FURTHER NEWS AND REPORTS AT WWW.EUROPOLITICS.INFO THE EUROPEAN AFFAIRS DAILY europolitics.info Analytical, Comprehensive, Independent Saturday 26 July 2014 N° 4916 42nd year FOCUS Commission: Inauguration date still uncertain By Christophe Garach The idea of postponing the inauguration of the new Commission by one month (from 1 November) has not been ruled out entirely. The Commission and Parliament are studying all scenarios at this stage. The Conference of Group Chairs is even receptive to the idea of a change of date. After its failure to name Catherine Ashton’s successor, on 17 July, the European Council will meet again on 30 August. Only after that meeting will Jean-Claude Juncker be able to unveil the distribution of portfolios in the new college. After that, the EP committees will have to finalise a questionnaire to be submitted to the commissioners-designate, who will have to respond and prepare for their hearings. That leads at best to the end of September or early October. If none of the candidates is rejected during the procedure, a vote of investiture will still be possible at the October plenary. Otherwise, one or more additional hearings would have to be held, thereby postponing the final vote to November. One thing is certain: MEPs do not plan to have the agenda dictated to them and to botch the hearings, even if it means delaying the final investiture. Table of Contents Right to be forgotten: Europeans will soon have a how-to guide By Nathalie Vandystadt fter a meeting with Google, MicA rosoft and Yahoo!, the 28 data protection authorities will present guidelines this autumn Europeans’ right to be forgotten as now applied by Google can be improved in the light of the EU Court of Justice’s historic judgement of 13 May obliging the California-based firm to respond to a Spanish citizen’s request for the deletion of links connecting his name to two articles on settled debts. That is what emerged from the discrete meeting between the Article 29 Group (G29), comprised of European data protection authorities (in reference to a 1995 directive undergoing revision), and representatives of the leading internet search engines (Google, Microsoft/Bing and Yahoo!), on 24 July in Brussels. In its statement, CNIL, the French authority, gives an idea of the lack of precision on how the internet giants treat this right to be forgotten (together with the Spanish and now the Italian authority, CNIL is already in a dispute with Google, which dominates the market, over respect for the confidentiality of data in the EU). At issue are the problems raised by Google’s new forms to implement the European judgement: when data deletion (delisting) requests are accepted by the company, they concern only Goo- Sold by subscription only © reproduction strictly prohibited in any language gle’s European sites, like Google.be, and the data will still be accessible in the EU via Google.com. The company, which finds the European ruling “disappointing,” did not comment on the details of the meeting. It had earlier said that it has already received 90,000 delisting requests, prompting the G29 to coordinate to respond to complaints from persons whose requests are rejected (just over 50% of requests are being accepted, according to Reuters). OTHER RESPONSES BY 31 JULY Several questions were raised at the meeting, eg: “Do you delist results only in the EU, on all sites accessible in the EU or by EU residents, or on all domains on a global basis?” “What grounds do you provide to data subjects to justify a refusal?” On its form, Google states that it may “refuse to delete information concerning financial fraud, professional negligence, criminal convictions or a public official’s conduct”. The aim of the European authorities is to finalise – for next autumn – guidelines on application of the EU court judgement. For this to happen, the search engine firms will have to answer, by 31 July, other questions on the treatment of links that lead, for instance, to anonymised rulings or sensitive requests related to press articles (since freedom of expression and information are at stake). n www.europolitics.info about EU policies at your door. THE PUBLICATION OF CHOICE FOR EU PROFESSIONALS AND THE WIDER PUBLIC Follow us EUROPOLITICS_SA Rue d’Arlon, 53 | B-1040 Brussels – Belgium | T: +32(0)2 737 77 09 D13115-AP-Europolitics-UK-V2.indd 1 08/01/14 11:21 Europolitics is the publication of choice for EU professionals and the wider public. Europolitics is the publication of choice for EU professionals and the wider public. Subscribe at [email protected] getthe alllatest the latest Subscribe at [email protected] andand get all news news about EU policies at your door. about EU policies at your door. Correspondents: Editors: THE PUBLICATION OF CHOICE FOR EU Anne Fekete de vari Berlin: Jakob Schlandt PROFESSIONALS AND THE WIDER PUBLIC Tibor Szendrei Bern: Edgar Bloch Istanbul: Markus Bernath Rue d’Arlon, 53 | B-1040 Brussels Belgium | T: +32(0)2 737 77 09 Special Editions– Editor: Seoul: Sébastien Falletti is published by EIS Rory Watson Strasbourg: Olivier Mirguet (Europe Information Warsaw: Jakub Iwaniuk Service S.A.), Investigations: Washington: Brian Beary Rue d’Arlon, 53 Erik Bonse, Richard Werly B-1040 Bruxelles D13115-AP-Europolitics-UK-V2.indd 1 EDITORIAL TEAM Editorial Director: Pierre Lemoine Editor-in-chief: Christophe Garach Deputy Editors-in-chief: Eric Van Puyvelde Rory Watson Reporters: Ed Bray, Marie-Martine Buckens, Anne Eckstein, Anca Gurzu, Anke Harthoorn, Natalia Kurop, Manon Malhère, Sophie Mosca, François Paquay, Anthony Pepe, Sophie Petitjean, Andreas Rogal, Isabelle Smets, Ophélie Spanneut, Joanna Sopinska, Nathalie Steiwer, Jorge Valero, Nathalie Vandystadt, Tanguy Verhoosel Translation: Bérénice Bastin Aïda Boghossian Julian Hale Betty Jackson Michèle Morsa Clémence Sebag Jessica Smith TELEPHONE Follow us Editorial: +32 2 737 77 22 Agenda, layout and website: Geneviève Jourdain Zsolt Kozma EUROPOLITICS_SA Subscriptions: +32 2 737 77 09 Grégoire Maus FAX Subscriptions: +32 2 732 67 57 ADVERTISING Michel Deurinck [email protected] E-MAIL General: [email protected] 08/01/14 11:21 PRODUCTION Printing: Identic, Brussels Individual: [email protected] Subscriptions: [email protected] Europolitics is published in French under the name Europolitics. ISSN 1811-4121 3 EUROPOLITICS N° 4916 Saturday 26 July 2014 Contents N° 4916 Top stories INTERNET FINANCIAL SERVICES INTERVIEW Financing for broadband: Major projects on the horizon Page 4 Court of Justice to rule on MasterCard on 11 September Page 7 Giovanni Kessler, director-general, European Anti-Fraud Office Page 10 Sectoral policies Right to be forgotten: Europeans will soon have a how-to guide.................. 1 Commission postpones authorisation of GMO imports................ 7 Parliament gets back to work on novel foods.......................................... 8 States in danger of losing Structural Funds at end of 2015.............. 8 Exec concerned about drop in gas flows to Ukraine............................. 9 Business & competitiveness Financing for broadband: Major projects on the horizon................. 4 Cloud9 mobile prepares for battle on alternative roaming............................. 5 Liberty Global-Ziggo merger: Decision in October................................ 5 Court to rule on aid to SNCM in September........................................... 6 Co-legislators face packed agenda........... 6 Financial services, banks, insurance Court of Justice to rule on MasterCard on 11 September............ 7 Economic & monetary affairs, taxation Trade policy TTIP: Leaked EU position on SPS addresses consumers’ concerns......13 In brief Single seat for eurozone in IMF: A pipe dream?.......................................... 9 Directive on maritime spatial planning adopted...................................13 Yukos case: Russia threatened with record fine......................................13 Institutions EU agenda...........................................14 “Dalli has never backed up his conspiracy theory with facts”...........10 ENERGY PREMIUM External relations EU extends Ukraine sanctions list again.................................12 US Congress bid to export more gas to Europe gains momentum..................12 On europolitics.info n Turkey green-lights South Stream n Energy interconnectors a major priority, says Ristori n French energy transition, nuclear still an issue DEAR SUBSCRIBERS, DUE TO THE SLOWDOWN IN THE EU INSTITUTIONS’ ACTIVITIES DURING THE MONTH OF AUGUST, EUROPOLITICS.INFO WILL BE UPDATED NEXT ON THURSDAY, 28 AUGUST. THE FIRST PRINTABLE PDF PUBLICATION AFTER THE BREAK WILL BE DATED FRIDAY, 29 AUGUST. LET US WISH YOU A HAPPY AND RELAXING SUMMER BREAK! EUROPOLITICS Sold by subscription only © reproduction strictly prohibited in any language www.europolitics.info 4 Saturday 26 July 2014 N° 4916 EUROPOLITICS Financing for broadband: Major projects on the horizon These inequalities are in large part a result of the technological and financial decisions made by member states (see table). “By April 2014, a majority of member states had adopted national broadband plans consistent with the targets in the Digital Agenda for Europe,” says the Commission in its report on the telecoms market, published in July. Three member states (Greece, Cyprus and Romania) still had to finalise their digital road maps. Nonetheless, these www.europolitics.info Other % 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% BE BG CZ DK DE EE EL Source: Communications Committee ES FR HR IE IT CY LV LT LU HU MT NL AT PL PT RO SI SK FI SE UK EU Member states’ technological choices determine the quality and cost of their network. Recently connected countries, such as France, Spain and Poland, have chosen to invest in optical fibre, which has the advantage of transmitting signals more rapidly and has fewer losses than existing copper networks for telephony. However, coverage is more limited. Germany, Belgium and Hungary are using cable. The Commission has said it is “technologically neutral”. 