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.
The mechanism is a deliverable of the political agreement reached in 2023 between Vice-President Jourová and Vice-Premier Zhang Guoqing at the EU-China High-Level Digital Dialogue, as well as at the EU-China High-Level Economic and Trade Dialogue between Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis and Vice-Premier He Lifeng.
“The ocean is overflowing. The changes here in the Pacific region are visible since my last visit. And around the world, rising seas have unparallelled power to cause havoc to coastal cities and ravage coastal economies. The reason is clear: greenhouse gases – overwhelmingly generated by burning fossil fuels – are cooking our planet. And the sea is taking the heat – literally” – UN Secretary General.
The European Commission has today launched a call for evidence to gather information on the scope and content of its revision of the 2014 Guidelines on State aid to airports and airlines (the ‘Aviation Guidelines’).
The European Commission has today raised €11 billion of EU-Bonds in its 9th syndicated transaction for 2024. The dual-tranche transaction concerned a €5 billion tap of the EU-Bond maturing on 6 December 2027, and a €6 billion tap of the EU-Bond maturing on 4 October 2039.
More than 45 European leaders will converge on Oxfordshire next week to discuss some of the most pressing generational issues facing Europe.
The green transition will significantly increase demand for key minerals over the coming decades. The impact on energy prices will ultimately depend on how supply adjusts. The European Central Banks’s Blog looks at the geopolitical risks involved.
A strong and timely policy response helped cushion the impact of the COVID19 pandemic and the energy crisis resulting from Russia’s war in Ukraine. Despite a recovery slowdown in 2023, the French economy has remained relatively resilient in the face of financial tightening and weaker euro area external demand.
The three European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA) published a consultation paper on Guidelines under Markets in Crypto-assets Regulation (MiCAR), establishing templates for explanations and legal opinions regarding the classification of crypto-assets along with a standardised test to foster a common approach to classification.
The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of sole of Nexeye Holding B.V. of the Netherlands by KKR & Co. Inc. of the US. The transaction relates primarily to the retail of optical and hearing aid products in the European Economic Area.
The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of joint control of the Sehnde Asset and the Rosstal Asset, located in Germany, by Prologis, L.P. of the US and NBIM Nerva S. à r.l. of Norway.
The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of joint control of Gartner Transport Holding GmbH by Richard Garther, both of Austria, and CE – Beteiligungs-GmbH (‘CE’) of Germany.
The European Commission has approved a €200 million Finnish scheme to support the production of renewable fuels of non-biological origin and the deployment of energy storage to foster the transition towards a net-zero economy, in line with the Green Deal Industrial Plan.
The purpose of the scheme is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from production processes by at least 40% and/or reduce energy consumption by at least 20%, compared to today. Under the scheme, the aid will take the form of direct grants and subsidised loans.
The scheme aims to alleviate part of the costs for companies that stored natural gas at the Chiren underground gas facility to help Bulgaria reach its 80% filling targets before the start of the heating season in November 2022 in accordance with the Gas Security of Supply Regulation 2017/1938.
The EU Commission has approved Poland’s support measure of approximately €194 million (PLN 900.45 million) for the construction of an offshore wind terminal in the seaport of Gdańsk. The new terminal will serve as installation terminal to build offshore wind farms.
The measure will contribute to the achievement of the EU Hydrogen Strategy, the European Green Deal and the Green Deal Industrial Plan targets, while helping to end dependence on Russian fossil fuels in line with the REPowerEU Plan.
Today, the EU Commission has adopted the second Work Programme for the digital part of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Digital, which defines the scope and objectives of EU-funded actions to improve Europe’s digital connectivity infrastructures. These actions will receive around €865 million of funding from 2024 to 2027.
EU Commission EVP Vestager at a Renew Europe event at the European Parliament: “There are questions around input neutrality and the influence such systems could have on our democracies. A Large Language Model is only as good as the inputs it receives, and for this there must always be a discretionary element. Do we really want our opinion-making to be reliant on AI systems that are under the control – not of the European people – but of tech oligarchs and their shareholders?”
