Yesterday and today, the transport and digital ministers of the EU met in Luxembourg. Volker Wissing was in demand on both days due to his portfolio. The topics discussed at the Transport Council yesterday ranged from cross-border exchange of traffic fines to the Euro 7 emission standards. Lukas Scheid has more information.
Today, the Council will address three key new proposals for digital transformation: the Gigabit Infrastructure Act, the Interoperable Europe Act, and the Cyber Resilience Act. The ministers will also discuss, behind closed doors, the future of the connectivity sector, for which the Commission concluded a consultation in mid-May.
One of the contentious issues is a possible network charge as a contribution to financing network expansion. Germany has a clear position on this: Such interference in bilateral agreements is only justified in case of market failure, which is not evident. France, represented by Commissioner Thierry Breton, sees it differently. It could therefore become heated.
Other topics on the agenda include the European Electronic Identity (eIDAS), the E-Privacy Regulation, which has made little progress for years, and the Data Act. The latter is currently in trilogue negotiations. A contentious issue for the next meeting later this month is the protection of trade secrets. The Swedes aim to conclude the trilogue, but whether they will succeed remains uncertain.
However, the Spaniards, who will assume the Council Presidency in July, seem to have faith in the Swedes. In the working program they will present to the members of the Telecommunications Council, there is a strong focus on AI, but the Data Act is no longer mentioned.
In the end, the vote was clear: By 366 votes to 225 with 38 abstentions, the EU Parliament adopted the report on the Due Diligence Act yesterday morning. With this, it wants to legally oblige companies to identify and prevent, end or mitigate negative impacts of their activities on human rights and the environment.
Until the very end, there had been doubts as to whether enough votes from the conservative and liberal camps would come together and whether the EPP would be able to overturn the law. However, after the EPP parliamentary group meeting on Wednesday, it had then become apparent that the CDU/CSU groupwould not receiveenough support for its plan to reject the report. Thus, the Parliament, under the leadership of Lara Wolters (S&D), decided on its mandate for the negotiations with the Council and significantly tightened up the Commission’s draft.
Directors’ clause does not receive majority
It was a long vote; after all, there were around 50 amendments on the agenda. The version finally adopted corresponds to the position negotiated by the Legal Affairs Committee with one exception: Article 26, the so-called directors’ clause, did not receive a majority. Admittedly, the adopted Article 25 retains an obligation on company management, and violations can be punished under national law. However, the obligation of managers to supervise the implementation of the law and to align the company’s strategy accordingly no longer applies. Managers are, therefore, not liable if they do not implement the law correctly.
In addition, the Parliament agreed on the following requirements, among others:
Companies with 250 or more employees and annual sales of at least €40 million are affected
as well as companies that do not reach this value but are part of a parent company of a group with at least 500 employees and 150 million in annual sales
Depending on the size of the company, a delayed application of three to five years applies
no specific thresholds for companies from risk sectors, butdevelop sector-specific guidelines forthe following sectors: textiles, mining and quarrying, agriculture, energy, construction and financial sectors
Rules apply to the upstream and downstream supply chain
Companies are liable for damage caused by them that they could have prevented (but only if they have not implemented their due diligence obligations responsibly)
Obligation of an additional conflict analysis for companies with suppliers in armed conflicts or fragile post-conflict situations, in occupied and/or annexed territories, and in areas with weak or non-existent statehood
new article on meaningful engagement with stakeholders during due diligence process
open instead of closed list of appropriate due diligence measures
Mandatory plans for climate neutrality
As announced, the CDU/CSU group voted against. In doing so, it also opposed its party colleague Axel Voss, who as shadow rapporteur had tried to negotiate a compromise acceptable to the EPP. The German and Czech Renew MEPs also voted against the report, but they were the only ones in the liberal group to do so.
Axel Voss spoke of a “very difficult situation” for his party: On the one hand, of course, one feels committed to the goals of the law. On the other hand, the extent of the burden on companies goes far beyond the position of the EPP. In view of the upcoming European elections, it was also important for his party to distinguish itself and take a clear position.
“Despite immense pressure from the industry lobby and against the opposition of many conservatives, the Parliament has been able to tighten up the Commission’s proposal in many areas,” Anna Cavazzini (Greens/EFA) commented on the vote.
The civil society initiative Supply Chain Law welcomed the law’s risk-based approach and its application to the entire value chain. “Both create the conditions for protecting human rights and the environment where they are worst off: at the beginning of the supply chain.” The report holds enormous potential for the climate, explained Patrizia Heidegger of the European Environmental Bureau (EEB): “Companies’ climate transition plans will be mandatory, assessed on the basis of more stringent criteria, and include short-, medium- and long-term targets.” He said the EU Parliament’s position represents significant improvements in this area over the Commission and Council proposals.
Negotiations with the Council start next week
Reactions from industry were predictably negative: “The European Parliament has failed to establish workable rules for due diligence,” said Markus Beyrer, director general of BusinessEurope. The association was concerned about “overly strict rules of a purely punitive nature that do not distinguish between procedural errors and actual damage” and could end up driving European companies out of third countries.
The first trilogue is scheduled to take placenext week, on June 8. MEPs expect difficult negotiations, as the Council has adopted a much less ambitious mandate. In particular, the question of civil liability could cause controversy, as this is actually a competence of the member states, explained Axel Voss. So far, there is no European liability regime, he added. The scope of application could also become a point of conflict between the negotiators from the Council and Parliament, as the member states do not want to place an additional burden on companies.
Climate Policy
dEvEloPmENT LAw
Nachhaltigkeitsstandards
Supply Chain Act
EPP seeks majorities for regulatory break
The majority in favor of the Wolters report on the EU Supply Chain Act turned out to be clearer than many had expected, including Daniel Caspary and Angelika Niebler. The two co-chairs of the CDU/CSU group in the European Parliament had campaigned within the EPP group to reject the compromise negotiated in the Legal Affairs Committee and thus bring down the proposed legislation. However, nearly 50 Christian Democratic members did not join them and instead voted in favor of the compromise proposed by rapporteur Lara Wolters (S&D), along with the majority of Renew group members.
Therefore, the attempt to stop the industry-unpopular due diligence law and thereby achieve the regulatory moratorium demanded by the EPP failed. “Unfortunately, the Supply Chain Act in its current form does not contribute to strengthening competitiveness,” commented Niebler and Caspary on the vote.
Important test failed
The vote was an important test for the new course of the Christian Democrats. The EPP had supported previous legislative proposals for the Green Deal, albeit with significant proposed changes, as agreed at the beginning of the 2019 legislative term with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (CDU). However, they are now challenging several dossiers, led by the CDU and CSU: Caspary mentioned the nature conservation package, the building directive, and the new Euro 7 emission standard (see more articles in today’s issue).
The CDU and CSU are not aiming to stop the Green Deal, insists the CDU politician. “But we see that in particular, the Timmermans part of the Commission wants to address political goals such as biodiversity with sometimes three or four different instruments that even contradict each other.” Here, it is “urgently necessary to pause and reorganize things.” Caspary argues that the EPP is not alone in making this demand, citing French President Emmanuel Macron and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo, who have called for a regulatory break, albeit more with a view to the next legislative term.
Dependent on support from Renew
To stop the aforementioned legislative proposals, the Christian Democrats rely on support from the political center of the European Parliament, particularly from the Renew group. The support of the national-conservative ECR and the far-right ID group is not sufficient for a majority.
However, the new EPP approach does not find much favor among the Liberals, at least beyond the FDP. “Hardly anyone in our group is willing to follow the EPP narrative,” says the Renew group. The Christian Democrats are not truly aiming for a regulatory break but rather a revision of the Green Deal. However, few parties want to be associated with this message in the upcoming European election campaign.
‘Will not succeed in splitting Renew’
During the vote on the Supply Chain Act, the Christian Democrats had hoped to win over the industry-friendly delegations within Renew, according to the Liberals. However, the group is not as fragmented as assumed. “The EPP will not succeed in splitting Renew.”