68.6% 44.7% 76.4% 66.7% 97.1% 83.4% 59.4% 77.7% 86.0% 66.6% 60.4% 62.0% 85.7% 90.3% 61.3% 75.1% 48.6% 60% 40.4% 80% 74.1% Actual/Advertised speed(%) 100% 80.4% Actual Download Speed of xDSL technology as a Percentage of Advertised Speed during peak periods, split by country Average (60.3%) DIGITAL INEQUALITY AMONG EUROPEANS Disparities between member states are still massive, with Belgium, the Netherlands and Malta mostly covered, while Italy and Greece are lagging behind. Inequalities are also territorial, between urban and rural zones. On average, only 18% of less-populated zones were covered by broadband internet in 2013. Rates of coverage for broadband can be very low in rural zones in otherwise well-equipped countries: this is case in the UK and Germany, which have around 70% coverage overall but only 20% in rural zones. There is also significant inequality in terms of quality of access. Sweden, Romania and Latvia have the fastest internet, while Italy and Spain have the plans still need to be transformed from plans to reality... In Hungary, no measures had been taken by 2014 to implement a plan that was adopted four years ago. Moreover, says the Commission, financial incentives are insufficient to compensate for the effects of the tax on infrastructure that was imposed on providers in 2013. Poland, where 49% of the population has NGA, is also lagging far behind. It is planning €4.1 billion of investment to connect the entire country, of which €1 billion will come from European Structural Funds between now and 2020. This concerns projects for the period (continued on next page) Fixed broadband subscriptions - technology market shares, January 2014 DSL lines % (VDSL included) Cable modem % (DOCSIS 3.0 included) FTTH/B % 100% 73.2% Financing for broadband in Europe will be one of Jean-Claude Juncker’s main priorities when he takes office, the new president of the European Commission has announced. He has also promised €300 billion of public investment in networks, particularly digital - without changing budgetary rules. Germany and France have said they need €20 billion of public and private funding each to cover all of their territory. Meanwhile, the Italian President of the Council, Matteo Renzi, has called for “budgetary flexibility” for digital.Where will the money come from? This should become clear over the next few months. The stakes are considerable: the European Union has fixed the objective of covering 100% of its territory with next-generation access (NGA) – or very high-speed internet (more than 30 Megabytes, or Mbps, per second) by 2020. However, coverage is currently only 62%, according to the Commission’s latest scoreboard. In other words, the majority of companies and indivuduals are still using digital back-roads - when they could be on the information superhighway. NATIONAL PLANS INCOMPLETE 94.8% Jean-Claude Juncker intends to address financing for broadband networks when he takes office slowest. Last but not least, actual download speeds are very often well below the level claimed by providers (see table). 82.6% By Nathalie Steiwer 40% 20% 0% HR CY CZ DK FI FR DE EL HU IS IE IT LT MT NL NO PL PT SK SI ES SE UK France and Britain lagging behind, Slovakia and Hungary leading the way: actual download speeds can be much lower than those claimed by providers. Thanks to cable, which better respects its commitments, the EU can be proud: Europe’s actual download speed is 36% higher than that of the US for copper and fibre, and 92% for cable, according to the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications. Sold by subscription only © reproduction strictly prohibited in any language 5 EUROPOLITICS N° 4916 Saturday 26 July 2014 2007-2013, which had to be re-programmed: Poland had only absorbed 10% of the Rural Development Funds available for broadband, says the Commisison. Slovakia also registered a very low rate of absorption of EU funds for broadband. France has completed its funding plan with difficulty. In all, it needs €20 billion to cover the entire country, the government has said, including from national government funds (€3.3 billion) and local and EU funds. An agreement on project bonds was reached with the EIB in July, but EU procedures are too slow, says French Industrial Renewal Minister Arnaud Montebourg. In Germany, the coalition government has announced a €20 billion plan to cover all zones with internet of at least 50 MBps by 2018 (compared with 50% currently), yet the compromise on means of financing remains to be decided by the Commission. Meanwhile, South Korea is investing massively in next generation technology, 5G. n Cloud9 mobile prepares for battle on alternative roaming By Nathalie Steiwer The British alternative provider, currently unknown, is challenging classic providers to decouple their mobile networks Alternative roaming provider Cloud9 mobile has clarified its European presence to Europolitics, as well as explaining its difficulties in accessing the networks of ‘classic’ providers – following the publication of our article on alternative roaming contracts. These contracts allow consumers to change operator during a stay abroad while keeping the same telephone number. The company, based in the UK, intends to launch services in two member states in October. It is “in talks with four French providers” and has made contact with the French regulator, Arcep, regarding two providers who are blocking access to their network, says the company’s Commercial Director, Chris Holme. However, Arcep has not received a formal complaint, we heard from the body’s press service. On the other hand, in the UK Cloud9 has signed an agreement with an operator and a formal complaint has already been lodged against Telefonica UK regarding its wholesale access rates. In Austria, a market rumoured to be difficult for providers without their own network (MVNOs) due to high prices for mobile communciations, Cloud9 says it has signed with all providers and is beginning tests with three of these. According to the Austrian regulator’s register, the company is currently registered as a fixed line provider. In Belgium, Cloud9 mobile has announced that it has signed with a provider. In the Netherlands, the company is ready to sign with three operators and will lodge a complaint with the regulatory authority. In the meantime, the company appears on a website as a provider of alternative roaming services, but its customer service does not respond to e-mails or calls. n Liberty Global-Ziggo merger: Decision in October By Sophie Mosca Liberty has apparently offered to sell Film1, its pay channel. Will that be enough for the Commission? Answer on 17 October The American telecommunications group Liberty Global is pursuing its bid on Dutch cable operator Ziggo despite the European Commission’s in-depth investigation into the transaction, opened on 8 May. The friendly takeover bid was launched on 2 July and will run until 10 September at a share price of €35.74, slightly more than initially announced in January (€34.53). To obtain the Commission’s good graces, Liberty Global, controlled by billionaire John Malone, proposed to sell Film1, its pay channel. The EU executive had pointed out that, combined with HBO TV, Ziggo’s pay chain, the merged entity would have only one competitor on the Dutch market. Liberty Global allegedly has also agreed, according to an informed source, not to block its internet network access to net giants like Google or Netflix, which is establishing a presence in France and Benelux. The European Commission is concerned that the deal may limit competition Sold by subscription only © reproduction strictly prohibited in any language on certain pay TV and telecommunications markets in the Netherlands, where the two operators are the only two suppliers of premium pay film channels. That could lead to higher prices for consumers. It is also concerned that the two competitors may be tempted to “coordinate their practices and raise prices or delay investments”. Liberty is still on a