Daily News 23 / 01 / 2023

Electricity Market Design: Commission launches consultation on reform to support a clean and affordable energy transition

Today, the European Commission is launching a public consultation on the reform of the European Union's electricity market design to better protect consumers from excessive price volatility, support their access to secure energy from clean sources, and make the market more resilient. The reform of the electricity market design was announced by President von der Leyen in her annual State of the Union Speech last year and has been called for by the European Council. The consultation launched today will support the Commission's work on a legislative proposal which we aim to deliver in the first quarter of this year.

Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, said: “The EU's electricity market has served us well for over 20 years. But the unprecedented energy crisis we are facing shows that we need to make the electricity market design fit for the future, allowing it to deliver the benefits of affordable clean energy to everyone. I look forward to the contributions from a wide variety of stakeholders, which will help guide our legislative proposal this year.”

The current system has delivered an efficient, well-integrated market for many years, allowing the EU to reap the economic benefits of a single energy market, ensuring security of supply and spurring the decarbonisation process. However, the system has also demonstrated some shortcomings. In the current crisis of high and volatile electricity prices, the economic burden has been pushed on to final consumers. A reform is therefore needed to better shield households and businesses from high energy prices, to increase resilience, and to accelerate the transition set out in the European Green Deal and REPowerEU Plan.

The consultation will run until 13 February. A press release is available here.

(For more information: Tim McPhie – Tel.: +32 2 295 86 02; Giulia Bedini – Tel: +32 2 295 86 61)

Europe's Beating Cancer Plan: Launch of the European Cancer Imaging Initiative

Today, at an event in Brussels, the Commission is launching the European Cancer Imaging Initiative to support healthcare providers, research institutes and innovators in making the best use of innovative data-driven solutions for cancer treatment and care. The initiative, a flagship action under Europe's Beating Cancer Plan, will work towards creating a digital infrastructure linking up resources and databases of cancer imaging data across the EU, while ensuring adherence to high ethics standards, trust, security and protection of personal data. It will also connect EU-level and national initiatives, hospital networks, as well as research repositories with imaging data and other relevant health data.

Technological innovation that is combined with data protection can create a trusted framework for researchers, innovators, doctors, and patients. Thanks to the new European Cancer Imaging Initiative, researchers will have efficient access to more high-quality data to study and advance our understanding of the disease. Innovators will be able to develop and test data-driven solutions for cancer care. The facilitation of the development of data-driven solutions will allow doctors to make more precise and faster clinical decisions, diagnostics, treatments and predictive medicine, for the benefit of cancer patients. Furthermore, it will support data altruism from citizens, who could give their consent or permission voluntarily to make available data that they generate, as a way of enriching the health datasets.

A cross-border, interoperable and secure infrastructure that will preserve privacy will speed up innovation in medical research. For example, it will be possible to train new technologies that use artificial intelligence on a large dataset, which is standardised and fully compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This will speed up the development of innovative tools, which can offer faster cancer diagnosis and improved personalised care.

More information is available in this press release.

(For more information: Johannes Bahrke - Tel.: +32 2 295 86 15; Marietta Grammenou – Tel.: +32 2 298 35 83)

Smooth euro changeover in Croatia

A Commission survey conducted in Croatia after the euro fully replaced the kuna shows that a substantial majority of Croatian citizens believe the changeover happened smoothly and efficiently.

88% of respondents felt well informed about the euro. 61% found the process to be smooth and efficient. 81% said that they experienced no problems when exchanging kuna cash into euros or when they withdrew cash from banks in the first week.

There were however concerns about the impact of the euro on prices, with 62% of respondents thinking that the euro will increase inflation. To protect consumers and address concerns about abusive price increases in the changeover period, the Croatian authorities are taking active measures in line with the rules on introducing the euro (‘Euro Law'). The dual display of prices in kuna and euro became compulsory on 5 September 2022 and will apply until 31 December 2023. A Business Code of Ethics has also been introduced to ensure stability of prices for goods and services by helping businesses to correctly recalculate and display prices, without unjustified increases. 78% of respondents found the dual display of prices useful. A national inspection body is tasked to monitor and control prices and can take appropriate measures in case of infringements.