However, this does not mean that the third-largest group in the EP will not side with the EPP on some dossiers. For example, the Liberals voted against the controversial nature restoration law in the Fisheries Committee and the Agriculture Committee. However, Renew shadow rapporteur Soraya Rodríguez Ramos remained at the negotiating table in the Environment Committee, unlike her EPP colleague Christine Schneider. The vote in the ENVI Committee is scheduled for June 15, with the plenary vote expected in July.
Pesticides as the next test
A similar scenario is emerging with the pesticide regulation. The EPP’s spokesperson on environmental issues, Peter Liese, stated last week that they would not reject the Commission’s proposal entirely. However, the draft report by Green rapporteur Sarah Wiener would need to be “fundamentally changed” for the EPP to approve it. Once again, it depends on Renew to provide a majority from one side or the other. Their shadow rapporteur Jan Huitema has not yet taken a clear position on this issue.
The Christian Democrats argue that the Commission’s nature conservation laws endanger the existence of farmers and food security in Europe. The same applied to the Industrial Emissions Directive, but the EPP had the rapporteur in this case, who was able to forge majorities in line with the EPP’s stance and prevent stricter emission requirements for large agricultural enterprises.
However, the Christian Democrats are not solely targeting the agricultural sector. Led by the German CDU/CSU group, they also plan to vote against stricter emission limits and testing methods in the new Euro 7 emission standard for vehicles. However, the blockade is not only coming from the EPP; there is also strong opposition in the Council (more on this in the News section). Till Hoppe and Lukas Scheid
Shortly before the start of the trilogue on the building directive next Tuesday, the German government has yet to agree on a negotiating position. However, Minister of Construction Klara Geywitz (SPD) pushes for a modification of the mandate compared to the general orientation of the Council from October.
There was a “need for improvement,” said a spokesperson in response to a query. This concerns, on the one hand, the minimum requirements for overall energy efficiency (MEPS), i.e., the details regarding the controversial “renovation obligation”. Furthermore, the ministry criticizes the standard for zero-emission buildings – i.e., the long-term goal of the EU for the renovation of the entire building stock towards climate neutrality.
Opportunity to use hydrogen for heating
“This concerns, for example, the main requirement parameter of primary energy demand. From the German government’s perspective, it would be desirable to open up to other criteria, as it has set itself the goal in the coalition agreement to align the requirement system more strongly with greenhouse gas emissions,” explained Geywitz’s spokesperson further. However, if CO2 emissions are to become the decisive factor, this can also be seen as an opportunity to use hydrogen or synthetic methane for heating, as 30 to 40 percent of primary energy is lost in their production, according to the Öko-Institut.
The Minister of Construction had already completely questioned stricter efficiency requirements in mid-May. If Germany were to introduce a ban on installing fossil fuel heaters in the short term, much would already be achieved for decarbonization. “I am not convinced that we also have to do everything to, at the same time, make every building as energy efficient as possible,” quoted the Minister in a speech to real estate managers, as reported by “FAZ“.
Geywitz considers district approach
With this, the SPD politician went beyond critical statements made a few weeks earlier. A guest article for “Welt” could be interpreted as indicating that she may not want to refer to energy standards on individual buildings, as demanded by the Commission and Parliament, or on the national building stock, as desired by the Council, but rather on neighborhoods.
Brussels-based Union and FDP politicians had already advocated for the district approach. Several Members of Parliament had submitted a corresponding amendment proposal before the European Parliament’s positioning, including liberal Andreas Glück, who generally considers the renovation pace in the directive to be excessive. “Within ten years, 55 percent of the European building stock would have to be renovated,” says the MEP. “But we not only have a shortage of skilled workers, it is also difficult to obtain building materials.”
Greens: District approach is socially unbalanced
The green rapporteur of the Parliament, Ciarán Cuffe, remains a staunch opponent of energy standards at the level of entire neighborhoods. “I reject the application of a district approach for minimum standards for overall energy efficiency because this would cause a dire situation for socially vulnerable households,” says the Irish MEP. “This would prevent targeted measures for buildings with the worst energy standards in a neighborhood and condemn vulnerable households to energy poverty.”
However, the FDP insists on weakening the goals of Parliament and the Commission in the trilogue. “This needs to be changed for the German government to agree,” said party leader and Minister of Finance Christian Lindner to “Wirtschaftswoche“. His creed: “Further increases” in energy requirements are not sustainable. On the other hand, the green-led Ministry for Economic Affairs apparently resists cementing the status quo. The goal is to establish realistic regulations that “do not overwhelm anyone” while ensuring climate neutrality, according to a spokesperson.
FDP MEP: Other states should rehabilitate first
Meanwhile, the Liberals fear that through the EU building directive, requirements could be imposed that they have painstakingly negotiated away from the Greens on a national level through the Building Energy Act. In Berlin, the FDP is pushing for an agreement before the EU elections in mid-2024. Several liberals are convinced that hardly any EU member state wants to bring the dispute over billion-dollar renovations into the election campaign.
The Brussels-based FDP MEP, Glück, has specific requests for changes. Ideally, the liberal would prefer to leave climate action in the building sector to the ETS 2. In detail, he is bothered by the Commission’s approach of not defining efficiency classes uniformly across Europe but rather demanding higher renovation efforts from states with energetically better building stock – and tendentially wealthier citizens.
Numerous exceptions to renovation obligations
The Green MEP Cuffe, on the other hand, points to the numerous exceptions provided for in the parliamentary position. Even if the classification of efficiency classes is not directly comparable between Germany and Europe, approximately half of the residential buildings in Germany already meet efficiency class D or better. Thus, even under the supposedly strict requirements of Parliament, they would not be affected by heightened renovation obligations until 2033.
In addition, member states can exempt up to 22 percent of residential buildings from renovation obligations until the end of 2036. Another exception applies to listed buildings. Therefore, from Cuffe’s surroundings, it is said: “The minimum standards do not apply to all buildings but only to a very limited percentage of the stock.” with Daniel Schmidthäussler
Gebäudesektor
EU-Monitoring
June 5, 2023; 2.30-6 p.m. Meeting of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) Topics: European Commission’s Task Force on Migration Management, Exchange of views on reports of alleged pushbacks by the Greek authorities, State of Schengen Report 2023.Draft Agenda
June 5, 2023; 3-6.30 p.m. Meeting of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) Topics: 2022 Commission Report on Türkiye, High-level geopolitical dialogue on the implementation of the NDICI-Global Europe Instrument.Draft Agenda
June 5, 2023; 3-6.30 p.m. Meeting of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) Topics: Monetary Dialogue with Christine Lagarde (President of the European Central Bank), State Aid: EU’s reaction to the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).Draft Agenda
June 5, 2023; 3-6.30 p.m. Meeting of the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) Topics: Report back on ongoing interinstitutional negotiations, Establishing a framework of measures for strengthening Europe’s net-zero technology products manufacturing ecosystem (Net Zero Industry Act), European State of the Climate 2022 report.Draft Agenda
June 5, 2023; 4-5.15 p.m. Joint Meeting of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) and of the Committee on Development (DEVE) Topics: Geopolitical dialogue with Jutta Urpilainen (Commissioner for International Partnerships).Draft Agenda
June 6-9, 2023 ECJ oral hearing on cartel in European government bond trading Topics: In a decision dated May 20, 2021, the Commission found that the investment bank Natixis – along with six other banks – had violated EU antitrust rules because a group of its securities dealers had participated in a cartel on the primary and secondary markets for European government bonds. Natixis and the other investment banks had violated the ban on price-fixing agreements. Natixis has challenged the Commission’s decision before the General Court of the EU.Lawsuit
June 7, 2023 Weekly Commission Meeting Topics: 2024 Draft budget, A New Agenda for Latin America and the Caribbean, Inter-institutional ethics body, A comprehensive approach to mental health.Draft Agenda
June 8-9, 2023 Council of the EU: Justice and Home Affairs Topics: Exchange of views on the overall state of the Schengen area, Exchange of views on visa policy (monitoring of visa-free regimes), Exchange of views on judicial aspects of the fight against organized crime (effective investigations and fundamental rights).Draft Agenda
June 8, 2023 ECJ Opinion on State Aid (Tax Rulings) Topics: In its decision of Oct. 4, 2017, the Commission found that Luxembourg had granted Amazon unlawful tax advantages amounting to around €250 million. Amazon’s tax burden had been reduced for no good reason by a tax ruling issued in 2003 and extended in 2011. Thus, almost three-quarters of Amazon’s profits had not been taxed. This selective favoritism violates the prohibition of state aid under EU law. The Commission has therefore ordered Luxembourg to recover the state aid from Amazon EU. Luxembourg and Amazon brought actions for annulment against this decision before the General Court of the EU. In its ruling of May 12, 2021, the General Court annulled the Commission decision. According to the court, the Commission had failed to prove to the requisite legal standard that the tax burden of a European subsidiary of the Amazon Group had been unjustly reduced. The Commission has challenged this judgment of the General Court by way of an appeal before the Court of Justice.Lawsuit
June 8, 2023; 9 a.m.-12.30 p.m. Meeting of the Committee on Budgets (BUDG) Topics: Draft opinion on the definition of criminal offenses and penalties for the violation of Union restrictive measures, Exchange of views with the delegation of the Bundestag’s Budget committee’s subcommittee on European Affairs from Berlin, Mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund.Draft Agenda
June 8, 2023; 9 a.m.-12.15 p.m. Meeting of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) Topics: Proposal on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to asbestos at work, Draft report on reducing inequalities and promoting social inclusion in times of crisis for children and their families, Draft report on job creation.Draft Agenda
June 11-13, 2023 Informal meeting of agriculture ministers Topics: Potential of agriculture to contribute to the green transition.Infos
News
Euro 7: Wissing supports blockade by eight member states
German Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) has backed eight countries that reject the Commission’s proposal for a new Euro 7 emissions standard for cars and trucks. He made this clear on Thursday in Luxembourg at the meeting of EU transport ministers. The introduction dates of the new standard (July 2025 for cars, July 2027 for trucks) are unrealistic, he said. For this reason, Wissing said, he believes that the Euro 7 proposal is unacceptable as it stands and that he is closely aligned with “a whole series of critical member states”.