shopping spree in Europe, moreover: it has set up an alliance with the Discovery TV channel to acquire All3Media, the British producer of films and series, and has bought a 6.4% stake in British Sky Broadcasting, a satellite broadcaster. n www.europolitics.info 6 Saturday 26 July 2014 N° 4916 EUROPOLITICS Court to rule on aid to SNCM in September By Sophie Mosca The advocate-general has called for a rejection of French demands to annul the reimbursement of 440 million euro in aid The Société nationale Corse Méditerranée (SNCM or National Corsican Mediterranean Company), which serves the island of Corsica (as well as Sardinia, Algeria and Tunisia) via ferries, will have its fate determined in September. The EU Court of Justice (ECJ) will rule on its appeal and France’s appeal concerning €440 million in state aid received in 2002, then during its privatisation in 2006, which the European Commission had approved. Seized by SNCM’s rival, Corsica Ferries, judges from the EU’s court had considered, in September 2012, that this aid was incompatible with EU law and had demanded for it to be paid back. In addition, they had deemed that the so-called ‘complementary’ service during peak periods during the tourist season should no longer be part of the public service concession between the SNCM, the Corsican local authorities and the Corsican transport office. That considerably reduces its area. At a time when it is experiencing structural management difficulties and given the competition on the crossings that it runs, a confirmation of this judgement would be the final nail in the coffin for the SNCM. The advocate-general had, on 16 January, rejected en bloc the appeal by the SNCM and France’s appeal. The main shareholder of the SNCM, Transdev, a subsidiary of Veolia and the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (a public investor), wants to disengage from the SNCM, which is structurally in financial dificulty, and advocates a receivership procedure. It is a solution that would make it possible to wipe away this troublesome company, which is supported by the French government, a 25% shareholder. The trade unions reject this prospect, which would mean the dismantling of SNCM with the loss of the juicy contract – €600 million per year – of the public service concession to Corsica. They defend the implementation of the industrial plan signed in June 2013 by the former company management, which envisages the renewal of the fleet with the purchase of four ships and the loss of 500 jobs out of 2,600, without any redundancies. After stormy strike action that blocked traffic to Corsica from June to early July, a moratorium of four months was decided, ruling out receivership for the time being. n Complaint by sailors’ union The Commission will also have to clarify what treatment it will give to the complaint that it has received from the sailors’ trade union CGT-marins, the SNCM’s main trade union. The latter points to a distorsion of competition on the lines to Corsica run by Corsica Ferries, which carries an international Italian flag and employs Romanian workers that are a lot less expensive than the labour force imposed on the SNCM. “The investigation is ongoing,” said Commissioner Joaquin Almunia’s spokesperson. Co-legislators face packed agenda By François Paquay After the summer break, Parliament and Council will have to break several deadlocks in legislation affecting businesses Arguably the most controversial item on the legislative agenda is the consumer product safety regulation - COM(2013)0078 - which contains the controversial provision implementing mandatory marking of the country of origin on non-food consumer products. Christel Schaldemose (S&D, Denmark), the rapporteur on this file, has been re-elected to Parliament and re-appointed in her role by the coordinators of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO). Her report was adopted by MEPs in April, but criticism remains of the way the ‘Made in’ issue has been handled in general, and in particular of the absence of an impact assessment on this specific topic. The newly elected Chair of the committee, Vicky Ford, told Europolitics that she does not believe MEPs “should pass laws that affect businesses www.europolitics.info and consumers without having done a proper impact assessment, which is the case here”. In the Council as well, the member states do not seem to be able to find a solution. The Italian EU Presidency intends to progress on this file: policy debates are on the agendas of the two upcoming Competitiveness Council session, on 25-26 September and 4-5 December. In September, the members of the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) will start working on the proposal for a directive on single-member private limited liability companies - COM(2014)212. The rapporteur has not yet been appointed. In the Council, the working group of Coreper is scheduled to finish the first reading of the text in the beginning of October. A general approach should be adopted during the December Competitiveness Council. The debates are likely to be animated: the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has already voiced its concerns over the proposal’s incompatibility with the subsidiarity and proportionality principles. JURI MEPs will also have to start working on the proposal for a directive on the protection of trade secrets - COM(2013)813. The new rapporteur for this file has not yet been nominated: Marielle Gallo (EPP, France), who had been appointed before the elections, did not stand in the last elections. Member states have already adopted a common position in May. On the proposal for a regulation on a common European sales law COM(2011)0635 -MEPs already adopted their position in February 2013. Both rapporteurs - Klaus-Heiner Lehne (EPP, Germany) and Luigi Berlinguer (S&D, Italy) - have left their seats. Should the Council manage to come up with a common position on this file, the JURI committee would have to appoint new rapporteurs to start negotiations. “Intense” and “in-depth” technical discussions have taken place within the Coreper working group during the Greek EU Presidency. The state of play will be discussed during the Justice and Home Affairs Council, on 4-5 December. n Sold by subscription only © reproduction strictly prohibited in any language 7 EUROPOLITICS N° 4916 Saturday 26 July 2014 Court of Justice to rule on MasterCard on 11 September By Manon Malhère It will hand down a judgement on the compatibility with EU law of interchange fees set by the company The EU Court of Justice will decide, at 9:30 on 11 September, whether or not the fees charged between banks for card-based payment transactions, set by MasterCard, are compatible with European Union competition law. The judgement is timely: a legislative text currently before the Council and Parliament aims to limit these multilateral interchange fees (MIFs). The case pits MasterCard against the Commission. In 2007, the EU executive ruled that the cross-border MIFs set by MasterCard were inflated and anti-competitive. «They raise the retailer’s cost for accepting card payments without generating any demonstrated efficiency gains,» said the Commission, which ordered MasterCard to reduce the fees or risk a stiff fine. MasterCard proposed to limit MIFs to 0.2% of debit card payment transactions and 0.3% of credit card transactions, but then brought legal action against the Commission. In May 2012, the EU General Court sided with the EU executive. It held that MasterCard continued to act as an association of undertakings with regard to MIFs after it was listed on the stock exchange in 2006. In other words, the banks continued to exercise decision-making power over essential operational aspects of MasterCard’s system. The General Court held that these MIFs are not necessary to the proper working of MasterCard’s system. At the end of January, the court’s advocate-general confirmed the General Court’s ruling. It is now up to the Court of Justice to issue a verdict. PROPOSAL ON TABLE The Commission decided to go further and presented, in July 2013, a draft regulation capping MIFs. The text sets ceilings of 0.3% and 0.2% on all credit and debt card payment transactions, cross-border and national alike. The EU executive maintains that consumers will benefit from these rules: since the fees are borne by retailers, they will pass on to consumers the savings that will result from lower MIFs. MasterCard and Visa argue, on the contrary, that consumers will be the losers. The EP adopted its position in April 2014. MEPs wish to include in the regulation cards issued to companies for payment of business expenses (business cards). MasterCard is opposed to the idea, arguing that there was no impact assessment and that these cards play a different role. For instance, a company can provide business cards to its employees for payment of their business expenses. These offer «more sophisticated services to businesses while helping them reduce red tape,» notes MasterCard. It adds that