The stakes are high for Europe
Spare a thought for the poor MEP. Having taken part in countless voting marathons in Strasbourg over the last few weeks, to get important legislative proposals under way (copyright reform, carbon limits for lorries and the banking package, to name but a few), he now has to throw himself into the election campaign and cannot even be sure that his work has been noticed by the electorate, let alone appreciated. And yet we know: not only does the poor European remain positive and undaunted at all times, he is also aware of the significance of the forthcoming European election which could be one of the most important in the history of the EU. Its integrity has been under threat since Hungary, Poland, Italy and Romania started to go their own way and because the UK will likely soon cease to be a member. The composition of the future Parliament will depend on where and how the EU is steered in the next few years. The decision will be made between 23 and 26 May. Shocking to learn that according to surveys 58 percent of Germans do not know the date of the election... |
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On 28 March 2019, the EU Parliament voted on the green EU taxonomy, while the Council has not taken a position yet. This cepAdhoc presents and evaluates the Parliament's position.
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| Artificial Intelligence for Europe – Investment in AI |
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The EU wants to support the development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) in order to safeguard the EU’s global competitiveness. For this purpose, the EU Commission has submitted two Communications and a “Coordinated Plan” in which it proposes a three-pillar “AI Strategy”.
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In February 2019, the European Parliament and the Council agreed on amendments to the rules on derivatives clearing. An Adhoc explains the changes and assess them.
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"The European economy functions like an ecosystem of large and small companies. Industrial policy must therefore take account of the system as a whole."
Margrethe Vestager, EU Competition Commissioner on the discussion about “European Champions” |
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"Major companies wield economic and political power with which they are able to put pressure both on other market operators and on the state. Policy is tasked with preventing the emergence of such power and with safeguarding competition."
Prof. Lüder Gerken, cep President |
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"We need a pan-European way of thinking – also, and especially, on industrial policy. Member States should all be pulling together on this."
Günther Oettinger, EU-Commissioner |
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"Using the EU taxonomy should be optional and not obligatory as the EU’s planned “green” taxonomy is pushing other private taxonomies out of the market."
Dr. Bert Van Roosebeke, Head of Division cep |
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| In 2018, around 2200 dangerous products caused alarm across the EU. Most of the dangerous product warnings sent to the “Safety Gate for Dangerous Products” (formerly the Rapid Alert System RAPEX) last year, concerned toys (31 percent) and vehicles (19 percent), followed by textiles (10 percent). As in the previous year, China was the No. 1 country of origin for dangerous products with more than half of the warnings relating to imports from China. |
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