Bulgaria, France, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary submitted a non-paper last week calling for the proposal to be significantly weakened. Apart from later introduction dates, they also want to prevent stricter test rules and pollutant limits. France justified this on Thursday, saying that “historic investments” are needed to phase out the internal combustion car in 2035. Those investments could be used up by new emissions standards, they fear. Euro 7 should not lead to the 2035 target being put to the test again, said French Transport Minister Clément Beaune.
Germany’s position officially still open
Other countries, for example, the Netherlands, demand that on the way to zero-emission vehicles, the other cars must also “become as clean as possible”. Transport Minister Mark Harbers pointed out in Luxembourg that additional costs due to the new standards in the Commission’s proposal for passenger cars would only amount to around €200 per vehicle, making stricter standards reasonable. However, an analysis by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) suggests that the cost of the Euro 7 standard is up to 10 times higher than calculated by the Commission.
Germany has not signed the non-paper of the blocking states, and the German government’s position on the Euro 7 dossier is still officially unclear. The fact that Wissing is nevertheless taking such a clear public position indicates that there are differences of opinion on the issue within the German government. It is not the Ministry of Transport that is in charge, but Steffi Lemke’s Ministry of the Environment. The Green Party politician supports stricter emissions standards but also calls for a later introduction date for Euro 7 so as not to overburden the industry.
It is also clear that the Commission proposal would fail anyway due to a clear blocking minority by the eight blocking countries, even without Germany’s intervention. Negotiations for a compromise are now continuing in the circle of EU ambassadors. The responsible Environment Council is to decide on a general approach at its next meeting on June 20. luk
Fuel cells: MEPs write to Vestager
Several MEPs are pushing for rapid approval under state aid law to promote fuel cells. The pending decision on the four German Innovation and Technology Centers for Hydrogen (ITZ) is delaying the transformation of automotive suppliers and jeopardizing Europe’s position in international competition, they say in a letter to Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager. The senders are MEPs Ismail Ertug (SPD), EPP leader Manfred Weber, Peter Jahr (CDU) and Matthias Ecke (SPD).
The innovation and technology centers had already been proposed by the German government in its 2020 hydrogen strategy. The four ITCs are to be open to SMEs to develop, test and standardize fuel cells for cars, aircraft, ships and trains. Chemnitz, Duisburg, Pfeffenhausen and Bremen/Hamburg/Stade have been selected as locations.
The German government had already sent the funding concept to the Directorate General for Competition for approval in the fall of 2022, but there was not even a date for a decision yet, the MPs complain in their letter. “The ITC consortia at all four sites, therefore, urge DG COMP to accelerate the establishment of the ITC by confirming a compliant funding scheme,” the parliamentarians write. They ask the competition authority how the review could be accelerated. ber/luk
Autoindustrie
Beihilfen
Commission revises democracy package following criticism
The EU Commission is postponing the presentation of the package for the defense of democracy, which was previously planned for next week. The Commission wants to “take more time to consult broadly and gather more information,” said Vice President Věra Jourová in the European Parliament on Thursday. Thus, she said, an impact assessment should be carried out.
In particular, the planned directive on the financing of interest representatives as part of the package had triggered considerable criticism, and not only in Parliament. Representatives of civil society feared a directive modeled on the US Foreign Agent Act and warned that it would limit their room for maneuver.
Jourová asserted that her own proposal will be very different from national foreign agents laws, such as those already in place in Russia and withdrawn in Georgia after protests. “The approach is very different in terms of aim, scope, supervision and sanctions,” she said. tho
Nitrate in groundwater: proceedings against Germany dropped
Germany escapes a million euro fine from the EU inthe dispute over nitrate-contaminated water. A corresponding infringement procedure for the implementation of the Nitrates Directive against the Federal Republic was closed, the EU Commission announced on Thursday.
New fertilizer regulations were launched in Berlin on Wednesday. According to the Brussels-based authority, these comply with the requirements of the EU directive and meet the need to address the high nitrate pollution of water bodies.
Stricter rules convince Commission
In the event of a conviction, Germany would have been threatened with a fine of at least €11 million and a penalty payment of up to €800,000 per day, according to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture. Accordingly, the penalty payment could have been imposed retroactively from an initial ruling in 2018.
In the meantime, the national nitrate action program has been revised. The Fertilizer Ordinance and “other relevant legislation” have been adapted to ensure the application of appropriate professional practice in agriculture, writes the EU Commission as justification for the termination of the procedure. Longer blackout periods during which fertilizer may not be applied at all, a fertilizer ban for frozen soils and stricter rules on fertilizing sloping land would reduce the negative impact on soil and water resources, it adds. dpa/luk
Germany advises Ukraine on energy policy
On behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, German scientists are to support Ukraine in making its climate and energy policy fit for accession to the EU. To this end, the four-year project “Green Deal Ukraina” started on Thursday under the leadership of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB). “Germany will use its expertise to help Ukraine rebuild its energy sector, which was badly hit by the war, and make it sustainable in the process,” Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) told Table.Media. “This is a prerequisite for EU accession negotiations. The “Green Deal Ukraina” is thus an important contribution to supporting the country in several respects,” the minister continued.
Unlike Germany, however, Ukraine is also relying on nuclear energy in the long term. Energy Minister German Galushchenko recently said in an interview with the German business newspaper Handelsblatt that his country wants to maintain the share of nuclear energy in electricity generation at 50 percent in the long term. According to other media reports, this will also require the construction of new plants because several reactors will reach the end of their service life in the next few years. According to Galushchenko, however, the share of renewable energies is to rise to 50 percent. In 2020, it stood at just under 12 percent. The energy chapter of EU accession negotiations usually includes legislation on nuclear energy, nuclear safety and radiation protection.
Kyiv continues to rely on nuclear energy in the long term
Partners of “Green Deal Ukraina” include the think tanks Forum Energii from Poland and Dixi Group and Eco Action from Ukraine. The project will establish an independent think tank in Kyiv to help Ukraine make energy and climate policy decisions in the run-up to full EU membership, a spokesperson for the German Federal Ministry of Research explained.
