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Europe Daily Bulletin No. 12450

20 March 2020
Contents Publication in full By article 14 / 31
EU RESPONSE TO COVID-19 / Digital
COVID-19, Thierry Breton worries about explosion of internet traffic
Brussels, 19/03/2020 (Agence Europe)

Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton met, late on Wednesday 18 March, with Netflix CEO, Reed Hasting to discuss how to prevent any congestion caused by the explosion in internet traffic due to national containment to curb the COVID-19 epidemic.

“Streaming platforms, telecom operators and users... We all have a joint responsibility to take steps to ensure the smooth functioning of the internet during the battle against the virus propagation”, said Commissioner Breton at the meeting...

Contents

EU RESPONSE TO COVID-19
CIVIL PROTECTION: COVID-19, Commission proposes immediate creation of a reserve stock of medical equipment
CIVIL PROTECTION: COVID-19, Germany to repatriate 3,000 EU citizens on 13 flights co-financed by EU
HEALTH: European Commission encourages social distancing measures
HEALTH: European Parliament calls for strengthening European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
CONSUMERS: European Commission and national authorities to tackle online scams and fake online sales
ECB: monetary weapon of unprecedented magnitude unleashed by monetary institute aims to calm minds
STATE AID: Commission adopts Temporary Framework to support economy affected by COVID-19
FINANCE: ESMA postpones monitoring of compliance with reporting obligations related to securities financing until July
TAXATION: France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Switzerland agree on tax system for frontier workers during pandemic
PARLIAMENT: COVID-19, extraordinary European Parliament mini-plenary convened on Thursday 26 March
FUTURE OF EU: in face of impact of coronavirus on economy, Renew Europe wants to re-examine sovereign bond-backed securities proposal
EUROPEAN COMMISSION: Ursula von der Leyen will be tested for coronavirus following Michel Barnier’s positive test
DEMOCRACY: one third of 86 cases of Russian disinformation in one week were about Covid-19
DIGITAL: COVID-19, Thierry Breton worries about explosion of internet traffic
AGRICULTURE: Commission called on to ensure an “uninterrupted flow” of agricultural products in times of pandemic
FISHERIES: COVID-19, Europêche calls for urgent measures to secure fish supply
COHESION: with Covid-19, cohesion policy shows that it remains forward-thinking policy, according to CPMR
TRANSPORT: T&E proposes that airlines should only receive financial support if they pay more taxes and are greener
HOME AFFAIRS: Member States may not discriminate against EU residents as compared to their nationals, recalls Commission
NATO: NATO's ability to conduct operations is not compromised by the coronavirus, says Stoltenberg
SECURITY - DEFENCE
CSDP: discussions are stalling on creation of Irene mission to monitor arms embargo on Libya
CSDP: High Representative requests EUBAM Rafah mission, still on standby, be extended
NATO: according to Mr Stoltenberg, 2019 was a year of great progress in adaptation of Alliance
EXTERNAL ACTION
UNITED KINGDOM: European Commission and London believe negotiations can continue in other forms despite COVID-19-related cancellations
KOSOVO: High Representative of the Union calls for political unity
TURKEY: Istanbul contests EU steel safeguards at WTO
SECTORAL POLICIES
CIRCULAR ECONOMY: waste recovery organisations call for greater ambition from EU to avoid landfilling
FOOD: ‘Farm to Fork’ strategy, PAN Europe calls for a mandatory 80% reduction of pesticides by 2030
SOCIAL: ETUC thinks EU data protection rules are misused by employers
COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EU
JUSTICE: Member States may envisage civil proceedings for confiscation not subject to establishment of criminal offence, according to Court
NEWS BRIEFS
EUROPEAN COMMISSION: presentation of EU’s ‘Food Sustainability’ and ‘Biodiversity’ strategies has been postponed until end of April