and the terrorist organisation Hamas is dismantled. The AJC Transatlantic Institute welcomes today’s European Parliament Resolution conditioning its call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza on dismantling Hamas and the release of all remaining hostages.
In the past year, the explosion of generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) in the public consciousness has created both excitement and trepidation. GenAI has the potential to change how we work, learn, play, and consume information. In response to this technology – and leaning into the momentum driven by the Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence – the Commerce Data Governance Board launched the AI and Open Government Data Assets Working Group. This working group is tasked with developing guidelines for publishing Commerce data that can be consumed by emerging AI technologies such as GenAI.
In the coming years, the exclusive ODA budget item will vary between EUR 600 and EUR 630 million per year. Additionally, development policy loans and investments amount to EUR 70 million per year. Ukraine will receive EUR 58 million annually through a separate budgetary item. The priorities for the government term will be specified in the report on Finland’s international economic relations and development cooperation in spring 2024.
The Council should adopt a decision to include hate speech and hate crime among criminal offences within the meaning of Article 83(1) TFEU (so-called “EU crimes”) by the end of the current legislative term, Parliament says in the report adopted on Thursday with 397 votes in favour, 121 against, and 26 abstentions. These are crimes of a particularly serious nature with a cross-border dimension, for which Parliament and Council can establish minimum rules to define criminal offences and sanctions.
MEPs looked into the state of citizens’ rights in the EU in 2022 and 2023, identifying an array of concerns across the member states. The report on the state of fundamental rights in the EU was approved with 391 votes in favour, 130 against, and 20 abstentions. MEPs call for justice for the killing of journalists and welcome the agreement on the media freedom act. They reiterate their concern over the use of spyware, highlighting the need to regulate the industry strictly and calling on EU countries, in particular Greece, Hungary, Poland, Spain, and Cyprus, to follow Parliament’s recommendations on this front.
Regretting the Council’s failure to apply the Article 7 (1) procedure (following Parliament’s activation of the mechanism in 2018), Parliament calls on the European Council to determine whether Hungary has committed “serious and persistent breaches of EU values” under the more direct procedure of Article 7(2). MEPs also condemn the actions of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who last December blocked the essential decision to revise the EU’s long-term budget, including the Ukraine aid package, “in full disrespect and violation of the EU’s strategic interests and in violation of the principle of sincere cooperation”. The EU must not give in to blackmail, they highlight.
In a resolution, which was drafted by rapporteur Klemen Grošelj (Renew, SI) and adopted by 565 votes to 26 and 31 abstention, MEPs examine how China, through its so-called military-civil fusion (MCF) strategy, is increasingly gaining access to and exercising influence over European critical infrastructure. This includes sectors of vital importance for the EU, such as transport infrastructure and ports, telecommunications networks, rare metals and undersea cables.
EU Parliament and Council negotiators reached a provisional agreement on the sixth Anti-Money Laundering (AML) directive and the EU “single rulebook” regulation. The agreed provisions, part of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) package.
Cyber threats are constantly evolving, and we can expect them to become increasingly disruptive as technology advances and our financial system becomes more interconnected. In the past few months, ransomware attacks have disrupted the ability of some financial institutions to offer a variety of banking and market services, including Treasury clearance and settlement and access to online banking and ATM operations. These incidents were resolved without significant disruption to the broader market, but they are stark reminders of the potential for cyber incidents to generate broader, even systemic risks, and the importance of addressing these risks.
Russian banks continue to use software products from Oracle and Microsoft. Problems with the use of SAS and IBM systems are pushing financial institutions to look for alternative software products, such as Digital Q.Reporting and Polymatica. Thus, ineffective import substitution in the financial sector opens a window for potentially successful sanctions restrictions. Dependence on VMware and Citrix software forces Russian institutions to use their own alternatives, which have problems with functionality and reliability.
On Tuesday, the 10th edition of the Just Transition Platform Conference kicks-off in Brussels and online, bringing together more than 800 participants from EU regions strongly involved in the Just Transition Mechanism. Participants will discuss the many achievements of the ‘just transition’ on the ground and will exchange best practices.
Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) is an important part of the technology portfolio for meeting net zero ambitions. In the IEA’s Net Zero Emissions by 2050 (NZE) Scenario – which lays out a pathway for the energy sector that aligns with the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C.
Historic deal on responsible business conduct reached today – S&Ds delivered! After more than one month
In April 2023, the regulatory authorities of the Core capacity calculation region referred to ACER two proposals from the Transmission System Operators (TSOs) to amend the Core region’s Intraday Capacity Calculation Methodology (Core ID CCM).
Das Umweltbundesamt hat heute die Daten zu den Treibhausgasemissionen 2023 sowie die Projektionsdaten zur künftigen Entwicklung der Treibhausgasemissionen veröffentlicht. Die Daten zeigen, dass das Klimaschutzziel für 2030 greifbar ist.
Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) has regained access to its only remaining back-up power line, following an outage of more than three weeks that once again underlined persistent nuclear safety and security risks facing the site, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said today.
The EU-US Energy Council serves as the lead transatlantic forum for coordinating strategic energy issues at political and technical levels. Transatlantic energy cooperation is vital to advancing diverse and resilient energy systems, bolstering energy security, promoting stability and transparency in global energy markets, and accelerating just energy transitions.
Delivering on its commitment to ease administrative burden for EU farmers, the European Commission has today proposed to review certain provisions of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), aiming to deliver simplifications while maintaining a strong, sustainable and competitive policy for EU agriculture and food.
Together with Prime Minister of Greenland Múte Bourup Egede, and in the presence of Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen, President von der Leyen signed two cooperation agreements totalling almost €94 million, under Global Gateway, the EU investment strategy for the world. These will bring investments in education and skills on the island and support the clean energy transition.
Tomorrow marks the second anniversary of the successful emergency synchronisation of Ukraine’s and Moldova’s electricity grid to the Continental European Network. This operation is a very tangible example of the EU’s immediate support to Ukraine and Moldova in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion. The synchronisation has been key to maintain operation of the Ukrainian network following Russia’s relentless attacks targeting Ukrainian’s electricity supplies. It thus helped keeping access to electricity, heat and hot water for millions of Ukrainians during the winter period.
Under the new rules, citizens will have immediate and easy access to their digital health data wherever they are in the EU. Health professionals will be able to access the medical records of a patient when required for treatment in a different Member State, allowing for evidence-based decision making, in full compliance with EU data protection rules. The EHDS also creates a strong legal framework for the re-use of health data for research, innovation, and public health purposes. The data will help develop life-saving treatments and personalised medicines, but also improve crisis preparedness, under strict data security and access conditions, and respecting fundamental rights.
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