The think tank is to advise Ukrainian government institutions and political and economic decision-makers by providing expert opinions. Ukraine would have to implement numerous changes in a total of 35 subject areas in order to join the EU. “The ongoing war massively complicates these adjustments. Green Deal Ukraina, therefore, advises on amendment needs in energy and climate legislation,” the spokesman said. ber
eu-accession
Parliament adopts own-initiative report on textile strategy
With a majority of 600 votes in favor, 17 against and 16 abstentions, the EU Parliament adopted the own-initiative report calling for improvements to the EU’s strategy for recyclable and sustainable textiles yesterday.
Rapporteur Delara Burkhardt (S&D) presented the draft in January. In the report now adopted, MEPs call for strict sustainability criteria and greater protection of labor rights and social standards. These include measures against the overproduction of textiles, a ban on the shredding and burning of unsold goods, and minimum requirements for the design of textiles to promote reuse and recycling.
Own goals for handling waste
The goal is also to reduce greenhouse gas emissions throughout the life cycle of the textile sector. Production processes are to become less energy and water intensive, the use and release of pollutants is to be avoided, and the material and consumption footprint is to be reduced. Eco-design requirements are to be adopted for textile and footwear products as a priority. When revising the Waste Framework Directive, the EU Commission is to set separate targets for the prevention, collection, reuse and recycling of textile waste and for ending the landfilling of textiles.
On Wednesday, the Parliament commemorated the collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh, which killed 1134 people and marked the tenth anniversary. This event was a major trigger for the decision of an EU strategy for more sustainable textiles.
The report will now be forwarded to the Commission, which will decide whether to introduce the demands. In the course of the revision of the EU Waste Framework Directive, the Commission also intends to present proposals for a revision of the requirements on textiles at the beginning of July. leo
New unitary patent applies (almost) throughout the EU
A unitary patent system has been in force in the EU since June 1. It provides a one-stop shop for filing and enforcing patents across much of the EU. The Unitary Patent System means lower costs, less paperwork and less administrative burden – especially for SMEs. However, only 17 EU member states are participating in the new system, covering about 80 percent of the EU’s gross domestic product. Croatia, Poland and Spain, for example, are not currently participating. German industry and the German Patent Office welcomed the introduction.
The unitary patent system eliminates the need tonavigatea complex patchwork of national patent laws and procedures. It also eliminates the more costly national validation requirements that apply to European patents.
First joint civil court
The unitary patent system includes two elements:
the unitary patent, which can be obtained by filing a request for unitary effect with the European Patent Office (EPO) after a European patent has been granted under the existing rules
the European PatentCourt (Unified Patent Court, UPC), which is based on an international agreement (UPC Agreement).
The new court will allow centralized litigation on unitary patents and will also have jurisdiction over non-unitary European patents. The cost of maintaining a unitary patent (average validity ten years) is €5,000, up to six times lower than the cost of equivalent protection today.
Industry welcomes the unitary patent
The unitary patent offers companies another option in their patent strategy and a welcome addition to protect inventions, the German Trademark and Patent Office said in response to a request. “The European Patent Court inparticular, is a milestone, as it is Europe’s first common civil court and could therefore be a model for other areas of law.”
The Unified Patent Court and the EU unitary patent are “elementary components for promoting innovation, investment and sustainable economic growth in Europe,” said Iris Plöger, member of the BDI Executive Board. German industry, she said, is “counting on an effective European patent system that improvestheprotection of intellectual property in Europe.” However, Plöger criticized the EU Commission’s current push to introduce compulsory Union licenses as a crisis management measure as counterproductive. “This casts a shadow on the urgently expected improvements to the protection of intellectual property rights.”
Decades of negotiations
The unitary patent system is a historical achievement that took decades to come about. Since the 1970s, member states have made several attempts to introduce a Community patent, but they have not been successful. In 2000, the Commission presented the first proposals for the two current EU regulations (Unitary Patent Protection Regulations: Reg. 1257/2012 and Reg. 1260/2012) on which the unitary patent system is based. vis
Trade Union Confederation urges agreement on platform work
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has urged a swift compromise on the Platform Directive in an open letter to the permanent representatives of member state governments. It is important to reach a general mandate for the directive at the upcoming meeting of the European Economic and Social Committee (EPSCO) in June, says the letter, which was published on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the second meeting of the permanent representatives in COREPER had already ended within a few days without a result. The directive is intended to limit bogus self-employment on digital platforms and ensure that workers are correctly classified as either employees or self-employed. A suspicion mechanism is planned for this purpose, the scope of which is highly controversial.
ETUC appealed to critics as well as supporters of the legislative initiative to move towards each other. Any further delay in the process would only encourage digital labor platforms to “continue to shirk their responsibilities and expand their business model, based on the denial of employment, minimum wage and labor protections, into new sectors of our economy,” the letter said.
Months of dispute
The dispute in the Council over the directive has been simmering for months. At the end of last year, an agreement between the ministers, then still under the Czech Council presidency, failed. Sweden, which currently leads the Council, tried for the meeting in COREPER on Wednesday with a once again modified compromise text to clear the way to the trilogue. Parliament had already agreed on its mandate in February.
One of the new proposals of the Swedish Council Presidency was that national regulations on the classification of employeescould beretained by the directive if they would make workers better off. Moreover, the compromise that has now been rejected provided for an additional definition to be introduced, clarifying that the conditions for the presumption of an employment relationship should only apply if the terms and conditions are set unilaterally by the digital work platform.
If the negotiations are further postponed and moved to the term of the Spanish presidency, the process risks not being completed within the current institutional mandate, ETUC stresses. lei
European Council
Platforms
Heads
Markus Gleichmann – Europe in civil dialogue
Markus Gleichmann is the European and energy policy spokesman for the Left Party in the Thuringian state parliament.
Village life politicized Markus Gleichmann. At 14, he and his parents moved from Jena to the rural town of Eichenberg near Kahle, about 20 kilometers south. Poor mobility, fears for the future, social tensions, conflicts between left and right – there was plenty of material for debate in the rural area. In the small town, Gleichmann quickly came into contact with active local politicians in the town and district, so his first voluntary steps into politics were not far away – he was just 21 years old at the time. Gleichmann later found his political home with the Left Party.
Today, the 37-year-old is a member of the Thuringian state parliament and spokesman for European and energy policy. In this role, he tries to build a political bridge between the state and Brussels. He says that this works particularly well when it comes to the issue close to his heart: sustainability. “It should be clear to everyone that we can’t manage the sustainable transformation in Thuringia alone,” says Gleichmann. And there is “an infinite amount” happening in Brussels right now.
Birthplace of the Bauhaus and location for automotive suppliers
Thuringia is the birthplace of the Bauhaus style and plays an important role as a supplier to the automotive industry. These competencies and interests can also make a significant contribution to the transformation debate in Brussels. “I want to convey the opportunities of European politics to the people of Thuringia and be their voice in Brussels,” says Gleichmann.
He acknowledges that it is not always easy. “We have to constantly emphasize that the EU is more than feed regulations and cucumber curvature standards,” he says. “It also involves peacekeeping and issues that are too big for our country.” Gleichmann attends as many citizen dialogue events in the region as he can, spreading this message. For the Conference on the Future of Europe, representatives from various countries collected specific wishes and proposed changes for the EU, compiling them into a final report. “There are great opportunities in there,” says Gleichmann.
Books about Nazi history
His hobby can also be political. In his spare time, Gleichmann enjoys researching history. He has written two books about the Nazi era in his home region. The first, entitled “Düsenjäger über dem Walpersberg,” was published in 2009. It is about a former underground aircraft factory in Kahla, where the National Socialists had fighter jets built by some 13,000 forced laborers. Two years later, he published the book “Geheimnisvolles Thüringen – Militärobjekte des Dritten Reiches” (Mysterious Thuringia – Military Objects of the Third Reich), in which he also dealt with the underground armaments factories in the region.
“Coming to terms with Nazi history is necessary and important,” Gleichmann says. Recently, he was deep in the old camp tunnels of a subcamp of the Buchenwald concentration camp. During the Nazi era, Jewish prisoners of the concentration camp were sent down there for forced labor. Research for a new project of his. “It took many discussions before we were allowed in there. But that’s where I was persistent, and that’s how I was able to connect key players.” When Gleichmann wants to switch off from all the heavy topics? “Then I go mountain climbing and am out in nature.” Pascal Mühle
Yesterday and today, the transport and digital ministers of the EU met in Luxembourg. Volker Wissing was in demand on both days due to his portfolio. The topics discussed at the Transport Council yesterday ranged from cross-border exchange of traffic fines to the Euro 7 emission standards. Lukas Scheid has more information.
