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Europe Daily Bulletin No. 12664

24 February 2021
Contents Publication in full By article 16 / 35
INSTITUTIONAL / European parliament
First step towards the waiver of the immunity of Carles Puigdemont, Toni Comín and Clara Ponsatí
Brussels, 23/02/2021 (Agence Europe)

On Tuesday 23 February, the European Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee approved (15 votes in favour, 8 against and 2 abstentions) the lifting of the immunities of three Catalan pro-independence politicians, Carles Puigdemont, Toni Comín and Clara Ponsatí, accused of sedition in Spain.

“Today we have taken an important step in the process of lifting the parliamentary immunities of MEPs Puigdemont, Comín and Ponsatí. We have kept our word: to implement an exemplary process. When the...

Contents

FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS - SOCIETAL ISSUES
GENDER EQUALITY: to combat pay inequalities, Commission is relying on right to information and is calling on companies to help
EXTERNAL ACTION
MOROCCO Interview: “EU must move away from logic of teacher and pupil”, says Nasser Bourita
HORN OF AFRICA: Pekka Haavisto says Ethiopia must accept international organisations negotiating humanitarian access to Tigray
UNITED KINGDOM: solution to problems identified in Northern Ireland lies in full application of planned protocol, Commission recalls 
IRAN: France, Germany and United Kingdom denounce Iranian restrictions on IAEA controls
HONG KONG: EU steps up support for Hong Kong population
UNITED STATES: Secretary of State and European ministers reaffirm importance of transatlantic cooperation
EU RESPONSE TO COVID-19
HOME AFFAIRS: Covid-19, Commission gives six Member States ten days to explain intra-EU travel restrictions deemed problematic
INTERNAL MARKET: decision to centralise purchase of vaccines at European level was a good one, but not its implementation, according to a senior fellow at Bruegel Institute
CIVIL PROTECTION: Covid-19, EU coordinates transfer of medical teams to Slovakia and shipment of equipment to Serbia
SECTORAL POLICIES
DIGITAL: DSA/DMA, a conflict of competences in European Parliament as it begins work on internet reform 
FISHERIES: MEPs call for measures to limit marine waste in fishing operations
CLIMATE: Commission proposes ten new European partnerships to speed up green digital transition
ENERGY: European Commission consults on revision of EU rules on buildings’ energy performance
INSTITUTIONAL
FUTURE OF EU: Ana Paula Zacarias hopes for a joint declaration on Conference on Future of Europe “this week”
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: first step towards the waiver of the immunity of Carles Puigdemont, Toni Comín and Clara Ponsatí
ECONOMY - FINANCE - BUSINESS
FINANCE: MEPs review with European Commission and ESMA lessons to be learned from ‘GameStop’ case
FINANCE: G20 finance summit, EU to call on partners to maintain their economic support measures 
STATE AID: public consultation on rules governing Important Projects of Common European Interest
STATE AID: green light for €254 million support for rehabilitation of district heating system in Bucharest
ECONOMY: inflation confirmed at 0.9% in eurozone in January
SOCIAL AFFAIRS - EDUCATION
SOCIAL: Member States ask for measurable targets in relation to European pillar of social rights
EDUCATION: EU must step up efforts to meet digital skills targets, says European Court of Auditors
COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EU
JUSTICE: Advocate General interprets ‘Brussels IIa Regulation’ in event of a parental dispute concerning wrongful removal of a child from EU 
NEWS BRIEFS
MYANMAR: EU announces €39 million in humanitarian aid for most vulnerable in Myanmar and Bangladesh
MYANMAR: G7 countries condemn violence against peaceful demonstrators
ENERGY: EEB analysis points out lack of support for “clean” heating solutions in most European countries
INDUSTRY: postponement of presentation of industrial strategy update
INTERNAL MARKET: Ursula von der Leyen insists on need to create ‘Single Market Emergency Instrument’ in event of crisis
MIGRATION: Tineke Strik will write report by European Parliament investigative group on Frontex agency
RESEARCH: European Research Council to launch first call for proposals for 2021-2027 on 25 February
REGIONS: EU pays €6 million to France after storm Alex
SUDAN: EU welcomes decision of Sudanese Transitional Government to pursue exchange rate reform
TURKEY: EU concerned about continued pressure against Kurdish HDP party
UKRAINE: Kiev accuses Russia of targeted killings in application to European Court of Human Rights