Insight Brussels January 2014

INSIGHTS BRUSSELS January 2014

.INSIGHTS BRUSSELS.

.January 2014.


SECTORAL POLICIES................................................................................................. 4

Agriculture And Fisheries ................................................................................................................. 4

Defence and Security Policy ............................................................................................................... 5

Energy and Environment ................................................................................................................... 6

Financial Services .............................................................................................................................. 7

Food and Beverage ............................................................................................................................. 8

Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals ...................................................................................................... 9

Information and Communication Technology ................................................................................ 10

Media and Audiovisual works ......................................................................................................... 12

Transport .......................................................................................................................................... 12


CROSS-SECTORAL POLICIES .................................................................................. 14

Competition ...................................................................................................................................... 14

Consumers ........................................................................................................................................ 15

Intellectual Property Rights ............................................................................................................ 16

International Trade.......................................................................................................................... 16

Research and Development .............................................................................................................. 17

Taxation ........................................................................................................................................... 18


SECTORAL POLICIES

European Parliament voted in favor of Deep-Water fishing

On 10 December, the European Parliament

rejected a total ban on bottom trawling. With their

vote, Members of the European Parliament

allowed deep-water fishing to be continued (for at

least five years) and provided a new framework

for demersal fishing and measures to protect

vulnerable marine ecosystems. The amendment

introduced by the Greens and the GUE/NGL links

parties reintroducing a proposal banning deep-

water trawling at depths of over 600 metres has

been rejected (342 against to 326 in favor with 19

abstentions). According to the compromise

adopted, the Commission will have to assess the

impact that this kind of fishing has on vulnerable

marine ecosystems and species at least four

years after the entry into force of the regulation.

If, on that date, the Commission considers that

certain species and areas are particularly

threatened, it will have to present a new proposal

for a total ban on bottom trawling.

The compromise text also set obligations for

Member States to use a framework of qualitative

scientific data in order to determine the vulnerable

marine ecosystems. They will have to set up

observer programmes allowing data to be

collected on deep-water species and on

vulnerable marine ecosystem.

Stakeholders are of course really divided on this

outcome. The Conservatives Members of

Parliament and the fishing industry welcomed the

vote which is said to safeguard thousands of jobs

for sea fishermen. Environmental organisations

expressed their discontentment after the vote,

underlining the Parliament’s incapacity to protect

oceans. It should be noticed that this decision

aroused a massive and unexpected social

reaction with a petition from the civil society

supported by 750 000 European citizens.

Early 2014: entry into force of the regulation

2018: Commission’s impact assessment

2019: Possible Commission’s new proposal

Upcoming EU strategy for the promotion of agricultural products

In the agricultural sector, the Greek presidency of

the EU Council of Ministers will focus in the next

six months on the negotiations for an agreement

on the new EU strategy for the promotion of

agricultural products. The objective of this

strategy is to join forces between the agricultural

sector and industry representatives in an effort to

improve the promotion of EU products around the

Agriculture And Fisheries


world, in particular by intensifying business trips

outside the EU with the participation of European

business representatives to numerous third

countries events - a model already used by

Industry Commissioner Tajani on his so-called

“missions for growth”. The new promotion

strategy will aim at opening up new markets for

European products. By doing so, the Commission

intends to shift the focus of the new policy from

individual campaigns to so-called “multi-country”

programmes presented jointly by several

organisations from several Member States. To

this end, the proposal increases the EU co-

financing rate from 50% to 60%. The remaining

40% would need to be covered by the companies

themselves.

On Monday 16 December, EU agriculture

ministers had a first exchange of views on this

strategy and discussed at an initial roundtable on

issues such as the eligibility of the products, co-

funding rates, earmarked budget (an amount of

€60 million is anticipated for 2014 with a gradual

rise to €200 million by 2020) and the Member

States role in the procedures. Agriculture

ministers will meet again on 17 February, when

the Commission will present its report on the

possible labeling of agricultural products from the

islands. On 14th April, the EU agriculture ministers

will meet again and will try to adopt the EU

strategy on the promotion of agricultural products.

