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Europe Daily Bulletin No. 12404

16 January 2020
Contents Publication in full By article 9 / 26
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT PLENARY / taxation
European Parliament in favour of directive on simplification of VAT for small businesses as amended by EU Council
Brussels, 15/01/2020 (Agence Europe)

On Wednesday 15 January, MEPs approved by a large majority (592 votes in favour, 22 against and 51 abstentions) a second favourable opinion on the proposal for a directive to simplify the value added tax (VAT) for SMEs (see EUROPE B11942A2).

Parliament had already adopted a first opinion in September 2018 (see EUROPE B12093A4), but the EU Council decided to consult it again using an accelerated procedure, given the substantial changes it made to the European Commission’s initial proposal...

Contents

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT PLENARY
FUTURE OF EU: European Parliament leads way in organising Conference on Future of Europe
CLIMATE/ENVIRONMENT: European Parliament wants to enhance ambition of EU Green Deal and welcomes its holistic vision
RULE OF LAW: heated debates in European Parliament on the situation in Hungary and Poland
UNITED KINGDOM: broad European Parliament support for resolution on protection of European citizens’ rights after Brexit
JORDAN: for King Abdullah II of Jordan, a peaceful world requires a stable Middle East
FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Parliament calls for a stronger and more united Europe in world
LIBYA: Borrell sees positive outcome from Berlin conference as test of EU’s political will
VENEZUELA: MEPs support adoption of new targeted sanctions against Maduro regime
TAXATION: European Parliament in favour of directive on simplification of VAT for small businesses as amended by EU Council
SECTORAL POLICIES
ENERGY: electricity storage is great technological challenge of energy transition, according to Simone Tagliapietra
ENERGY: despite shortcomings, ecodesign and energy labels improve energy efficiency, says European Court of Auditors
COHESION: member states sceptical about new Just Transition Fund
CONSUMERS: European collective redress, European Parliament and Council negotiators will meet on 2 March
AGRICULTURE: EU relaxes promotional measures to help sectors affected by US sanctions
ECONOMY - FINANCE - BUSINESS
PORTUGAL: Commission points to risk of breach of EU budget rules in 2020
COMPETITION: Commission gives conditional clearance to Synthomer’s acquisition of Omnova
STATE AID: sale of Piraeus Bank’s Bulgarian subsidiary to Eurobank did not breach EU rules
INSTITUTIONAL
PARLIAMENT: Spanish party VOX files suit at Court of Justice against European Parliament over its decision to accredit Mr Puigdemont and Mr Comín
PARLIAMENT: over forty MEPs want to make European Parliament debates more interactive
BUDGET: anti-mafia crackdown in Sicily in fraud case of European agricultural funds
COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EU
DIGITAL: Advocate General of court criticises generalised mass surveillance
EXTERNAL ACTION
WTO: US/China agreement, false good news
NEWS BRIEFS
YOUTH: nearly 20,000 young Europeans to participate in fourth and final session of DiscoverEU programme
DIGITAL: €3.5 million for cybersecurity co-operation
TRANSPORT: first European Parliament/Council negotiating session on rail passenger rights will be held on 28 January
ADDENDUM
BUDGET/ECONOMICS: details of Sustainable Europe Investment Plan