Concern about freight traffic from the F • Table.Briefings

Dear reader,

Poland and Bulgaria have already turned off the gas tap to Russia. Germany, too, must be prepared for a Russian gas supply freeze, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) said yesterday during his visit to Tokyo. “Whether and what decisions the Russian government takes in this regard one can only speculate, but it makes little sense to do so,” the chancellor said. Meanwhile, the European Commission has taken a position on the ruble payments demanded by Russia and clarified how companies can pay their bills without violating sanctions. Read more in the news.

The harsh COVID-19 lockdown in the Chinese metropolis of Shanghai, the world’s largest container port, increases the importance of the rail link between China and Europe. But the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine unsettles suppliers because the standard route of the New Silk Road on rails runs right through Russia. Even though the German logistics industry assures that the effects of the war and the sanctions are manageable, they are working at full speed on alternatives. Lukas Scheid analyzes the difficulties of the so-called middle corridor.

Are consumer associations allowed to file for injunctions in data protection law under the current legal situation? The BGH (Federal Court of Justice) had doubts that this was compatible with the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). The ECJ did not follow its German judicial colleagues here – yes, consumer advocates may also sue for data protection law. One industry, in particular, is now likely to run into problems, as Torsten Kleinz and Falk Steiner report.

Your
Sarah Schaefer

Far East freight transport: concern about cargo safety

By

Lukas Knigge

Operators and ports along the northern route of the new Silk Road report a 30 to 40 percent drop in cargo volume. Although trains are running, explains Maria Leenen of consulting firm SCI Verkehr. “But customers of high-value container cargo are worried about the safety of their cargo.”

This primarily concerns shipments from China to Europe, because most commodity flows via train along the Silk Road only go in this direction. To maintain or even expand the flow of goods to the west, Chinese operators offer financial guarantees. In March 2022, a Xian-based operator began taking war insurance payments for logistic companies, Leene reports. They apply to all Russian and European destinations.

“War insurance policies are purchased for goods transported through Russia, Belarus, and Poland, which are neighboring countries of Ukraine.” These policies are intended to protect against the increased risk of damage or seizure due to military operations, according to the business consultant. While the insurance is not mandatory, it is said to serve as an incentive to move goods between China and the EU.

European logistics sector hardly affected

The European side is hardly affected by the war and sanctions against Russia. The German logistics sector does not consider itself to be particularly economically affected. “Even though the cost situation has worsened due to exorbitant increases in energy prices, we have managed to pass most of these costs on to the market,” says Niels Beuck, Director and Head of Rail Logistics at the German Federal Association for Freight Forwarding and Logistics (DSLV).

In other words, the costs are passed on to the customers. Because in order to protect their procurement channels and supply chains, industry and trade would currently accept price jumps in freight rates for all modes of transport. In any case, logistics companies currently work at full capacity due to the high demand for freight transport, says Beuck.

DB Cargo, one of Europe’s largest transport companies, also plays down the impact of the war on the sector. The company is “just one player of many” along the route, a company spokesman told Table.Media. It does not operate trains in Russia. Furthermore, bookings by European companies for shipments via Russia – even though they are carried out by the Russian state railroad RZD – are not affected by sanctions. Only financial transactions, like the purchase of RZD shares, are prohibited. Thus, only European exports with Russian destinations are canceled. For example, components for the automotive industry are no longer supplied to Russian plants, as sanctions apply here.

Middle corridor not a full replacement

However, this is not significant, as borders are still crossed along the Silk Road. Still, preparations seem to be underway to bypass the northern Russia route. The so-called middle corridor via Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey is currently being developed at full speed, according to the DSLV. However, the ferries on the Caspian Sea are a limiting factor of the middle corridor. “Starting in September, ferry capacity is to be doubled, from three departures to six,” says Director Beuck.

The transport time on this route is 28 days, according to Dutch logistics service provider Nunner Logistics, which set up the middle corridor together with Chinese logistics company Tiedada and Duisport, the Port of Duisburg operator. On the northern route, containers are on the move for about 14 days. This means that the capacity increase of the middle corridor cannot fully compensate for a possible shutdown of the northern route. According to Beuck, however, it is one of several pieces of the puzzle to bypass transport through Russia. “Besides, the same volumes as currently can’t be handled ad hoc via the new route,” says management consultant Maria Leenen.

So the rail route via Russia will remain vital for goods traffic between China and the EU. Air transport is not an alternative in most cases due to the largely closed-off Russian airspace, significantly higher costs and the poor CO2 balance.

The harsh COVID-19 lockdown in the Chinese metropolis of Shanghai, the world’s largest container port, makes a backup solution even more important. Rail transport offers another advantage here: Shiploads via Shanghai have to be loaded onto trains in both directions to get from the point of origin to the port or from the port to the destination. This additional step is no longer necessary and goods can be loaded or unloaded in Central China, where many goods are produced.

