insight brussels february 2014

INSIGHTS BRUSSELS February 2014

.INSIGHTS BRUSSELS.

.February 2014.


2014: Reshuffling Europe’s Policy Priorities and Leadership ........................................................................................ 4

SECTORAL POLICIES................................................................................................. 5

Agriculture And Fisheries ................................................................................................................. 5

EU agrees financial allocation for 2014-2020 Fisheries Fund ....................................................................................... 5

Energy and Environment ................................................................................................................... 5

European Commission unveils new climate and energy targets for 2030 ..................................................................... 5 ETS: Commission proposes a permanent market stability reserve from 2021 .............................................................. 6 EC recommends minimum principles for shale gas extraction ...................................................................................... 7

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

EU institutions reach agreement on financial services reform ....................................................................................... 7

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

Parliament calls for stronger sanctions against food fraudsters .................................................................................... 8

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

EFSA concludes that Bisphenol A is dangerous for human health ................................................................................ 9

Information and Communication Technology .................................................................................. 9

European Parliament’s Committee dismantles Telecom Package ................................................................................ 9 Cyber security: no obligation for Internet giants to reveal cyber-attacks ..................................................................... 10

Media and Audiovisual works .......................................................................................................... 11

European Commission starts investigations over pay TV providers ............................................................................ 11

Transport ........................................................................................................................................... 11

MEPs review liberalization of ground-handling services at EU airports ....................................................................... 11 European Parliament supports EU inland waterway programme ................................................................................ 12 Public consultation on real-time traffic information services ........................................................................................ 12


CROSS-SECTORAL POLICIES .................................................................................. 13

Competition ...................................................................................................................................... 13

Google’s proposal on search services deemed acceptable by the Commission ......................................................... 13

Consumers ........................................................................................................................................ 13

EC launches consultation on fragrance allergens ....................................................................................................... 13 European Parliament approves 2014-2020 consumers programme ........................................................................... 14

Intellectual Property Rights ............................................................................................................ 15

EU Parliament adopts Directive on collective management of copyright ..................................................................... 15

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

EC wants to include financial services in EU/US free trade agreement ...................................................................... 16

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

EU funds 67 projects bringing research closer to market ............................................................................................ 17

Taxation ........................................................................................................................................... 17

EC denonces lack of ambitions on Financial Transaction Tax .................................................................................... 17


2014: Reshuffling Europe’s Policy Priorities and Leadership

The next eleven months will represent the most crucial test-

bed for Europe’s future ambition, direction and leadership.

Among the key milestones captured in the calendar-chart

below, two events should mark a new decisive start for

Europe. They will determine Europe’s capacity to respond to

people’s needs and to tackle new global policy challenges.

The first event is set for next May, when 300 million citizens

from across the 28 European Union Member States will be

called to elect their representatives to the European

Parliament for a five years mandate.

The second event is in November, when a new European

Commission, the executive body of the European Union, will

take office for a five years term.

In both cases, and during the entire legislature, the most

compelling challenge to be faced by policy makers is to gain

the interest and engagement of the Europeans on a shared

vision about the European Union project.

The role and responsibility of “Brussels”, of its institutional

representatives and multiple centres of interest and

influence, to help overcome such challenge by responding to

‘real’ people’s needs is indisputable. Meanwhile, the way

citizens’ views, perspectives and needs will be represented

on the pan-European policy agenda is a consequence of

both individual and collective choices. In the always-on and

inter-connected communication age, every individual and

organisation can more easily contribute to articulate a new

narrative for Europe and compel the candidates for the

forthcoming institutions to bring the latter closer and more

relevant to all of us.

There is still an empty space, a compelling story to be told,

in between the opposite paths of “silence” and “noise”

characterising the on-going policy debate on the Europe we

want. Let’s not miss the opportunity to contribute to writing

this story, beyond the noisy frenzy of extremisms and the

silent lethargy or snobbism of agnostics.