As for the EU Parliament, the other co-legislator,

it has pledged to deliver its opinion before it goes

into recess next year. The new system is planned

to fully enter into force in January 2016.

17 February: Council’s debate on the strategy

14 April: Council’s expected adoption of the strategy

April: Parliament’s expected adoption of the strategy

January 2016: full entering into force of the strategy

Defence and Security Policy

European Heads of State and Government fail to move forward on Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) On 19-20 December, the conclusions of the

European Council Summit for defence matters

were timid, if compared with the high

expectations that were anticipating the meeting.

The ambition of the summit was to bring a

qualitative leap in the Common Security and

Defence Policy (CSDP). Essentially, the three

biggest spenders on security and defence issues

(France, Germany and the United Kingdom) did

not find an agreement on the main points: France

claimed for the creation of a special basis for the

deployment of the EU rapid reaction force but

found the opposition of Germany on funding

military operations in Central African Republic

while Britain ruled out the creation of an EU army

(even if this last point was not included in the

agenda).

Despite this fact, the conclusions stressed the

importance of developing drones promising


“appropriate funding for research and

development activities in 2014”. Conclusions also

encouraged the cooperation on development of

air-to-air refueling and a plan on satellite

communication. They also call to increase co-

operation on technologies development and

integration of defence industries. According to

experts this could have a significant impact at a

national level particularly because “cluster

industries” will foster economies of scale. In

2014, an EU maritime security strategy (expected

in June) and a cyber-defense policy framework

will be published.

20 Jan 2014: Foreign Affairs Council

June 2015 European Council Summit

Energy and Environment

Energy ministers adopt recommendations to complete internal market

On 12 December, the 28 energy ministers adopted a progress report on the completion of a single EU market for energy, which is supposed to be in place by the end of 2014. The report highlights progress in five priority areas: the single market, investment, diversification of supply sources, energy efficiency and competitiveness. According to energy ministers, the Member States need to urgently implement the third energy package to liberalize the market (2009 directives on gas and electricity markets), speed up the development of cross-border energy infrastructure and give consumers more rights. On renewables, the report underlines that Member States are on track to achieve their interim targets for 2014 but may not reach their 2020 overall targets, because of delays in the transposition of the directive. 14 infringement cases against Member States are currently underway. On energy efficiency, ministers recognize that Member States will not be able to meet their EU’s 2020 voluntary targets and are late in transposing the 2012 energy efficiency directive. The Commission already launched 27 infringement procedures in this field.

On consumer rights, ministers underline the different options adopted by Member States in their country (phone helplines, codes of conduct for companies, interactive websites..). In this area, the Commission is also preparing infringement procedures against those Member States which did not transpose consumer protection measures into national law. On investment, the report refers to the upcoming new state aid guidelines which are due to be adopted by the Commission in 2014 and which will clarify which situations justify state support. The Council’s report will be used as a reference for the Commission’s upcoming report expected in the first half of 2014 which will identify progresses and shortcomings towards the completion of the internal energy market.

Ongoing: infringement procedures against Member States

Mid 2014: Commission’s report on internal energy market

Mid 2014: Adoption of guidelines for state aid rules


Eight Member States and Members of the European Parliament call for 2030 renewable energy targets

Energy ministers from eight Member States, including Germany, France, Denmark, Italy, Ireland, Austria, Belgium and Portugal, have written a letter to Günther Oettinger, European Commissioner for energy and Connie Hedegaard, Commissioner for climate to call for the European Commission to propose new targets for renewable energy by 2030. The initiative comes after a year of increasing protest against the idea of extending the current framework to 2030 and after the announcement that the Commission would only propose a target for emissions reduction for 2030 later this month (without targets for renewables and energy efficiency). The letter insists on the potential impacts of 2030 renewables targets on investment, job creation and growth. It stresses the need to provide efficient planning and expansion of the European grid with renewable energies.