Today, the Council will address three key new proposals for digital transformation: the Gigabit Infrastructure Act, the Interoperable Europe Act, and the Cyber Resilience Act. The ministers will also discuss, behind closed doors, the future of the connectivity sector, for which the Commission concluded a consultation in mid-May.
One of the contentious issues is a possible network charge as a contribution to financing network expansion. Germany has a clear position on this: Such interference in bilateral agreements is only justified in case of market failure, which is not evident. France, represented by Commissioner Thierry Breton, sees it differently. It could therefore become heated.
Other topics on the agenda include the European Electronic Identity (eIDAS), the E-Privacy Regulation, which has made little progress for years, and the Data Act. The latter is currently in trilogue negotiations. A contentious issue for the next meeting later this month is the protection of trade secrets. The Swedes aim to conclude the trilogue, but whether they will succeed remains uncertain.
However, the Spaniards, who will assume the Council Presidency in July, seem to have faith in the Swedes. In the working program they will present to the members of the Telecommunications Council, there is a strong focus on AI, but the Data Act is no longer mentioned.
In the end, the vote was clear: By 366 votes to 225 with 38 abstentions, the EU Parliament adopted the report on the Due Diligence Act yesterday morning. With this, it wants to legally oblige companies to identify and prevent, end or mitigate negative impacts of their activities on human rights and the environment.
Until the very end, there had been doubts as to whether enough votes from the conservative and liberal camps would come together and whether the EPP would be able to overturn the law. However, after the EPP parliamentary group meeting on Wednesday, it had then become apparent that the CDU/CSU groupwould not receiveenough support for its plan to reject the report. Thus, the Parliament, under the leadership of Lara Wolters (S&D), decided on its mandate for the negotiations with the Council and significantly tightened up the Commission’s draft.
Directors’ clause does not receive majority
It was a long vote; after all, there were around 50 amendments on the agenda. The version finally adopted corresponds to the position negotiated by the Legal Affairs Committee with one exception: Article 26, the so-called directors’ clause, did not receive a majority. Admittedly, the adopted Article 25 retains an obligation on company management, and violations can be punished under national law. However, the obligation of managers to supervise the implementation of the law and to align the company’s strategy accordingly no longer applies. Managers are, therefore, not liable if they do not implement the law correctly.
In addition, the Parliament agreed on the following requirements, among others:
Companies with 250 or more employees and annual sales of at least €40 million are affected
as well as companies that do not reach this value but are part of a parent company of a group with at least 500 employees and 150 million in annual sales
Depending on the size of the company, a delayed application of three to five years applies
no specific thresholds for companies from risk sectors, butdevelop sector-specific guidelines forthe following sectors: textiles, mining and quarrying, agriculture, energy, construction and financial sectors
Rules apply to the upstream and downstream supply chain
Companies are liable for damage caused by them that they could have prevented (but only if they have not implemented their due diligence obligations responsibly)
Obligation of an additional conflict analysis for companies with suppliers in armed conflicts or fragile post-conflict situations, in occupied and/or annexed territories, and in areas with weak or non-existent statehood
new article on meaningful engagement with stakeholders during due diligence process
open instead of closed list of appropriate due diligence measures
Mandatory plans for climate neutrality
As announced, the CDU/CSU group voted against. In doing so, it also opposed its party colleague Axel Voss, who as shadow rapporteur had tried to negotiate a compromise acceptable to the EPP. The German and Czech Renew MEPs also voted against the report, but they were the only ones in the liberal group to do so.
Axel Voss spoke of a “very difficult situation” for his party: On the one hand, of course, one feels committed to the goals of the law. On the other hand, the extent of the burden on companies goes far beyond the position of the EPP. In view of the upcoming European elections, it was also important for his party to distinguish itself and take a clear position.
“Despite immense pressure from the industry lobby and against the opposition of many conservatives, the Parliament has been able to tighten up the Commission’s proposal in many areas,” Anna Cavazzini (Greens/EFA) commented on the vote.
The civil society initiative Supply Chain Law welcomed the law’s risk-based approach and its application to the entire value chain. “Both create the conditions for protecting human rights and the environment where they are worst off: at the beginning of the supply chain.” The report holds enormous potential for the climate, explained Patrizia Heidegger of the European Environmental Bureau (EEB): “Companies’ climate transition plans will be mandatory, assessed on the basis of more stringent criteria, and include short-, medium- and long-term targets.” He said the EU Parliament’s position represents significant improvements in this area over the Commission and Council proposals.
Negotiations with the Council start next week
Reactions from industry were predictably negative: “The European Parliament has failed to establish workable rules for due diligence,” said Markus Beyrer, director general of BusinessEurope. The association was concerned about “overly strict rules of a purely punitive nature that do not distinguish between procedural errors and actual damage” and could end up driving European companies out of third countries.
The first trilogue is scheduled to take placenext week, on June 8. MEPs expect difficult negotiations, as the Council has adopted a much less ambitious mandate. In particular, the question of civil liability could cause controversy, as this is actually a competence of the member states, explained Axel Voss. So far, there is no European liability regime, he added. The scope of application could also become a point of conflict between the negotiators from the Council and Parliament, as the member states do not want to place an additional burden on companies.
Climate Policy
dEvEloPmENT LAw
Nachhaltigkeitsstandards
Supply Chain Act
EPP seeks majorities for regulatory break
The majority in favor of the Wolters report on the EU Supply Chain Act turned out to be clearer than many had expected, including Daniel Caspary and Angelika Niebler. The two co-chairs of the CDU/CSU group in the European Parliament had campaigned within the EPP group to reject the compromise negotiated in the Legal Affairs Committee and thus bring down the proposed legislation. However, nearly 50 Christian Democratic members did not join them and instead voted in favor of the compromise proposed by rapporteur Lara Wolters (S&D), along with the majority of Renew group members.
Therefore, the attempt to stop the industry-unpopular due diligence law and thereby achieve the regulatory moratorium demanded by the EPP failed. “Unfortunately, the Supply Chain Act in its current form does not contribute to strengthening competitiveness,” commented Niebler and Caspary on the vote.
Important test failed
The vote was an important test for the new course of the Christian Democrats. The EPP had supported previous legislative proposals for the Green Deal, albeit with significant proposed changes, as agreed at the beginning of the 2019 legislative term with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (CDU). However, they are now challenging several dossiers, led by the CDU and CSU: Caspary mentioned the nature conservation package, the building directive, and the new Euro 7 emission standard (see more articles in today’s issue).
The CDU and CSU are not aiming to stop the Green Deal, insists the CDU politician. “But we see that in particular, the Timmermans part of the Commission wants to address political goals such as biodiversity with sometimes three or four different instruments that even contradict each other.” Here, it is “urgently necessary to pause and reorganize things.” Caspary argues that the EPP is not alone in making this demand, citing French President Emmanuel Macron and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo, who have called for a regulatory break, albeit more with a view to the next legislative term.
Dependent on support from Renew
To stop the aforementioned legislative proposals, the Christian Democrats rely on support from the political center of the European Parliament, particularly from the Renew group. The support of the national-conservative ECR and the far-right ID group is not sufficient for a majority.
However, the new EPP approach does not find much favor among the Liberals, at least beyond the FDP. “Hardly anyone in our group is willing to follow the EPP narrative,” says the Renew group. The Christian Democrats are not truly aiming for a regulatory break but rather a revision of the Green Deal. However, few parties want to be associated with this message in the upcoming European election campaign.
‘Will not succeed in splitting Renew’
During the vote on the Supply Chain Act, the Christian Democrats had hoped to win over the industry-friendly delegations within Renew, according to the Liberals. However, the group is not as fragmented as assumed. “The EPP will not succeed in splitting Renew.”