Leonardo Sforza Managing Director MSLGROUP Brussels


SECTORAL POLICIES

EU agrees financial allocation for 2014-2020 Fisheries Fund

On 28 January, the European Commission,

Parliament and Council reached an agreement on

the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund

(EMFF) due to finance the European Union’s

Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) previously

adopted in 2013. The debate crashed last

December following a dispute between Members

of the European Parliament and the Council of

Ministers on the funding pot. According to the new

agreement, the EMFF will be funded with 6.5

billion euros until 2020. Even if funds available for

data gathering, campaigners for sustainable

fishing criticised some parts of the agreement,

such as the agreed-upon subsidies for the

replacement of engines in fishing vessel as these

may increase in the long-term the capacity of

vessels. Subsidies for the temporary cessation of

fishing have also been criticized on the ground

that this would only postpone overfishing without

ending the problem.

The agreement will be formally approved in April

by the European Parliament.

Mid February: Approval by Council of Ministers

March: Approval by PECH Committee

April: Vote in the Parliament during plenary session

Energy and Environment

European Commission unveils new climate and energy targets for 2030

On 22 January, the European Commission

presented its long-awaited 2030 climate and

energy package setting new goals for the energy

policy beyond the current 2020 target. The

proposal sets binding targets for the reduction in

greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 40% below

the 1990 level, and binding targets for renewable

energies aimed at reaching at least 27% of EU

energy mix by 2030. The new framework,

however, does not include new targets for energy

efficiency. A new governance framework based

on national plans for competitive, secure and

sustainable energy is also included in the

framework. Based on upcoming guidelines

prepared by the Commission, these plans will be

prepared by the Member States under a common

Agriculture And Fisheries


approach, which are expected to enhance

coherence, coordination and surveillance

throughout Europe.

Within the Council of the European Union, the

Commission’s proposal aroused mixed reactions.

While the new framework seems to have support

from all the EU's Western capitals, including

Berlin, Paris, Rome and London, it sparked

however rather negative reactions among the

Central and Eastern European countries.

However, the European Parliament adopted with

large majority a tougher resolution that supports

three binding energy and climate targets for 2030,

including 40% for GHG reductions, 30% for

renewables and a 40% increase in energy

efficiency. The Parliament’s vote is not binding,

but will frame the debate in the negotiations over

the Commission’s proposal.

The European Council is set to discuss the 2030

energy and climate package during a EU summit

in March. The Commission invited the Council

and the European Parliament to agree by the end

of 2014 on the 40% GHG reduction to gain

momentum in advance of the upcoming

international conference on a new global climate

agreement due to be concluded in Paris at the

end of 2015.

20-21 March: European Council examines the package

End 2014: possible adoption of 40% reduction target

December 2015: Climate change conference in Paris

ETS: Commission proposes a permanent market stability reserve from 2021

Along with the proposal for a 2030 climate and

energy framework, the Commission has

proposed a long-term reform of the EU emissions

trading system (EU ETS) and wishes to establish

a market stability reserve at the beginning of the

next ETS trading period in 2021. The reserve

would both address the surplus of emission

allowances that has been built up in recent years

and improve the system's resilience to major

shocks by automatically adjusting the supply of

allowances to be auctioned. This would imply the

withdrawal of allowances if a surplus builds up

(more than 833 million allowances) and their

release on the market when there is a deficit

(fewer than 400 million allowances).

The creation of such a reserve – which comes

after the recently agreed delay in the auctioning

of 900 million allowances until 2019-2020 ('back-

loading') - would operate entirely according to

pre-defined rules which would leave no discretion

to the Commission or Member States in its

implementation. Some fear that this reserve

would represent a market intervention from the

Commission and called instead to set up a carbon

‘central bank' which would have an independent

regulatory board taking decisions. But this system

was deemed to be too complex.

EU Heads of State and Government will also

discuss this ETS reform during the March EU

summit. In any case, the legislation, an

amendment to the existing ETS regulation, will

need to be approved by the European Parliament

and the Council of Ministers.

20-21 March: European Council examines the package

2021: possible new market stability reserve

INSIGHTS BRUSSELS January 2014

EC recommends minimum principles for shale gas extraction

On 22 January, the European Commission

adopted a Recommendation aimed at ensuring

that Member States which choose to extract shale

gas on their territory should apply commonly

defined principles and carry out environmental

impact assessments. The Commission

recommends that EU Member States, before

granting operating license, set up monitoring

systems to detect possible water contaminations,

and control emissions, including those of

greenhouse gases, through capturing

mechanisms. The Commission also calls on

national authorities to ensure that drilling wells

are up to best standards and to inform the public

about the chemicals used in the process.