In the Parliament, the Members of the Committees on Environment (ENVI) and Energy (ITRE) have supported on 9 January in a joint own initiative report the inclusion of three binding objectives (reduction of greenhouse gases, or GHGs, promotion of renewable energies and energy efficiency) in the future 2030 energy-climate change strategy. The report will now be submitted to the Parliament's plenary assembly, most probably during its February session. If the Commission has not ruled out yet on the possibility to put forward further targets, the decision will probably fall to the next college of Commissioners which will take office in Autumn.

22 January: proposal for 2030 emissions reduction target

February: adoption of the Parliament’s report in plenary

Autumn: expected new college of Commissioners

Financial Services

The Council for Economic and financial affairs reaches an agreement on the single resolution mechanism On 19 December finance ministers found an

agreement on the single resolution mechanism

(SRM) for restructuring failed banks. The

ambition of Heads of State and Government is to

complete this procedure by the end of the

legislature next spring. The initiative aims at

introducing common rules for banking rescue

bringing Eurozone and some extra Eurozone

banks under the authority of a single supervisory

body. The fundamental idea behind this proposal

is to transfer the power to bail out banks from the

national governments to a new EU body. This

initiative was welcomed by most European

leaders.

Ministers of Finances changed a large part of the

initial Commission proposal, especially reducing


Commission´s role in deciding if to bail out or not

a bank. According to the Council’s text, the final

decision about banks saving should be devoted

to the Council. Furthermore another controversial

change from Commission´s proposal is related to

the creation of the resolution fund: the single

resolution fund would have access to common

Member State funds only after ten years which,

according to experts, could be an incentive for

banks to continue with budgetary imbalances.

This latest elements were strongly criticized both

by the Commission and the European Central

Bank. According to the Council position,n the

single resolution fund should now be established

through an intergovernmental treaty. This

statement was criticized by President Schulz

because it would put the European Parliament

out of play.

Despite the optimism of heads of States, time is

running out before Parliament dissolves in April

and a long negotiation is predictable in the

trialogue.

28 January: next ECOFIN meeting

1 March: deadline for negotiation for intergovernmental

agreement on single resolution mechanism

Food and Beverage

Commission proposes new legislation on novel food and cloned meat On 18 December, the European Commission

proposed three draft directives: two of them

intend to forbid animal cloning for food farming

purposes and ban food made from offspring of

cloned animals while the third one aims at

introducing new measures for novel food.

The first draft Directive proposes to forbid the

cloning technique on farm animals; cloning

would be permitted only for research or

scientific purposes.

The second draft Directive aims at banning

offspring from cloned animals (such as eggs,

milk…) but the only controversial point of this

initiative is that imported food produced from

the descendants of cloned animals will not be

labelled. This means that European consumers

may eat descendants of cloned animals or their

offspring without being properly informed. The

European Parliament criticized this aspect

asking the Commission to be more ambitious

and include dispositions that would label the

meat and offspring obtained from descendants

of cloned animals. The Commission replied

stating that labelling would be costly and

complicated and that an impact assessment

evaluation would be required. This precise

issue already determined the failure, in March

2011 of a very similar regulation. In the course

of next year, the Council and the Parliament are

expected to adopt a position but it is unlikely

MEPs would approve the text as it stands.

The third draft Directive aims at introducing a

regulation on novel food. The Commission


defines novel food as newly developed

products; food produced using new

technologies or food traditionally eaten outside

the EU (in particular food for which

consumption in the EU was negligible before

May 1997). The proposal’s objective is to

facilitate novel food market access by

simplifying and clarifying authorization

procedures. The text has now to be discussed

within the Council and the Parliament.

End 2014/ Begin 2015: adoption of position from the EP

and Council 2016: expected entering into force of the Directives

EFSA confirms that aspartame is not dangerous for human health On December 10 the European Food Safety

Authority (EFSA) stated that aspartame is safe for

human consumption and that there is no reason to

modify the current Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) of

40 mg/kg. This opinion closes a debate that has

been going on for more than a year. Aspartame and

its breakdowns have been used for more than 30

years and, along with all food additives, it was due

for a re-evaluation by 2020. During the past years

several studies established a link between

aspartame consumption and a large amount of

diseases (cancer and premature birth mostly). This

latest element alerted the European Parliament that

put pressure on the Commission asking EFSA to

publish a final opinion on aspartame in May 2013.