However, this does not mean that the third-largest group in the EP will not side with the EPP on some dossiers. For example, the Liberals voted against the controversial nature restoration law in the Fisheries Committee and the Agriculture Committee. However, Renew shadow rapporteur Soraya Rodríguez Ramos remained at the negotiating table in the Environment Committee, unlike her EPP colleague Christine Schneider. The vote in the ENVI Committee is scheduled for June 15, with the plenary vote expected in July.
Pesticides as the next test
A similar scenario is emerging with the pesticide regulation. The EPP’s spokesperson on environmental issues, Peter Liese, stated last week that they would not reject the Commission’s proposal entirely. However, the draft report by Green rapporteur Sarah Wiener would need to be “fundamentally changed” for the EPP to approve it. Once again, it depends on Renew to provide a majority from one side or the other. Their shadow rapporteur Jan Huitema has not yet taken a clear position on this issue.
The Christian Democrats argue that the Commission’s nature conservation laws endanger the existence of farmers and food security in Europe. The same applied to the Industrial Emissions Directive, but the EPP had the rapporteur in this case, who was able to forge majorities in line with the EPP’s stance and prevent stricter emission requirements for large agricultural enterprises.
However, the Christian Democrats are not solely targeting the agricultural sector. Led by the German CDU/CSU group, they also plan to vote against stricter emission limits and testing methods in the new Euro 7 emission standard for vehicles. However, the blockade is not only coming from the EPP; there is also strong opposition in the Council (more on this in the News section). Till Hoppe and Lukas Scheid
Shortly before the start of the trilogue on the building directive next Tuesday, the German government has yet to agree on a negotiating position. However, Minister of Construction Klara Geywitz (SPD) pushes for a modification of the mandate compared to the general orientation of the Council from October.
There was a “need for improvement,” said a spokesperson in response to a query. This concerns, on the one hand, the minimum requirements for overall energy efficiency (MEPS), i.e., the details regarding the controversial “renovation obligation”. Furthermore, the ministry criticizes the standard for zero-emission buildings – i.e., the long-term goal of the EU for the renovation of the entire building stock towards climate neutrality.
Opportunity to use hydrogen for heating
“This concerns, for example, the main requirement parameter of primary energy demand. From the German government’s perspective, it would be desirable to open up to other criteria, as it has set itself the goal in the coalition agreement to align the requirement system more strongly with greenhouse gas emissions,” explained Geywitz’s spokesperson further. However, if CO2 emissions are to become the decisive factor, this can also be seen as an opportunity to use hydrogen or synthetic methane for heating, as 30 to 40 percent of primary energy is lost in their production, according to the Öko-Institut.
The Minister of Construction had already completely questioned stricter efficiency requirements in mid-May. If Germany were to introduce a ban on installing fossil fuel heaters in the short term, much would already be achieved for decarbonization. “I am not convinced that we also have to do everything to, at the same time, make every building as energy efficient as possible,” quoted the Minister in a speech to real estate managers, as reported by “FAZ“.
Geywitz considers district approach
With this, the SPD politician went beyond critical statements made a few weeks earlier. A guest article for “Welt” could be interpreted as indicating that she may not want to refer to energy standards on individual buildings, as demanded by the Commission and Parliament, or on the national building stock, as desired by the Council, but rather on neighborhoods.
Brussels-based Union and FDP politicians had already advocated for the district approach. Several Members of Parliament had submitted a corresponding amendment proposal before the European Parliament’s positioning, including liberal Andreas Glück, who generally considers the renovation pace in the directive to be excessive. “Within ten years, 55 percent of the European building stock would have to be renovated,” says the MEP. “But we not only have a shortage of skilled workers, it is also difficult to obtain building materials.”
Greens: District approach is socially unbalanced
The green rapporteur of the Parliament, Ciarán Cuffe, remains a staunch opponent of energy standards at the level of entire neighborhoods. “I reject the application of a district approach for minimum standards for overall energy efficiency because this would cause a dire situation for socially vulnerable households,” says the Irish MEP. “This would prevent targeted measures for buildings with the worst energy standards in a neighborhood and condemn vulnerable households to energy poverty.”
However, the FDP insists on weakening the goals of Parliament and the Commission in the trilogue. “This needs to be changed for the German government to agree,” said party leader and Minister of Finance Christian Lindner to “Wirtschaftswoche“. His creed: “Further increases” in energy requirements are not sustainable. On the other hand, the green-led Ministry for Economic Affairs apparently resists cementing the status quo. The goal is to establish realistic regulations that “do not overwhelm anyone” while ensuring climate neutrality, according to a spokesperson.
FDP MEP: Other states should rehabilitate first
Meanwhile, the Liberals fear that through the EU building directive, requirements could be imposed that they have painstakingly negotiated away from the Greens on a national level through the Building Energy Act. In Berlin, the FDP is pushing for an agreement before the EU elections in mid-2024. Several liberals are convinced that hardly any EU member state wants to bring the dispute over billion-dollar renovations into the election campaign.
The Brussels-based FDP MEP, Glück, has specific requests for changes. Ideally, the liberal would prefer to leave climate action in the building sector to the ETS 2. In detail, he is bothered by the Commission’s approach of not defining efficiency classes uniformly across Europe but rather demanding higher renovation efforts from states with energetically better building stock – and tendentially wealthier citizens.
Numerous exceptions to renovation obligations
The Green MEP Cuffe, on the other hand, points to the numerous exceptions provided for in the parliamentary position. Even if the classification of efficiency classes is not directly comparable between Germany and Europe, approximately half of the residential buildings in Germany already meet efficiency class D or better. Thus, even under the supposedly strict requirements of Parliament, they would not be affected by heightened renovation obligations until 2033.
In addition, member states can exempt up to 22 percent of residential buildings from renovation obligations until the end of 2036. Another exception applies to listed buildings. Therefore, from Cuffe’s surroundings, it is said: “The minimum standards do not apply to all buildings but only to a very limited percentage of the stock.” with Daniel Schmidthäussler
Gebäudesektor
EU-Monitoring
June 5, 2023; 2.30-6 p.m. Meeting of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) Topics: European Commission’s Task Force on Migration Management, Exchange of views on reports of alleged pushbacks by the Greek authorities, State of Schengen Report 2023.Draft Agenda
June 5, 2023; 3-6.30 p.m. Meeting of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) Topics: 2022 Commission Report on Türkiye, High-level geopolitical dialogue on the implementation of the NDICI-Global Europe Instrument.Draft Agenda
June 5, 2023; 3-6.30 p.m. Meeting of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) Topics: Monetary Dialogue with Christine Lagarde (President of the European Central Bank), State Aid: EU’s reaction to the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).Draft Agenda
June 5, 2023; 3-6.30 p.m. Meeting of the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) Topics: Report back on ongoing interinstitutional negotiations, Establishing a framework of measures for strengthening Europe’s net-zero technology products manufacturing ecosystem (Net Zero Industry Act), European State of the Climate 2022 report.Draft Agenda
June 5, 2023; 4-5.15 p.m. Joint Meeting of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) and of the Committee on Development (DEVE) Topics: Geopolitical dialogue with Jutta Urpilainen (Commissioner for International Partnerships).Draft Agenda
June 6-9, 2023 ECJ oral hearing on cartel in European government bond trading Topics: In a decision dated May 20, 2021, the Commission found that the investment bank Natixis – along with six other banks – had violated EU antitrust rules because a group of its securities dealers had participated in a cartel on the primary and secondary markets for European government bonds. Natixis and the other investment banks had violated the ban on price-fixing agreements. Natixis has challenged the Commission’s decision before the General Court of the EU.Lawsuit
June 7, 2023 Weekly Commission Meeting Topics: 2024 Draft budget, A New Agenda for Latin America and the Caribbean, Inter-institutional ethics body, A comprehensive approach to mental health.Draft Agenda
June 8-9, 2023 Council of the EU: Justice and Home Affairs Topics: Exchange of views on the overall state of the Schengen area, Exchange of views on visa policy (monitoring of visa-free regimes), Exchange of views on judicial aspects of the fight against organized crime (effective investigations and fundamental rights).Draft Agenda
June 8, 2023 ECJ Opinion on State Aid (Tax Rulings) Topics: In its decision of Oct. 4, 2017, the Commission found that Luxembourg had granted Amazon unlawful tax advantages amounting to around €250 million. Amazon’s tax burden had been reduced for no good reason by a tax ruling issued in 2003 and extended in 2011. Thus, almost three-quarters of Amazon’s profits had not been taxed. This selective favoritism violates the prohibition of state aid under EU law. The Commission has therefore ordered Luxembourg to recover the state aid from Amazon EU. Luxembourg and Amazon brought actions for annulment against this decision before the General Court of the EU. In its ruling of May 12, 2021, the General Court annulled the Commission decision. According to the court, the Commission had failed to prove to the requisite legal standard that the tax burden of a European subsidiary of the Amazon Group had been unjustly reduced. The Commission has challenged this judgment of the General Court by way of an appeal before the Court of Justice.Lawsuit
June 8, 2023; 9 a.m.-12.30 p.m. Meeting of the Committee on Budgets (BUDG) Topics: Draft opinion on the definition of criminal offenses and penalties for the violation of Union restrictive measures, Exchange of views with the delegation of the Bundestag’s Budget committee’s subcommittee on European Affairs from Berlin, Mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund.Draft Agenda
June 8, 2023; 9 a.m.-12.15 p.m. Meeting of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) Topics: Proposal on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to asbestos at work, Draft report on reducing inequalities and promoting social inclusion in times of crisis for children and their families, Draft report on job creation.Draft Agenda
June 11-13, 2023 Informal meeting of agriculture ministers Topics: Potential of agriculture to contribute to the green transition.Infos
News
Euro 7: Wissing supports blockade by eight member states
German Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) has backed eight countries that reject the Commission’s proposal for a new Euro 7 emissions standard for cars and trucks. He made this clear on Thursday in Luxembourg at the meeting of EU transport ministers. The introduction dates of the new standard (July 2025 for cars, July 2027 for trucks) are unrealistic, he said. For this reason, Wissing said, he believes that the Euro 7 proposal is unacceptable as it stands and that he is closely aligned with “a whole series of critical member states”.
