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Europe Daily Bulletin No. 12450

20 March 2020
Contents Publication in full By article 23 / 31
SECURITY - DEFENCE / Nato
According to Mr Stoltenberg, 2019 was a year of great progress in adaptation of Alliance
Brussels, 19/03/2020 (Agence Europe)

On Thursday 19 March, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg presented the Alliance’s rather positive assessment for the year 2019.

“2019 has been a year in which we have made great progress in NATO’s adaptation”, Mr Stoltenberg said.

He recalled that last year the Allies had further increased their defence spending by 4.6%.

In addition, the Alliance has continued to strengthen its deterrence and defence and has delivered on the readiness initiative by increasing its ability to move...

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