EFSA delayed then the date of publication to

November in order to consider three new studies.

During the public consultation on the draft opinion

that took place from 9 January to 15 February,

EFSA received 219 comments. All those were

considered and debated by all the stakeholders

during a public hearing in April. The Commission

has now to confirm this opinion and the current ADI

will certainly be maintained.

Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals

EU institutions finally reach an agreement on tobacco directive On 18 December the trialogue between the European Parliament, the Council of Ministers and the Commission finally found an agreement on tobacco directive. The new text introduces the following rules:

Cigarette producers must a maximum level of nicotine that can be contained in cigarettes;

Packs will have to contain at least 20 cigarettes or 30 g for rolling tobacco packs;

At least 65% of the packs needs to indicate health warning (but Member States can go further and impose warnings to the whole package);


Flavours will be banned with an exception for menthol cigarettes that will be allowed till 2020;

A tracking system will be introduced to tackle sales on the black market;

Cross-border sales and particularly online sales will be from now on legally prohibited.

The most controversial part of the negotiation was the issue of electronic cigarettes. Member States wished to ban refillable cartridge arguing that they were unsafe, while MEP´s, under the pressure of manufacturers and consumers refused such measure. The final compromise reached gives Member States the choice to classify electronic cigarettes as medicinal products or tobacco

products. The maximum nicotine concentration will be 20mg/ml, refill bottles and cartridges will also have a defined maximum capacity. Moreover the European Commission will be able to unilaterally propose an EU ban if a specific cartridge is banned from at least three Member States.

The text has now to receive the agreement of the Parliament in plenary session and the Council. It will come into force from 2016.

March: formal adoption of the directive

2016: entry into force of the directive

Interinstitutional agreement reached on clinical trials

On 20 December, the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament reached an agreement on the proposed regulation on clinical trials of products for human use. The draft regulation, presented in July 2012 aimed at giving new impetus to clinical research in Europe by improving the authorization process for products for human use which is long and complex. The objective is to make the European Union more attractive for clinical research, whilst maintaining rigorous standards ensuring patients safety and reliability of data. The final version of the regulation stipulates that Member States will

continue to carry out independent assessments into ethical issues, whilst common rules will govern the protocol followed to carry out clinical trials. In the future, pharmaceutical companies and academic researchers will have to make public the results of all clinical trials they undertake in Europe on a common database.

January: formal adoption of the regulation

2016: entry into force of the regulation

European Ministers express reservations on Telecom package

On 5 December, European ministers meeting at the Telecommunications Council gave conditional support to the European Commission’s

'Connected Continent' proposals which aim at achieving a greater harmonization of the EU telecoms markets. In particular, they casted

Information and Communication Technology


doubts over the substance and timing of two issues:

common regulation principles for radio frequency allocation of wireless broadband (4G development). European Ministers opposed Europe-wide harmonization for allocating frequency and called for more attention to national specificities.

alignment of roaming services with national prices by 2016. According to European ministers, this Commission’s flagship proposal would create a high level of uncertainty among operators. Ministers supported the aim of reducing roaming charges, but many said existing roaming proposals (2009 regulation) need to be implemented before new ones are adopted. Others claimed the proposals would distort competition. As a reminder, the Commission's roaming proposals aims at eliminating charges for receiving calls across borders within the bloc, and a cap of €0.19 per minute for those making calls across EU borders.

Many ministers also expressed concerns that the Commission’s proposals to harmonize consumer protections would have the effect of diluting their own existing domestic provisions.

In the Council, the dossier will now pass to the Greek presidency which will be in charge of developing the debate for the next six months. Within the European Parliament, good progress have been achieved with a Committee vote expected in February before a plenary vote in April. The Commission expects that the interinstitutional talks will lead to a compromise text before the end of its mandate in 2014.

