Taxonomy dispute + Medical devices + Barbara Thiel

With the start of the new year, Germany and France have taken over the presidencies of the G7 and the EU. The governments in Berlin and Paris want to conduct the presidencies in close coordination, as Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) also stressed. But the old year wasn’t quite over yet when mail arrived from the EU Commission that isn’t exactly likely to bring harmony between the two countries.

Late on New Year’s Eve, the Commission’s amendment to the EU taxonomy reached the member states. As many observers suspected, it proposes that investments in nuclear power and natural gas should be considered sustainable under certain conditions. These are New Year’s greetings that some countries are anything but pleased to receive. Germany, which wants to complete its nuclear phase-out this year, responds with harsh criticism. Austria’s Climate Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) is even threatening legal action. More on this in the Feature by Timo Landenberger.

Since May 2021, all new medical devices must meet the EU Medical Devices Regulation requirements. This marks the beginning of a new era for the industry. Even high-risk products had previously come onto the market without clinical trials in the majority of cases. But manufacturers and doctors warn that many products could disappear in the wake of the new regulations. As Eugenie Ankowitsch reports, the industry is now getting support from German state politicians.

I wish you a good start into the new year,

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Sarah Schaefer