The EU Council adopted today a new law on cybersecurity requirements for products with digital elements with a view to ensuring that products, such as connected home cameras, fridges, TVs, and toys, are safe before they are placed on the market (cyber resilience act).
As the new parliamentary mandate begins, this note looks back at notable achievements of the previous legislative term in the area of taxation. It then looks ahead to possible future action that could help the Member States and the European Union (EU) meet revenue needs in the context of climate and defence spending requirements.
These are the headlines of our weekly Insight EU Finance Monitoring, published last Saturday. 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.
Despite their rich histories and cultures, many Indigenous Peoples remain among the world’s most marginalised communities. Increasing competition over natural resources and land, as well as the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution puts Indigenous Peoples particularly at risk.
The EU Council has adopted the two legislative acts under the design package: the revised directive on the legal protection of designs and the amended regulation on community designs. The texts adopted today update the current design legislation to improve the protection of industrial designs in the era of digital designs and 3D printing.
“Es muss klar sein, dass eine Kommissionsspitze nicht mit den Stimmen der Sozialdemokrat:innen und den Rechtsradikalen zugleich gewählt wird. Man kann zwar rechtsradikale Abgeordnete nicht daran hindern, für eine Kandidatin zu stimmen. Es darf jedoch keine politischen Zugeständnisse an die Rechtsradikalen geben. Das ist unsere rote Linie” – René Repasi, Vorsitzender der deutschen SPD-Europa-Abgeordenten.
The European Council will adopt the Strategic Agenda to frame the EU’s priorities and set the EU’s strategic orientations for the next five years, guiding the work of the next institutional cycle. Secondly, the heads of states and governments will determine the way ahead on internal reforms. And thirdly, they will agree on key institutional appointments.
The EU reiterated its resolute condemnation of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and stated its readiness to continue to support Ukraine and its people against Russia’s ongoing war for as long as it takes and as intensely as needed.
The EU Council has now invited the EU Commission to continue to assess the state of preparedness of Moldova for opening negotiations in specific areas and identify the issues that will most likely come up in the negotiations, starting with the fundamentals’ cluster which, in accordance with the Negotiating Framework, will be opened first.
Following the decision of the European Council of December 2023 to open accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, the two countries are embarking on a true transformation into full EU membership.
“A key consideration in evaluating reform efforts is whether the benefits of a change outweigh the costs, both for the financial institutions subject to these reforms and for the broader economy. The benefits of reform, like Basel III, are clear—on a basic level, higher capital can make the banking system safer. At a minimum, this increased safety comes at a cost; in its more extreme forms, it can actually increase financial stability risks” – U.S. Fed Governor Michelle W. Bowman
The EEA and Norwegian Financial Mechanisms for 2021-2028 set out the contribution of the EEA EFTA states — Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway — to reducing the economic and social disparities in the European Economic Area. The two financial mechanisms will together provide a financial contribution of €3.268 billion to economic and social cohesion.
The operation of the Ilva steelworks must be suspended if it poses serious and significant threats to the environment and human health. It is for the Milan District Court to assess whether that is the case.
On 24 June 2024, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) held its annual Ministerial meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. On that occasion, the EFTA States and Chile convened to sign a Protocol of Amendment, modernising their Free Trade Agreement (FTA), further strengthening economic ties between the two sides.
“The digital sector has brought a lot of benefits, but it has also created many issues. Over the years, we saw that dominance and entrenched positions became the norm, sometimes leading to abuses. Digital markets have not always lived up to their promise of helping small businesses scale up and reach more customers. In our antitrust practice we saw that SMEs face many challenges, in particular those that operate only online” – EVP Vestager.
The EU Commission has adopted two decisions today, issuing a positive preliminary assessment to lift the suspension of payment of €714 million to Portugal, and €37.2 million to Romania (net of pre-financing), after acknowledging the progress made in implementing their respective recovery and resilience plans.
The transaction relates primarily to the wholesale, retail distribution and servicing of commercial vehicles, as well as to the sale of spare vehicle parts.
The EU Council has adopted the two legislative acts under the design package: the revised directive on the legal protection of designs and the amended regulation on community designs. The texts adopted today update the current design legislation to improve the protection of industrial designs in the era of digital designs and 3D printing.