Executive Vice-President for an Economy that Works for People, Valdis Dombrovskis, and Commissioner for Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, will participate in a conference to mark Croatia's euro changeover taking place in Zagreb tomorrow, on 24 January. Coverage will be provided via EbS.

More information on Croatia's euro changeover is available in this press release, and here on Croatia, the euro as well as the survey data. The final reports of the surveys undertaken before, during and after Croatia's euro changeover, will be available in February.

(For more information: Veerle Nuyts – Tel.: +32 2 299 63 02; Laura Bérard – Tel: +32 2 295 57 21)

L'UE promet une aide humanitaire de 102,5 millions d'euros en faveur de la région du lac Tchad en Afrique

La Commission a alloué 102,5 millions d'euros d'aide humanitaire pour aider les communautés vulnérables au Nigeria, au Niger, au Tchad et au Cameroun, alors que la situation humanitaire continue de se détériorer dans la région du lac Tchad. La violence dans la région, où la population civile est de plus en plus victime d'attaques ciblées, entraîne des déplacements à grande échelle, la perturbation des moyens de subsistance et le manque d'accès aux services de base.

L'engagement a été pris à l'occasion de la conférence de haut niveau sur la région du lac Tchad, qui se tient à Niamey les 23 et 24 janvier. Le montant total pour 2023 sera réparti comme suit : Nigeria (34 millions d'euros), Niger (25 millions d'euros), Tchad (26,5 millions d'euros) et Cameroun (17 millions d'euros). Ce financement fait partie du total de 181,5 millions d'euros attribués cette année au bassin du lac Tchad, à la République centrafricaine et au Sahel, comme annoncé la semaine dernière.

Janez Lenarčič, commissaire chargé de la gestion des crises, a déclaré : « On estime que plus de 24 millions de personnes dans ces quatre pays ont besoin d'une aide humanitaire, soit une augmentation de 9,5 % par rapport à l'année dernière. Ce financement permettra d'apporter un soutien indispensable aux communautés vulnérables touchées par les conflits, les déplacements et l'insécurité alimentaire croissante. La région étant confrontée à une crise alimentaire sans précédent, nous continuerons à suivre la situation et à réagir en apportant des fonds supplémentaires si nécessaire. »

Plus de détails figurent dans le communiqué de presse.

(Pour plus d'informations : Miriam Garcia Ferrer - Tél.: +32 2 299 90 75; Daniel Puglisi - Tél.: +32 2 296 91 40)

More than €60 million fund for SMEs to better protect their intellectual property

Today, the Commission and the European Union Intellectual Property Office launched the 2023 edition of the EU SME Fund. The fund offers intellectual property vouchers for EU-based SMEs to help them better protect their intellectual property (IP).

Specifically, intellectual property vouchers offer applicant SMEs the opportunity to cover certain costs related to the assessments of their IP needs through so-called ‘IP scan services' provided by Member States. In addition, the voucher can be used as a reimbursement for a range of IP protection tools including patent, trademark and design registration costs. For the first time, the 2023 SME Fund will also cover reimbursement of plant varieties and European patents. Once the Unitary Patent system will be operational, the SME Fund may also cover the registration costs of it.

The 2023 SME Fund makes available €60 million for intellectual property vouchers in the coming year, to be implemented by the EUIPO. This includes €5.1 million in funding from the Commission for services related to patents and plant varieties. An SME may save €1,500 per patent application and €225 per plant variety application.

