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Europe Daily Bulletin No. 12763

16 July 2021
Contents Publication in full By article 4 / 36
BREACHES OF EU LAW / Environment
European Commission refers Greece to court over poor air quality
Brussels, 15/07/2021 (Agence Europe)

The European Commission decided on Thursday 15 July to refer Greece to the Court of Justice of the European Union over poor air quality caused by high levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2).

Where limit values set by EU legislation on ambient air quality (Directive 2008/50/EC) are exceeded, Member States are required to adopt air quality plans to ensure that measures are taken to keep the period of exceedance as short as possible.

However, according to the Commission, Greece has “continuously...

Contents

BREACHES OF EU LAW
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS: Hungary and Poland under infringement proceedings for “violations of fundamental rights” of LGBTIQ+ people
MIGRATION: Commission takes Hungary to Court over its policy of outsourcing asylum
JUSTICE: Bulgaria to be referred to Court of Justice for failure to connect its trade register to EU’s BRIS system
ENVIRONMENT: European Commission refers Greece to court over poor air quality
EMPLOYMENT: posted workers, European Commission gives formal notice to 24 Member States
INTERNAL MARKET: recognition of professional qualifications, Czech Republic should explain itself before Court
COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EU
POLAND: Polish judges’ disciplinary regime infringes EU law, reiterates Court of Justice
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS: wearing visible religious symbols at work, Court interprets Employment Equality Directive
CITIZENSHIP: according to Court, an EU citizen who does not meet all the conditions of Directive 2004/38 can be denied UK universal credit
ENERGY: OPAL pipeline, EU Court of Justice reaffirms principle of energy solidarity
DIGITAL: Poland’s appeal against Copyright Directive must be rejected, says Advocate General
VENEZUELA: General Court rejects appeals of ten Maduro regime officials sanctioned by EU
SECTORAL POLICIES
CLIMATE: ‘Fit for 55’ package—unity of College of European Commissioners challenged
ENERGY: European Commission proposes new rules to make bioenergy sustainable
DIGITAL: MEPs fine-tune their position on European data governance
MIGRATION: EU countries’ positions on Pact on Migration and Asylum remain “far apart” admits Slovenian Interior Minister
MIGRATION: without being directly involved, Frontex has not been able to prevent acts of pushback, concludes European Parliament working group
MIGRATION: European Commission proposes to tighten issuing of short-stay visas for nationals of three third countries
JUSTICE: artificial intelligence, digital heritage and place of children in justice system on agenda of informal meeting of justice ministers
TRANSPORT: aviation, associations and airports welcome ‘Fit For 55’ package; airlines have mixed reaction
AGRICULTURE: ‘Fit for 55’ package raises concerns among EU farm organisations
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS - SOCIETAL ISSUES
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS: European Parliament, a first vote in favour of adding gender violence to list of crimes recognised by EU
DEMOCRACY: MEPs articulate their vision for a European ethics committee, without support of Christian Democrats
EXTERNAL ACTION
Interview TRADE: “Keeping free allowances in ETS does not encourage sectors that benefit from them to decarbonise”, says Geneviève Pons
WTO: WTO ministers meet, but still not ready to close fisheries subsidies file
FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Josep Borrell considers Strategic Compass to be the document of his mandate
EU RESPONSE TO COVID-19
CIVIL PROTECTION: EU able to supply three million doses of Covid-19 vaccine to third countries
SOCIAL AFFAIRS
SOCIAL: digital platforms, MEPs call for legislative initiative
SOCIAL: coordination of social security systems, Slovenian EU Council Presidency hopes to make “progress” in negotiations with European Parliament
NEWS BRIEFS
BELARUS: EU High Representative denounces new wave of repression against civil society
SPACE: NASA and ESA form a partnership to fight climate change
JUSTICE: EDPB Committee urges Irish authority to investigate WhatsApp’s new data privacy policy
WTO: Still no agreement on patent clearance for Covid-19 vaccines at WTO 
CIVIL PROTECTION: EU helps Belgium deal with consequences of flooding
HEALTH: interinstitutional agreement on health technology assessments approved in European Parliament committee
UKRAINE: EU welcomes adoption of several laws on judiciary