Data protection law: associations have license to sue

The actual case of the Federation of German Consumer Organizations (vzbv) against Facebook dates back years and concerns online games on the platform. However, the European Court of Justice’s answer to the questions referred by the Federal Court of Justice has now clarified a fundamental question of data protection law.

This is because data protection law is actually constructed as a highly personal right: the data subject himself should assert his rights, for example by filing a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority. Even at the time, the GDPR was created, there was intense debate about whether this could actually lead to effective enforcement – which is why Article 80 introduced a type of procedural autonomy: individuals may, under certain circumstances, be represented by others in the exercise of their rights if Member State law so provides.

The ECJ judges now ruled: the German regulation, which predates the GDPR, stands up to scrutiny – since, as the judges explain, the GDPR “covers not only an ‘identified natural person’ but also an ‘identifiable natural person’.”

A concrete infringement was also not necessary as a basis for the case, the judges said in their ruling. “The fact that associations for the protection of consumer interests, such as the Bundesverband, are authorized to bring an action by association for an injunction against processing operations in breach of this Regulation, irrespective of the infringement of the rights of a person individually and specifically affected by that infringement, undeniably contributes to strengthening the rights of data subjects and ensuring them a high level of protection.” In a nutshell, the activity of consumer protectors pays off for everyone’s data protection, so it is also in the spirit of the GDPR. At any rate, this line of reasoning is likely to further boost sales of newly published legal commentary literature.

Bad news for German publishers

A corporate spokeswoman for Facebook’s parent company, Meta, said it plans to review and evaluate the decision. “The proceedings have shown that there were some open questions, which the ECJ has now addressed.” The VZBV sees itself vindicated by the ruling, but also looks to the future: “The directive on collective redress, which is to be implemented by the member states this year and will apply from June 2023, will further strengthen collective redress by consumer associations,” says Heiko Dünkel, head of the redress at the Federation of German Consumer Organizations.

The ECJ also relied on this new provision in its ruling. This ruling, which is indisputable for all future proceedings, states that data protection law can also be enforced with injunctions. However, clarity has now also been achieved for all proceedings brought up to that point.

The decision is particularly bad news for German publishers. This is because, in addition to its lawsuit against Facebook, which was the basis for the ECJ ruling, the vzbv has now filed several lawsuits against cookie banners on editorial offerings (Europe.Table reported). Since the courts involved were waiting for the decision from Luxembourg, these proceedings can now continue. The first decisions are expected in the summer.

If the consumer advocates are successful, these could mean painful cuts for the publishers being sued if, as a result, consent rates for advertising data processing fall or the offerings are cut off completely from certain data-based forms of advertising.

Risks that are difficult to calculate

The relevant supervisory authorities at the state level have written numerous recommendations on what cookie banners must look like in order for them to actually constitute DSGVO-compliant consent to data processing. But the authorities have not yet had the capacity to enforce their legal opinion. And so today you can still find a hidden consent to alleged “legitimate interests” on many German cookie banners. And this is despite the fact that this is no longer even provided for in the current Telecommunications and Telemedia Data Protection Act (TTDSG).

Until now, it was often easier for companies to wait for a complaint from the responsible supervisory authority, which could then usually be settled quietly and without too much haste. The right of associations to sue now presents providers with risks that are difficult to calculate. And that could upset the industry’s schedule.

As was shown this week at the adtech trade fair d3con in Hamburg, advertisers, publishers, and adtech service providers are counting on being able to continue their current business without major cutbacks until at least the end of 2023. As things stand today, the transitional phase for the abolition of advertising cookies in the Chrome browser is scheduled to end then, which will necessitate a change in the technical side of the advertising business. However, as was also shown in Hamburg, there is no plan B. Instead, the industry is hoping that the current business with personalized advertising can continue without significant cutbacks, despite the necessary technical conversion. However, consumer advocates want to prevent this.

Pressure on operators and business models

Consumer advocates are also considering using model declaratory actions to help data protection law gain greater validity. The VZBV is constantly examining which incidents could be considered for the filing of model declaratory actions. “We are also looking at data protection violations. However, no such lawsuit is currently underway,” says Ronny Jahn, who heads the model declaratory action team at the Federation of German Consumer Organizations.

Together with a large number of legal-tech collection service providers on the market, which are having claims for damages under the GDPR assigned to them, this could now significantly increase the pressure on operators and business models. Data protection regulators have also expanded their efforts. However, their actions are largely independent of those of consumer protection agencies, emphasizes Heiko Dünkel of VZBV, due to different legal bases and procedural logic.

Nevertheless, they are generally close to each other: “In terms of substantive law, there is a high degree of agreement when it comes to the interpretation of individual GDPR or ePrivacy provisions.