Helping SMEs protect their intellectual property is one of the key objectives of the SME Strategy for a sustainable and digital Europe and the 2020 Action Plan on Intellectual Property. With the SME Fund, the Commission is supporting SMEs to better manage their IP portfolios, in view of helping them accelerate their green and digital transitions, as well as support their overall recovery from recent crises like COVID-19 and the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

More information about the 2023 SME fund is available online.

(For more information: Sonya Gospodinova – Tel.: +32 2 296 69 53; Federica Miccoli – Tel.: +32 2 295 83 00)

State aid: Commission approves €50 million Italian scheme to support companies active in the region of Campania in the context of Russia's war against Ukraine

The European Commission has approved a €50 million Italian scheme to support companies active in the region of Campania in the context of Russia's war against Ukraine. The scheme was approved under the State aid Temporary Crisis Framework, adopted by the Commission on 23 March 2022 and amended on 20 July 2022 and on 28 October 2022, based on Article 107(3)(b) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (‘TFEU'), recognising that the EU economy is experiencing a serious disturbance.

Under the scheme, the aid will take the form of direct grants. The measure will be open to companies having an operative branch in the Campania Region established before the date of application. The purpose of the scheme is to support investments to improve energy efficiency and to install facilities that produce energy from renewable sources. In order to be eligible, companies must have recorded eligible expenses of a minimum of €150,000 up to a maximum of €2 million. The individual aid amount per beneficiary will be calculated based on a certain maximum percentage (variable depending on its size) of its eligible costs.

The Commission found that the Italian scheme is in line with the conditions set out in the Temporary Crisis Framework. In particular, the aid (i) will not exceed €2 million per company; and (ii) will be granted no later than 31 December 2023. The Commission concluded that the Italian scheme is necessary, appropriate and proportionate to remedy a serious disturbance in the economy of a Member State, in line with Article 107(3)(b) TFEU and the conditions set out in the Temporary Crisis Framework. On this basis, the Commission approved the aid measure under EU State aid rules.

More information on the Temporary Crisis Framework and other actions taken by the Commission to address the economic impact of Russia's war against Ukraine can be found here. The non-confidential version of the decision will be made available under case number SA.105350 in the State aid register on the Commission's competition website once any confidentiality issues have been resolved.

(For more information: Arianna Podesta – Tel.: +32 2 298 70 24; Nina Ferreira - Tel.: +32 2 299 81 63; Maria Tsoni – Tel.: +32 2 299 05 26)

STATEMENT

Journée internationale de l'éducation : déclaration de la Commission européenne et du haut représentant

En amont de la Journée internationale de l'éducation, le 24 janvier, la Commission européenne et le haut représentant/ vice-président Josep Borrell ont fait la déclaration suivante :

« L'accès à l'éducation est un droit humain fondamental. Il est vital pour le développement personnel, social et professionnel des enfants et des jeunes. Il leur permet de survivre, s'épanouir, et faire face aux défis du quotidien. Il est essentiel pour construire la paix et la démocratie, la cohésion sociale et économique et l'égalité des genres, ainsi que des sociétés plus justes et durables.

À l'intérieur de nos frontières et au-delà, l'Union européenne demeure fermement engagée à accélérer les avancées vers l'Objectif de Développement Durable (ODD 4) sur l'éducation de qualité. L'éducation de qualité est l'investissement le plus intelligent et le plus puissant pour notre avenir commun. Pour autant, les progrès collectifs stagnent et les attaques contre l'éducation augmentent dans le monde entier.

En Afghanistan, les Talibans ont totalement renié aux filles et aux femmes leur droit fondamental à l'éducation. L'agression militaire non provoquée et non justifiée de la Russie contre l'Ukraine a mené au bombardement d'au moins 3045 établissements d'enseignement depuis le 24 février 2022. L'UE condamne fermement toutes les attaques contre l'éducation et exige que le droit à l'éducation de tous les enfants et les jeunes soit garanti.

