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Europe Daily Bulletin No. 12664

24 February 2021
Contents Publication in full By article 20 / 35
ECONOMY - FINANCE - BUSINESS / State aid
Green light for €254 million support for rehabilitation of district heating system in Bucharest
Brussels, 23/02/2021 (Agence Europe)

On Tuesday 23 February, the European Commission approved €254 million in State Aid from Romania to support the upgrade of the district heating system of the municipality of Bucharest.

For the Executive Vice-President, Margrethe Vestager, responsible for Competition policy, this aid measure will help Romania “achieve its energy-efficiency targets and will contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas and other pollutants emissions, without unduly distorting competition”.

The public...

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