if interchange fees for business cards are capped, the issuing banks will be obliged to increase the fees applying to these cards, thus raising costs for businesses. In the Council, the issue is still under discussion at expert level. According to a provisional timetable, the Italian Presidency plans an exchange of views at the November Ecofin Council. n Background Multilateral interchange fees (MIFs) are paid between two banks for card payment transactions. The consumer’s bank receives a commission from the retailer’s bank. These fees are supposed to correspond to the costs of the payment transaction. They are borne by retailers, who pay a fee to their bank. Consumers pay annual fees to their bank for the use of their card. Commission postpones authorisation of GMO imports By Joanna Sopinska The animal feed industry wants a final decision by the beginning of September The animal feed industry has expressed its “serious disappointment” about the delayed authorisation of imports of eight genetically modified (GM) feed and food products. In a joint statement, released on 25 July, the European association representing the trade in cereals (COCERAL), the EU’s vegetable oil and proteinmeal industry association (FEDIOL) and the European compound feed manufacturers’ federation (FEFAC) warned that the Euro- pean Commission’s decision of this week to postpone the authorisation “leaves the EU food and feed business operators exposed to possible risk of disruptions of the vital imports of soybeans, maize and various protein-rich products […] as well serious legal uncertainty”. The three organisations called on the Commission to take a decision on authorisation by the beginning of September, “before the 2014 autumn harvest will be made available in the key exporting regions to the EU and before risk of noncompliance will increase even further”. The statement recalled that the EU depends on imports to cover 75% of its Sold by subscription only © reproduction strictly prohibited in any language needs for protein-rich ingredients for feeding purposes. Applications for the import and use of four biotech soybeans, two maize, one oilseed rape and one cotton variety in the EU (Maize MON 87460, Rapeseed GT 73, Soybean 305423, Soybean MON87708, Soybean MON87705, Soybean BPSCV127-9, Maize T25 and Cotton T30440) are waiting for the final green light from the College of Commissioners following the usual ‘no opinion’ vote at previous standing committee and appeal committee meetings over the past few months. The written approval procedure was reportedly blocked by a number of commissioners. n www.europolitics.info 8 Saturday 26 July 2014 N° 4916 EUROPOLITICS Parliament gets back to work on novel foods By Sophie Petitjean It hopes for swift adoption of the regulation, which the rapporteur refuses to make conditional on solving the tough issue of cloning The EU may soon update its rules on foods produced using new technologies or not consumed to a significant degree before 1997 (‘novel foods’). After its 2011 failure, the European Parliament put this issue back on the drawing board at the first meeting of the Committee on the Environment and Public Health (ENVI), on 23 July. Rapporteur James Nicholson (ECR, UK) declared at this meeting that he had no intention of holding the matter hostage to settle the question of food derived from cloned animals or their offspring. Regulation 258/97 establishes a specific assessment procedure for foods presenting a new or modified primary molecular structure, those consisting of micro-organisms, foods consisting of or isolated from plants and food ingredients isolated from animals, and those whose nutritional value has been altered. It also obliges the manufacturer wishing to place a novel food on the European market to submit an application to a member state. The EU executive proposed, in 2008, to update these rules and to set up a European assessment procedure, but discussions ended in failure three years later over the difficult question of cloning. The Commission then came back with a package in 2013 separating foods derived from cloning. The committee’s discussion was the first exchange of views by newly elected or re-elected MEPs. Nicholson intends to amend the definition of novel foods and the subsequent categories proposed. “We need to be flexible to prevent weaknesses in the regulation’s scope,” he said, with support from Pilar Ayuso (EPP, Spain). Margrete Auken (Greens, Denmark) was more critical: “I have the impression that business interests outweigh consumers’ interests on this issue,” she commented. She denounces the provisions on nanotechnologies (only nanomaterials defined by Regulation 1169/2011 on nutrition labelling would be covered by the new regulation) and the legal vacuum regarding foods derived from cloned animals. In the absence of texts on cloning, the regulation on novel foods will continue to apply. Yet neither the 1997 text nor the new proposal contains any specific provisions. During the debate, the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) said that it had “started drafting a guidance document for foods from third countries,” which it hopes to publish in October 2015. An expert group presented the main conclusions of its update of the impact study. n States in danger of losing Structural Funds at end of 2015 www.europolitics.info of fund absorption at this stage. That could serve as a warning signal for 2014-2020, which also looks as though it may not be very fast out of the starting blocks on the ground. On the other hand, the states will have an extra margin of one year to absorb the funds this time around, since the N+2 rule – under which the funds for 2007-2013 are available until the end of 2015 – has become N+3, giving the stragglers a bit more breathing room. n Absorption of funding and project selection by Member State for the 2007 2013 programming period 100 % of total Cohesion Policy funding 2007-2013 Absorption rate May 2014 Project selection rate by end 2013 100 PT EU-27 EE FI LT EL SE PL BE DE IE DK AT CY NL LU 0 LV 0 ES 20 UK 20 SI 40 FR 40 CZ 60 HU 60 IT 80 MT 80 SK One third of Structural fund payments for 2007-2013 – around €108 billion – still have to be allocated to the member states, Walter Deffaa, director-general of DG Regio, told members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Regional Development (REGI), on 23 July. Is this worrying, considering that the programming period is nearly over and that whatever has not been paid out by the end of next year will be lost to the states? The answer depends on the state. Some are in a more critical situation than others, with payments that do not yet total half of what they are in principle entitled to receive. Others are already at more than 80%. Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Italy are among the states at risk. If they do not speed up implementation of their projects, some of their funds could evaporate. “There is a growing risk that some member states and regions BG Some 108 billion euro for 20072013 still awaiting allocation will lose a large amount of funding because of not being able to complete programmes by the end of 2015,” confirms the recent sixth report on cohesion. According to Deffaa, these states’ difficulties stem mainly from inadequate administrative capacity. “A specific unit has been set up in DG Regio to help them,” he added. The 2007-2013 programming period also got under way after a delay of more than a year, which explains the fairly mediocre rate RO By Isabelle Smets Source: SFC Sold by subscription only © reproduction strictly prohibited in any language 9 EUROPOLITICS N° 4916 Saturday 26 July 2014 Exec concerned about drop in gas flows to Ukraine By Judit Zegnal Hungary has cut back on reverse flows to boost record-low storage levels The European Commission will continue to seek solutions to enable the flow of natural gas from Europe to Ukraine, its energy spokesperson, Sabine Berger, has said. She was reacting to reports published by Reuters and other media this week on decreasing gas exports to Ukraine, primarily from the direction of Hungary. “According to our information, as of 1 July, Hungary intensified injections into its gas storage facilities, therefore there is less gas available for export,” Berger confirmed to Europolitics, on 23 July. She did not specify quantities. “We will continue to look into the issue [of reverse flows from Europe to Ukraine]; we are in contact with companies and transmission system operators,” Berger said. Due to a prolonged gas price dispute with Kyiv, Moscow has cut off gas supplies to Ukraine. Since then, Ukraine has been largely dependent on European gas exports for filling up its storage tanks for the coming winter season. According to Commission information, currently Ukraine receives gas via reverse flows from Poland and Hungary. The flows from Slovakia are scheduled to start in September, under a memorandum of understanding signed on 28 April by the Slovak and Ukrainian gas transmission system