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Europe Daily Bulletin No. 12613

2 December 2020
Contents Publication in full By article 5 / 45
ECONOMY - FINANCE - BUSINESS / State aid
European Commission approves compensation paid to Poste Italiane for its universal postal service obligation
Brussels, 01/12/2020 (Agence Europe)

On Tuesday 1 December, the European Commission decided, under EU State Aid rules, to approve the compensation Italy has paid the Poste Italiane to carry out its public service mission (‘universal service obligation’) during the period 2020-2024.

Margrethe Vestager, the Executive Vice-President responsible for Competition Policy, explained that the decision “enables Poste Italiane to continue delivering basic postal services across the Italian territory at affordable prices, without...

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