European Union

“The future belongs to those who wake up early,” say the French. The discussion during our roundtable on the Circular Economy Action Plan, which was unveiled last December, proves exactly that.

On 27 April, we had the pleasure to host Mrs. Pietikäinen, the European Parliament’s rapporteur on the 2015 Circular Economy own-initiative report, Mr. Radziejewski from European Commission Vice-President Katainen’s cabinet, as well as industry and NGO representatives for a roundtable discussion on the practical implementation of the Action Plan.

The roundtable clearly showed that no action will move forward without input from civil society and industry. Institutions – including the Council whose role was emphasised – will be looking at concrete case studies as well as proposals, in order to ensure that “Europe closes the loop”. Policy makers underlined they need to know how policy and regulation can support competitive and resource efficient business models.

Speakers and all participants who expressed their views showed genuine commitment to the Circular Economy agenda. Some of them however insisted on the extraordinary challenges that such transition present for both industry and society. These challenges will need to be addressed in the coming months.

“The future will be for those who get it & want to act” will be the institutions’ motto in the coming months, as they consult and work on turning the Action Plan into reality. The roundtable demonstrated  a clear interest and commitment to enhance dialogue between stakeholders.  At FleishmanHillard we are therefore planning further roundtables, focusing on specific actions, issues and sectors in order to mirror the institutional agendas.

Should you want to engage on this dossier or have a recommendation as far as next roundtables are concerned, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us – with Robert Anger to be precise at  Robert.anger@fleishmaneurope.com.

The FleishmanHillard Circular Economy team

General : From tomorrow, surcharges for phone calls and data usage when you’re in another EU country are capped even further, while from 15 June 2017 using your mobile phone abroad should cost the same as doing so at home. As of tomorrow non-discriminatory net neutrality rules also enter into force. Read on for more details.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : From tomorrow, surcharges for phone calls and data usage when you’re in another EU country are capped even further, while from 15 June 2017 using your mobile phone abroad should cost the same as doing so at home. As of tomorrow non-discriminatory net neutrality rules also enter into force. Read on for more details.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

AMENDMENTS 1 - 186 - Draft report containing a motion for a non-legislative resolution on the draft Council and Commission decision on the conclusion by the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement establishing a Partnership between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and Turkmenistan, of the other part
Committee on Foreign Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

The EU police agency Europol will soon be able to step up efforts to fight terrorism, cybercrime and other criminal offences and respond faster, thanks to new governance rules endorsed by Civil Liberties Committee MEPs on Thursday. The new powers come with strong data protection safeguards and democratic oversight.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

The EU police agency Europol will soon be able to step up efforts to fight terrorism, cybercrime and other criminal offences and respond faster, thanks to new governance rules endorsed by Civil Liberties Committee MEPs on Thursday. The new powers come with strong data protection safeguards and democratic oversight.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : Domestic workers and carers, most of whom are migrant women, should be given an official status in the EU. Recognizing their work as "real" jobs would discourage exploitation, forced labour and human trafficking, say MEPs in a resolution voted on Thursday. MEPs recommend establishing easy-to-manage models for legal employer-worker relationships, citing examples in Belgium and France, to end precariousness and undeclared domestic work.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : Domestic workers and carers, most of whom are migrant women, should be given an official status in the EU. Recognizing their work as "real" jobs would discourage exploitation, forced labour and human trafficking, say MEPs in a resolution voted on Thursday. MEPs recommend establishing easy-to-manage models for legal employer-worker relationships, citing examples in Belgium and France, to end precariousness and undeclared domestic work.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : The European Commission managed its 2014 EU budget funds according to the rules, so Parliament granted it a “discharge” approval for that year, in a resolution voted on Thursday. Parliament’s own management of EU funds in 2014 was also approved. However, Parliament postponed approving spending by three joint private sector-EU partnerships in technology field, the Council of Ministers and the European Council.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : The European Commission managed its 2014 EU budget funds according to the rules, so Parliament granted it a “discharge” approval for that year, in a resolution voted on Thursday. Parliament’s own management of EU funds in 2014 was also approved. However, Parliament postponed approving spending by three joint private sector-EU partnerships in technology field, the Council of Ministers and the European Council.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : It is children who pay the price when EU member states fail to cooperate and protect children’s best interests in legal proceedings such as cross-border parental custody disputes and adoption decisions, Parliament points out in a non-binding resolution voted on Thursday. MEPs want specialised chambers within EU countries' family courts to ensure that transnational cases are processed faster.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : It is children who pay the price when EU member states fail to cooperate and protect children’s best interests in legal proceedings such as cross-border parental custody disputes and adoption decisions, Parliament points out in a non-binding resolution voted on Thursday. MEPs want specialised chambers within EU countries' family courts to ensure that transnational cases are processed faster.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

On 28 April 2016, the Permanent Representatives Committee (Coreper) agreed, on behalf of the Council, its negotiating stance on a proposed regulation establishing a structural reform programme to help member states implement reforms.

The programme would be established for the period from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2020, with a financial envelope of €142.8 million. 

Coreper asked the Netherlands presidency to start negotiations with the European Parliament.

Objectives 

The aim of the programme is to contribute to institutional, administrative and structural reforms in the member states with a view to enhancing competitiveness, productivity, growth, jobs, cohesion, and investment, in particular in the context of economic governance processes, including through assistance for the efficient and effective use of EU funds. The programme would finance actions and activities of European added value. 