operators. Bratislava said that combined reverse flows from Slovakia, Hungary and Poland could reach up to around 16-17 billion cubic metres annually. Flows from Poland have been “stable,” amounting to four million cubic metres per day (mcm/d) since mid-April, Berger said. Flows from Hungary started at the end of May and have been “fluctuating” between five and ten mcm/d, she said. According to diplomatic sources, Hungary has been negotiating with Russia’s Gazprom for additional gas supplies in order to fill up its storage tanks, which stand at the lowest level in Europe. However, Gazprom has been reluctant to sell more gas to Budapest, fearing that it would be passed on to Ukraine, said the source who spoke anonymously due to policy. At the same time, the Commission has reiterated its position that any new gas contracts with Gazprom must be free of so-called destination clauses, which would restrict the buyers from re-selling Russian gas on international markets, including Ukraine. “In general, such a clause would not be acceptable from the point of view of the Commission – because it would be a destination clause,” Berger told Europolitics earlier in July. According to data on the transparency website of Gas Infrastructure Europe, Hungary’s gas storage facilities stood at 43% as of 25 July, while Ukraine’s were 45.84% filled. For comparison, the average rate for European gas storage tanks was 77.27%, GIE’s data revealed. “We hope the lowering of reverse flows is temporary; this is unpleasant but not critical,” Andriy Kobolev, head of Ukraine’s state energy company Naftogaz, was quoted by Reuters as saying, on 23 July. n Single seat for eurozone in IMF: A pipe dream? By Jorge Valero Disagreements between France and Germany block chances of consensus The idea of having a single seat for the eurozone countries in international organisations, especially in the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has resurfaced in political debate (see earlier article). Despite the interest by key players in pushing this proposal forward, in particular by the newly elected European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker, a single seat in the IMF is unlikely to become reality any time soon. According to European sources, the difficulties of sorting out the practicalities impede progress on this matter at least in the short term. Moreover, the member states continue to disagree over several issues related to the IMF, and differences also remain on how the eurozone member states’ quotas in the IMF could be merged or who should be the zone’s representative. One of the main problems is the lack of consensus between the eurozone’s two largest econo- mies. France’s representatives in the Washington-based institution come from the Ministry of Finance, while the German delegates come from the Bundesbank (central bank). Accordingly, Berlin’s moves are guided by its monetary policy priorities, while France’s economic focus is broader. European diplomats note that the two countries also find it difficult to agree on certain other substantial issues, such as the issuance of special drawing rights (the foreign reserve assets defined by the fund to supplement their members´ reserves). On this point, Berlin takes a more restrictive stance. Moreover, France tends to side with the UK - the largest non-eurozone country represented in other international organisations where a single seat could also be established, such as the World Bank - since Paris and London share priorities in fields like development, and they share a colonial past. These differences were already manifest during the recent reform of the IMF, whose aim was to reduce the quotas of the US and the European states and thereby to give greater voice to emerging countries. Bel- Sold by subscription only © reproduction strictly prohibited in any language gium and Netherlands were opposed to this reform, since they both lost their seat on the IMF’s board. Certain capitals think that the current debate could lead to better coordination among the European members of the board. If that happens, diplomats believe a genuine ‘unified’ European position may emerge, but single seat may still remain up in the air. The member states are afraid that they may be “paralyzed by having just one voice but nothing to say,” sources explained on condition of anonymity. Furthermore, the largest eurozone countries have yet to agree on who their single representative should be: the Eurogroup president, the commissioner on economic affairs, or a lower-level official. Against this backdrop, the single seat is not likely to become reality “any time soon,” commented Zsolt Darvas, a senior fellow at the Bruegel think tank. Although the idea “makes a lot of sense,” he underlined that the member states are “eager to maintain their own representation in order to have more direct control over the decision making processes at the IMF”. n www.europolitics.info 10 Saturday 26 July 2014 N° 4916 EUROPOLITICS “Dalli has never backed up his conspiracy theory with facts” By Sophie Petitjean Interview with Giovanni Kessler, director-general, European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) ble for such cases. The Commission acted according to its duties. Also, as you yourself wrote, the tobacco products directive has not been affected – either in terms of deadline or content [...]. Alleging that there is a conspir- No. I know that the Maltese judicial authorities charged Silvio Zammit [Zammit is a Maltese entrepreneur who allegedly asked the tobacco company Swedish Match for money in Dalli’s name – Ed]. The trial is ongoing. After their own inquiry, the Maltese police intended to charge Dalli too – as the then chief Police Commissioner, John Rizzo, said when he gave evidence before the Maltese court. However, this was not possible as Dalli was out of the country for health reasons. He returned to Malta when a new government was elected and a new chief of police was appointed - who said there was no charge against Dalli. According to our information, the Maltese investigation concerning Dalli remains open to date. Do you think that Dalli was ‘protected’? © CE I am not going to speculate, I have only spoken to you about facts. Giovanni Kessler In this interview, the director-general of OLAF gives his side of the story in response to Europolitics’ dossier on the Dalli affair. Former Health Commissioner John Dalli is suspected of trading favours relating to the review of the tobacco products directive. Kessler’s services carried out an inquiry into the allegations sent by Swedish Match to the Commission in 2012. Dalli has alleged that the tobacco industry and the Commission are involved in a conspiracy against him. He says that OLAF fabricated evidence in order to push him out. What is your side of the story? That is absurd. Dalli has never backed up this conspiracy theory with any facts. The few times he tried, he did not provide any substantial evidence, and each time he gave a different version of events. The last attempt, in an interview in Europolitics, was ridiculous: I haven’t received any instructions or been put under any pressure from anybody in this case. OLAF carried out a rigorous and fully independent inquiry. The Commission was informed of an allegation of corruption, and transmitted this correctly to OLAF, the independent body responsiwww.europolitics.info acy is tantamount to accusing me and my team of offences which carry criminal sanctions. We are in the process of examining the legal aspects of these accusations. But in fact, this conspiracy theory is Dalli’s attempt to avoid accounting for his actions. He has never replied on the facts revealed by our investigation. So you haven’t been promised the position of European prosecutor? Not at all. That’s another of Dalli’s absurd theories. We don’t even know ‘if’ or ‘when’ this post will be created, and we knew this even less so two years ago. What’s more, when this project takes form, it won’t be the president of the Commission who appoints the prosecutor. My mandate as director-general of OLAF is fixed by law: I have three-and-a-half years left and I hope to finish this mandate in all serenity. It is not renewable. Therefore, I am not seeking anything from anyone, and I cannot be influenced. Have you been informed of developments in the inquiry by the Maltese police? Did Dalli threaten to make a complaint against you? Yes, he threatened me several times after the investigation. The last time, he sent me a message saying I would be arrested if I came to Malta. I learned from Europolitics that he had also made a complaint of defamation to the Belgian court, or that he wanted to do so. If that is the case, then a judge can rule on this conspiracy theory. I’m not influenced by these statements and I’m not worried: we have done our job scrupulously. OLAF’s Supervisory Committee has nonetheless criticised certain irregularities in your inquiry – which you have always disputed. The committee has not said that our investigation was