| | Dear Readers,
Brussels is back from its summer break to be faced by pressing issues which did not take a holiday and, if anything, have become even more pressing. Crucial weeks and months lie ahead. The new Commission is being established and, in accordance with the "Political Guidelines” presented by the outgoing and incoming Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her candidature speech to the European Parliament in mid-July, the concrete plans for the coming legislative period will soon be formulated in "Mission Letters" to the Commissioners. The next five years will be tough. Big decisions have to be made and time is pressing. In an increasingly multipolar world order, the EU is rapidly losing importance in geo-economic terms. Meanwhile, the economy is facing major structural challenges with a business location that is plagued by red tape and unrealistic regulation and unable to provide what really matters: efficient infrastructure, functioning institutions and a high level of innovation.
Policy must provide the answers. That is its task and the basis on which it is rightly judged. If it fails in this or its answers prove false, the public will ultimately lose faith in politicians. Politicians must never allow this to happen because if they are no longer trusted to solve the important issues, democracy is jeopardised. Feigning policy based on existing templates only makes the problems bigger. The political arithmetic no longer fits into these templates and is resulting in a societal emergency, as illustrated by the Landtag elections in Saxony and Thuringia: populism does not fall from the sky, it grows like a cancer. Migration policy is a good example of this because it is a bad one. A sensible solution having been repeatedly postponed, there is now, although already almost too late, an emotional backlash and the return of loud calls for a firm hand and a strong leader.
It is a familiar pattern: populists are beginning to seize on the issue in their communications and are using it to stir division. Thus, a realistic solution is no longer possible and we are left with scapegoats. Therein lies the whole tragedy of a policy that simply sits out the pressing issues or - to calm and distract itself - only deals with secondary matters. There is no good policy if you do not carry it out. And that means swift handling of the really important problems, of which the EU has many: whether migration, energy or defence. Populism is not an option for the EU, it is its greatest danger.
Yours
Prof. Dr. Henning Vöpel |
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| | | | The EU's pressing issues did not have a summer break - Brussels must tackle them! |
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| | | | Latest EU Proposals in Focus |
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| | | Report on the State of the Energy Union 2024
On 11 September, the European Commission will publish its annual report on the state of the Energy Union. Since 2015, the Energy Union has been the EU framework strategy (cepPolicyBrief 08/2015) for uniting all aspects of EU energy policy, based on a coherent and integrated approach. Its aim is to contribute to achieving the following five objectives ("dimensions"): (1) increasing the security of energy supply, (2) strengthening the internal energy market, (3) increasing energy efficiency, (4) reducing CO2 emissions through decarbonisation and (5) promoting research and innovation in the energy sector. The report, together with the accompanying individual reports on specific topics, provides an important tool for taking stock of the progress made by the EU and its Member States in realising the objectives of the Energy Union and the energy transition. It will analyse the status reached in the implementation of the Energy Union, in all its five dimensions, based on the Commission's assessment of the national energy and climate-related progress reports of the Member States. It will also highlight future challenges for EU energy policy. |
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| | | | | | Digitalisation | New Technologies |
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| Sustainable Fisheries by Means of AI?
On 25 September 2024, the Commission will hold an annual science seminar on fisheries policy in Brussels. This year, the seminar is dedicated to the promising role of artificial intelligence (AI) in promoting sustainable fisheries management. The conference, organised by the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, will include presentations from leading experts on how AI technologies can increase transparency of fishing activities and minimise environmental impact. For example: Up to three quarters of large fishing vessels and around a quarter of energy and transport vessels are considered to be "dark ships" that do not publicly disclose their position. According to recent research, however, AI can help to uncover these murky activities and minimise their environmental impact. You can find more information about the event here.
European Day of Languages: Discover the European Language Community with AI
On 26 September 2024, the Commission is holding the European Day of Languages. Events such as translation workshops, mini language courses, online quizzes, language fairs and travelling exhibitions will be organised throughout the EU. The aim is to raise awareness of Europe’s rich linguistic diversity, promote its cultural heritage and linguistic diversity and encourage people of all ages to learn languages. In addition, the aim is to draw attention to language-related professions. In Germany, the focus this year is on the opportunities that artificial intelligence (AI) offers for language learning and language use. In cooperation with the Berlin Chancellery, the Directorate-General for Translation is organising a panel discussion at the Representation of the European Commission in Berlin on the topic of "AI and language learning and use". As emphasised on cep's Common Ground of Europe website, the EU very much a Language community - and AI could help to lay the linguistic foundations for deeper integration. |
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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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| | | Electricity Sector: Forward Capacity Allocation
The Commission wants to amend its Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1719 to establish a guideline on forward capacity allocation in the electricity sector. It criticises the fact that the European electricity futures market suffers from a lack of liquidity, accessibility, competition and transparency. This, it believes, is preventing market participants from accessing effective and efficient futures markets where they could hedge their price risk. The planned amendment to the guidelines aims to ensure that market participants can more easily take advantage of hedging opportunities.