February: Parliament’s committee vote on Telecom package

April: Parliament’s plenary vote on Telecom package

April: Expected Council’s vote on Telecom package

Fall 2014: Expected adoption of the Telecom package

European Ministers discuss cyber security

On 5 December, the Telecommunications Council also reviewed the draft directive aimed at ensuring a high level of security of electronic communications networks and information systems in the EU. The text was presented by the European Commission on 7 February as part of its European cyber security strategy. Ministers in particular underlined two key questions on which work still needs to be done: notifying risks and incidents and developing cooperation among national authorities to ensure coordinated intervention in the event of an incident occurs.

Some delegations prefer a flexible approach, limiting the adoption of binding rules at EU level to critical infrastructure and basic requirements, complemented by voluntary measures. Others, as well as the Commission, take the view that only legally binding measures can ensure the best level of security throughout the EU.

10 March: Parliament’s plenary vote on Cyber security Directive

Mid-2014: expected adoption of the Directive


Media and Audiovisual works

New funding opportunities for the creative sectors from 2014

Creative Europe, the new programme supporting the cultural and creative sectors in the EU, entered into force on 1st January 2014. With a budget of nearly €1.46 billion over the next seven years, Creative Europe will fund thousands of projects in cinema, TV, culture, music, performing arts, heritage and related areas the with a view to increase Europe’s international visibility in the creative sectors. Creative Europe builds on the success of the Culture and MEDIA programmes, which have supported the cultural and audiovisual sectors for more than 20 years.

The first call of proposals is now available for cultural and creative organisations wishing to bid for funding in 2014. Nearly €170 million in funding is available under the programme's first calls for 2014.

March: Deadline for submission of projects

September: Funding of selected projects

Transport

European Parliament pushes to reinforce air passengers’ rights

On 17 December, Members of the European Parliamentary Committee on Transport (TRAN) finally adopted a compromise text with a massive majority (37 in favor, 3 against) which aims at strengthening a Commission’s proposal on air passengers’ rights. MEPs put forward in particular amendments lifting up the thresholds proposed by the Commission for triggering reimbursement, compensation or re-routing in case of air delays. They asserted that compensation should be due after a three-hour delay for flights of up to 2,500 km (€300 in compensation), after five hours for flights of up to 6,000 km (€400) and after seven hours for flights of over 6,000 km (€600). The Commission was counting on thresholds of five, nine and twelve hours. To recall, the current regulation does not establish financial compensation for delays, only for cancellation.

But the EU Court of Justice believed that it went against the treaty, which in turn fuelled the need to adapt the regulation. Members of the European Parliament also

cleared up the notion of “extraordinary

circumstances” allowing airline companies to

circumvent paying compensation (this disposition

has been subject to systematical abuses in the

past). They called for the regulation to contain an

exhaustive list of exceptional circumstances. The

Commission’s proposal only contained a non-

exhaustive list. MEPs for instance supported that

“Labour disputes” at an airline company qualify as

an extraordinary circumstance -as the

Commission would like- but only if it is


“unforeseen”. This means that if a pilot strike is

announced in advance and leads to

delays/cancellations, it will certainly result in

compensation.

The compromise text will now pass to the plenary

session in February, and the Parliament is

counting on an agreement in first reading with the

Council by the end of the legislative period. The

Council is expected to adopt its position in March

but current discussions seem to show that

Member States are keener to support the airline

companies’ interests more than MEPs.

February: Adoption of final position of the Parliament

March: Adoption of the final position of the Council

April-May: Expected adoption of the final compromise

European Commission adopts a “urban mobility package”

On 17 December, the European Commission

adopted a new "urban mobility package" to

reinforce the exchange of best practice, provide

targeted financial support, encourage the

development of "sustainable urban mobility

plans" and invest in research and development.