Bulgaria, France, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary submitted a non-paper last week calling for the proposal to be significantly weakened. Apart from later introduction dates, they also want to prevent stricter test rules and pollutant limits. France justified this on Thursday, saying that “historic investments” are needed to phase out the internal combustion car in 2035. Those investments could be used up by new emissions standards, they fear. Euro 7 should not lead to the 2035 target being put to the test again, said French Transport Minister Clément Beaune.
Germany’s position officially still open
Other countries, for example, the Netherlands, demand that on the way to zero-emission vehicles, the other cars must also “become as clean as possible”. Transport Minister Mark Harbers pointed out in Luxembourg that additional costs due to the new standards in the Commission’s proposal for passenger cars would only amount to around €200 per vehicle, making stricter standards reasonable. However, an analysis by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) suggests that the cost of the Euro 7 standard is up to 10 times higher than calculated by the Commission.
Germany has not signed the non-paper of the blocking states, and the German government’s position on the Euro 7 dossier is still officially unclear. The fact that Wissing is nevertheless taking such a clear public position indicates that there are differences of opinion on the issue within the German government. It is not the Ministry of Transport that is in charge, but Steffi Lemke’s Ministry of the Environment. The Green Party politician supports stricter emissions standards but also calls for a later introduction date for Euro 7 so as not to overburden the industry.
It is also clear that the Commission proposal would fail anyway due to a clear blocking minority by the eight blocking countries, even without Germany’s intervention. Negotiations for a compromise are now continuing in the circle of EU ambassadors. The responsible Environment Council is to decide on a general approach at its next meeting on June 20. luk
Fuel cells: MEPs write to Vestager
Several MEPs are pushing for rapid approval under state aid law to promote fuel cells. The pending decision on the four German Innovation and Technology Centers for Hydrogen (ITZ) is delaying the transformation of automotive suppliers and jeopardizing Europe’s position in international competition, they say in a letter to Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager. The senders are MEPs Ismail Ertug (SPD), EPP leader Manfred Weber, Peter Jahr (CDU) and Matthias Ecke (SPD).
The innovation and technology centers had already been proposed by the German government in its 2020 hydrogen strategy. The four ITCs are to be open to SMEs to develop, test and standardize fuel cells for cars, aircraft, ships and trains. Chemnitz, Duisburg, Pfeffenhausen and Bremen/Hamburg/Stade have been selected as locations.
The German government had already sent the funding concept to the Directorate General for Competition for approval in the fall of 2022, but there was not even a date for a decision yet, the MPs complain in their letter. “The ITC consortia at all four sites, therefore, urge DG COMP to accelerate the establishment of the ITC by confirming a compliant funding scheme,” the parliamentarians write. They ask the competition authority how the review could be accelerated. ber/luk
Autoindustrie
Beihilfen
Commission revises democracy package following criticism
The EU Commission is postponing the presentation of the package for the defense of democracy, which was previously planned for next week. The Commission wants to “take more time to consult broadly and gather more information,” said Vice President Věra Jourová in the European Parliament on Thursday. Thus, she said, an impact assessment should be carried out.
In particular, the planned directive on the financing of interest representatives as part of the package had triggered considerable criticism, and not only in Parliament. Representatives of civil society feared a directive modeled on the US Foreign Agent Act and warned that it would limit their room for maneuver.
Jourová asserted that her own proposal will be very different from national foreign agents laws, such as those already in place in Russia and withdrawn in Georgia after protests. “The approach is very different in terms of aim, scope, supervision and sanctions,” she said. tho
Nitrate in groundwater: proceedings against Germany dropped
Germany escapes a million euro fine from the EU inthe dispute over nitrate-contaminated water. A corresponding infringement procedure for the implementation of the Nitrates Directive against the Federal Republic was closed, the EU Commission announced on Thursday.
New fertilizer regulations were launched in Berlin on Wednesday. According to the Brussels-based authority, these comply with the requirements of the EU directive and meet the need to address the high nitrate pollution of water bodies.
Stricter rules convince Commission
In the event of a conviction, Germany would have been threatened with a fine of at least €11 million and a penalty payment of up to €800,000 per day, according to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture. Accordingly, the penalty payment could have been imposed retroactively from an initial ruling in 2018.
In the meantime, the national nitrate action program has been revised. The Fertilizer Ordinance and “other relevant legislation” have been adapted to ensure the application of appropriate professional practice in agriculture, writes the EU Commission as justification for the termination of the procedure. Longer blackout periods during which fertilizer may not be applied at all, a fertilizer ban for frozen soils and stricter rules on fertilizing sloping land would reduce the negative impact on soil and water resources, it adds. dpa/luk
Germany advises Ukraine on energy policy
On behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, German scientists are to support Ukraine in making its climate and energy policy fit for accession to the EU. To this end, the four-year project “Green Deal Ukraina” started on Thursday under the leadership of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB). “Germany will use its expertise to help Ukraine rebuild its energy sector, which was badly hit by the war, and make it sustainable in the process,” Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) told Table.Media. “This is a prerequisite for EU accession negotiations. The “Green Deal Ukraina” is thus an important contribution to supporting the country in several respects,” the minister continued.
Unlike Germany, however, Ukraine is also relying on nuclear energy in the long term. Energy Minister German Galushchenko recently said in an interview with the German business newspaper Handelsblatt that his country wants to maintain the share of nuclear energy in electricity generation at 50 percent in the long term. According to other media reports, this will also require the construction of new plants because several reactors will reach the end of their service life in the next few years. According to Galushchenko, however, the share of renewable energies is to rise to 50 percent. In 2020, it stood at just under 12 percent. The energy chapter of EU accession negotiations usually includes legislation on nuclear energy, nuclear safety and radiation protection.
Kyiv continues to rely on nuclear energy in the long term
Partners of “Green Deal Ukraina” include the think tanks Forum Energii from Poland and Dixi Group and Eco Action from Ukraine. The project will establish an independent think tank in Kyiv to help Ukraine make energy and climate policy decisions in the run-up to full EU membership, a spokesperson for the German Federal Ministry of Research explained.