The submission period for opinions ends on 30 September 2024.
Go to Consultation |
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| | | | | EUDIW: Specification of the Rules on European Digital Identity Wallets
Regulation (EU) 2024/1183 on establishing the European Digital Identity Framework (see cepPolicyBrief 25/2021) came into force on 11 April 2024. According to the Regulation, Member States must provide all citizens and companies in the EU with at least one so-called European Digital Identity Wallet (EUDIW) by 2026. The aim is to make it easier for users of such wallets to identify themselves electronically across borders in a secure and data-protection-friendly manner. In addition, relying parties should be given access to personal identification data and attestations of attributes of the users. The Regulation stipulates that the Commission must draw up a list of reference standards for the EUDIW by means of implementing acts by 21 November 2024 and, if necessary, develop specifications and procedures regarding the specific requirements for the EUDIW, and its certification of conformity.
On 12 August 2024, the Commission published drafts of the implementing acts and initiated consultations on each of them. Consultation no. 1 is dedicated to the requirements for the certification of conformity of the EUDIW. Consultation no. 2 deals with the trust framework. Consultation no. 3 deals with personal identification data and electronic attestations of attributes. Consultation no. 4 deals with the protocols and interfaces for cross-border interoperability and Consultation no. 5 is dedicated to questions of integrity and the core functions of EUDIW.
The submission period for opinions ends on 7 September 2024.
Go to Consultation no. 1, no. 2, no. 3, no. 4 and no. 5. |
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| | | | Digitalisation | New Technologies |
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| New Farm Sustainability Data Network
The EU Commission has launched a consultation on the implementing rules for the Farm Sustainability Data Network. This particularly concerns the variables for which data will be compiled. The existing Farm Accountancy Data Network will be converted into this new data network as part of the "Farm to Fork" strategy. The aim is to gain a detailed insight into the sustainability aspects of farms at EU level and thus support policies promoting the green transition.
The submission period for opinions ends on 11 September 2024.
Go to Consultation
Data Privacy Framework between Europe and the US
In July 2023, the EU Commission adopted an adequacy decision for the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. This decision allows the unhindered transfer of personal data from the EU to participating companies in the US and at the same time aims to ensure that data privacy is guaranteed in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The functioning of the Framework is reviewed by the European Commission at regular intervals. According to the decision, the first review must take place one year after its entry into force in order to determine whether all relevant elements have been fully implemented and are functioning effectively in practice. Once the review is complete, the Commission intends to publish a report on the functioning of the Data Privacy Framework in the third quarter of 2024.
As part of the preparation of this report, the Commission invites all stakeholders to comment on any relevant aspects of the functioning of the EU-US Data Privacy Framework.
The submission period for opinions ends on 6 September 2024.
Go to Consultation |
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| | | | | 10 September 2024
Luxembourg
In case number C-48/22 P, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) will decide at second instance whether Google and Alphabet have abused a dominant market position with their price comparison service "Google Shopping" and thus committed an infringement of competition law.
The EU Commission confirmed this in 2017 and imposed a fine of € 2.42 billion. The Court found that Google had abused its dominant market position for general internet search services and specialised search services by favouring its own price comparison service "Google Shopping" over competing price comparison services for goods, in search queries in the general Google search, and thus put the competition at a disadvantage. Google brought an action for annulment against the Commission's decision. As a result, in 2021, the European General Court denied an abuse in the markets for general search services, but affirmed an abuse of Google's dominant position in the markets for specialised product search services. How the ECJ now decides on the competition law issues relating to Art. 102 TFEU is of great legal and practical importance. In terms of content, the first issue is whether the self-preferential treatment practised by Google on a digital market goes beyond normal competition on the merits and should be designated as a special kind of obstruction and thus as abuse.
The EU Advocate General, who the ECJ often follows, agrees with the Commission and the European Court of Justice that there has been an infringement of competition law in this respect. It is true that in 1998, in the Bronner case, the ECJ established strict criteria for recognising abuse in the case of the denial of access to an "essential facility". Contrary to Google’s view, however, Advocate General Kokott rejects the transferability of these criteria to the present case and wants to limit their application to the exceptional cases which were originally recognised of refusing to supply or grant access. He states that Google's conduct does not constitute such a refusal but that Google is in fact actively committing its own form of abuse through self-preferential treatment by applying inappropriate access conditions for competing price comparison services - following on from access that has already been granted. Google therefore used its dominant position on the market for general internet search services in order to gain a competitive advantage on the downstream market for specialised product search services, where it did not (yet) hold such a position (so-called "leverage effect"). If the ECJ follows the Advocate General, it will further strengthen the EU's efforts to combat anti-competitive practices by large digital companies, such as the self-preferencing in this case.
13 - 14 September 2024
Budapest, Hungary
Informal Meeting of the Council for Economic and Financial Affairs (ECOFIN). On 13 September, the first topic will be the sustainable financing of the green transition. The focus will be on how innovative instruments can be used to bridge existing financing gaps and how the savings of private households can be more effectively mobilised. cep recently addressed this important topic in a cepInput on the further development of the Capital Markets Union and a cepStudy on the revision of the regulation on sustainability-related disclosure requirements in the financial sector. On 14 September, the ministers will then focus in particular on the effects of demographic change on the sustainability of public debt.