Things could now get complicated with changes – for example, to the so-called dark patterns – brought about by the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act. So far, these have not provided for a greater role for consumer protection associations; enforcement is to lie primarily with the EU Commission and member state authorities. In the case of the AI Regulation, the enforcement construct is also still unclear. “We will have to see how far we get with our instruments in each case,” says Heiko Dünkel. Falk Steiner, Torsten Kleinz

Gas deliveries: Commission clarifies conditions for ruble payments

The European Commission has clarified rules on ruble payments for gas deliveries demanded by Russia. Companies that opened bank accounts in Russia as demanded by Moscow and continued to pay for deliveries in euros would not violate EU sanctions against Russia, EU Commission officials said Thursday. “What the Russians do with the money afterwards is up to them,” one official said.

However, the EU Commission does not consider it acceptable that the purchase is not considered complete on Russia’s part until the money is converted into rubles. “It would be a violation of the sanctions if a company accepts to open a second account to meet the demands,” an EU official said. During the exchange of money into rubles to the second account, the money is in the hands of the Russian Central Bank, which is sanctioned by the EU.

The regulation thus provides that EU companies cannot formally be held liable for the ruble exchange – but does not prevent Russia from exchanging the money afterward anyway.

The EU Commission also said that it had no information that European companies had already opened a second Russian account in rubles and were thus violating the sanctions. The Commission is in contact with the companies and EU countries. In principle, it is up to the member states to make sure that the sanctions are respected, a Commission spokesman said. dpa

EU transport policymakers call for tougher sanctions against Russian shipping

MEPs on the EU Parliament’s Transport Committee (TRAN) voted by a large majority on Thursday to adopt a resolution in plenary. In it, the parliamentarians call on the EU to further tighten sanctions against the Russian maritime sector. Ships that have docked in Russia on their way should be denied entry to EU ports. In addition, all ships that want to dock in EU ports should be banned from refueling in Russian ports, the resolution says.

TRAN members also expressed concern about the impact of the war on the aviation sector. The main issue is aircraft that Russian airlines have leased from foreign owners and now refuse to return. Such theft cannot be tolerated, they say. The deputies demand the immediate return of these aircraft to their rightful owners.

The initiative for a resolution was adopted with 43 votes in favor, one against, and five abstentions. It must now be adopted by the plenum, which will meet in Strasbourg in the first week of May 2022. luk

Pilot plant for green kerosene being built in Hesse

A pilot plant for a precursor of climate-friendly aviation fuel is to be built near Frankfurt Airport from the middle of the year. “We are taking on a pioneering role in Hesse,” said the state’s Economics and Transportation Minister, Tarek Al-Wazir, on Thursday. The plant being built in Industriepark Höchst will be the world’s largest, with an annual capacity of up to 3,500 metric tons.

The precursor produced from renewable electricity, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide is further processed in a refinery to produce synthetic “green kerosene”. The power-to-liquid process is one of several options for this. It is subsidized by the government with the aim of replacing two percent of climate-damaging kerosene in Germany by 2030. This quota, like the volume of the pilot plant, is just a drop in the bucket compared to the annual kerosene demand of 4.7 million tons at Germany’s largest airport in Frankfurt.

The plant is being built by the Karlsruhe-based technology company Ineratec, which is supported by the French aircraft supplier Safran for the development and production of alternative aviation fuel. Ineratec is investing around €30 million in the construction of the pilot plant. The state of Hesse is contributing €1.9 million, and federal funding is also expected to flow.

Sustainable kerosene is currently still two to three times as expensive as climate-damaging kerosene made from crude oil, said Ineratec CEO Philipp Engelmann. “We want to reach €1 per liter.” Yet that is not possible at German sites because too little green electricity is available there. The aim is to produce the fuel in countries with a lot of sun and wind, such as Chile or Australia, from where it can then be exported. dpa

EU campaign: 112 cities aim to become climate neutral by 2030

100 European cities and 12 partner cities want to become climate neutral by 2030 with the help of the European Union. German cities such as Frankfurt am Main, Dortmund, and Munich are also part of the European Commission’s campaign, according to a statement on Thursday.

75 percent of EU citizens reportedly live in cities. “That’s why it’s important for cities to serve as ecosystems for experimentation and innovation to help everyone else become carbon neutral by 2050.” The project is expected to be funded with €360 million through 2023.

Specifically, cities are to invest in clean transportation, energy efficiency, and green spaces, for example, and can receive research funding and advice for this. They are to present a plan with clear targets so that all sectors – energy, buildings, waste, and more – become climate-neutral, i.e. no longer emit any climate-damaging gases that cannot be sequestered. In addition to the nine German cities, metropolises such as Paris, Brussels, Madrid, Rome, and Istanbul are also taking part.

Within its climate targets, the EU has set out to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases such as CO2 by 55 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels and to become climate neutral by 2050. dpa

Hungary and EU Commission at odds over economic stimulus aid

Hungary sees no obstacles to the European Union releasing billions in economic stimulus funds to Budapest, Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s top aide said on Thursday, but the bloc’s executive disagreed, quoting corruption and anti-LGBT policies. The executive European Commission has been withholding its approval to pay out money meant to help lift economies from the COVID-19 malaise to Poland and Hungary, accusing them of undermining the rule of law.

