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Europe Daily Bulletin No. 12411

25 January 2020
Contents Publication in full By article 5 / 34
SECTORAL POLICIES / Companies
SME Instrument is effective, but could be improved, says European Court of Auditors
Brussels, 24/01/2020 (Agence Europe)

The European Court of Auditors found that the European Commission’s SME Instrument scheme provides “useful and effective support” for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups, in a report published on Wednesday 22 January.

This scheme, with a fund of €3 billion for the 2014-2020 period, aims to provide financial support for the development of innovative projects. It is aimed at SMEs and start-ups in the EU and 16 associated countries.

“Supporting breakthrough...

Contents

SECTORAL POLICIES
MIGRATION: pending Immigration Pact, Member States take stock of urgent migration issues to be addressed
SPACE: European Commission wants to move up a gear in space debris management
AGRICULTURE: current measures to counter US sanctions are insufficient, say MEPs
CIRCULAR ECONOMY: loopholes in Single-Use Plastics Directive may undermine its effectiveness, say NGOs
COMPANIES: SME Instrument is effective, but could be improved, says European Court of Auditors
PUBLIC PROCUREMENT: MEP Christophe Grudler criticises Frontex's attitude of favouring purchase of US drones
TRANSPORT: commercial vehicle registrations increased by 2.5% in 2019, according to ACEA
EXTERNAL ACTION
WTO: in Davos, 17 States agree on interim appeal mechanism for trade disputes
IRAN: Borrell announces extension of timetable for dispute resolution mechanism
WESTERN BALKANS: Michel announces meeting with regional leaders on 16 February
TURKEY: “We need to keep Turkish EU accession process on track”, says new European Parliament rapporteur
ARAB LEAGUE: EU and Arab League representatives want to strengthen their cooperation
NIGERIA: EU mobilises €26.5 million in humanitarian aid for victims of conflict in north-east of country
INSTITUTIONAL
POLAND: Commission “very concerned” again about situation regarding rule of law after adoption of a controversial new law
FUTURE OF EU: agreement hoped for in EU Council on outline of Conference on Future of Europe
ECONOMY - FINANCE - BUSINESS
FINANCE: international consortium to oversee cryptocurrencies launched in Davos
MONEY LAUNDERING: experts are looking at how artificial intelligence can be used in fight against money laundering
STATE AID: Estonia must recover 1.2 million euros of illegal aid from AS Tartu Agro
NEWS BRIEFS
BUDGET: European Parliament negotiating team travels to Croatia on Monday 27 January to discuss MFF 2021-2027
TRADE: composition of political groups of Parliamentary Committee on International Trade (INTA) after Brexit
ECONOMY: average government debt down to 86.1% of GDP in euro area in third quarter of 2019
ENERGY: EU to facilitate dialogue between offshore wind and fisheries stakeholders, says WindEurope
ENERGY: group of 21 oil and gas companies commit to focus on reducing their methane emissions
GUYANA: EU to deploy Election Observation Mission for parliamentary elections
INTERNAL MARKET: European Commission launches consultation on electromagnetic compatibility of electrical equipment
GMO: RAGES research project demonstrating inadequacy of risk assessment in Europe presented to European Parliament
WTO: fisheries subsidies, Commission is submitting a new text to facilitate talks
FISHERIES: seminar on coexistence between fisheries and wind farms
CZECH REPUBLIC: European Parliament fact-finding mission from 26 to 28 February to assess alleged conflict of interest involving Andrej Babiš
UNITED KINGDOM: João Vale de Almeida to become first ever Head of EU Delegation
SOCIAL: Croatian EU Council Presidency puts coordination of social security systems at top of its agenda
The B-word: Agence Europe’s newsletter on Brexit
THE B-WORD: Brexit in name only?
CALENDAR
Main activities of European Institutions: from 27/01 to 02/02/2020
CALENDAR EXTRA
Other Events: until 9 February 2020