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Europe Daily Bulletin No. 12856

18 December 2021
Contents Publication in full By article 15 / 32
EU RESPONSE TO COVID-19 / Trade
WTO agreement still not possible on Covid-19 vaccine patents
Brussels, 17/12/2021 (Agence Europe)

At a meeting at the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Thursday 16 December, South Africa urged WTO members to launch negotiations on texts relating to the proposed lifting of patents on Covid-19 vaccines.

It has indicated that it is ”ready and flexible to find a landing zone that fulfils the objectives of the membership as a whole, including elements advanced by the European Union”, said a Geneva official. 

The proposal made by the EU differs in substance from that initiated by South...

Contents

EXTERNAL ACTION
UNITED KINGDOM: Commission amends certain rules on medicines to give momentum to Northern Ireland Protocol talks
TUNISIA: EU notes Tunisian President’s announcement on political exchanges for 2022
EASTERN PARTNERSHIP: European Commission launches a Special Trade Helpdesk for Eastern Partnership countries
SECTORAL POLICIES
JUSTICE: EU adopts adequacy decision on existing standards for transfer of personal data to South Korea
ENVIRONMENT: EU Council to discuss ‘Fit for 55’ climate package and EU soil strategy on Monday 20 December
ENVIRONMENT: new rules to end derogatory use of mercury in most lamps in EU
ENERGY: European Commission proposes methodology to calculate contribution of cooling to renewable energy
SPACE: ESA gets 10% budget increase for 2022
AGRICULTURE: Copa-Cogeca sets out its conditions on soil carbon sequestration
FISHERIES: France asks European Commission to initiate a dispute against UK on fishing licences
CLIMATE: new national emission reduction targets proposed by European Commission are insufficient, according to a T&E analysis
TOURISM: European Court of Auditors recommends new tourism strategy
DIGITAL: DMA, media stakeholders call for more guarantees on data access for business users
EU RESPONSE TO COVID-19
HEALTH: EMA recommendations on three Covid-19 treatments and Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine booster
TRADE: WTO agreement still not possible on Covid-19 vaccine patents
ECONOMY: European Commission pre-finances Estonian and Maltese recovery plans
SOCIAL AFFAIRS
SOCIAL: difficult discussions ahead in EU Council on interinstitutional agreement on regulation for coordination of social security systems
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT PLENARY
GENDER EQUALITY: European Parliament reiterates call for mandatory anti-harassment training for all MEPs
POLAND: MEPs concerned about new initiatives related to birth and pregnancy in Poland
RUSSIA: MEPs condemn persecution of Memorial
SERBIA: European Parliament calls on Serbian authorities to address environmental concerns
CUBA: European Parliament calls for “sanctions” against those responsible for human rights violations
COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EU
HOME AFFAIRS: recent Polish Constitutional Tribunal judgment could lead to a risk of violation of fundamental rights of a person subject to a European arrest warrant, according to Advocate General of Court of Justice of the EU
ECONOMY - FINANCE - BUSINESS
COMPETITION: green light, subject to conditions, for acquisition of Groupe Ecore by Derichebourg
COMPETITION: Commission takes note of withdrawal from proposed sale of Air Europa to IAG
NEWS BRIEFS
BELARUS: Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and two other Belarusian female political activists win 2022 Charlemagne Prize
COHESION: new action programme for the Turkish Cypriot community
EUROPEAN COMMISSION: establishment of an expert group on public administration and governance
HORN OF AFRICA: European Commission allocates a further €21.5 million in humanitarian aid
ECONOMY: euro area inflation confirmed at 4.9% in November
ETHIOPIA: EU27 leaders fully support African Union mediation
FISHERIES: European Commission takes aim at deep sea trawling