On Wednesday, the Commission also sent a formal letter to Hungary in a first step of its fresh offensive against what it says is Orban dismantling democratic checks and balances. The process could freeze funds for Hungary over corruption risks.

Orban’s chief of staff Gergely Gulyas told a briefing the government studied the letter, and he was optimistic about an agreement on the release of recovery funds.

Struggle for solution

“The issues raised in the letter are all issues that we have been negotiating about for months with the Commission,” Gulyas said. “There is no point where we don’t have a shared position, or where we wouldn’t have found an acceptable solution.”

The EU executive disagreed. “In our discussions with Hungary, we have made progress on a number of issues over the months. However, there are a number of points that remain open, including on anti-corruption and education measures,” said Commission spokeswoman Veerle Nuyts.

She said unlocking the €7.2 billion ($7.54 billion) envisaged for Hungary under the COVID-19 recovery program was separate from the case it had launched the day before and where Brussels refused to specify how much money Hungary could lose.

At the center of both disputes is Hungary’s public procurement system, which the EU says does not ensure enough competition or protect from conflict of interests and corruption. rtr/sas

What’s cooking in Brussels?

By Claire Stam

After Emmanuel Macron’s victory last Sunday, one might expect the French rooster in Brussels to crow loudly. But that is not quite as certain.

Great laughter shook Brussels when the “Bubble” had to listen to Marine Le Pen during the election campaign saying that France was not sufficiently defended on the European stage. Certainly, Germany does this even better than France, historically speaking. Consider the roughly 37 employees of the Bavarian representation in Brussels, a number that alone is likely to exceed the number of employees of all French regional representations combined in the Belgian capital.

Nonetheless, Paris is not doing badly at all. One only has to look at French activism on issues such as agriculture or nuclear power to be convinced. As MEPs are in the process of packing their bags for the next parliamentary session, which will take place in Strasbourg next week, let’s take an example from the European Parliament to illustrate the point: MEP Christophe Grudler of the Renew Group, elected to the European Parliament for the first time in 2019, sits on the ITRE Committee, where he is rapporteur for the Group on the revision of the Renewable Energy Directive.

But above all, he is the initiator of a “parliamentary network on the future of nuclear power in Europe,” which the former journalist founded last November. Away from the media radar, the main aim is to mobilize to ensure that all financial instruments are available to finance nuclear power. So it is an understatement to say that taxonomy is in the line of fire.

Poland’s new role

Mais voilà, the war in Ukraine is like a masterful kick in the European haystack – a kick by the Baltic and Central European countries whose fears of Moscow suddenly appear in a completely new light. Their political influence in the EU-27 grew rapidly.

“On the one hand, we see the Baltic, Central, and Eastern European countries saying how much they are exposed to Russia, how much they are affected by the war, and how much they want a firm and decisive solution,” says Piotr Buras, Head of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) in Warsaw. “On the other hand, we see a Germany struggling with the question of its leadership role on the European stage. These countries and Emmanuel Macron are using this situation to expand their influence,” Buras told Europe.Table.

The war in Ukraine strengthens the influence of the Central European and Baltic countries on the European stage. This is especially true for Poland. The country has a central role in the conflict, as Moscow’s recent decision to stop gas supplies to Poland shows. This circumstance and the massive commitment to Ukrainian refugees make it difficult to criticize Poland, Buras says.

The question of expansion arises again

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki knows he doesn’t have much to lose by criticizing Paris or Berlin, the expert added. This fits a situation from earlier this month, when Morawiecki sharply asked the French president, “How many times have you negotiated with Putin, what have you achieved? Have you stopped any of the actions that have taken place?” To say that Paris was irritated is an understatement.

For Warsaw, the war in Ukraine proves that the European Union cannot do without NATO and the United States. “From this Polish perspective, Macron’s concept of strategic sovereignty, which he is pushing so hard, makes absolutely no sense,” Buras says. “Both Warsaw and Paris call for strengthening the defense and security of the European Union, but the approach is completely different.”

The question is whether the growing influence of Poland and the other Central and Eastern European countries can go beyond the war in Ukraine and establish itself permanently on the European stage.

With Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia knocking on the door of the EU-27, the geopolitical pendulum may well swing to the eastern side of the EU. Moreover, the question of expansion is likely to become acute again. For in this context, the countries of the Western Balkans, which are among the priorities of the French EU presidency, can no longer be ignored. And no one can imagine that the European Union will accept nine countries without reforming itself in some way.

