28/11/2022 (Agence Europe) – In a working group last week in the EU Council, national experts asked the Council of the EU’s Legal Service to analyse the Single Market Emergency Instrument (SMEI) proposal, according to information we received on Monday 28 November. During an exchange and a first in-depth examination of the instrument in a working group on Tuesday 22 November, several delegations expressed concerns about how this initiative linked in to other existing initiatives, such as the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) and those still the subject of negotiation, such as the mechanisms foreseen in the Chips Act initiative. Most importantly, they questioned whether the principle of proportionality was respected with regard to those measures provided for in times of crisis (see EUROPE 13024/1), an issue that had come up in an initial ministerial exchange at the end of September (see EUROPE 13032/1). The legal opinion is expected early next year. (PH)