Rule of Law - Dream or reality?
The Rule of Law, together with democracy and fundamental rights, forms part of the foundations of the European Union. So says in the EU Treaty. For a long time, this commitment received scant attention. It sounded like one of the usual platitudes one hears in political speeches. We thought the Rule of Law was a given. But it is not. Hungary has redesigned its judiciary and there was not a thing the EU could do about it. Poland is currently in the process of abolishing the separation of powers and the EU’s only available response is to bring an action against Poland in the CJEU for unlawful age discrimination. And now the judiciary is coming under pressure in Romania. The EU must, as a matter of urgency, develop a course of action to ensure that the Rule of Law does not simply turn into a pipe dream but remains reality. |
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| Security of the Electricity Supply |
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The EU wants to oblige Member States to undertake closer regional cooperation in the avoidance and management of electricity crises. In cep’s view, this could avoid severe economic damage in Member States in the event of an electricity crisis. The duty to manage electricity crises primarily with measures which are compatible with the internal electricity market also facilitates efficient pricing on the wholesale electricity market.
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The EU Commission wants to ensure that, in future, prior to the introduction or amendment of national provisions to regulate professions, these will be assessed more carefully as to their proportionality. In cep’s view, the Commission’s proposal for a Directive imposes tighter limits on the anti-competitive misuse of professional regulation than previously.
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| Consumer Financial Services |
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The EU Commission wants to strengthen the internal market for consumer financial services. In its analysis of the Commission’s Communication, cep regards as appropriate the Commission’s reluctance to bring in new rules on territorial restrictions because such restrictions are not per se limitations on the internal market.
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“I would like to be clear that I did read with the requisite attention all the papers produced by Her Majesty’s government and none of those is actually satisfactory.”
Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission about the Brexit papers |
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“Our neighbour Poland is challenging the Commission and Member States in a way which has never been seen before in the history of the Union.”
Prof. Lüder Gerken, President of cep |
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“The car toll, introduced in Germany, will be obsolete in 10 years at the latest. Under plans by the EU Commission, it will only be possible to retain it in this form until 2027.”
Dr. Götz Reichert, Head of Division of cep |
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No Comment
... on the ePrivacy Regulation: “The European Economic and Social Committee regrets very much that these texts are voluminous and entangled, and that to understand them it is necessary to go back and forth between them, such that it is unlikely that anyone other than a select few will ever read and apply them and that their added value is not evident to the public, a principle that is missing from the entire proposal for a regulation. We recommend that a factsheet be published online with a description of the texts for the general public which makes them accessible for everyone.” |
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