It’s time to realise: Organised crime is as big a threat to society, as terrorism. And we have to counter this threat with the same determination. And so it’s good that the last four years the EU has made big steps forward on security. Much bigger steps than anyone expected four years ago when we started this mandate. And to a very large part, that’s thanks to Europol.
Would you trust artificial intelligence (AI) in your heart? This is not some imaginary, science-fiction scenario. Biomedical companies are already developing pacemakers embedded with AI. Digital technologies like AI are also opening new possibilities such as improved management of natural resources and facilitating the shift towards a circular economy.
EU Council has adopted its position (negotiating mandate) on the amending directive to further expand and upgrade the use of digital tools and processes in company law. The new rules will make company’s data more easily available, enhance trust and transparency in companies across Member States, create more connected public administrations and reduce red tape for companies and other stakeholders in cross-border situations. It will thereby contribute to a more integrated and digitalised single market for companies.
Today, the European Commission and national consumer protection authorities of 22 Member States, Norway and Iceland released the results of a screening (“sweep”) of social media posts from influencers. The sweep found that nearly all (97%) of these influencers posted commercial content but only one in five systematically indicated that their content was advertising. The objective of the sweep was to verify whether influencers disclose their advertising activities as required under EU consumer law. Posts of 576 influencers published on major social media platforms were checked.
MEPs have endorsed at committee level the provisional agreement on the Artificial Intelligence Act that ensures safety and complies with fundamental rights. On Tuesday, the Internal Market and Civil Liberties Committees voted 71-8 (7 abstentions) to approve the result of negotiations with the member states on the Artificial Intelligence Act.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a Financial Trend Analysis (FTA) today reflecting an increase in Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) reporting associated with the use of convertible virtual currency (CVC) and online child sexual exploitation (OCSE) and human trafficking.
The European Commission has closed four market investigations launched on 5 September 2023 under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The Commission found that Apple and Microsoft should not be designated as gatekeepers for the following core platform services: Apple’s messaging service iMessage, Microsoft’s online search engine Bing, web browser Edge and online advertising service Microsoft Advertising.
Following the EU ambassadors’ endorsement of the compromise text on 2 February, the stage is set for Parliament’s competent committees to vote on the provisional agreement. This step will pave the way for the AI Act’s final adoption in plenary before the end of April.
“The Global Digital Compact has enormous potential to reaffirm and establish general goals and principles for digital cooperation; to promote a human-centric and human rights-based approach to the digital transition; to address gaping digital divides among regions, countries, and communities; to fast-track progress towards the SDGs; and in the process to improve coordination of the digital agenda in the UN system itself by ensuring complementarity between the GDC and existing UN processes and fora, most notably the World Summit on the Information Society+20.”
Today, the EU launched a Humanitarian Air Bridge operation consisting of three flights from Dubai and Brindisi with the first one reaching Beirut on 11 October. The flights will transport EU-owned stocks including hygiene items, blankets and emergency shelter kits, among other items.
At the 8th edition of the Brussels Conference on ‘Supporting the future of Syria and the region’, the EU pledged €2.12 billion for 2024 and 2025. This assistance will support both Syrians inside Syria and those in neighbouring countries, as well as their host communities in Türkiye, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq.
Using illegal trafficking services will become a criminal offence that is punishable by effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties. The new law also strengthens prevention measures as well as the support for and assistance to victims.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen co-hosts a trilateral cooperation meeting between the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and Denmark to procure ammunition for Ukraine. The meeting takes place in Prague on Tuesday, May 28, 2024.
The G7 meeting was dedicated to a broad range of issues: Global outlook and developments, Support for Ukraine, Financial Sector Issues, Artificial Intelligence, Health and Finance, Green Transition, International Tax Cooperation, Multilateral Development banks and support for Low-income Countries, and several Initiatives for Development with a focus on Africa.
