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Europe Daily Bulletin No. 12613

2 December 2020
Contents Publication in full By article 43 / 45
NEWS BRIEFS / Czech republic
European Commission reportedly confirms that Andrej Babiš has a conflict of interest

01/12/2020 (Agence Europe) – The final version of the European Commission’s audit report reportedly confirms that the Czech Prime Minister, Andrej Babiš, has a conflict of interest due to his control over his former agro-industrial and media group Agrofert, one of the main beneficiaries of EU grants in the Czech Republic(see EUROPE B12508A9). On Tuesday 1 December, MEPs expressed regret that the Commission has still not published its specific audits. Michèle Rivasi (Greens/EFA,...

Contents

ECONOMY - FINANCE - BUSINESS
TAXATION: EU ministers satisfied with revision of directive on administrative cooperation
TAXATION: digital taxation, change in US administration gives Europeans new hope
TAXATION: MEPs explore various options to better tackle harmful tax practices with experts
EMU: agreement in Eurogroup on reform of European Stability Mechanism
STATE AID: European Commission approves compensation paid to Poste Italiane for its universal postal service obligation
INSTITUTIONAL
BUDGET: Charles Michel and António Costa support efforts to remove blockages on MFF and Recovery Plan
SECTORAL POLICIES
MIGRATION: Frontex is not involved in refoulement of migrants, says Fabrice Leggeri
MIGRATION: European Parliament draws attention to current lack of solidarity between Member States on asylum
HOME AFFAIRS: European Parliament puts forward its guidelines for improving implementation of European Arrest Warrant
HEALTH: European Health Union is next step towards a better union, says Ursula von der Leyen
FISHERIES: Portuguese Presidency of Council of the EU inherits sensitive dossier of overhaul of control system 
AGRICULTURE: European Green Deal objectives are still far from being achieved, according to INRAE
GMO: MEPs oppose authorisation of glyphosate-resistant soybean and maize
TRANSPORT: Eurovignette—German EU Council Presidency readjusts its second compromise proposal, which was “overall welcomed”
TRANSPORT: European Parliament Committee on Transport calls for a greener, better and more controlled TEN-T
ENERGY: use of various types of hydrogen divides MEPs
CLIMATE: first draft European Council conclusions on raising EU’s climate target for 2030
CLIMATE: MEPs want to strengthen EU action on adaptation to climate change
ENVIRONMENT: use of fluorinated greenhouse gases continues to decline in EU, according to EEA
ENVIRONMENT: draft EU Council conclusions on green and circular recovery finalised
CIRCULAR ECONOMY: EEB and Fair Trade Advocacy Office recommendations for truly circular business models
SECURITY - DEFENCE
NATO: group of experts calls for improvement of content of cooperation between Alliance and EU
CSDP: EU Council politico-military group recommends extending Atalanta’s missions
SPACE: space is a catalyst for EU’s strategic autonomy, says Petschke
EXTERNAL ACTION
TRADE: MEPs doubtful about Commission’s Sustainable Development Action Plan 
ASIA: ASEAN becomes a strategic partner of the EU 
CULTURE - SPORT
CULTURE/SPORT: no consensus in EU Council on promotion of gender equality in cultural sphere
EU RESPONSE TO COVID-19
HEALTH: two vaccines in running to reach European market in just a few weeks’ time
TRADE: MEPs call for intellectual property rights on Covid-19 vaccines to be lifted
FINANCE: conclusion of European Parliament/EU Council negotiations on capital market stimulus measures expected in December
SOCIAL: Under SURE instrument, European Commission pays a further tranche to Member States
COHESION: CRII+ initiative, European Commission approves amendments to operational programmes in Greece and France
SOCIAL AFFAIRS
SOCIAL: Nicolas Schmit believes we must not fall into trap of defining status of digital platform workers
NEWS BRIEFS
AGRICULTURE: European Commission will issue recommendations to Member States on CAP strategic plans in mid-December
AGRICULTURE: €434 million to be reimbursed to European farmers
FUTURE OF EU: still no agreement on launch of Conference on Future of Europe, admits Michael Roth
TRADE: Interinstitutional Agreement on export of dual-use goods approved in European Parliament Committee on International Trade
ENVIRONMENT: MEPs advocate full compliance with Water Framework Directive by 2027
ENVIRONMENT: update to ‘Drinking Water’ Directive – interinstitutional agreement validated in parliamentary committee
UNITED STATES: Mr Michel calls for economic relations to be strengthened
DIGITAL: future Acts on services and markets will take form of Regulations
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: MEP József Szájer resigns after taking part in sex party, in violation of health restrictions
CZECH REPUBLIC: European Commission reportedly confirms that Andrej Babiš has a conflict of interest
SOCIAL: trade unions call for presentation of a directive on wage transparency
TRANSPARENCY: Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents enters into force