Mais il y a des raisons d'être optimistes. Pendant le Sommet sur la transformation de l'éducation de l'ONU en septembre 2022, 133 pays, dont l'UE et ses États membres en tant que Team Europe, se sont engagés à rattraper les pertes et à transformer les systèmes d'éducation pour qu'ils soient adaptés au futur. Il est désormais temps pour tous de transformer les mots en actions en investissant dans des actions concrètes et transformatives pour l'éducation. L'Union européenne a augmenté de manière significative les investissements extérieurs pour l'éducation et est prête à coopérer étroitement avec les pays partenaires dans le respect de leurs engagements. Le tout premier Plan d'action pour la jeunesse dans l'action extérieure de l'UE réaffirme l'engagement de l'UE à investir au moins 10% du financement total de Global Europe et de son budget dédié à l'aide humanitaire, à l'éducation.

Ensemble, l'UE et ses États membres continueront à consacrer leurs efforts à remettre l'ODD 4 sur l'éducation de qualité sur le droit chemin. »

Vous pouvez lire la déclaration complète en ligne.

(Pour plus d'informations : Ana Pisonero – Tél. +32 2 295 43 20 ; Nabila Massrali – Tél.: +32 2 298 80 93 ; Daniel Puglisi - Tél.: +32 2 296 91 40)

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Holocaust remembrance: Vice-President Schinas opens conference commemorating the International Holocaust Remembrance Day

Margaritis Schinas, Vice-President for Promoting our European Way of Life, will open today the conference entitled ‘Remembering the past. Shaping the future', taking place ahead of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day on 27 January in Brussels. The Vice-President will be joined at the opening by Paulina Brandberg, Minister for Gender Equality and Deputy Minister for Employment of Sweden. The conference is hosted for the first time by the European Commission, in partnership with the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU and the Swedish Presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, in cooperation with major Brussels-based Jewish umbrella organisations: European Jewish Congress, World Jewish Congress, American Jewish Committee Transatlantic Institute, B'nai B'rith Europe, B'nai B'rith International, European Jewish Community Center, and the European Union of Jewish Students.

At the conference, the Commission will launch an informal consultation on the network of sites ‘Where the Holocaust Happened', a flagship action of the EU Strategy on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life. The aim of this network is to give visibility to places such as synagogues, Jewish heritage sites, hiding places and deportation points, to promote Holocaust remembrance. The conference will be livestreamed from 17h00-19h00 CET here. The programme of the conference is available here.

(For more information: Johannes Bahrke- Tel.: +32 2 295 86 15; Katarzyna Kolanko - Tel.: +32 2 296 34 44; Cristina Torres Castillo - Tel.: +32 2 299 06 79)

La commissaire Johansson discutera des menaces de la criminalité organisée avec un groupe de jeunes Européens

Aujourd'hui, la commissaire aux Affaires intérieures, Ylva Johansson, discutera des défis de la criminalité organisée avec un groupe de 17 jeunes Européens. Ils débattront des stratégies de lutte contre la criminalité organisée, y compris le recrutement de jeunes et les efforts de coopération entre l'UE, les ONG, les services répressifs et les services sociaux.

Ce dialogue s'inscrit dans le cadre de l'initiative de l'Année européenne de la jeunesse de l'année dernière, qui vise à donner aux jeunes les moyens de construire un avenir plus vert, plus sûr, plus inclusif et plus numérique pour l'Europe. De plus amples informations sont disponibles sur la page consacrée à l'événement.

(Pour plus d'informations : Peter Stano — Tél.: +32 2 295 45 53; Andrea Masini- Tél.: +32 2 299 15 19; Yuliya Matsyk — Tél.: +32 2 291 31 73)

Global Gateway: Commissioners Breton and Urpilainen visit Namibia to take forward partnerships in green hydrogen and sustainable raw materials

On 24-25 January, Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, and Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, will visit Southern Africa to enhance ties between the EU and Namibia and mark the 33rd anniversary of the EU-Namibia Partnership.