Since the February 2021 coup d’état, the number of people in humanitarian need has risen from 1 million to 18.6 million. There continues to be credible reports of violations and abuses, including airstrikes on homes, schools, places of worship and hospitals, torture, the use of civilians as human shields, sexual and gender-based violence against women and children.”
Leading experts from across the Alliance met at NATO Headquarters for the first meeting of NATO’s new Critical Undersea Infrastructure Network. The Alliance is putting in place new tools to enhance the security of undersea cables and pipelines and to monitor potential threats.
Investigative journalists from German public TV ARD have come across evidence that construction companies Knauf and WKB Systems GmbH are actively helping to rebuild the Ukrainian citiy of Mariupol that was occupied and destroyed by Russians. The EU Commission replies to questions from Polish MEPs.
Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) temporarily lost the connection to its sole remaining 750 kilovolt (kV) off-site power line this afternoon due to a reported short-circuit, leaving it reliant on a single back-up line for more than three hours, according to Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The reform is instrumental in making the Schengen area more resilient to present and future crises at its external borders. It makes also sure that people living and travelling in the EU can fully enjoy the benefits of borderless travel.
The directive introduces obligations for large companies regarding adverse impacts of their activities on human rights and environmental protection. The rules concern not only the companies’ operations, but also their subsidiaries, and those of their business partners along the companies’ chain of activities.
A joint statement underlines the need to strengthen security to prevent the use of these materials in acts of terrorism. It builds upon existing US and EU programs aimed to strengthen domestic and international partner capacity for the security of radioactive sources in use, storage, and transport.
The recommendation identifies risks relating mainly to the areas of undesirable transfer of knowledge, foreign interference, and ethical or integrity violations.
On Thursday and Friday, EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra will participate in the Pre-COP29 meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan. With just a month to go until the COP29 UN Climate Change Conference (11 – 22 November), this meeting is a key opportunity for ministers from across the globe to come together ahead of the formal UN climate negotiations.
With just six years remaining to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), global progress is alarmingly insufficient, with a mere 17 per cent of the targets currently on track, according to a new UN report released on Friday.
The 2024 edition of the International Energy Workshop (IEW) has concluded in Bonn, Germany last week, drawing energy modelling experts from across the globe. This year, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) hosted the event, which is regarded as a cornerstone for the international energy modelling research community.
The new procedure is performed using a particle counting instrument (PN-PTI), which provides a more accurate assessment of exhaust emissions and can thus better identify high emitting vehicles that are responsible for the majority of air pollution from traffic in urban areas.
The generation of clean electricity in Europe is setting records. In the first half of 2024, renewables made up more than 50% of all power generation in Europe while nuclear provided a stable share of 24% – according to latest figures from Eurelectric’s electricity data platform.
In the first quarter of 2024, the EU imported €95.5 billion worth of energy products, amounting to a total of 183.8 million tonnes. Compared with the same quarter of 2023, imports decreased both in value (-26.4%) and in net mass (-10.4%).
The EMCDDA will become the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) on 2 July 2024, the day on which the regulation enters into application.
The transaction relates primarily to the operation of renewable energy assets. The EU Commission concluded that it would not raise competition concerns.
The EU Commission launched a targeted consultation to seek feedback from the business community and public authorities on a proposed new procedure aimed at enabling public access to justice for specific Commission decisions on State aid measures, for challenges based on grounds related to alleged breaches of EU environmental law.
The European Court of Auditors (ECA) has examined the European Commission’s effectiveness in creating the right conditions for the emerging renewable and low-carbon hydrogen markets, given the significant implications for the future of key EU industries.
Today, Hungary replaces Belgium at the steering wheel, taking over the rotating 6-month Presidency of the EU Council. This change occurs amid a shifting, more right-leaning political landscape following the European elections.
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