18 September 2024
Luxembourg
In Case T-334/19, the European General Court will decide whether Google and Alphabet (also) abused their dominant position in the market for the provision of search results in connection with their "AdSense for Search" service, an online platform for search engine advertising, and were therefore rightly fined €1.49 billion by the EU Commission in 2019. The Commission argued that Google had prevented competitors from placing adverts on these websites by introducing anti-competitive contractual restrictions in contracts with operators of third-party websites, in particular through exclusivity clauses.
26 September 2024
Brussels
Meeting of the Competitiveness Council.*
*The agenda was not yet available at the time of going to press. |
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| | | | | | The cepNetwork Freiburg-Berlin-Paris-Rome reports on current political events in France and Italy. |
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| Italy is Looking for a Commission Candidate
Giorgia Meloni believes that the Italian candidate for the European Commission should occupy a position that reflects Italy's importance, but the fact that she does not support the re-election of Ursula von der Leyen as Commission President inevitably weakens her negotiating position. Meloni's candidate is Raffaele Fitto, currently Minister for European Affairs, Cohesion Policy and the National Recovery Programme (PNRR), which is part of the European funding programme following the Covid pandemic. Fitto, who has a political past with the Christian Democrats and no links to neo-fascist ideologies, has reached many of the targets required for release of the PNRR payment instalments. Meloni is therefore calling for him to be given responsibility for the internal budget, the PNRR and the Cohesion Fund. With his candidacy, however, Fitto not only risks drawing the opposing votes of the centre-left MEPs but also the "friendly fire" of Matteo Salvini's Lega, who want to obstruct the next Commission as much as possible. Meanwhile, Meloni is hoping that her coexistence with von der Leyen will be as peaceful as possible. Meloni, who, in line with von der Leyen’s requirements, must in any case also put forward a candidate, will therefore demand her government's support for Fitto's candidacy in order to prevent Salvini from weakening her by submitting names that are much more Eurosceptic. The Prime Minister therefore faces a double hurdle: She must prepare Fitto's candidacy for Italy and get the OK from Brussels, preferably with the desired mandates. Otherwise, not only will Italy's weight in the next Commission be jeopardised, in the numerous European dossiers that are due following the European elections, but also the stability of the Italian government. When it comes to Fitto, therefore, Meloni is reliant on von der Leyen's support both in Brussels and in Rome. It remains to be seen whether the President of the Commission and of the European People's Party will be prepared to do her this favour. |
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| | | | | | | | cepAdhoc: Drones are Stressing the Security Services |
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| | | Whether it's the European Football Championships or the Olympics: modern drones are increasingly becoming a threat to internal and external security - even at major events. The Centrum für Europäische Politik warns of a capability gap in defence. Security authorities and industry are working flat out to eliminate them.
Go to cepAdhoc |
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| | | | cepInput: AI is Disrupting Education – For Better or Worse |
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| | | Artificial intelligence (AI) instead of brains: ChatGPT is increasingly being used surreptitiously in science and education. The Centrum für Europäische Politik has investigated this development between unintentional plagiarism and disrupted learning and peer review processes, and is calling for a paradigm shift on the basis of this study. A skills-oriented approach and the considered use of AI will be important in the future.
Go to cepInput |
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| | | | cepStudy: Sustainability-related Disclosures in the Financial Sector |
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| | | Over-complicated, incomprehensible, ineffective: criticism of the transparency requirements for green financial products - more precisely, the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) - continues unabated. In a study, the Centrum für Europäische Politik calls for a general overhaul - right at the start of the new legislative period.
Go to cepStudy |
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| | | | cepAdhoc: Challenges to the Rule of Law in Italy: Also a Danger to the EU? |
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| | | Ursula von der Leyen made it clear in the debate among the leading candidates for the office of Commission President that she only wants to work with politicians who satisfy three conditions: "pro-European, pro-Ukrainian - i.e. against Putin - and in favour of the rule of law". Meeting the last condition, however, has recently become a problem for Italy. Several reports published in 2024 indicate that Italy has serious problems with certain constitutive elements of the rule of law.
Go to cepAdhoc |
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| | | | cepInput: The Political Guidelines 2024-2029 of the European Commission “von der Leyen II” |
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| | | Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has presented the guidelines for her second term of office 2024-2029. She wants to strengthen Europe's competitiveness and promote sustainable innovation. The Centrum für Europäische Politik advises more concrete measures through smart prioritisation and smart regulation.
Go to cepInput |
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| | | | | "We are getting nothing done", US politician John McCain once said and considered this to be the greatest threat to democracy. People must not get the feeling that problems are no longer being solved. In times of populism, it is more important than ever that democracies get their act together.
Yours
Prof. Dr. Henning Vöpel |
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