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Europe Daily Bulletin No. 13329

17 January 2024
Contents Publication in full By article 24 / 42
Russian invasion of Ukraine / Russia
EU Member States support proposal to confiscate profits from frozen Russian public assets
Brussels, 16/01/2024 (Agence Europe)

On Tuesday 16 January, the Belgian Finance Minister, Vincent Van Peteghem, said that the Member States of the European Union had reaffirmed their “strong commitment” to “delivering quickly” on the legislative proposal to confiscate the income generated by the assets of the Central Bank of Russia frozen in the EU since Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine (see EUROPE B13312A4).

The Belgian Presidency of the EU Council has set itself a deadline of the end of February -...

Contents

SECTORAL POLICIES
CLIMATE: for Virginijus Sinkevičius, 2040 emissions reduction target “will reaffirm EU’s determination to combat climate change”
ENVIRONMENT/CLIMATE: water resilience, one of several priorities to prepare EU’s resilience to future climate risks
ENVIRONMENT: EU Environment Ministers set course for next stages of a circular economy integrating all sectors
HEALTH: European Commission opens up participation in Critical Medicines Alliance
ENERGY: MEPs validate provisional agreements reached with EU Council on reform of European electricity market
RESEARCH: research security, EUA advocates open cooperation involving stakeholders
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT PLENARY
RULE OF LAW: release of EU funds to Hungary – European Parliament political groups agree to take Commission to EU Court of Justice
EU2024BE: Alexander De Croo calls on European Union to not be afraid of international challenges of 2024, but to face them to become stronger
UKRAINE: European Parliament’s main political groups call on EU Member States to do more on military support
MIDDLE EAST: MEPs divided over situation in Gaza
MIDDLE EAST: several MEPs call on Europeans to take action on safety in Red Sea
INDIA: MEPs present their recommendations for strengthening and updating strategic partnership between EU and India after 2025
EYCS: European Parliament votes in favour of reports on Erasmus+, Creative Europe and CERV programmes, with emphasis on inclusion, budget increases and civic involvement
TRANSPORT: European Parliament wants to encourage electric aviation
FINANCE: transparency of EU financial markets, European Parliament ratifies revision of MiFIR-MiFID package
TAXATION: European Parliament adopts its opinion on reducing tax incentives to encourage corporate debt
COMPETITION: fair competition, adapting to digital age and Europe’s strategic autonomy, European Parliament adopts ‘Yon-Courtin’ report
CLIMATE: European Parliament approves provisional interinstitutional agreement on fluorinated gases
CLIMATE: European Parliament ratifies agreement on ‘Substances that deplete ozone layer’ regulation
FISHERIES: European Parliament refuses to use urgent procedure on targets for fixing fishing opportunities
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Jan-Christoph Oetjen becomes European Parliament Vice-President
FOREIGN AFFAIRS: European Parliament stresses importance of its diplomacy in Union’s foreign and security policy
SOCIAL AFFAIRS - EMPLOYMENT
SOCIAL: coordination of social security systems—European Parliament political groups oppose Belgian Presidency’s plans opting for limited revision
Russian invasion of Ukraine
RUSSIA: EU Member States support proposal to confiscate profits from frozen Russian public assets
AGRICULTURE: several EU Member States concerned about extension of trade measures in favour of Ukraine
ECONOMY - FINANCE - BUSINESS
FINANCE: EU Member States take stock of financial services legislative proposals
TAXATION: European Citizens’ Initiative on taxing great wealth reaches 100,000 signatures
EIB: EIB lends around €942.6 million for production of circular batteries at Northvolt’s Skellefteå factory in Sweden
INSTITUTIONAL
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 2024: Manfred Weber promises Christian Democrats will not do business with “nationalists”
TRANSPARENCY: Corporate Europe Observatory calls for investigation into lobbying by European Livestock Voice
EXTERNAL ACTION
CHINA: in Davos, Chinese Premier criticises discriminatory “trade barriers” of EU and United States
EU RESPONSE TO COVID-19
HEALTH: at least 1.4 million lives saved in Europe thanks to vaccines, according to WHO
COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EU
DIGITAL/JUSTICE: according to CJEU, a parliamentary committee of inquiry must comply with provisions of GDPR where there is no question of national security
WOMEN’S RIGHTS: an EU country may grant subsidiary protection status to a woman at risk of violence in her own country, rules Court of Justice
NEWS BRIEFS
AZERBAIJAN: European Parliament will not be observing presidential election on 7 February
AGRICULTURE: European Commission approves new geographical indication for Netherlands and Belgium
BUDGET: Viktor Orbán advocates macro-financial assistance for Ukraine outside EU budget
NORTH KOREA: EU calls on DPRK to cease illegal actions undermining international security, following launch of a ballistic missile
ECONOMY/FINANCE: agenda for informal ministerial meeting in Ghent takes shape
ENERGY: energy performance of buildings, MEPs give green light to European Parliament/EU Council agreement
MIGRATION: European Court of Human Rights condemns Greece after coastguards fire on boat carrying Syrian migrants
TERRORISM: EU sanctions political leader of Hamas and a member of Al-Shabab in Somalia