Member States and industry representatives

welcomed the non-binding status of the measure,

while NGOs denounced the recommendation for

being weak and unable to protect citizens against

the risks of fracking.

The implementation of these common principles

shall be made within the next six months. The

Commission will monitor the application of these

measures through a publicly accessible

scoreboard and will review in 18 months’ time the

level of adherence of member states to the

recommendation.

Mid 2014: full implementation

From December 2014: national yearly reports

Mid 2015: Commission’s report

Financial Services

EU institutions reach agreement on financial services reform

On 16 January the delegates from the Council,

the Commission and the Parliament reached an

agreement on the MiFID II – MiFIR package,

composed of a set of updated rules for financial

markets instruments. The negotiations have been

particularly intricate, opposing the European

Parliament and the European Commission to

some Member States (particularly the UK). The

principal element of the compromise has been to

limit speculation on commodity derivatives. This

kind of speculation is said to have negative

impacts on the price of basic products causing

devastating consequences on developing

economies. The European Security and Market

Authority (ESMA) will be in charge of calculating

these limits while the application of the rules will

be undertaken by national authorities.

Certain derivatives related to gas and electricity

have been exempted, as it was asked by the

British delegation.

High frequency transactions will also be restricted

on the grounds that they can destabilize financial

markets.


The reform also establishes a new trading

platform called Organised Trading Facility (OTS)

that will process deals in financial products other

than shares.

Transparency will also be increased through the

publication of information during trading.

Last, the package includes measures to boost

competition of services for settlement of financial

contracts once they are negotiated.

Even though Members of the European

Parliament and Internal Market Commissioner

Michel Barnier showed high satisfaction, some

NGOs fighting poverty criticized the compromise,

stating that some powerful sectors such as gas

and electricity were exempted in the regulation.

The new rules will be gradually implemented

through a 30 months transition period which can

be renewed for an additional 30 months period.

The new regulation is expected to effectively

enter into force around mid-2016.

March 2014: Adoption by the EP in plenary session

Mid-2016: Entry into force of the regulation

Food and Beverage

Parliament calls for stronger sanctions against food fraudsters

On 6 February, Members of the European

Parliament adopted an own initiative report calling

for more severe penalties for companies that

commit food fraud. This report has been drafted

by Esther De Lange (Conservatives,

Netherlands) in the wake of the horsemeat

scandal which exploded last year. The report

mainly calls for the Commission to increase

penalties for companies who commit food fraud.

The Parliament resolution will lead to penalties “at

least doubling the estimated amount of the

economic advance sought trough the fraudulent

activity”. Higher penalties would apply if there is a

danger for public health.

The report also calls for a more comprehensive

system of labelling. Until last year only fresh beef

was labelled. Then the rule has been extended to

fresh pork, sheep, goat and poultry. The current

labelling system makes it compulsory to indicate

where the animal was reared and slaughtered but

not where it was born. Furthermore, the meat

contained in processed food is not labelled. The

Parliament resolution is to introduce a label for all

meat products, especially frozen ones. The aim of

the resolution is to allow consumers to be

informed about the animal’s place of birth, rearing

and slaughtering, but to provide also additional

information such as how many times the food has

been frozen and where. The report eventually

expressed some concerns about the current trade

negotiations with the United-States which could

introduce changes in the European food safety

and food security legislation.

The vote on the report has been welcomed by

consumers associations while the Commissioner

for health, Tonio Borg underlined that the


proposed labelling system would not have

prevented the horse meat scandal because it was

a case of fraud. Following this report, the

Parliament rejected the adoption of the measures

proposed by the Commission. The Commission

will now formulate an amended proposal

integrating the Parliament’s requests.

Mid 2014: expected new Proposal from Commission

Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals

EFSA concludes that Bisphenol A is dangerous for human health

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)

published a draft risk assessment concluding that

the exposure to Bisphenol A (BPA) can affect

human health. BPA is a chemical compound used

amongst others in food packages. According to

EFSA, the Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) should be

divided by ten times (from 50µg/kg body weight

per day to5µg/kg body weight per day). The TDI

measures the quantity that can be daily

consumed during a lifetime without affecting

health. EFSA stated that excessive exposure to

BPA can have undesirable effects on the liver and

kidney but as well on the mammary gland.

Despite this fact EFSA concluded that there are

no immediate health risks because the current

levels of exposure to this chemical component

are too low.

A public online consultation will run until 13 March

in order to collect stakeholders’ comments on

BPA. Only then will EFSA give its final

conclusions about the toxicity and the possible

human health risks of BPA.

13 March: Deadline for the public consultation

Mid 2014: EFSA Final conclusions

European Parliament’s Committee dismantles Telecom Package

On 22 January the Parliament’s Industry Trade

and Research Committee (ITRE) examined the

compromise amendments on the telecom

package. The package had been presented in

September 2013 by the European Commission,

and has since then faced severe criticism from

Member States and, more recently, in the

Parliament. Rapporteurs of both the ITRE

Committee, Pilar del Castillo (Conservatives,

Spain), and the Committee for Internal Market

and Consumer Protection (IMCO), Malcom

Harbour (Conservatives, United-Kingdom),

Information and Communication Technology


dismantled the original text that had always been

considered rushed and inaccurate.

Within the IMCO Committee, Parliamentarians

removed all articles related to contracts

(transparency, duration, cost of receiving

abroad). Those articles have been converted

in amendments to the current Directive

2009/136/EC on universal user´s right.

Members of the IMCO Committee also insisted

on not removing power from national telecoms

regulators. According to them, communication

markets are fast-moving and regulators need

flexibility and localism.

Within the ITRE Committee, Members

discussed the issue of roaming. They found

the Commission’s Proposal too complicated,

while incumbent operators fear to lose a

source of revenue which they claim is

reinvested in the network. Furthermore

operators cannot propose trans-European

roaming contracts because international

agreements are not allowed. As regards

European License, Parliamentarians replace

the Commission proposal to grant accessibility

to operators on the whole European Market

with a trans-European license.

BEUC (the European Consumers’ Organization)

welcomed the committees’ positions. The final

text that will be voted during the April plenary

session will differ a lot from the initial Commission

proposal.

April: Parliament’s plenary vote on Telecom package

April: Expected Council vote on Telecom package

Fall 2014: Expected adoption of the Telecom package

Cyber security: no obligation for Internet giants to reveal cyber-attacks

On 23 January the Committee for Internal Market

and Consumer Protection (IMCO) adopted a

report presented by Andreas Schwab

(Conservatives, Germany) on cyber security in

Europe. The Commission introduced one year

ago a strategy to tackle the issue of cyber security

in Europe. One of the Commission’s propositions

was to oblige Internet service providers to inform

users if an attack occurred. This rule already

exists for telecom operators. Nevertheless the

text approved by the IMCO Committee confirms

the obligation only for providers of infrastructure

that is vital for the economy or the general

security. This means that online trading platforms,

Internet payment gateways, social networks or

search engines would be asked to inform the

competent authorities only “on a voluntary basis”.

Regarding the second proposition of the

European Commission related to coordination

between Member States, the IMCO Committee

shares the same views as the Council: some of

the Commission’s proposed measures to

establish a network of national single points of

contact in case of cyber-attacks are redundant.

The rapporteur has now a mandate to close a

deal with the Parliament and the Commission by

May.

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

May: expected adoption of the Directive


Media and Audiovisual works

European Commission starts investigations over pay TV providers

On 13 January the European Commission

opened a formal anti-trust proceeding to examine

certain provisions in licensing agreements

between five American film studios (Twentieth

Century Fox, Warner Bros, Sony Pictures, NBC

Universal and Paramount Picture) and five

European TV broadcasters (BSkyB, Canal+, Sky

Italia, Sky Deutschland and DTS) . The aim of the

investigation is to detect if these provisions

prevent broadcasters from providing their

services across boarders by satellite or Internet.

Generally in these agreements, licensed

audiovisual content is sold on exclusive and

territorial basis in each Member State. According

to the Commission, this element “may constitute

an infringement of EU anti-trust rules that prohibit

anti-competitive agreements”.

The Commissioner for Competition, Joaquin

Almunia stated that this initiative is not aimed at

obliging studios to sell rights on a European basis

but only to guarantee consumer rights. The

Commissioner wants to examine the limitation

that a subscriber may be confronted with when

staying temporarily in another country. According

to him, a German pay-TV subscriber should be

able to watch movies while spending holidays in

Italy and any restriction to this fact could

represent an infraction to EU competition rules.

The European Court of Justice already ruled on

this type of agreements in October 2011 in a case

opposing the English Premier League and British

pubs which used to broadcast matches using

Greek TV-decoders, underlining that “a system of

licenses for the broadcasting of football matches

which grants broadcasters territorial exclusivity

on a member state basis and which prohibits

television viewers from watching the broadcasts

with a decoder card in other member states is

contrary to EU law”.

End 2016: expected end of investigations

Transport

MEPs review liberalization of ground-handling services at EU airports

On 30 January, the European Parliament’s

Committee on Transport (TRAN) adopted its report

on the proposal to liberalize supply of ground-

handling services at major EU airports. The

European Commission put forward in December

2011 this proposal with a view to further opening

up the ground-handling service market such as air

traffic controllers, weather information services at

EU airports with more than five million passengers

a year. It planned to impose a strict structural


separation between the various providers of air

navigation services in an attempt to boost the entry

of new service providers in the market.

Members of the TRAN committee rejected this

approach by small majority (22 votes against, 20 in

favour, two abstentions). Many members feared

that the proposal would lead to a deterioration of

working conditions and deplored the lack of

evidence that this proposed regulation would

increase the overall efficiency of ground-handling

operations. Members of the TRAN committee

agreed that navigation service providers shall be

obliged to compare offers made by several

enterprises for support services and choose the

most beneficial provider both "financially and

qualitatively". Members also set a review clause in

2016 for the Commission which will have to assess

the impact of opening up the services to competition

The TRAN committee forwarded the proposal to the

Parliament plenary with a recommendation to reject

it. The vote during the plenary session is scheduled

for March.

10-13 March: vote in plenary session

European Parliament supports EU inland waterway programme

On 6 February, Members of the European

Parliament adopted by a large majority in plenary

session (428 in favour, 46 against and 11

abstentions) a resolution welcoming the

Commission’s proposal to renew until 2020 the

NAIADES programme for waterway transport.

Parliamentarians however regretted the lack of

ambition in the financing of the programme and

the lack of concrete and innovative measures that

account for the fact that the sector is heavily

reliant on SMEs. They suggest that the

Connecting Europe Facility, the EU's new funding

mechanism for infrastructure projects, should

support the waterways projects. Therefore, MEPs

called on the Commission to draw up a more

precise road map and called on Member States

to work on national strategies to stimulate

waterway transport.

20 February: vote in plenary session

Public consultation on real-time traffic information services

The European Commission opened a public

consultation on 10 January to seek views from

stakeholders who have an interest in the issue of

provision and usage of real-time traffic

information services and other related issues

such as the collection, processing and exchange

of data required to provide EU-wide real-time

traffic information services. The Commission is

particularly asking stakeholders about problems

with existing systems, improvements that can be

made and the impact any new improvements

might have. The results of this consultation will

inspire the on-going cost-benefit analysis, and a

possible proposal of the Commission on a EU-

wide real-time traffic information services. The

consultation is open until 14 March.

14 March: end of public consultation


CROSS-SECTORAL POLICIES

Competition

Google’s proposal on search services deemed acceptable by the Commission

On 5 February, the Commissioner for

Competition Joaquin Almunia welcomed the third

proposal made by Google to its competitors on

fair results in the search services. The

Commissioner is now going to forward the

proposal to the 18 plaintiffs (including Microsoft

and Expedia) explaining its position. Google has

been under investigation since November 2010.

The Commission claimed that the internet giant

was giving an unfair advantage to its own

specialised services by giving them prominent

space on its general search results page.

The Commission also sued Google for copying

competitors’ content without their consent, for

concluding exclusive advertising agreements and

by threatening advertisers from using

competitors’ platforms. In the latest arrangement

Google proposes now to pay a 3.7 billion Euro

fine and reserve space on its general results page

for competitors to Google’s specialized services.

Google will also provide a tool that allows website

owners to exclude content from being indexed

and used by Google. Finally, Google will abstain

from exclusive agreements with advertisers and

from any kind of restrictive clauses. The deal will

cover only the European Market (searches using

a European IP number) and will be in force for the

next five years. The Commission will choose a

monitoring authority to verify that all commitments

will be respected. Many of the complainants

reacted negatively to the Commissioner’s

statement and asked for a third market test in

order to detect other potential problems.

First trimester: Meeting with 18 complainants

First trimester: Commissions’ final decision

Consumers

EC launches consultation on fragrance allergens

It is estimated that between 1-3% of the

population in Europe has a skin allergy to

fragrances. The most frequent symptoms include

irritation, swelling and rash, but they may develop


into a chronic condition (eczema). An allergic

reaction to a substance depends on many factors,

including the genetic predisposition, age and

intensity of exposure to this substance.

Some substances present in fragrances may

cause a skin or respiratory allergy. The European

Commission has just launched an open public

consultation on skin allergens. Both synthetic

chemicals and substances of natural origin may

be skin allergens.

The current cosmetics EU Regulation includes a

list of substances which are forbidden in cosmetic

products and a list of substances which are

allowed, but subject to restrictions. The

Commission considers that there is a need for a

regular review of those lists (the last update on

fragrance allergens was done in 2003). The

Commission’s services requested the Scientific

Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) to

review this issue and in July 2012 the Committee

issued its opinion. It was followed by informal

consultations with the industry, consumer

organisations, healthcare professionals and the

Member States of the EU.

In the on-going public consultation, the

Commission’s services propose that:

The three substances which were found to be

unsafe should be banned from cosmetic

products,

Additional allergens should be subject to the

obligation of individual labelling on the package

of a cosmetic product. In other words, they have

to be mentioned in the list of ingredients, in

addition to the words ‘parfum’ or ‘aroma’.

Because of the widespread use of fragrances it

may be very difficult to avoid them all. It is

therefore important to avoid those to which a

person is already sensitised

The results of the consultation will inform and

inspire future changes to the Cosmetics

Regulation.

14 May: End of public consultation

End 2014/ Beginning 2015: Expected entry into force

of the new regulation

European Parliament approves 2014-2020 consumers programme

On 14 January, the European Parliament

approved the EU 2014-2020 Consumer

Programme with an overwhelming majority (630

in favour, 42 against, 12 abstentions). With a total

budget of €189 million for the whole period, the

programme focuses on the funding of actions in

four key-areas:

Consolidation and enforcement of product

safety through effective EU-wide market

surveillance (such as RAPEX, the EU rapid alert

system for dangerous consumer products);

Information and education initiatives to make

consumers, particularly young consumers,

aware of their rights;

Development and reinforcement of consumer

rights, particularly through smart regulation and

improving access to legal remedies, including

alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. This

includes the measures set in the Consumer


Credit Directive which ensures that consumers

across Europe enjoy a common set of core

rights;

Enforcement of cooperation between national

authorities.

The European Parliament has also amended the

Commission’s proposal by introducing a

reference to the development of comparison

websites. The proposal will now pass to the

Council which will officially approve it in March

2014.

March: Council final approval expected

September 2017: mid-term review of the programme

Intellectual Property Rights

EU Parliament adopts Directive on collective management of copyright

On 4 February, the European Parliament as

expected approved by an overwhelming majority

a directive on collective management of

copyright. According to the rapporteur Marielle

Gallo (Conservatives, France) this measure will

play a decisive role in the digital economy.

Collective rights management organizations

nevertheless expressed concerns about the

proposal; they fear that the new directive may

weaken their rights because of the large number

of exceptions to copyright.

The new draft directive imposes easier channels

to access music online through the collective

management of copyright and the granting of

licenses in more than one Member State, whilst

safeguarding rights holders. The aim of the

directive is also to see European Music Platforms

develop by ensuring that music providers will be

able to obtain multi-country licenses more easily.

The directive is expected to be formally adopted

by the Council in due course.

Another issue is the three months public

consultation launched on 5 December by the

Commission with the aim of modernizing EU rules

on copyright. The debate on this subject is

expected to be quite intense as the European

Composer & Songwriter Alliance decided to

launch a petition against “the dismantling of rights

of creators in Europe”

February: end of public consultation

Spring: proposal to review EU copyright framework

2016: partial implementation at national level

2018: full implementation at national level

2021: review of the Directive


International Trade

EC wants to include financial services in EU/US free trade agreement On 27 January the Commission released a

discussion document describing the EU position

within the Transatlantic Trade and Investment

Partnership (TTIP) negotiations. The paper

mainly presents arguments that highlight why

financial services regulation should be included in

the talks. Since the beginning of the negotiation

process in July, the Commission is facing a strong

opposition from the United States on that point.

The paper clearly says: “The EU believes that

financial regulation is too important to be

discussed ad hoc, in informal settings at the very

last minute, under market pressure”. This

statement sounds like an announcement to the

US counterparts that Europe is not going to

release pressure on that point. The question is

very controversial also because within the EU

there are fears that including this issue in the TTIP

could weaken the European financial services

regulation.

On other fronts, the Commission announced on

22 January the opening of a three months public

consultation on the topic of investor-to-state

dispute settlement. To increase the transparency

of the negotiations the Commission also

established a special advisory group composed

by 14 advisory experts in EU trade policy that

represent a broad range of European interests.

The experts will advise the European negotiator

in chief, Ignacio Garcia Bercero, during the talks.

The agenda is going to be busy during the next

months: on 17-18 February the European

Commissioner for Trade, Karel De Gucht will

meet his American counterpart, Michael Froman.

The fourth round of negotiations will take place

from 10 to 14 March in Brussels, just before the

visit of the US president Obama to Brussels on 26

March. Commissioner De Gucht aspires to leave

office with an agreement reached by November.

17-18 February: De Gucht – Froman meeting

10-14 March: Fourth round of negotiations in Brussels

26 March: US president Obama visits EU in Brussels

End of April: Deadline of the public consultation

October: Expected final agreement


Research and Development

EU funds 67 projects bringing research closer to market

On 6 February, the European Research Council

(ERC) announced the final 34 projects of a total

of 67 under the programme 'Proof of Concept' to

receive up to €150,000 each to bring their

pioneering 'blue sky' research closer to the

market. This top-up funding can cover activities

aimed at commercial and societal applications,

such as establishing intellectual property rights,

investigating commercial and business

opportunities or technical validation.

The projects selected this time cover everything

from an exploration of the molecular foundations

of psychiatric disorders to technological

innovations that could help rescue skiers caught

in avalanches or measure extreme waves. The

2014 call for proposals under 'Proof of Concept'

is currently open (to ERC grant holders) with a

first deadline of 1 April 2014.

1st April: Deadline for submission of grant request

Taxation

EC denonces lack of ambitions on Financial Transaction Tax

On 4 February Members of the European

Parliament discussed the introduction of a Financial

Transaction Tax (FTT) in 11 eurozone Member

States. According to Taxation Commissioner

Algirdas Šemeta, despite initial enthusiasm, the

initiative is currently “in danger” by “a lack of political

steering within the council”. Key Parliamentarians

agreed with the Commissioner on the point that

many States had abandoned their commitments.

The introduction of an FTT tax has been strongly

tackled by the United-Kingdom which initiated legal

action at the EU Court of Justice contesting the

potential extraterritorial impact of the tax. But even

in countries which were formally in favor of the FTT

(like France), the fear of “huge risks” and

competition distortions stopped the legislative

process. Despite these fears, a survey shows that

64% of the European citizens support the financial

tax. The Greek Presidency is going to hold a

ministerial policy debate on 18 February at the

meeting of economics and finance ministers with

the hope to reach a “political agreement” during the

subsequent ministerial meeting of 6 May. France

and Germany are likely to propose on 19 February

to remove from the scope of FTT “transactions that

are closely related to the real economy or whose

aim is to ensure market liquidity”. The Commission

wishes to reach a political agreement on the

question before the May elections.

19 February: Ecofin Council

6 May: Ecofin Council


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insight brussels february 2014

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