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Europe Daily Bulletin No. 12811

14 October 2021
Contents Publication in full By article 14 / 33
EXTERNAL ACTION / United kingdom
European Commission proposes to London a substantial relaxation of health and customs controls between Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Brussels, 13/10/2021 (Agence Europe)

On Wednesday 13 October, the European Commission proposed new ways of improving the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland to improve the lives of Northern Irish citizens and try to open a new channel of discussion with London, while the British government has just reopened the debate on the role of the Court of Justice of the EU, which it wants to remove from the Withdrawal Agreement signed in 2019, and is threatening to activate Article 16 of the Protocol.

Commission Vice-President Maroš...

Contents

SECTORAL POLICIES
ENERGY: European Commission presents “toolbox” to combat rising energy prices
ENERGY: ACER recommends encouraging technologies that can “smooth out” the volatility of energy prices in future
ENERGY: energy transition too slow, warns new IEA annual report
ENVIRONMENT: ‘EU regulation on batteries and waste batteries’, draft ‘Bonafé’ report to European Parliament supports and clarifies text
ENVIRONMENT: over 40 organisations urge Stella Kyriakides to ensure independent and up-to-date evaluation of glyphosate
ENVIRONMENT: incineration of residual waste in EU goes against a carbon-free circular economy, says Zero Waste Europe
BIODIVERSITY: European Commission says EU makes progress in tackling invasive alien species, but can do better
AGRICULTURE: ‘Fit for 55’ package, EU Ministers stress need to ensure food security
AGRICULTURE: European Commission expects EU wine production to fall by 13%
DIGITAL: EU Council expects Member States to clarify their approach to artificial intelligence
TRANSPORT: vehicles hired without drivers, EU Council focuses on maximum rental periods
REGIONS: European local and regional authorities under severe financial pressure
COHESION: European Committee of Regions insists on respecting principles of partnership
EXTERNAL ACTION
UNITED KINGDOM: European Commission proposes to London a substantial relaxation of health and customs controls between Great Britain and Northern Ireland
ARCTIC: EU calls for moratorium on fossil fuel extraction in Arctic regions
TRADE: G20 ministers want to give impetus to work on WTO reform
TRADE/CLIMATE: several developing countries criticise EU’s proposed carbon border adjustment mechanism
TRADE: Franck Riester calls for support from other Member States for a more sustainable trade policy
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS - SOCIETAL ISSUES
DEMOCRACY: draft report on “SLAPPs” ready to be voted on in European Parliament committee
INSTITUTIONAL
POLAND: Ursula von der Leyen reiterates her serious concerns after Polish Constitutional Tribunal ruling challenging primacy of EU law
BUDGET: European Commission increases spending for 2022 by €1.2 billion
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: more than a quarter of MEPs engage in paid activities outside their mandate, according to Transparency International
SOCIAL AFFAIRS - EDUCATION
SOCIAL: social dimension of ‘European Semester’ process and occupational safety and health on ministerial agenda
EDUCATION: European Commission calls on group of experts to create guidelines for promotion of digital literacy in classrooms
EU RESPONSE TO COVID-19
HEALTH: CureVac withdraws its first Covid-19 vaccine, Commission ‘examines consequences’ on its contract with company
ECONOMY: €822.7 million paid in pre-financing for Slovak recovery plan
COHESION: REACT-EU, European Commission approves €268 million of aid for Spain
NEWS BRIEFS
COURT OF JUSTICE: appointment of two judges to EU General Court
COMPANIES: SMEunited, EBC and LIFE programme join forces to support greening of European construction sector
IRAQ: EU gives preliminary good report on holding of legislative elections
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Manfred Weber re-elected EPP group Chairman in European Parliament
TRANSPORT: European Commission consultation on increasing requirements for event data recorders
TRANSPORT: European Commission consults on making intelligent transport systems more efficient and accurate