During the joint visit, which is a demonstration of EU's consistent and comprehensive engagement with partners in Africa, both Commissioners will exchange views with President Geingob, as well as Deputy Prime Minister Nandi-Ndeitwah, on bilateral, regional and multilateral issues of shared interest. The focus of the visit will be to enhance cooperation under Global Gateway, the EU's positive offer to partners to deliver trusted and sustainable connections with partner countries. The visit will be an opportunity to discuss how to take forward the Memorandum of Understanding on the EU-Namibia Partnership on Sustainable Raw Materials and Renewable Hydrogen signed by President von der Leyen and President Geingob at COP27. This partnership will support both Namibia and the EU's climate ambitions and bring added value to the local economy.

Commissioner Breton will visit several business operations relevant to the EU-Namibia partnership, including the AfriTin Minining company and Namibia's main port in Walvis Bay. During his visit he will talk to companies working on sustainable raw materials and on green hydrogen, including transport capacities. He will also participate in a roundtable with the Namibian Minister of Mines and Energy as well as business and civil society representatives to discuss the implementation of the EU-Namibia Partnership on Sustainable Raw Materials Value Chains and Renewable Hydrogen.

Commissioner Urpilainen on her side will launch the EU-Namibia 2022 Annual Action Plan framing core actions for EU-Namibia cooperation in the months to come focused on education, inclusive green growth and good governance and gender equality. She will also meet with the private sector and civil society organisations.

(For more information: Sonya Gospodinova – Tel.: +32 2 296 69 53; Ana Pisonero – Tel.: +32 2 295 43 20)

Union européenne de la santé : la commissaire Kyriakides inaugure le premier Comité de sécurité sanitaire de haut niveau au Luxembourg

Demain, Stella Kyriakides, commissaire à la santé et à la sécurité alimentaire, et Paulette Lenert, vice-première ministre et ministre de la Santé du Luxembourg, inaugureront le tout premier Comité de sécurité sanitaire de haut niveau à Luxembourg depuis l'entrée en vigueur de règles communautaires plus strictes concernant les menaces transfrontalières graves pour la santé. Les principaux points de discussion porteront sur la situation actuelle du COVID-19 à la lumière des récents développements en Chine et sur l'émergence du variant XBB.1.5 aux États-Unis, ainsi que sur le nouveau plan de prévention, de préparation et de réponse de l'UE.

Le Comité de haut niveau a été créé dans le cadre du renforcement de la sécurité sanitaire de l'UE, en vertu du nouveau règlement sur les menaces transfrontalières graves pour la santé. Le principal changement par rapport à l'arrangement précédent du Comité de sécurité sanitaire consiste en l'ajout d'une structure de haut niveau pour engager des discussions stratégiques régulières sur les menaces actuelles et futures, en plus des groupes de travail techniques. Faisant partie d'une Union sanitaire forte, il joue désormais un rôle plus conséquent dans la coordination de la réponse aux menaces sanitaires transfrontalières graves, par l'adoption d'orientations et d'avis visant à mieux soutenir les États membres dans leurs modalités d'intervention et à assurer une coordination au niveau de l'UE.

Cette année, le Comité a prouvé sa capacité à réagir rapidement et à coordonner les réactions sur les mesures à prendre face aux menaces sanitaires transfrontalières grâce à l'avis pour une approche commune de l'UE en réponse à la situation du COVID-19 en Chine publié le 5 janvier 2023.

Pour plus d'informations sur la situation épidémiologique, veuillez consulter le site web de l'ECDC. Le discours d'ouverture de la commissaire Kyriakides sera disponible ici.

(Pour plus d'informations : Stefan De Keersmaecker – Tél.: +32 2 298 46 80; Celia Dejond – Tél.: +32 2 298 81 99)

Tentative agendas for forthcoming Commission meetings

Note that these items can be subject to changes.

Upcoming events of the European Commission

Eurostat press releases