EUROPE.TABLE EDITORS

Till
Hoppe

Charlotte
Wirth

Falk
Steiner

Timo
Landenberger

Corinna
Visser

Lukas
Knigge

Eric
Bonse

Sarah
Schaefer

Manuel
Berkel

Lisa-Martina
Klein

Markus
Grabitz

Stephan
Israel

Claire
Stam

Dear reader,

Poland and Bulgaria have already turned off the gas tap to Russia. Germany, too, must be prepared for a Russian gas supply freeze, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) said yesterday during his visit to Tokyo. “Whether and what decisions the Russian government takes in this regard one can only speculate, but it makes little sense to do so,” the chancellor said. Meanwhile, the European Commission has taken a position on the ruble payments demanded by Russia and clarified how companies can pay their bills without violating sanctions. Read more in the news.

The harsh COVID-19 lockdown in the Chinese metropolis of Shanghai, the world’s largest container port, increases the importance of the rail link between China and Europe. But the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine unsettles suppliers because the standard route of the New Silk Road on rails runs right through Russia. Even though the German logistics industry assures that the effects of the war and the sanctions are manageable, they are working at full speed on alternatives. Lukas Scheid analyzes the difficulties of the so-called middle corridor.

Are consumer associations allowed to file for injunctions in data protection law under the current legal situation? The BGH (Federal Court of Justice) had doubts that this was compatible with the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). The ECJ did not follow its German judicial colleagues here – yes, consumer advocates may also sue for data protection law. One industry, in particular, is now likely to run into problems, as Torsten Kleinz and Falk Steiner report.

Your
Sarah Schaefer

Far East freight transport: concern about cargo safety

By

Lukas Knigge

Operators and ports along the northern route of the new Silk Road report a 30 to 40 percent drop in cargo volume. Although trains are running, explains Maria Leenen of consulting firm SCI Verkehr. “But customers of high-value container cargo are worried about the safety of their cargo.”

This primarily concerns shipments from China to Europe, because most commodity flows via train along the Silk Road only go in this direction. To maintain or even expand the flow of goods to the west, Chinese operators offer financial guarantees. In March 2022, a Xian-based operator began taking war insurance payments for logistic companies, Leene reports. They apply to all Russian and European destinations.

“War insurance policies are purchased for goods transported through Russia, Belarus, and Poland, which are neighboring countries of Ukraine.” These policies are intended to protect against the increased risk of damage or seizure due to military operations, according to the business consultant. While the insurance is not mandatory, it is said to serve as an incentive to move goods between China and the EU.

European logistics sector hardly affected

The European side is hardly affected by the war and sanctions against Russia. The German logistics sector does not consider itself to be particularly economically affected. “Even though the cost situation has worsened due to exorbitant increases in energy prices, we have managed to pass most of these costs on to the market,” says Niels Beuck, Director and Head of Rail Logistics at the German Federal Association for Freight Forwarding and Logistics (DSLV).

In other words, the costs are passed on to the customers. Because in order to protect their procurement channels and supply chains, industry and trade would currently accept price jumps in freight rates for all modes of transport. In any case, logistics companies currently work at full capacity due to the high demand for freight transport, says Beuck.

DB Cargo, one of Europe’s largest transport companies, also plays down the impact of the war on the sector. The company is “just one player of many” along the route, a company spokesman told Table.Media. It does not operate trains in Russia. Furthermore, bookings by European companies for shipments via Russia – even though they are carried out by the Russian state railroad RZD – are not affected by sanctions. Only financial transactions, like the purchase of RZD shares, are prohibited. Thus, only European exports with Russian destinations are canceled. For example, components for the automotive industry are no longer supplied to Russian plants, as sanctions apply here.

Middle corridor not a full replacement

However, this is not significant, as borders are still crossed along the Silk Road. Still, preparations seem to be underway to bypass the northern Russia route. The so-called middle corridor via Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey is currently being developed at full speed, according to the DSLV. However, the ferries on the Caspian Sea are a limiting factor of the middle corridor. “Starting in September, ferry capacity is to be doubled, from three departures to six,” says Director Beuck.

The transport time on this route is 28 days, according to Dutch logistics service provider Nunner Logistics, which set up the middle corridor together with Chinese logistics company Tiedada and Duisport, the Port of Duisburg operator. On the northern route, containers are on the move for about 14 days. This means that the capacity increase of the middle corridor cannot fully compensate for a possible shutdown of the northern route. According to Beuck, however, it is one of several pieces of the puzzle to bypass transport through Russia. “Besides, the same volumes as currently can’t be handled ad hoc via the new route,” says management consultant Maria Leenen.

So the rail route via Russia will remain vital for goods traffic between China and the EU. Air transport is not an alternative in most cases due to the largely closed-off Russian airspace, significantly higher costs and the poor CO2 balance.

The harsh COVID-19 lockdown in the Chinese metropolis of Shanghai, the world’s largest container port, makes a backup solution even more important. Rail transport offers another advantage here: Shiploads via Shanghai have to be loaded onto trains in both directions to get from the point of origin to the port or from the port to the destination. This additional step is no longer necessary and goods can be loaded or unloaded in Central China, where many goods are produced.