Today, the Commission adopted its 2024 Work Programme, which puts a strong focus on simplifying rules for citizens and businesses across the European Union. This follows up on President von der Leyen’s commitment to reduce reporting requirements by 25%, in line with our strategy to boost the EU’s long-term competitiveness and to provide relief for SMEs.
These principles are currently developed by G7 Members under the Hiroshima Artificial Intelligence process to set up guardrails on a global level. The eleven draft guiding principles, which cover advanced AI systems such as foundational models and generative AI, aim to promote safety and trustworthiness of the technology. On this basis, G7 members aim to compile a Code of Conduct that will provide guidance for organisations developing AI tools.
MEPs to discuss the despicable terrorist attacks of Hamas against Israel +++ A long-term solution for Ukraine’s funding needs +++ 2023 Sakharov Prize winner to be announced in plenary +++ Parliament’s priorities for the 26-27 October European Council +++ Click for further topics.
The European Commission sent a formal request for information to the social media platform “X” (formerly Twitter) under the Digital Services Act (DSA). This request follows indications received by the Commission services of the alleged spreading of illegal content and disinformation, in particular the spreading of terrorist and violent content and hate speech. The request addresses compliance with other provisions of the DSA as well.
Respondents identified in network virtualisation, open networks, and edge cloud the technological breakthroughs that will have the largest impact in the coming years. These technologies are expected to bring about a shift from traditional electronic communications networks to cloud-based, virtualised, software-defined networks, driving down costs, improving the resilience and security of networks and introducing new, innovative services, while transforming the ecosystem and business models.
European Week of Regions and Cities puts the spotlight on Cohesion Policy and its role in supporting regions face the effects of Russia’s war on Ukraine +++ Speech by Commissioner Elisa Ferreira at the press conference launching the 2023 European Week of Regions and Cities +++ New European Bauhaus: applications open for 2024 edition of NEB Prizes +++ ACUTE / UERA TWG Urban Accessibility and Connectivity: Research Seminar +++ iCapital: Discover the finalists of the European Capital of Innovation Awards 2023 +++ Eurostat: Which regions have the most highly-skilled employed people?
This invitation is a follow-up to a previous one, sent in July 2023 and declined by Mr Chew. Given that TikTok has a base of 125 million monthly active users in the EU, the Committee Chairs previously noted that with growth comes responsibility.
ITS Directive: European Parliament puts more traffic data in digital format +++ EU-Abgeordneter Gieseke (CDU) zu intelligenten Verkehrssystemen +++ EU-Abgeordneter Rudner (SPD): “Die Straße wird digital” +++ 5GAA Welcomes the European Parliament’s Adoption of a forward-looking ITS Directive Revision +++ EU lawmakers reach deal on digital traffic data rules +++ EU Council positions on the roll-out of intelligent transport systems +++ Sustainable transport: rules to boost intelligent transport systems for safer and more efficient transport agreed +++ 76 pages.
The EU Commission will engage with Member States to initiate a collective risk assessments for the four abovementioned technology areas, and start a dialogue on a calendar and scope of further risk assessments.
On Tuesday, MEPs approved a new law that asks more traffic data, such as speed limit or traffic restrictions, to be available in digital format. The new rules on intelligent road transport systems, already agreed with Council last April, seek to promote digitalisation in the transport sector and ensure wider data sharing between mobility apps in order to make mobility safer, more efficient and sustainable.
EU Ministers of home affairs met in Luxembourg to discuss how to improve the EU’s return system. Also on the agenda was the entry/exit system and a draft law to prevent and combat child sexual abuse.
New hope for Ukraine: U.S. Congress endorses emergency supplemental appropriations to respond to the situation in Ukraine and for related expenses for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024, and for other purposes.
The text of the following statement was released by the G7 foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America and the High Representative of the European Union.
Mr Stoltenberg said that Allies had agreed to provide further military support, including more air defences: “NATO has mapped out existing capabilities across the Alliance and there are systems that could be made available to Ukraine.”
