The launch takes place two years after European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker announced the idea for such an authority in his 2017 State of the Union address before the European Parliament. President Juncker participated in the opening ceremony in Brussels together with the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Peter Pellegrini, given Member States’ choice of Bratislava as the Authority’s location. Commission […]
Commission opens investigation into proposed public support for Samsung plant in Hungary
The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether Hungary’s plans to grant €108 million of public support to Samsung SDI for investing in the expansion of its battery cell production facility in Göd (Hungary) is in line with EU rules on regional State aid. Bakcground Samsung SDI is investing around €1.2 billion […]
The European Commission aproves € 380M rescue for Condor
The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, Germany’s plans to grant a temporary €380 million loan to charter airline Condor. The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, Germany’s plans to grant a temporary €380 million loan to charter airline Condor. The measure will contribute to ensuring the orderly […]
EIOPA issues opinion on sustainability within Solvency II
The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) published on 30 September 2019 an Opinion on Sustainability and Solvency II. The Opinion addresses the integration of climate-related risks in Solvency II Pillar I requirements. While Solvency II – as a risk-based, forward-looking and market-consistent framework – is well equipped to accommodate sustainability risks and factors, […]
Financial services: Commission sets out its equivalence policy with non-EU countries
The European Commission is today taking stock of its overall approach to equivalence in the area of financial services. EU equivalence has become a significant tool in recent years, fostering integration of global financial markets and cooperation with third-country authorities. The EU assesses the overall policy context and to what extent the regulatory regimes of […]
Barriers to trade: as protectionism rises, EU continues opening up export markets for European firms
The European Commission’s report released confirms the continuous rise in barriers encountered by European companies in foreign markets. Thanks to the EU’s firm response, 123 such barriers have been eliminated since the beginning of the current Commission mandate, allowing for more than €6 billion extra exports in 2018. The latest edition of the Trade […]
EU budget 2020: Commission focuses its proposal on jobs, growth and security
The Commission has proposed an EU budget of €168.3 billion for 2020 for a more competitive European economy, and for solidarity and security in the EU and beyond. This budget is the seventh and last one under the current 2014-2020 long-term EU budget and operates within the limitations set therein. It is designed to […]
EEA Agreement turns 25 with the pending challenge of completing the internal market and its social dimension
The 25th anniversary of the European Economic Area (EEA) Agreement, in force since 1994, was the main topic of the EEA Consultative Committee meeting that took place on 23 and 24 May. This committee, which represents employers, workers and other civil society players of EEA member states, insisted on the importance of completing the internal […]
Digital Single Market: Commission publishes guidance on free flow of non-personal data
The European Commission published a new guidance on the interaction of free flow of non-personal data with the EU data protection rules. As part of the Digital Single Market strategy, the new Regulation on the free flow of non-personal data, which has started to apply in the Member states, will allow data to be stored and processed […]