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Europe Daily Bulletin No. 12661

19 February 2021
Contents Publication in full By article 31 / 32
NEWS BRIEFS / Civil protection
Member States approve European Parliament/EU Council agreement to improve EU rapid response to major disasters

18/02/2021 (Agence Europe) – On Wednesday 17 February, the ambassadors of the Member States to the EU (Coreper) approved the political agreement between Parliament and the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the EU to strengthen the Civil Protection Mechanism and its RescEU equipment reserve (see EUROPE B12560A9). This reform should enable the EU to respond more quickly and effectively to any large-scale disaster, based on lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic. Under the terms of the...

Contents

EXTERNAL ACTION
TRADE: European Commission unveils its revision of an open, sustainable and strong trade policy
VENEZUELA: EU to punish 19 new Maduro regime dignitaries
G7: G7 leaders’ meeting to be dominated by Covid-19 pandemic response and global recovery
SECURITY - DEFENCE
NATO: Allies decide not to decide on future of Afghanistan mission
SECTORAL POLICIES
HEALTH: new draft compromise in EU Council on health technology assessment
ENERGY: Portuguese Presidency of the Council surveys EU Member States on energy dimension of national recovery plans
AGRICULTURE: common agricultural policy contributes to balanced territorial development, according to a study 
AGRICULTURE: EFFAT and other organisations stress social conditionality for agricultural subsidies in future 
ENVIRONMENT: Zero Waste Europe and ECOS warn against flexibility in ‘mass balance’ approach to recycling of plastic products
MIGRATION: EU asylum decisions in 2020 surpassed number of applications filed
EDUCATION
EDUCATION: informal meeting of EU ministers once again under auspices of Covid-19
BREACHES OF EU LAW
ENVIRONMENT: Slovakia, Germany, Poland and Slovenia will have to explain themselves to Court for breach of EU law
RULE OF LAW: Commission formally requests that Hungary implement June 2020 Court of Justice judgment on foreign NGOs
HUNGARY: Hungary cannot continue to externalise asylum policy on pandemic pretext
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS: five Member States pinpointed for incorrect transposition of EU rules criminalising serious manifestations of racism and xenophobia
MONEY LAUNDERING: Germany, Portugal, and Romania required to correctly transpose fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive
ECONOMY - FINANCE - BUSINESS
COMPANIES: CFA Institute calls on policy makers to improve corporate governance in EU
STATE AID: European Commission publishes new ‘guiding template’ on cloud computing capabilities
COMPETITION: European Commission adopts definitive measures to safeguard divestiture of former Aleris plant in Belgium
TAXATION: Commission consults on new implementing rules for VAT e-commerce trade
EU RESPONSE TO COVID-19
HEALTH: 26 Covid-19 antigen tests are recognised in EU
ANIMAL HEALTH: EFSA recommends early detection of SARS-CoV-2 in mink
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS - SOCIETAL ISSUES
MEDIA: Commission condemns Slovenian Prime Minister’s remarks to journalists, but will not intervene directly
NEWS BRIEFS
FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Mr Borrell convenes Global Tech Panel for first time
AGRICULTURE: two new geographical indications from Hungary and Slovakia receive EU protection
TRADE: European Commission initiates anti-subsidy investigation procedure against India and Indonesia
TAXATION: Stéphanie Yon-Courtin calls for reduction in VAT rate for equine and equestrian sectors
GEORGIA: EU concerned over country’s political polarisation
NAGORNO-KARABAKH: EUR 3 million in aid for civilian victims of conflict 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: next plenary session to take place in Brussels
CIVIL PROTECTION: Member States approve European Parliament/EU Council agreement to improve EU rapid response to major disasters
RUSSIA: Moscow considers European Court of Human Rights’ call for immediate release of Alexei Navalny unacceptable