The package includes in particular the following

initiatives:

Setting up in 2014 a European platform for

sustainable urban mobility plans to help cities,

planning experts and stakeholders to plan for

easier and greener urban mobility;

Providing targeted financial support through the

European structural and investment funds;

Promoting Research and Development through

the Civitas 2020 initiative with an estimated

budget for 2014 and 2015 of €106.5 Million (the

first call for proposals has been published on 11

December)

Providing specific recommendations for

coordinated action between all levels of

government and between the public and the

private sector

March: deadline for EU mobility calls for proposals (1st set)

August: deadline for EU mobility calls for proposals (2nd set)

Mid-2014: launch of platform for sustainable mobility

€1 billion in research and innovation for rail transport

The European Commission announced on 16

December, that the public-private partnership

“Shift2rail” will invest €1 billion until 2020 in

research and innovation to get more passengers

and freight onto Europe's railways. Together with

the EU contribution of €470 million from the

Horizon 2020 programme, rail equipment

manufacturers including Alstom, Ansaldo STS,

Bombardier, Siemens, Thales and CAF, as well

as infrastructure managers Trafikverket and

Network Rail, have already confirmed that they

will each make a contribution of at least €30

million to the Shift2Rail initiative. Research will

focus on cost efficient rolling stock, traffic

management systems, intelligent maintenance,

integrated ticket systems and intermodal freight

solutions. The objective is to reduce rolling costs

by half, double the rail sector’s capacity and

increase railway line punctuality by 50%.


CROSS-SECTORAL POLICIES

Competition

European Commission simplifies merger procedures


adopted a package of measures to simplify its

procedures for reviewing concentrations under

the EU Merger Regulation. The new measures

are supposed to bring significant benefits to

businesses in terms of preparatory work and

related costs.

Under the new requirements, mergers below a

20% combined market share will now qualify for a

simplified procedure (instead of 15% previously).

Mergers in vertically integrated markets (such as

between a producer and a manufacturer) below a

30% combined market share as well as merger

with a combined market shares of between 20%

to 50% but with a small increase in market share

after merger will also qualify for the simplified

procedure. With the new thresholds, the

Commission’s objective is to bring the total ratio

of cases treated under simplified procedure to 60-

70%.

The package also provides companies with

shorter notification forms and a significant

reduction of information requested from merging

companies. With the new dispositions, the

Commission will also be entitled to clear cases

without a market investigation.

Last, merging parties may offer commitments in

order to remove competition problems raised by

a notified merger. The Commission developed

models for offering commitments to divest assets

and for the establishment of a mandate for the

trustees monitoring the implementation of the

commitments.

January: implementation of the new merger procedures

European Commission opens two consultations on state aid support

The European Commission opened in December

two public consultations on draft rules for state

support in energy and environmental field and on

draft rules for state support for research,

development and innovation. Both consultations

are part of a broader initiative to modernise EU

State aid rules.


published its long awaited consultation on a

proposal for revised State aid guidelines for

assessing public support projects in the field of

energy and the environment. With an increasing

penetration and decreasing costs of renewable

energy, the guidelines in particular propose that


state aid should gradually move to a more market

friendly support of renewable energy in the form

of market premiums or certificate schemes.

Accordingly, the guidelines propose to focus

more on infrastructure projects for cross-border

energy flows.


published for public consultation a draft

framework setting out revised conditions under

which Member States can grant state aid for

research, development and innovation activities

(R&D&I). It will offer Member States more

possibilities to channel state aid towards boosting

innovation, growth and jobs:

the conditions for subsidised pilot and

demonstration projects will be more flexible;

It will facilitate the validation of technologies

which are vital for the competitiveness of

European industry and addressing societal

challenges such as climate change.

A new category of aid for the construction and

upgrade of research infrastructure will also be

set up.

After having analysed the comments by

stakeholders, the Commission envisages

adopting a new framework in spring 2014.

14 February: end of consultation for energy and

environment state aid guidelines

20 February: end of consultation for research and

development state aid guidelines

1 July: entry into force of a new framework for R&D

Consumers

Council of Ministers adopted a general approach on payment accounts

On 20 December, the Council of Ministers

adopted a general approach on a draft directive

aimed at improving the transparency and

comparability of information on fees related to

payment accounts. The proposal sets out to

enable the consumer to make informed choices

when opening a payment account, whilst

facilitating the switching of accounts and

eliminating discrimination based on residency. It

also sets out to guarantee access to basic

payment services throughout the EU.

The aim is to enhance both consumer protection

and integration of the single market, contributing

to easier market entry, increased economies of

scale and strengthened competition in the

banking and payment industries.

Negotiations with the European Parliament will

now start, with the aim of adopting the directive at

first reading.

