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Europe Daily Bulletin No. 13270

13 October 2023
Contents Publication in full By article 30 / 36
COUNCIL OF EUROPE / Rule of law
Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe calls for investigations into use of spyware by five Member States
Strasbourg, 12/10/2023 (Agence Europe)

Citing “mounting evidence” that Pegasus spyware has been used for illegitimate purposes by several Council of Europe member states, on Wednesday 11 October the Parliamentary Assembly adopted a resolution urging Poland, Hungary, Greece, Spain and Azerbaijan to investigate potential abuses, compensate victims and inform the Venice Commission within 3 months about the use of Pegasus or similar software.

Based on the report by Dutch Pieter Omtzigt (EPP) and adopted by 91 votes to 16 with...

Contents

SECTORAL POLICIES
ENERGY: electricity market reform, final discussions between EU Member State before ‘Energy’ Council on 17 October
ENERGY: European ‘gas package’ directive, optimism about progress in negotiations
ENERGY: according to Bruegel, EU has strengthened its gas security for winter 2023–2024
ENERGY: Renewable Hydrogen Summit, Maroš Šefčovič calls for a resilient European energy transition in face of current crises
INDUSTRY: Euro 7, European Parliament Environment Committee opts for softening of initial proposal
COMPETITIVENESS: EU27 to address thorny issue of ‘strategic’ technologies in Net-Zero Industry Act
DIGITAL: after Meta and X, Thierry Breton asks Shou Zi Chew to stop distributing illegal content and disinformation on TikTok
RESEARCH: MEP Paolo Borchia proposes limited adjustments to European Commission’s proposal for PRIMA, extending programme’s active phase
RESEARCH: European Commission awards “Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities” label to ten European cities
REGIONS: EU car-producing regions call for European transition strategy
ENVIRONMENT: MEPs suggest strengthening proposal for directive on ‘right of consumers to have products repaired’
ENVIRONMENT: Commission issues two forecasting tools to help EU countries predict risks of drought and water shortages
ANIMAL HEALTH: MEPs support end to fur farming
HEALTH: European Economic and Social Committee calls for European action plan to combat rare diseases
MIGRATION: Damien Carême reports breaches of European law at Franco-Italian border
MIGRATION: agreement on migration, Tunisia sends new negative signal to Commission
EXTERNAL ACTION
CHINA: Josep Borrell and Kadri Simson on visit to defend Union’s interests
MOLDOVA: Ursula von der Leyen highlights Chisinau’s excellent progress towards Europe
SUDAN: EU adopts autonomous sanctions framework for perpetrators of atrocities
HUMAN RIGHTS: Jina Mahsa Amini and Woman, Life, Freedom movement in Iran, Nicaraguan activists, and pro-abortion campaigners announced as 2023 Sakharov Prize finalists
SECURITY - DEFENCE
NATO: if damage to Balticconnector is result of deliberate attack, Allies will respond, warns Mr Stoltenberg
ECONOMY - FINANCE - BUSINESS
COMPETITION: European Commission requires Illumina to unwind its acquisition of GRAIL and adopts new interim measures
TAXATION: OECD publishes new multilateral convention to implement international reform
TAXATION: Herbert Dorfmann calls for clarification of interaction between withholding tax procedure and proposal on shell companies
FINANCE: Danuta Hübner proposes ways of clarifying ESMA’s role with regard to accounts opened with central counterparties under EMIR
COMPANIES: Aurore Lalucq wants to add clarity and transparency to regulation on ‘ESG’ rating agencies
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS - SOCIETAL ISSUES
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS: towards a ‘Code of Conduct+’ to better counter hate speech online in EU
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS: European Court of Auditors believes EU action in support of people with disabilities has limited impact
COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EU
INSURANCE: an electric bicycle does not fall within scope of Motor Insurance Directive, according to Court of Justice of European Union
COUNCIL OF EUROPE
RULE OF LAW: Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe calls for investigations into use of spyware by five Member States
HUMAN RIGHTS: Didier Reynders reiterates his commitment to rapid EU accession to European Convention on Human Rights
NEWS BRIEFS
BIODIVERSITY: charter launched for companies willing to commit to take action to reverse nature loss in EU by 2030
ENVIRONMENT: EU Ecolabel growing in popularity, says European Commission
MEDIA: twelve journalistic projects in final for Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize 2023
SEA: European Commission launches procedure for EU ratification of Global Treaty on High Seas
SLOVAKIA: S&D Group in European Parliament supports exclusion of Slovak parties SMER and HLAS from Party of European Socialists