Data protection law: associations have license to sue

The actual case of the Federation of German Consumer Organizations (vzbv) against Facebook dates back years and concerns online games on the platform. However, the European Court of Justice’s answer to the questions referred by the Federal Court of Justice has now clarified a fundamental question of data protection law.

This is because data protection law is actually constructed as a highly personal right: the data subject himself should assert his rights, for example by filing a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority. Even at the time, the GDPR was created, there was intense debate about whether this could actually lead to effective enforcement – which is why Article 80 introduced a type of procedural autonomy: individuals may, under certain circumstances, be represented by others in the exercise of their rights if Member State law so provides.

The ECJ judges now ruled: the German regulation, which predates the GDPR, stands up to scrutiny – since, as the judges explain, the GDPR “covers not only an ‘identified natural person’ but also an ‘identifiable natural person’.”

A concrete infringement was also not necessary as a basis for the case, the judges said in their ruling. “The fact that associations for the protection of consumer interests, such as the Bundesverband, are authorized to bring an action by association for an injunction against processing operations in breach of this Regulation, irrespective of the infringement of the rights of a person individually and specifically affected by that infringement, undeniably contributes to strengthening the rights of data subjects and ensuring them a high level of protection.” In a nutshell, the activity of consumer protectors pays off for everyone’s data protection, so it is also in the spirit of the GDPR. At any rate, this line of reasoning is likely to further boost sales of newly published legal commentary literature.

Bad news for German publishers

A corporate spokeswoman for Facebook’s parent company, Meta, said it plans to review and evaluate the decision. “The proceedings have shown that there were some open questions, which the ECJ has now addressed.” The VZBV sees itself vindicated by the ruling, but also looks to the future: “The directive on collective redress, which is to be implemented by the member states this year and will apply from June 2023, will further strengthen collective redress by consumer associations,” says Heiko Dünkel, head of the redress at the Federation of German Consumer Organizations.

The ECJ also relied on this new provision in its ruling. This ruling, which is indisputable for all future proceedings, states that data protection law can also be enforced with injunctions. However, clarity has now also been achieved for all proceedings brought up to that point.

The decision is particularly bad news for German publishers. This is because, in addition to its lawsuit against Facebook, which was the basis for the ECJ ruling, the vzbv has now filed several lawsuits against cookie banners on editorial offerings (Europe.Table reported). Since the courts involved were waiting for the decision from Luxembourg, these proceedings can now continue. The first decisions are expected in the summer.

If the consumer advocates are successful, these could mean painful cuts for the publishers being sued if, as a result, consent rates for advertising data processing fall or the offerings are cut off completely from certain data-based forms of advertising.

Risks that are difficult to calculate

The relevant supervisory authorities at the state level have written numerous recommendations on what cookie banners must look like in order for them to actually constitute DSGVO-compliant consent to data processing. But the authorities have not yet had the capacity to enforce their legal opinion. And so today you can still find a hidden consent to alleged “legitimate interests” on many German cookie banners. And this is despite the fact that this is no longer even provided for in the current Telecommunications and Telemedia Data Protection Act (TTDSG).

Until now, it was often easier for companies to wait for a complaint from the responsible supervisory authority, which could then usually be settled quietly and without too much haste. The right of associations to sue now presents providers with risks that are difficult to calculate. And that could upset the industry’s schedule.

As was shown this week at the adtech trade fair d3con in Hamburg, advertisers, publishers, and adtech service providers are counting on being able to continue their current business without major cutbacks until at least the end of 2023. As things stand today, the transitional phase for the abolition of advertising cookies in the Chrome browser is scheduled to end then, which will necessitate a change in the technical side of the advertising business. However, as was also shown in Hamburg, there is no plan B. Instead, the industry is hoping that the current business with personalized advertising can continue without significant cutbacks, despite the necessary technical conversion. However, consumer advocates want to prevent this.

Pressure on operators and business models

Consumer advocates are also considering using model declaratory actions to help data protection law gain greater validity. The VZBV is constantly examining which incidents could be considered for the filing of model declaratory actions. “We are also looking at data protection violations. However, no such lawsuit is currently underway,” says Ronny Jahn, who heads the model declaratory action team at the Federation of German Consumer Organizations.

Together with a large number of legal-tech collection service providers on the market, which are having claims for damages under the GDPR assigned to them, this could now significantly increase the pressure on operators and business models. Data protection regulators have also expanded their efforts. However, their actions are largely independent of those of consumer protection agencies, emphasizes Heiko Dünkel of VZBV, due to different legal bases and procedural logic.

Nevertheless, they are generally close to each other: “In terms of substantive law, there is a high degree of agreement when it comes to the interpretation of individual GDPR or ePrivacy provisions.