illegal. Only courts are competent to judge the legality of our investigative activities. In 14 years, and apart from the Dalli case, the committee has never written an opinion on a single investigation. In this case, the committee has made recommendations and we have followed some of them. OLAF has, as usual, acted fully in line with the applicable rules. We informed the committee in writing three days before sending our final report to the Maltese authorities. I also Sold by subscription only © reproduction strictly prohibited in any language 11 EUROPOLITICS N° 4916 Saturday 26 July 2014 called Mr Timmermans, who was president of the Committee at the time, to tell him the case was urgent and I could not hold on to the dossier for too long as I had to send it to the Maltese judicial authorities. He replied to me that there was no problem with that. Before we sent the dossier to the Maltese authorities, the committee asked for and was given full access to the file. It even obtained a prolongation after the first term of 30 days. Is Timmermans’ departure from the Supervisory Committee linked to the Dalli affair? I cannot speculate or speak for him. Do you think that Herbert Bösch and Johan Denolf are punishing you for the fact that they lost out on the position of director-general of OLAF? They were indeed candidates for my position, as everyone knows, but I will not engage in speculation of this kind. Some MEPs also seem very set against you, such as Ingeborg Grässle, who has called for OLAF to be “cleaned up”. These statements targeting specific staff members at OLAF, if true and genuine, are an unacceptable threat to members of my team, particularly as they come from a leading representative of a political institution, the European Parliament. Such announcements affect OLAF’s investigators, hinder our independence and damage our reputation. Have you put pressure on OLAF’s Supervisory Committee’s office, as alleged by Bösch, not to publish its opinion on the Dalli affair? We have not put any pressure on the committee. An independent officer is in charge of evaluating whether OLAF and the committee respect rules on data protection. We have received an opinion from this data protection officer, which gave several warnings and informed that disciplinary measures would apply if the legislation on data protection was not respected. We have only transmitted this opinion to the Supervisory Committee with a view to ensuring loyal cooperation. Regarding your inquiry report, can you explain why two pages are missing from the first version, and why the second interview, between Inge Delfosse (tobacco industry) and Silvio Zammit (entrepreneur), does not feature in the annexes? OLAF does not publish its investigation reports. When the report was leaked to the Maltese press after it was sent to the competent authorities, there were two pages missing. This may have happened because these two pages concerned a succession of telephone calls, which may have been compromising for Dalli [...]. As for the second call between Delfosse and Zammit, we have the recording of the conversation but we have not transcribed it because it was not relevant to the investigation. Nonetheless, this recording is part of our report, and we have sent it to the Maltese police. Any competent authority may therefore listen to it and transcribe it. The first conversation is much more interesting: it is one of the most important pieces of evidence. It is here that Zammit refers to €10 million to be paid into a bank account - after having called the commissioner. He made several requests for bribes and since the report is probably still online, you can read it yourself at leisure. During his interrogation, Zammit confirmed that this sum of money corresponded to his salary. Does this seem plausible to you? When people ask for a bribe, they do not always do it explicitly. Zammit refers to his “boss” and the fact that the directive could be changed – but that everything has a price. For example, there is also the meeting between Dalli and Zammit on 10 February 2012, after which Zammit confirmed that the tobacco products directive could be changed in exchange for €60 million - he repeated this a few days later to directors of Swedish Match. However, we have not concluded that Dalli was the instigator. What we have said is that our investigation revealed a series of facts and that these facts would deserve being analysed by judicial authorities and answered upon. That’s precisely what M Dalli is avoiding with all these conspiracy theories.n Editor’s note A correction has to be brought to the English version of the article ‘John Dalli denounces a conspiracy against him’ published on 26 June: this article refers to a meeting on 10 February 2012. Contrary to what is stated in this article, a meeting did take place (as reported in the OLAF report), but Gayle Kimberley (the consultant employed by Swedish Match) did not attend as initially planned. Only Dalli and Zammit met that day, after which Zammit met Kimberley separately and gave her the document she had prepared and he had annotated. Zammit made one of his bribe requests immediately after this meeting. Sold by subscription only © reproduction strictly prohibited in any language www.europolitics.info 12 Saturday 26 July 2014 N° 4916 EUROPOLITICS EU extends Ukraine sanctions list again By Joanna Sopinska An agreement on tougher measures known as ‘stage three’ sanctions is expected on 29 July, say diplomats After long discussions held under strict security, the member statets’ ambassadors agreed, on 24 July, to blacklist another 15 Ukrainian and Russian individuals and 18 entities (nine companies and nine institutions) over their role in the Ukraine crisis, according to diplomatic sources. This brings to 87 the number of persons hit by an asset freeze and a visa ban and increases to 20 the number of entities subject to the same restrictive measures. The list of names, which is expected to include individuals and entities responsible for actions against Ukraine’s territorial integrity and those actively supporting Russian decision makers involved in the annexation of Crimea and the destabilisation of Eastern Ukraine, will be made public late on 25 July, the Council said in a statement. ‘STAGE THREE’ SANCTIONS The ambassadors will continue to work, most likely until 29 July, towards an agreement on the list of sanctions targeting Russia’s defence sector, thereby limiting Moscow’s access to the EU’s capital markets and restricting EU-Russia trade in dual-use goods and sensitive technologies, including in the energy sector. According to diplomats, a political agreement on the so-called ‘stage tree’ sanctions will need to receive a green light from the Council – either from the foreign ministers or the EU’s leaders. The ambassadors also decided to continue work on further restrictive measures against Crimea and Sevastopol. According to diplomatic sources, they consider imposing a ban on new investments in the peninsula that has been illegally annexed by Russia in late February as well as a ban on exports of “certain technology and equipment”. If approved, most probably next week, these measures would add to an import ban imposed in mid-June by the EU on goods originating from Crimea and Sevastopol. UKRAINE Meanwhile, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk stepped down, on 24 July, paving the way for new elections in October. Separately, the US has said it has new evidence showing that Russia has fired artillery into Eastern Ukraine and that Moscow is preparing to send more heavy weapons to the pro-Russian separatists. n US Congress bid to export more gas to Europe gains momentum By Brian Beary But proponents of a freer energy export regime fear that anti-fracking grassroots campaigns will kill the gas production boom Republican lawmakers are going all out to make it easier to export US gas to European allies. A bill has just been introduced to the US Senate by John Hoeven (Republican, North Dakota) to reduce the time taken to approve exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the current two-year average to a maximum of 45 days. The proposal is similar to the bill the House of Representatives passed on 25 June by 266 to 150 votes that got the support of almost all Republicans plus 46 Democrats. The Ukraine-Russia crisis continues to create political momentum for liberalisation. Senator Hoeven said his bill was a compromise between Democrats and Republicans that “should have enough support to pass through our Congress” (Democrats control the Senate, Republicans the House). “It will weaken Putin’s energy www.europolitics.info leverage over Europe and encourage the European Union to stand with us on sanctions against Russia,” he added. Speaking at a pro-liberalisation seminar at the Heritage Foundation think tank, Congressman Cory Gardner (Republi- “It will encourage the European Union to stand with us on sanctions against Russia” can, Colorado) said: “I hope that [Senate Majority Leader] Harry Reid