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Europe Daily Bulletin No. 13175

5 May 2023
Contents Publication in full By article 8 / 36
EXTERNAL ACTION / Foreign affairs
Nine EU Member States launch ‘Group of Friends to foster Qualified Majority Voting in CFSP’
Brussels, 04/05/2023 (Agence Europe)

Nine EU Member States - Germany, Belgium, Spain, Finland, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Slovenia - launched the ‘Group of Friends to foster Qualified Majority Voting (QMV)’ under the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) on Thursday 4 May.

According to a joint statement by the Foreign Ministries of these countries, the aim of the Group - which is open to other Member States wishing to make progress in CFSP decision-making - is “to improve effectiveness and...

Contents

Russian invasion of Ukraine
DEVELOPMENT: EU concerned that Poland will make signing post-Cotonou agreement conditional on concessions on Ukrainian grain
EXTERNAL ACTION
DEVELOPMENT: EU Council wants a harmonised European approach to fighting corruption as an obstacle to development
DEVELOPMENT: EU ministers continue to reflect on reform of multilateral development banks
SUDAN: EU ready to step up humanitarian aid and help Egypt cope with refugee influx
AFGHANISTAN: Josep Borrell laments Taliban’s decision to ban Afghan women from working with United Nations in Afghanistan
WESTERN BALKANS: EU disapproves of Pristina’s decision to dissolve team responsible for setting up Association of Serbian Municipalities in northern Kosovo
CELAC: Ms von der Leyen and Mr Gonsalves want to breathe new life into EU/CELAC partnership
FOREIGN AFFAIRS: nine EU Member States launch ‘Group of Friends to foster Qualified Majority Voting in CFSP’
ECONOMY - FINANCE - BUSINESS
ECB: ECB raises rates by 25 basis points and plans accelerated balance sheet reduction as of July
MONEY LAUNDERING: European co-legislators request assistance of European Commission in determining location of future ‘AMLA’ authority
COMPETITIVENESS: Kristalina Georgieva warns against misaligned EU subsidies for green industry
COMPANIES: EBF and SMEunited concerned about postponement of development of sustainability reporting standards
COMPETITION: European Commission clears Hydro’s acquisition of Alumetal
SECTORAL POLICIES
DIGITAL: European Commission unveils recommendation to combat online piracy of live events
CUSTOMS: EU Council to propose a strategy for customs cooperation on internal EU security
CLIMATE: EU citizens call for more awareness and better regulation when asked by European Commission
ENERGY: energy performance of buildings, details of EU Council and European Parliament positions for interinstitutional negotiations
ENERGY: 5.1 billion tonnes of CO2 emitted by oil and gas operations in 2022, according to International Energy Agency
REGIONS: ministers of Union for the Mediterranean commit to building sustainable and safe cities
SOCIAL AFFAIRS
SOCIAL/EMPLOYMENT: digital and energy transition jobs, EU ministers tackle labour shortage headache
COUNCIL OF EUROPE
ENVIRONMENT: Council of Europe is considering how to make right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment in Europe a fundamental right
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS - SOCIETAL ISSUES
HUNGARY: Hungarian Parliament takes first step towards releasing EU funds frozen over Rule of law concerns
INSTITUTIONAL
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: draft report on integrity of European Parliament, rapporteurs defend a political text
COURT OF AUDITORS: EU auditors’ 2022 activity report scrutinises Europe’s growing budget
SECURITY - DEFENCE
DEFENCE: European Peace Facility, Council adopts two assistance measures for Moldova and Georgia
COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EU
STATE AID: European Commission wrongly found that Luxembourg had granted unlawful aid to Engie as tax benefits
ECONOMY: CJEU annuls authorisation of Crédit lyonnais to exclude all its exposures to Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations for the purposes of calculating leverage ratio
JUSTICE: according to Court of Justice of EU, right to receive a copy of all personal data implies obtaining a faithful and intelligible reproduction of data
JUSTICE: CJEU rules infringement of GDPR does not, by itself, confer right to compensation
JUSTICE: according to Advocate General of EU Court of Justice, a public body may prohibit wearing of religious symbols under certain conditions
HOME AFFAIRS: a mandatary can be prohibited from all elective public office for 3 years in case of a conflict of interest during his or her mandate if their right to a remedy is respected, according to Court of Justice of EU
NEWS BRIEFS
HOME AFFAIRS: fight against crime and terrorism, EDPS issues recommendations for agreements on exchange of personal data envisaged with five Latin American countries
STATE AID: Covid-19, green light for €34 million in Dutch aid for sports event organisers
ENERGY: European Commission wishes to prolong its powers to adopt delegated acts under Renewable Energy Directive
SPACE: Meteosat Third Generation Imager delivers its first image of Earth
SIERRA LEONE: EU to observe Sierra Leonean general elections