Things could now get complicated with changes – for example, to the so-called dark patterns – brought about by the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act. So far, these have not provided for a greater role for consumer protection associations; enforcement is to lie primarily with the EU Commission and member state authorities. In the case of the AI Regulation, the enforcement construct is also still unclear. “We will have to see how far we get with our instruments in each case,” says Heiko Dünkel. Falk Steiner, Torsten Kleinz

Gas deliveries: Commission clarifies conditions for ruble payments

The European Commission has clarified rules on ruble payments for gas deliveries demanded by Russia. Companies that opened bank accounts in Russia as demanded by Moscow and continued to pay for deliveries in euros would not violate EU sanctions against Russia, EU Commission officials said Thursday. “What the Russians do with the money afterwards is up to them,” one official said.

However, the EU Commission does not consider it acceptable that the purchase is not considered complete on Russia’s part until the money is converted into rubles. “It would be a violation of the sanctions if a company accepts to open a second account to meet the demands,” an EU official said. During the exchange of money into rubles to the second account, the money is in the hands of the Russian Central Bank, which is sanctioned by the EU.

The regulation thus provides that EU companies cannot formally be held liable for the ruble exchange – but does not prevent Russia from exchanging the money afterward anyway.

The EU Commission also said that it had no information that European companies had already opened a second Russian account in rubles and were thus violating the sanctions. The Commission is in contact with the companies and EU countries. In principle, it is up to the member states to make sure that the sanctions are respected, a Commission spokesman said. dpa

EU transport policymakers call for tougher sanctions against Russian shipping

MEPs on the EU Parliament’s Transport Committee (TRAN) voted by a large majority on Thursday to adopt a resolution in plenary. In it, the parliamentarians call on the EU to further tighten sanctions against the Russian maritime sector. Ships that have docked in Russia on their way should be denied entry to EU ports. In addition, all ships that want to dock in EU ports should be banned from refueling in Russian ports, the resolution says.

TRAN members also expressed concern about the impact of the war on the aviation sector. The main issue is aircraft that Russian airlines have leased from foreign owners and now refuse to return. Such theft cannot be tolerated, they say. The deputies demand the immediate return of these aircraft to their rightful owners.

The initiative for a resolution was adopted with 43 votes in favor, one against, and five abstentions. It must now be adopted by the plenum, which will meet in Strasbourg in the first week of May 2022. luk

Pilot plant for green kerosene being built in Hesse

A pilot plant for a precursor of climate-friendly aviation fuel is to be built near Frankfurt Airport from the middle of the year. “We are taking on a pioneering role in Hesse,” said the state’s Economics and Transportation Minister, Tarek Al-Wazir, on Thursday. The plant being built in Industriepark Höchst will be the world’s largest, with an annual capacity of up to 3,500 metric tons.

The precursor produced from renewable electricity, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide is further processed in a refinery to produce synthetic “green kerosene”. The power-to-liquid process is one of several options for this. It is subsidized by the government with the aim of replacing two percent of climate-damaging kerosene in Germany by 2030. This quota, like the volume of the pilot plant, is just a drop in the bucket compared to the annual kerosene demand of 4.7 million tons at Germany’s largest airport in Frankfurt.

The plant is being built by the Karlsruhe-based technology company Ineratec, which is supported by the French aircraft supplier Safran for the development and production of alternative aviation fuel. Ineratec is investing around €30 million in the construction of the pilot plant. The state of Hesse is contributing €1.9 million, and federal funding is also expected to flow.

Sustainable kerosene is currently still two to three times as expensive as climate-damaging kerosene made from crude oil, said Ineratec CEO Philipp Engelmann. “We want to reach €1 per liter.” Yet that is not possible at German sites because too little green electricity is available there. The aim is to produce the fuel in countries with a lot of sun and wind, such as Chile or Australia, from where it can then be exported. dpa

EU campaign: 112 cities aim to become climate neutral by 2030

100 European cities and 12 partner cities want to become climate neutral by 2030 with the help of the European Union. German cities such as Frankfurt am Main, Dortmund, and Munich are also part of the European Commission’s campaign, according to a statement on Thursday.

75 percent of EU citizens reportedly live in cities. “That’s why it’s important for cities to serve as ecosystems for experimentation and innovation to help everyone else become carbon neutral by 2050.” The project is expected to be funded with €360 million through 2023.

Specifically, cities are to invest in clean transportation, energy efficiency, and green spaces, for example, and can receive research funding and advice for this. They are to present a plan with clear targets so that all sectors – energy, buildings, waste, and more – become climate-neutral, i.e. no longer emit any climate-damaging gases that cannot be sequestered. In addition to the nine German cities, metropolises such as Paris, Brussels, Madrid, Rome, and Istanbul are also taking part.