will put politics aside and deal with the call for help that we are receiving from our allies”. Reid has the decisive say on whether to put bills before the full Senate for a vote. Gardner argued that “the mere passage” of the bill will give leverage to Eastern European countries like Hungary and Ukraine in negotiating oil and gas contracts with Russia. The slow approval procedure for LNG exports is also a bone of contention in the ongoing EU-US free trade agreement talks, the TTIP, where the US administration is resisting EU demands to make the granting of LNG export permits more automatic. Beyond these administrative hurdles, there are infrastructural obstacles too: the first US LNG export terminal will only become operational in 2015, while potential buyers in Eastern Europe like Poland and Lithuania are scrambling to build LNG import facilities. Meanwhile, Congressman Gardner raised alarm bells about the increasing success US environmentalists are having in stopping hydraulic fracturing (fracking) for shale gas. A popular referendum to restrict fracking looks likely to be held in Colorado in November, he noted. “If this spreads to other states, we would see a tremendous drop in energy production,” which would also reduce the energy export potential, he warned. Vermont is the only US state to ban fracking outright, but New York and New Jersey have moratoriums, and dozens of other US states and municipalities are considering anti-fracking proposals. n Sold by subscription only © reproduction strictly prohibited in any language 13 EUROPOLITICS N° 4916 Saturday 26 July 2014 TTIP: Leaked EU position on SPS addresses consumers’ concerns By Joanna Sopinska But the US position remains secret. To reach agreement on the consolidated version of the SPS chapter both parties would need to compromise The potential impact of the currently negotiated EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) on agrifood producers and consumers has been one of the hottest topics on both sides of the Atlantic since the start of talks last year. Both the EU and US have strong offensive interests in the related area of sanitary and phytosanitary standards (SPS). At the same time, both sides committed themselves to remove as many trade barriers as possible, including in the area of SPS, by simplifying procedures, cutting red tape and recognising their standards as equivalent. The latest leaked draft EU position on SPS measures in the TTIP talks throws some light on where the European negotiators are heading on food safety and public, animal and plant health. In the section on the general terms of the agreement, the parties commit themselves to facilitate trade “to the greatest extent possible while preserving each party’s right to protect animal or plant life or health in its territory and respecting each party’s regulatory systems, risk assessment, risk management and policy development processes”. This provides a guarantee the EU consumer and producer organisations have been seeking that the EU’s food and health standards will not be compromised. Many lobby groups in Europe have been wary that in order to reach an agreement with the White House, the EU’s negotiators would open the Union’s market for imports of chlorinated poultry and hormone-treated meat and would replace the ‘precautionary principle’ used inter alia in the GMOs authorisation procedure in the EU with the so-called ‘science-based approach’ used in the US, according to which it must be proven that a product is harmful to health before it is removed from the market. Instead, the draft obliges both parties to accept their SPS measures “as equivalent” to their own “if the exporting party objectively demonstrates to the importing party that its measure achieves the importing party’s appropriate level of protection.” In order to cut red tape and limit the financial burden on exporters/importers, the parties would commit themselves to provide a “single authorisation, approval or certificate” system on their territories. Now both the EU and US have multi-level and multi-party standardisation systems. n In brief Directive on maritime spatial planning adopted The EU Council has approved by near unanimity (Slovenia abstained) the directive on maritime spatial planning. The text is the result of a compromise with the European Parliament and was already approved by MEPs, on 17 April. Competition for the use of maritime space by different sectors of activity – renewable energy equipment, aquaculture, transport, tourism, protected areas and other growth poles – has brought to light the need for more effective management of this space to prevent conflicts and create synergy between different activities. A pillar of the Integrated Maritime Policy (IMP), the directive addresses this need and constitutes one of the key instruments of ‘blue growth’. Under the directive, member states will have to set up maritime spatial plans by April 2021 based on an ecosystem approach. The plans will have to take into account land-sea interactions along with environmental, economic, social and safety aspects, while encouraging crossborder cooperation. The directive will enter into force 20 days after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU and must be transposed into member state law by 2016. Sold by subscription only © reproduction strictly prohibited in any language Yukos case: Russia threatened with record fine According to certain sources, the Permanent Court of Arbitration is expected to rule in favour of shareholders of the former oil empire controlled by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who claim that they suffered damages from the Russian authorities’ dismantling of their company, Yukos, in 2005. If so, it remains to be seen whether the court, based in The Hague, will endorse the amount claimed by the former shareholders, nearly US$130 billion, an unprecedented claim in a commercial case. It is a financial holding company, GML (ex-Menatep), which became the principal shareholder in Yukos in 2005 after Khodorkovsky was arrested, that brought the action against the Russian state. GML accuses Russia of having expropriated Yukos “illegally” and in a “discriminatory” manner, reads a statement by the company. Yukos was dismantled by the Russian authorities, in particular through “rigged auctions,” claims GML, to the benefit of Rosneft, an oil firm headed by an ally of Vladimir Putin, Igor Sechin. The trial is taking place in the framework of the Energy Charter Treaty, the only international agreement to which the EU and Russia (at the time) are parties, and which comprises investor-state dispute resolution arrangements. In this case, Moscow has cooperated fully in the arbitration procedure, notes GML. www.europolitics.info 14 Saturday 26 July 2014 N° 4916 EUROPOLITICS EU agenda CONFERENCES AND SEMINARS NATO: A CREDIBLE SECURITY PROVIDER? - STRENGTHENING EUROPEAN SECURITY AND DEFENCE CAPABILITIES WITHIN THE ALLIANCE 2 September, Cardiff UK This debate will be held the day before the start of the NATO summit. The ongoing events in Ukraine have come as a significant wake-up call for the international community, prompting demands for a thorough reflection of NATO’s capacity to ensure peace and security within its territory and within that of its neighbours and strategic partners. Once again, the capability of European countries to contribute to NATO led responses and collective defence has been called into question. The debate will address the following core themes: • What existing and emerging threats do NATO and its members face and what is at stake? • How can the Alliance ensure its capabilities do not continue to be damaged by declining defence budgets? • What is the likelihood of European countries developing greater strategic autonomy from both NATO and the US, while increasing their ability to contribute to the Alliance through dollars and resources? • What should the key implementation actions be as a result of the NATO Summit? Venue: Hilton Hotel, Cardiff, UK Contact Jessie Atkinson at jessie.atkinson@ forum-europe.com or on 0044 (0) 2920 783 029. www.forum-europe.com 50TH CONGRESS OF THE EUROPEAN SOCIETIES OF TOXICOLOGY 7 - 10 September, Edinburgh The conference aims to “Advance Science for Human and Environmental Health” and we have an exciting programme www.europolitics.info highlighting new and innovative science and current regulatory topics. There will be a mix of plenary and keynote lectures, symposia, workshops and a full continuing education programme. In addition, there will be interactive poster sessions and a dynamic trade exhibition. EUROTOX 2014 will be THE meeting place for toxicologists from around the world to come together to meet and discuss the key issues facing the discipline today. Venue: International Conference Centre, Edinburgh Organiser: Eurotox INTERNATIONAL PROGRESS IN BIOGAS III CONFERENCE 10-11 September, Stuttgart, Germany More than 80 experts on biogas from almost 30 countries representing all continents will discuss the achievements