The Council decided to list four persons and two entities under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime. The listed individuals and entities are responsible for serious human rights abuses against Palestinians, including torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and for the violation of the right to property and private and family life.
EU Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski will visit China from 21-27 April 2024, leading a senior EU agri-food business delegation aiming to grow European food and beverage exports in this key market.
“Since the hybrid attack launched by Belarus in November 2021 against Latvia, Poland, and Lithuania, we all know how Putin and his allies instrumentalise migrants to test our defences and try to destabilise us. Now, Putin is focusing on Finland. This is no doubt in response to your firm support of Ukraine and your accession to NATO” – Commission President von der Leyen.
On 17 and 18 April, the European Council adopted conclusions on Ukraine, the Middle East, Türkiye and a new European competitiveness dea. The European Council also underlined the Union’s and its Member States’ determination to closely monitor and contain any risks stemming from disinformation compaigns during the upcoming European elections.
“According to the World Bank’s Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment, released in February 2024, Ukraine’s reconstruction and recovery will cost $486 billion over the next decade. It combines both needs for public and private funds. The most pressing issues are the highest estimated needs of housing, transport, commerce and industry, agriculture, energy, social protection, and livelihoods” – EU Commissioner Várhelyi.
The European Union expects the entity’s leadership to cease these legislative initiatives, including notably the Republika Srpska draft laws on elections, on referenda, on immunity and on “foreign agents”.
The Artemis Accords are a set of non-legally binding principles that describe a vision to create a safe and transparent environment which facilitates exploration, science, and commercial activities in space, grounded in the Outer Space Treaty of 1967.
The law is “an attack on independent media and civil society organisations. It is incompatible with EU values and democratic principles. It runs against Georgia’s ambitions for EU membership and jeopardises the country’s Euro-Atlantic integration”.
“Becoming a NATO member is a paradigm shift in Swedish foreign and security policy, but it is also the natural and final step of a journey Sweden has made in recent decades. Sweden’s NATO accession is the culmination of a long farewell to the policy of neutrality and non-alignment” – Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström in Cambridge.
The EU’s product liability regime was established in 1985. Its purpose was to compensate injured persons for physical injury or damages of property that they have suffered due to a defective product, simply by proving that a product was defective and that the defect caused the injury or damage.
The finalisation of the Plan is an important conditionality linked with the Ukraine Facility, the European Union’s 50 billion euro financial assistance program for Ukraine for the period of 2024-2027.
Der Deutsche Bundestag hat das Gesetz zur Verbesserung des Klimaschutzes beim Immissionsschutz, zur Beschleunigung immissionsschutzrechtlicher Genehmigungsverfahren und zur Umsetzung von EU-Recht beschlossen. Hiermit wird erstmals das Klima als Schutzgut in das Bundesimmissionsschutzgesetz (BImSchG) aufgenommen.
The calculator takes into account the entire lifecycle of the cars – from raw materials and mining to production and end-use – to provide a precise estimate of the direct and indirect emissions of different types of vehicles.
Global spending on clean energy technologies and infrastructure on track to hit $2 trillion in 2024 even as higher financing costs hinder new projects, notably in emerging and developing economies.
ACER has commissioned the Florence School of Regulation (FSR) to conduct a study on existing regulatory frameworks and how regulators could incentivise a more efficient use of existing and future electricity grids.
Eurostat estimates that in 2023, EU countries invested about €67 billion into assets essential to provide environmental protection services. These services included wastewater treatment plants, vehicles to transport waste, acquisitions of land to create a natural reserve, or cleaner equipment for production.
Most of the world’s cobalt is mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It is shipped to China for processing before being used, for instance, in batteries and electric vehicles. This creates crucial critical raw material and green sector dependencies on China. Now, the DRC wants to move up the battery supply chain. Europe can support this.
“A thriving ocean holds immense benefits for all life, and President Biden has made clear that preserving this natural resource is key to protecting our livelihoods” – US White House.
The Commission concluded that the notified transaction would not raise competition concerns, given the companies’ limited combined market position resulting from the proposed transaction.
The new carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) has two goals: to encourage industry worldwide to embrace greener technologies; and to prevent so-called carbon leakage, or the relocation of production outside EU borders to countries with lower environmental standards.
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