The think tank is to advise Ukrainian government institutions and political and economic decision-makers by providing expert opinions. Ukraine would have to implement numerous changes in a total of 35 subject areas in order to join the EU. “The ongoing war massively complicates these adjustments. Green Deal Ukraina, therefore, advises on amendment needs in energy and climate legislation,” the spokesman said. ber
eu-accession
Parliament adopts own-initiative report on textile strategy
With a majority of 600 votes in favor, 17 against and 16 abstentions, the EU Parliament adopted the own-initiative report calling for improvements to the EU’s strategy for recyclable and sustainable textiles yesterday.
Rapporteur Delara Burkhardt (S&D) presented the draft in January. In the report now adopted, MEPs call for strict sustainability criteria and greater protection of labor rights and social standards. These include measures against the overproduction of textiles, a ban on the shredding and burning of unsold goods, and minimum requirements for the design of textiles to promote reuse and recycling.
Own goals for handling waste
The goal is also to reduce greenhouse gas emissions throughout the life cycle of the textile sector. Production processes are to become less energy and water intensive, the use and release of pollutants is to be avoided, and the material and consumption footprint is to be reduced. Eco-design requirements are to be adopted for textile and footwear products as a priority. When revising the Waste Framework Directive, the EU Commission is to set separate targets for the prevention, collection, reuse and recycling of textile waste and for ending the landfilling of textiles.
On Wednesday, the Parliament commemorated the collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh, which killed 1134 people and marked the tenth anniversary. This event was a major trigger for the decision of an EU strategy for more sustainable textiles.
The report will now be forwarded to the Commission, which will decide whether to introduce the demands. In the course of the revision of the EU Waste Framework Directive, the Commission also intends to present proposals for a revision of the requirements on textiles at the beginning of July. leo
New unitary patent applies (almost) throughout the EU
A unitary patent system has been in force in the EU since June 1. It provides a one-stop shop for filing and enforcing patents across much of the EU. The Unitary Patent System means lower costs, less paperwork and less administrative burden – especially for SMEs. However, only 17 EU member states are participating in the new system, covering about 80 percent of the EU’s gross domestic product. Croatia, Poland and Spain, for example, are not currently participating. German industry and the German Patent Office welcomed the introduction.
The unitary patent system eliminates the need tonavigatea complex patchwork of national patent laws and procedures. It also eliminates the more costly national validation requirements that apply to European patents.
First joint civil court
The unitary patent system includes two elements:
the unitary patent, which can be obtained by filing a request for unitary effect with the European Patent Office (EPO) after a European patent has been granted under the existing rules
the European PatentCourt (Unified Patent Court, UPC), which is based on an international agreement (UPC Agreement).
The new court will allow centralized litigation on unitary patents and will also have jurisdiction over non-unitary European patents. The cost of maintaining a unitary patent (average validity ten years) is €5,000, up to six times lower than the cost of equivalent protection today.
Industry welcomes the unitary patent
The unitary patent offers companies another option in their patent strategy and a welcome addition to protect inventions, the German Trademark and Patent Office said in response to a request. “The European Patent Court inparticular, is a milestone, as it is Europe’s first common civil court and could therefore be a model for other areas of law.”
The Unified Patent Court and the EU unitary patent are “elementary components for promoting innovation, investment and sustainable economic growth in Europe,” said Iris Plöger, member of the BDI Executive Board. German industry, she said, is “counting on an effective European patent system that improvestheprotection of intellectual property in Europe.” However, Plöger criticized the EU Commission’s current push to introduce compulsory Union licenses as a crisis management measure as counterproductive. “This casts a shadow on the urgently expected improvements to the protection of intellectual property rights.”
Decades of negotiations
The unitary patent system is a historical achievement that took decades to come about. Since the 1970s, member states have made several attempts to introduce a Community patent, but they have not been successful. In 2000, the Commission presented the first proposals for the two current EU regulations (Unitary Patent Protection Regulations: Reg. 1257/2012 and Reg. 1260/2012) on which the unitary patent system is based. vis
Trade Union Confederation urges agreement on platform work
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has urged a swift compromise on the Platform Directive in an open letter to the permanent representatives of member state governments. It is important to reach a general mandate for the directive at the upcoming meeting of the European Economic and Social Committee (EPSCO) in June, says the letter, which was published on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the second meeting of the permanent representatives in COREPER had already ended within a few days without a result. The directive is intended to limit bogus self-employment on digital platforms and ensure that workers are correctly classified as either employees or self-employed. A suspicion mechanism is planned for this purpose, the scope of which is highly controversial.
ETUC appealed to critics as well as supporters of the legislative initiative to move towards each other. Any further delay in the process would only encourage digital labor platforms to “continue to shirk their responsibilities and expand their business model, based on the denial of employment, minimum wage and labor protections, into new sectors of our economy,” the letter said.
Months of dispute
The dispute in the Council over the directive has been simmering for months. At the end of last year, an agreement between the ministers, then still under the Czech Council presidency, failed. Sweden, which currently leads the Council, tried for the meeting in COREPER on Wednesday with a once again modified compromise text to clear the way to the trilogue. Parliament had already agreed on its mandate in February.
One of the new proposals of the Swedish Council Presidency was that national regulations on the classification of employeescould beretained by the directive if they would make workers better off. Moreover, the compromise that has now been rejected provided for an additional definition to be introduced, clarifying that the conditions for the presumption of an employment relationship should only apply if the terms and conditions are set unilaterally by the digital work platform.
If the negotiations are further postponed and moved to the term of the Spanish presidency, the process risks not being completed within the current institutional mandate, ETUC stresses. lei
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Markus Gleichmann – Europe in civil dialogue
Markus Gleichmann is the European and energy policy spokesman for the Left Party in the Thuringian state parliament.
Village life politicized Markus Gleichmann. At 14, he and his parents moved from Jena to the rural town of Eichenberg near Kahle, about 20 kilometers south. Poor mobility, fears for the future, social tensions, conflicts between left and right – there was plenty of material for debate in the rural area. In the small town, Gleichmann quickly came into contact with active local politicians in the town and district, so his first voluntary steps into politics were not far away – he was just 21 years old at the time. Gleichmann later found his political home with the Left Party.
Today, the 37-year-old is a member of the Thuringian state parliament and spokesman for European and energy policy. In this role, he tries to build a political bridge between the state and Brussels. He says that this works particularly well when it comes to the issue close to his heart: sustainability. “It should be clear to everyone that we can’t manage the sustainable transformation in Thuringia alone,” says Gleichmann. And there is “an infinite amount” happening in Brussels right now.
Birthplace of the Bauhaus and location for automotive suppliers
Thuringia is the birthplace of the Bauhaus style and plays an important role as a supplier to the automotive industry. These competencies and interests can also make a significant contribution to the transformation debate in Brussels. “I want to convey the opportunities of European politics to the people of Thuringia and be their voice in Brussels,” says Gleichmann.
He acknowledges that it is not always easy. “We have to constantly emphasize that the EU is more than feed regulations and cucumber curvature standards,” he says. “It also involves peacekeeping and issues that are too big for our country.” Gleichmann attends as many citizen dialogue events in the region as he can, spreading this message. For the Conference on the Future of Europe, representatives from various countries collected specific wishes and proposed changes for the EU, compiling them into a final report. “There are great opportunities in there,” says Gleichmann.
Books about Nazi history
His hobby can also be political. In his spare time, Gleichmann enjoys researching history. He has written two books about the Nazi era in his home region. The first, entitled “Düsenjäger über dem Walpersberg,” was published in 2009. It is about a former underground aircraft factory in Kahla, where the National Socialists had fighter jets built by some 13,000 forced laborers. Two years later, he published the book “Geheimnisvolles Thüringen – Militärobjekte des Dritten Reiches” (Mysterious Thuringia – Military Objects of the Third Reich), in which he also dealt with the underground armaments factories in the region.
“Coming to terms with Nazi history is necessary and important,” Gleichmann says. Recently, he was deep in the old camp tunnels of a subcamp of the Buchenwald concentration camp. During the Nazi era, Jewish prisoners of the concentration camp were sent down there for forced labor. Research for a new project of his. “It took many discussions before we were allowed in there. But that’s where I was persistent, and that’s how I was able to connect key players.” When Gleichmann wants to switch off from all the heavy topics? “Then I go mountain climbing and am out in nature.” Pascal Mühle