and developments on: - Domestic biogas plants, - Agricultural biogas plants, - Environment, methaneemissions, - Process control, modelling of the biogas process, - Innovative fermentation and digester construction methods, - Digestation application and management, - Biogas generation from industrial, communal and municipal biowaste, - Flexibility of biogas production and use, - Process inhibition, - Technical economical and social cooperative structures of decentralized small scale biogas systems, - Pretreatment technologies, among others. During the conference a practitioners forum, an Oral-Poster-Session with more than 20 speakers, posters sessions and an exhibition will take place. We expect to have about 400 participants. Additionally, there will be the opportunity to take part in an agricultural or a research field trip. http://the.international.biogas.center/index. php?id=151&L=1 VIRTUAL PHYSIOLOGICAL HUMAN CONFERENCE 2014 9 - 12 September, Trondheim, Norway the 3rd VPH conference by the Virtual Physiological Human Institute. This biannual conference series grew out of the FP7 Virtual Physiological Human Network of Excellence. It has become one of the major instruments for maintaining the coherence and momentum of the highly multidisciplinary VPH community. The members of the VPH community subscribe to the view that substantially improved healthcare can only be achieved through converged efforts of the life sciences, the mathematical sciences and engineering. On 14 January 2014 in Strasbourg, Members of the European Parliament specifically endorsed the work of the VPH Institute by recognising the role of the VPH initiative towards improving healthcare in their eHealth Action Plan 2012-2020. VPH2014 participants may thus enjoy the rare claim that they contribute to an initiative that has earned the support of the elected representatives of EU citizens and is directly supported in EU policy. MASTERCLASS IN EUROPEAN POSTAL REGULATION 18 - 19 September, Brussels These are times of great change in the postal sector – both structural (privatisations) and market-driven (electronic substitution of physical mail, off-set to some extent by the boom in e-commerce driven parcel delivery). Cullen International’s training masterclass examines the existing regulatory framework for the sector and explores how it may need to evolve in relation to such changes. We focus on the definition and requirements of universal service, the changing competitive landscape, e-commerce, and how competition law impacts on the sector. Organiser: Cullen International www.cullen-international.com http://www.cullen-international.com/menu/ training--conferences/regulatory-training/ masterclasses-in-eu-postal-regulation/postalmasterclass/ The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) is will host Sold by subscription only © reproduction strictly prohibited in any language 15 EUROPOLITICS N° 4916 Saturday 26 July 2014 5G HUDDLE - TOWARDS A GLOBAL 5G VISION 22 - 23 September, London The Wireless World Research Forum (WWRF) in conjunction with techUK will host ‘The 5G Huddle - Towards a global 5G vision’, 2 days of interactive discussion aimed at bringing together senior industry and Government leaders from North America, Europe and Asia. As we begin the process across the world of defining what constitutes 5G, this event will develop the international discourse on what 5G should be – from technologies and networks to applications, markets and business models. We will also build on our collective experiences to focus on the approaches on standardisation of 5G, with the aim of its availability from 2020. Contact Charlene Selmer on 0044 (0) 2920 783 024 / charlene.selmer@forum-europe. com. WORLD ES-ID CONGRESS 23 - 25 September, Marseille, France Now in its 10th edition, World e-ID Congress gathers the electronic ID community around world’s most inspiring large scale rollouts and next generation technologies. From September 23 to 25, 400 e-ID programs managers, government officials and technology experts will share lessons, see new perspectives and opportunities concerning their own e-ID plans, whether in public or private sectors. This all-in-one event combines high-level conference, large exhibition and side events to learn, meet, experience and network on a single platform. Among the themes: • e-ID goes mobile and Cloud • Emerging countries with the World Bank • Global view of national e-ID deployments • EU funding projects: the road ahead • e-ID for Business Held in conjunction with three complementary conferences within World Smart Week and the 50-booth «Smart Solutions Show», World e-ID Congress will also provide rich opportunities to network with 1700 expected participants overall FT ETNO SUMMIT 2014 THE NEW DIGITAL AGENDA – TOWARDS A EUROPEAN RENAISSANCE 1 October, Brussels The FT-ETNO Summit 2014 will bring together Europe’s political and business leaders to provide timely input into the Commission’s next wave of digital policies. Through a series of keynote presentations and CEO panel debates, speakers will examine what needs to happen to encourage investment, enable innovation and foster consumer confidence. Organisers: Financial Times, ETNO MARITIME INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY 16 - 17 October, Malta International event bringing together multidisciplinary experts to discuss how new ideas and products are changing the face of both the commercial shipping and yachting sectors. It builds on the successful series of Isle of Open Source and Isle of Open Innovation conferences run in previous years. Delegates will hear from senior level speakers from within the maritime and ICT industries including practitioners, academics & public authorities, who have used technological innovation to radically transform their organisations` operations and profitability. www.quaynote.com/ankiti/ www/?code=mti14&f=home email: [email protected], phone: 00 44 20 3560 8154 SHC 2014 - INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SOLAR HEATING AND COOLING FOR BUILDINGS AND INDUSTRY, 27 - 29 October, Beijing, China SHC 2014 will be the third edition of this series of annual scientific conferences on solar heating and cooling. It offers a unique discussion platform for the international solar thermal community. In addition to key technical topics, the conference addresses market and policy issues from an international perspective. Being in China this year’s conference offers the opportunity to get first-hand impressions from the by far biggest solar thermal market. Contact: [email protected], www.shc2014. org THE E-NAVIGATION REVOLUTION - 5TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 11 - 12 November, London The e-Navigation Revolution will bring together a global audience of seniorlevel delegates to explore a wide range of electronic navigation issues. Comprising presentations from industry leaders and roundtable discussion groups, this international forum will provide the ideal Sold by subscription only © reproduction strictly prohibited in any language platform for debating hot issues, learning about new technologies and creating new business opportunities. Chaired by Rear Admiral Nick Lambert, previous Hydrographer of the Royal Navy, topics to be covered in the conference include Digital Publications, GNSS vulnerability, ENC, GPS jamming, back-up systems, ACCSEAS, how the deck officer of the modern world different from his predecessors , training, and the human element. The exhibition alongside the conference will offer e-navigation equipment providers unrivalled openings to reach key decision-makers and influencers in the buying process while their minds are focused on the subject. www.ecdisrevolution.org 5TH ANNUAL EUROPEAN DATA PROTECTION AND PRIVACY CONFERENCE 9 December, Brussels Timed to follow the 2014 changes to the European Parliament and Commission, and approaching the end of Italy’s presidency of the European Council, this conference will discuss what remains to be done to complete the long-awaited reforms to data protection in Europe, and what the future holds for industry and governing bodies, whatever the fate of the reforms. Organiser: Forum Eruope Contact Jessie Atkinson at jessie.atkinson@ forum-europe.com or on 0044 (0) 2920 783 029. www.dataprotection2014.eu FFTH CONFERENCE 2015 10 - 12 February 2015, Warsaw The FTTH Conference of the FTTH Council Europe is the biggest FTTHrelated conference in the world. The conference takes place in February and has been held in a different European city since 2004. he event includes a conference, a workshop, and an exhibition. The conference discusses hot topics of fibre roll-out in Europe: FTTH in Central and Eastern Europe, fibre-enabled services including eHealth, eGovernment, etc.; financing of FTTH networks; marketing of FTTH networks and take rates; the role of FTTH in smart cities and smart regions; innovative solutions for fibre networks… To announce your events on these pages, contact: [email protected] www.europolitics.info
© Copyright 2024