Within its climate targets, the EU has set out to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases such as CO2 by 55 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels and to become climate neutral by 2050. dpa

Hungary and EU Commission at odds over economic stimulus aid

Hungary sees no obstacles to the European Union releasing billions in economic stimulus funds to Budapest, Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s top aide said on Thursday, but the bloc’s executive disagreed, quoting corruption and anti-LGBT policies. The executive European Commission has been withholding its approval to pay out money meant to help lift economies from the COVID-19 malaise to Poland and Hungary, accusing them of undermining the rule of law.

On Wednesday, the Commission also sent a formal letter to Hungary in a first step of its fresh offensive against what it says is Orban dismantling democratic checks and balances. The process could freeze funds for Hungary over corruption risks.

Orban’s chief of staff Gergely Gulyas told a briefing the government studied the letter, and he was optimistic about an agreement on the release of recovery funds.

Struggle for solution

“The issues raised in the letter are all issues that we have been negotiating about for months with the Commission,” Gulyas said. “There is no point where we don’t have a shared position, or where we wouldn’t have found an acceptable solution.”

The EU executive disagreed. “In our discussions with Hungary, we have made progress on a number of issues over the months. However, there are a number of points that remain open, including on anti-corruption and education measures,” said Commission spokeswoman Veerle Nuyts.

She said unlocking the €7.2 billion ($7.54 billion) envisaged for Hungary under the COVID-19 recovery program was separate from the case it had launched the day before and where Brussels refused to specify how much money Hungary could lose.

At the center of both disputes is Hungary’s public procurement system, which the EU says does not ensure enough competition or protect from conflict of interests and corruption. rtr/sas

What’s cooking in Brussels?

By Claire Stam

After Emmanuel Macron’s victory last Sunday, one might expect the French rooster in Brussels to crow loudly. But that is not quite as certain.

Great laughter shook Brussels when the “Bubble” had to listen to Marine Le Pen during the election campaign saying that France was not sufficiently defended on the European stage. Certainly, Germany does this even better than France, historically speaking. Consider the roughly 37 employees of the Bavarian representation in Brussels, a number that alone is likely to exceed the number of employees of all French regional representations combined in the Belgian capital.

Nonetheless, Paris is not doing badly at all. One only has to look at French activism on issues such as agriculture or nuclear power to be convinced. As MEPs are in the process of packing their bags for the next parliamentary session, which will take place in Strasbourg next week, let’s take an example from the European Parliament to illustrate the point: MEP Christophe Grudler of the Renew Group, elected to the European Parliament for the first time in 2019, sits on the ITRE Committee, where he is rapporteur for the Group on the revision of the Renewable Energy Directive.

But above all, he is the initiator of a “parliamentary network on the future of nuclear power in Europe,” which the former journalist founded last November. Away from the media radar, the main aim is to mobilize to ensure that all financial instruments are available to finance nuclear power. So it is an understatement to say that taxonomy is in the line of fire.

Poland’s new role

Mais voilà, the war in Ukraine is like a masterful kick in the European haystack – a kick by the Baltic and Central European countries whose fears of Moscow suddenly appear in a completely new light. Their political influence in the EU-27 grew rapidly.

“On the one hand, we see the Baltic, Central, and Eastern European countries saying how much they are exposed to Russia, how much they are affected by the war, and how much they want a firm and decisive solution,” says Piotr Buras, Head of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) in Warsaw. “On the other hand, we see a Germany struggling with the question of its leadership role on the European stage. These countries and Emmanuel Macron are using this situation to expand their influence,” Buras told Europe.Table.

The war in Ukraine strengthens the influence of the Central European and Baltic countries on the European stage. This is especially true for Poland. The country has a central role in the conflict, as Moscow’s recent decision to stop gas supplies to Poland shows. This circumstance and the massive commitment to Ukrainian refugees make it difficult to criticize Poland, Buras says.

The question of expansion arises again

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki knows he doesn’t have much to lose by criticizing Paris or Berlin, the expert added. This fits a situation from earlier this month, when Morawiecki sharply asked the French president, “How many times have you negotiated with Putin, what have you achieved? Have you stopped any of the actions that have taken place?” To say that Paris was irritated is an understatement.

For Warsaw, the war in Ukraine proves that the European Union cannot do without NATO and the United States. “From this Polish perspective, Macron’s concept of strategic sovereignty, which he is pushing so hard, makes absolutely no sense,” Buras says. “Both Warsaw and Paris call for strengthening the defense and security of the European Union, but the approach is completely different.”

The question is whether the growing influence of Poland and the other Central and Eastern European countries can go beyond the war in Ukraine and establish itself permanently on the European stage.

With Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia knocking on the door of the EU-27, the geopolitical pendulum may well swing to the eastern side of the EU. Moreover, the question of expansion is likely to become acute again. For in this context, the countries of the Western Balkans, which are among the priorities of the French EU presidency, can no longer be ignored. And no one can imagine that the European Union will accept nine countries without reforming itself in some way.