Financing 

Member states would have to submit a request for financial support by 31 October of each calendar year. The financial resources available under the programme would be redirected from other technical assistance programmes under the common provision regulation for structural funds and the Rural Development Fund.   

Monitoring and implementation 

The Commission would carry out the programme, which would build on best practices with technical assistance to Cyprus and Greece. The Commission would also monitor the implementation of actions financed by the programme. 

Plenary sessions : Benchmark interest rates that are critical to financial market stability across Europe, such as the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (EURIBOR), will become more reliable thanks to a new law voted in by Parliament on Thursday. This law aims to clean up the benchmark-setting process, improve transparency, and prevent conflicts of interest like those that led to the LIBOR rigging scandals of recent years.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : Benchmark interest rates that are critical to financial market stability across Europe, such as the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (EURIBOR), will become more reliable thanks to a new law voted in by Parliament on Thursday. This law aims to clean up the benchmark-setting process, improve transparency, and prevent conflicts of interest like those that led to the LIBOR rigging scandals of recent years.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : Rules designed to reduce the technical obstacles that differing national standards and procedures create for rail operators and rolling stock manufacturers were approved by the European Parliament on Thursday. The rules agreed by Parliament and Council negotiators on the “technical pillar” of the 4th railway package will cut time and cost of certifying that operators, locomotives and carriages meet safety and technical standards.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : Rules designed to reduce the technical obstacles that differing national standards and procedures create for rail operators and rolling stock manufacturers were approved by the European Parliament on Thursday. The rules agreed by Parliament and Council negotiators on the “technical pillar” of the 4th railway package will cut time and cost of certifying that operators, locomotives and carriages meet safety and technical standards.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

On 28 April 2016, the Permanent Representatives Committee (Coreper) agreed, on behalf of the Council, its negotiating stance aimed at extending by one year the dates of transposition and application of new securities market rules.

 The one-year extension will affect the provision of services for investments in financial instruments and on the operation of regulated financial markets. Coreper asked the Netherlands presidency to start negotiations with the European Parliament as soon as possible, so as to enable adoption at first reading of a regulation enacting the extension. 

"MIFID"  and "MIFIR" 

A recent revision of rules on financial instruments set out to promote the integration, competitiveness, and efficiency of EU financial markets. The Council adopted these in May 2014, amending and replacing an existing "MIFID" text that regulates markets in financial instruments. 

The rules consist of two legislative instruments: 

• regulation 600/2014 ("MIFIR"), aimed at improving transparency and competition of trading activities by limiting the use of waivers[1] on disclosure requirements and by providing for non-discriminatory access to trading venues and central counterparties (CCPs) for all financial instruments, and requiring derivatives to be traded on organised venues; 
• directive 2014/65/EU ("MIFID II"), amending rules on the authorisation and organisational requirements for providers of investment services and on investor protection. The directive also introduces a new type of trading venue, the organised trading facility (OTF). Standardised derivatives contracts are increasingly traded on these platforms, which are currently not regulated. 

New dates 

Under the Council's approach: 

• the deadline for the member states to transpose MIFID II into national legislation would be set for 3 July 2017; 
•  the date of application of both MIFID II and MIFIR would be set for 3 January 2018. 

Other provisions 

Additionally, the Council included amendments to the Commission's proposal in its negotiating mandate. These concern trading on own accounts, package transactions, alignment with the EU directive on securities financing transactions and the date of application of certain provisions of a regulation on market abuse. 

Implementation challenges 

Both the directive and the regulation were to become applicable 30 months after entry into force, i.e. as of 3 January 2017, with member states having to transpose the new directive by 3 July 2016. However, due to technical implementing challenges faced by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and by national competent authorities, essential data infrastructures will not be in place by 3 January 2017. 

The new framework requires trading venues and systematic internalisers to provide competent authorities with financial instrument reference data that describes in a uniform manner the characteristics of every financial instrument subject to the scope of MiFID II. In order to collect data in an efficient and harmonised manner, a new data collection infrastructure must be developed. This obliges ESMA, in conjunction with competent national authorities, to establish a data system covering a wider range of financial instruments, given the extended scope of MiFID II. 

On 2 October 2015, ESMA informed the Commission that a delay in the technical implementation of MiFID II was unavoidable. Neither competent authorities nor market participants will be in a position to apply the new rules on 3 January 2017. This would lead to legal uncertainty and potential market disruption.

 [1]            By setting an overall EU cap and a cap per trading venue for the so-called reference price waiver and negotiated transaction waiver.

 

Plenary sessions : The implementation of the EU-Turkey agreement on migration, its legal aspects and democratic control were debated by MEPs, First Vice-President of the Commission Frans Timmermans and Dutch Minister for Immigration Klaas Dijkhoff on Thursday morning. MEPs stressed that there must be no bargaining on visa liberalisation criteria.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Plenary sessions : The implementation of the EU-Turkey agreement on migration, its legal aspects and democratic control were debated by MEPs, First Vice-President of the Commission Frans Timmermans and Dutch Minister for Immigration Klaas Dijkhoff on Thursday morning. MEPs stressed that there must be no bargaining on visa liberalisation criteria.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP