| | Dear Readers,
Olaf Scholz gave a remarkable speech on Europe in Prague. And this time the Chancellor surprised us - several times.
Five years after French President Emmanuel Macron invited Germany to join forces with a view to breaking up Byzantine European structures and initiating reforms, this was the first response by a German head of government to the offer from Paris. Angela Merkel maintained a loud silence for years.
In typical Scholz fashion, his vision of a sustainable Europe was more pragmatic than Macron's pathos-fuelled vision. And yet, Scholz too has ambition.
He called for the Western Balkan states, Ukraine, Moldova and also Georgia to be admitted to the EU. He appeared open to reforming the EU treaties, advocated a move away from the unanimity principle and a reduction in the number of EU commissioners as well as calling for more independence from raw material imports, a pioneering role for Europe in key technologies, a common European defence policy and reform of immigration and financial policy - and he wants all this to happen quickly.
Quoting Czech demonstrators during the 1989 revolution, the Chancellor asked, "If not now, then when?". Scholz was vague about many things but he has taken the first step. In mid-September, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will take another one, in her State of the Union address.
In this Newsletter, we are also looking at a new EU care strategy, the ban on products made with forced labour and cyber security. I wish you a stimulating read.
Stay tuned!
Best wishes
Dr. Jörg Köpke |
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| | | | Germany's response to French President Emmanuel Macron's speech on Europe: Chancellor Olaf Scholz drew his vision of a future Europe at Prague's Charles University at the end of August. The reactions in Paris were overwhelmingly positive. |
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| | | | Latest EU Proposals in Focus |
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| | | Google: Judgement in the Google Android case
On 14 September, the European General Court will deliver its judgement in case T-604/18 Google Android. In 2018, the Commission fined Google over €4 billion for abusing its dominant market position. Among other things, it accused Google of tying the Play Store to the Google Search and Google Chrome apps and thereby abusing its dominant position in the market for Android app stores. Google contested this decision in the European General Court which will now pass judgement. The judgement will be open to appeal on points of law in the European Court of Justice. |
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| | | | | Human rights: Prohibition of forced labour products
On 13 September, the Commission intends to present its proposal for a Regulation to ban products produced, extracted or harvested with forced labour. The ban is to cover both imported products and those manufactured in the EU and will be combined with a "robust, risk-based enforcement framework". |
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| | | | | Media freedom: Safeguarding independence and pluralism
On 13 September, the Commission intends to present its proposal for a European Media Freedom Act, originally scheduled for 27 June. The law aims, firstly, to promote transparency and independence in the media sector by making the ownership of media companies more transparent and ensuring that media market transactions are monitored more effectively. Secondly, it aims to strengthen the functioning of the media by promoting media innovation and media pluralism. And thirdly, it will deal with the fair allocation of state resources, for example in the case of state advertising.
Emergency Instrument: Better preparedness and crisis response
On 13 September, the Commission will submit its proposal for a Single Market Emergency Instrument. This aims to ensure that the EU is better prepared for events such as the COVID 19 pandemic or the Ukraine war. The Emergency Instrument is likely to consist of two pillars. Pillar 1 will focus on crisis preparedness and include, among other things, the monitoring of supply chains for critical goods, and specifications for the stockpiling of certain raw materials. Pillar 2 will deal with the response to acute crises and include measures such as the joint procurement of goods or export controls.
Liability I: Revision of the Product Liability Directive
On 28 September, the Commission intends to submit its proposal for a revision of the Product Liability Directive [85/374/EEC]. The Product Liability Directive regulates the circumstances under which manufacturers are liable for defective products. The revision will aim to bring the Directive into line with digitalisation. For example, under current law it is unclear whether intangible goods, such as software or data, are products within the meaning of the Product Liability Directive. In addition, importers are deemed to be manufacturers under the Product Liability Directive. Thus, where, for example, a consumer orders a product online from a third country, a liability gap arises. Revising the Directive will solve these problems.
Liability II: Directive on liability for artificial intelligence
On 28 September, the Commission will submit its proposal for a Directive on liability for artificial intelligence (AI). The Directive is intended to address, among other things, the problem that the conditions for liability are often very difficult to prove when AI systems are used. This is partly because, with some AI systems, it is almost impossible to determine how they arrive at their results. |
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| | | | | Care: Comprehensive EU care strategy expected
Europe's population is getting older. This is only one reason why European care systems will come under dramatic pressure in the coming years and face major socio-political and financial challenges. Care policy is of great economic importance and will have a profound impact on the everyday lives of many people. Against this background, the EU now wants to renew its care policy. To this end, the Commission will announce a comprehensive EU care strategy on 7 September. At the same time, the EU has a dilemma because care is in principle a matter for the Member States. The Commission must respect the powers of the Member States and still propose measures that can substantially support care systems. cep has already looked into so-called informal care – i.e. care provided by relatives, friends or neighbours in the home environment – in a cepInput, and developed corresponding impulses for future EU care policy. |
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| | | | | Cybersecurity: Cyber Resilience Act
On 13 September 2022, the Commission will present a Cyber Resilience Act. According to the Commission, the increasing interconnectivity of devices poses numerous cyber risks, especially due to developments such as the so-called Internet of Things. It therefore wants to establish EU-wide cybersecurity standards for networked devices. The new requirements could apply in particular to end devices such as sensors and cameras, smart cards, mobile devices and routers, but also to software. The Cyber Resilience Act is the Commission's response to the fact that suppliers often fail to take adequate cyber security precautions when launching a networked product, due to the costs involved and the often low incentive to ensure the cyber resilience of the product throughout its lifecycle. |
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| | | | | | The Commission, the Council and the European Parliament regularly negotiate in the so-called trilogue on EU legislative proposals in order to find a common position. There are no new trilogue agreements for the time covered by the current newsletter to refer to. |
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| | | | | | The EU Commission asks decision-makers and interested parties from civil society for their opinion on European policy proposals. Here is our short-list of the most important consultations: |
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| | | Customs Union: Review of the EU Customs Code
The EU Commission wants to revise the EU Customs Code. The aim of the reform is to bring about a truly coherent procedure for national customs authorities so that, on the one hand, the internal market is protected from illegal goods and, on the other, legitimate trade is facilitated. In its consultation, the Commission asks, among other things, what the main achievements, challenges and frustrations of the Customs Union are, as well as what the consultation participants see as the priorities for a possible reform of the Customs Union.
The submission period for opinions ends on 14 September 2022.
Go to Consultation |
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| | | | | Soils: New EU requirements
The EU Commission wants all soils in the EU to be protected, sustainably used and, if necessary, restored so that they are in a healthy condition by 2050 ("soil health"). To this end, following the submission in November 2021 of its EU Soil Strategy for 2030 [COM(2021) 699], the Commission intends to present a proposal for a new Directive on soil health in 2023.
The submission period for opinions ends on 24 October 2022.
Go to Consultation |
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| | | | | 6 - 7 September 2022
Prague
Informal Meeting of Health Ministers. *
9 - 10 September 2022
Prague
Informal meeting of Economic and Financial Affairs Ministers.*
6 - 7 September 2022
Prague
Informal Meeting of Health Ministers.*
12 - 15 September 2022
Strasbourg
Session of the European Parliament. Among other things, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will deliver her third State of the Union address (14 September 2022).
20 September 2022
Brussels
Meeting of the General Affairs Council.*
29 September 2022
Brussels
Meeting of the Competitiveness Council (Internal market and industry).*
3 October 2022
Luxembourg
Meeting of the Eurogroup.*
4 October 2022
Luxembourg
Meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (Ecofin).*
6 - 7 October 2022
Prague
Informal meeting of heads of state or government.*
*The precise agenda was not yet available at the time of going to press. |
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| | | | | | cepInput: Europe's position on the raw materials of the future |
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| | | The expansion of future technologies is creating huge demand for essential raw materials. The European Union is facing the challenge of securing the supply of these critical commodities. The Centrum für Europäische Politik (cep) has produced an Input with recommendations for a future EU raw materials policy.
Go to cepInput 11/2022 |
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| | | | cepInput: Strengthen Democratic Oversight of HERA |
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| | | As a consequence of the Corona pandemic, the European Union wants to strengthen its preparedness and crisis response. An important component of this will be the new health authority HERA. The Centres for European Policy Network (cep) consider the central institution to be appropriate but, in view of the distribution of competences in the health sector, calls for the participation of the EU Parliament and Member States.
Go to cepInput 8/2022 |
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| | | | | Dear Readers,
"Form follows function" - this simple formula was used by Chancellor Olaf Scholz to describe the German government's new pragmatism towards reform of the European Union. Or to put it another way: "Even the European treaties are not set in stone." We will wait and see - and keep you informed about all plans in our usual critical and constructive manner.
Yours
Dr. Jörg Köpke |
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