Early 2014: final agreement on payment accounts


Intellectual Property Rights

Reform of EU legislation on registering trademarks expected in 2014

On 2 December, European Ministers discussed the reform of the EU legislation on registering national and European trade marks. Ministers agreed that there is still some way to go before reaching an agreement as they share some reservations about the governance structure of the Office for the Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM) and the level of cooperation between OHIM and national trademarks offices. The objective of the trademark package is to lower the cost of registering a trade mark. The Commission’s draft legislation would lower the cost of registering a trade mark from €900 to €775, and reduce the cost of renewing it from €1,350 to €1,000. The reform should also

enhance seizures of counterfeit products in transit on European territory - not just at customs. The EU rules in this field date back in the 1990s. While the European Parliament is progressing well on this dossier with a vote scheduled in the plenary session in February, an interinstitutional agreement on the trademark package is expected in the course of the year.

4 February: Parliament’s vote on trademark package

Early-Mid 2014: Council’s vote on trademark package

Mid-End 2014: expected EU compromise on package

International Trade

Third EU/US round talks makes significant progress in negotiation From 16 to 20 December, took place in

Washington the third round of discussions

between European and American negotiators on

the Transatlantic Trade and Investment

Partnership (TTIP), a trade agreement that aims

at removing trade barriers between EU and the

US. Both delegations talked about “progress”

during the press conference that followed this

third round. The three key elements of the TTIP

are market access, regulatory aspects and rules.

The most relevant themes discussed during the

latest round were:

Agriculture: US wants Europe to approve

genetically modified food;

Food: Commission asks for exclusive rights in

using food names with a specific geographic

origin;

Financial services: EU Commission wants to

include them in the negotiations;

Energy: EU access to new energy sources in

the US (shale gas) and US concern over fuel

quality directive;

Data security: US demands for free data flows.


Both European Parliament and American

Congress are strongly supporting this initiative,

but Europe has been more ambitious hoping to

close the deal by October. A meeting between the

European Commissioner for trade Karel De

Gucht and Mike Froman, the US trade

representative, will occur during February, while

the fourth round of negotiation will take place in

Brussels 4 March. Those next two meetings will

be decisive in order to reach an agreement by the

end of the current year.

February: meeting between European Commissioner for

trade and US trade representative

March: fourth round of negotiations October: expected final agreement

Research and Development

Near €8 billion in 2014 to fund projects in research and development

On 11 December, the European Commission published the first calls for projects under the new framework programme for research and innovation, Horizon 2020. The European Commission has indicated for the first time funding priorities over two years (2014-2015), providing researchers and businesses with more certainty on the direction of EU research policy. This set of calls for projects is the first of a series announced for 2014 to be launched over the course of the year. Calls in the 2014 budget alone are worth around €7.8 billion, with funding focused on the three key pillars of Horizon 2020:

Industrial Leadership: €1.8 billion to support Europe's industrial leadership in areas like ICT, nanotechnologies, advanced manufacturing, robotics, biotechnologies and space.

Societal challenges: €2.8 billion for innovative projects in the fields of health, agriculture, maritime and bioeconomy, energy, transport, climate action, environment, resource efficiency and raw materials, reflective societies, and security.

Excellent Science: Around €3 billion, including €1.7 billion for grants for top scientists.

The first grants are expected to be awarded in

September this year.

September: first funds granted to selected projects


Taxation

High-level expert group to focus on taxation of digital economy

On 12 December, the high-level expert group established by the European Commission on Taxation of the digital economy organized its first meeting. The group of experts, consisting of six national members, will report back to the Commission by mid-2014, listing the main problems of taxing the digital economy. In particular, it will seek to propose different options on the way multinationals active in this sector – whose tax optimisation strategies are increasingly

being criticised – shall be taxed. The Commission will then develop any necessary EU initiative to improve the tax framework for the digital sector in Europe.

Mid 2014: report from the high level group on taxation of digital economy

End 2014-Begin 2015: new tax framework for the digital sector


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Insight Brussels January 2014

Business

Transcript of Insight Brussels January 2014