login
login

Europe Daily Bulletin No. 13486

20 September 2024
Contents Publication in full By article 14 / 34
PRESENTATION OF THE ‘VON DER LEYEN II’ COMMISSION / Budget
European Commissioner-designate for Budget, Anti-Fraud and Public Administration, Piotr Serafin to focus on investment
Brussels, 19/09/2024 (Agence Europe)

Poland’s Piotr Serafin (EPP) is being considered for the post of European Commissioner for Budget, Anti-Fraud and Public Administration.

Under-Secretary of State for European Integration at the end of the 2000s, then Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Serafin was then Chief of Staff to Donald Tusk, when he was President of the European Council (2014-2019). He has been Poland’s ambassador to the EU since December 2023. 

His first task will be to work on the...

Contents

Russian invasion of Ukraine
ENERGY: European Commission releases €160 million to support Ukraine’s energy infrastructure as winter approaches
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT PLENARY
UKRAINE: MEPs support lifting of restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Western weapons on Russian territory
CIVIL PROTECTION: European Parliament adopts resolution aimed at improving responses to extreme disasters in Europe and anticipating proliferation
AGRICULTURE: EU farmers are largely powerless to cope with effects of natural disasters, say MEPs
JUSTICE: Paul Watson case, Stella Kyriakides notes EU’s responsibility to protect environmentalists and acknowledges shortcomings
BUDGET: disagreeing with EU Council’s position on 2025 budget, European Parliament considers it impossible to ignore ‘Draghi’ report
STATE AID: widespread approval in European Parliament for EU Court of Justice judgment condemning Ireland for granting illegal aid to Apple
VENEZUELA: European Parliament recognises Edmundo González as Venezuela’s rightful president
CUBA: European Parliament calls for suspension of EU/Cuba agreement due to persistent human rights violations on Caribbean island
AFGHANISTAN: European Parliament denounces deteriorating situation of women and girls in Afghanistan
BELARUS: European Parliament once again calls for release of all political prisoners
SPACE: launch of Galileo satellites, Parliament gives go-ahead to EU-US security agreement
PRESENTATION OF THE ‘VON DER LEYEN II’ COMMISSION
AGRICULTURE/FISHERIES: Christophe Hansen for Agriculture and Costas Kadis for Fisheries, two Commissioners with requisite qualities
BUDGET: European Commissioner-designate for Budget, Anti-Fraud and Public Administration, Piotr Serafin to focus on investment
SECTORAL POLICIES
COHESION: European Commission takes exceptional measures to help EU countries affected by storm Boris
ENVIRONMENT: use of persistent pollutant PFHxA soon to be banned in EU in certain everyday applications
DIGITAL: European Commission publishes guidelines on competition in field of generative AI
ENERGY: global share of “clean” hydrogen projects in Europe has fallen from 55% to 40% in four years, according to Hydrogen Council
FISHERIES: EU and Guinea-Bissau sign new sustainable fisheries agreement
EXTERNAL ACTION
MIDDLE EAST: Josep Borrell stresses “great significance” of UNGA’s adoption of a Resolution on ending Israeli occupation of Palestine
WESTERN BALKANS: leaders of all six countries review progress on growth plan with President of European Commission
UNITED KINGDOM: Gibraltar – discussions continue in Brussels to reach an agreement satisfactory to all parties
ACP: European Commission awaiting recovery of funds by the Brussels Secretariat of OACPS
CHINA: still no agreement between EU and Beijing to avoid tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles
ECONOMY - FINANCE - BUSINESS
COMPETITION: interoperability obligations and ‘DMA’, European Commission launches two ‘specification procedures’ for Apple
STATE AID: green light for €2.7 billion in Austrian aid to support decarbonisation of industrial production processes
COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EU
INSURANCE: Court of Justice of European Union rules that insurance company cannot refuse to compensate victim, even in event of false declaration
COMPETITION: Court of Justice of EU interprets price parity clauses applied by accommodation reservation platforms
NEWS BRIEFS
HUMAN RIGHTS: PfE group nominates Elon Musk for 2024 Sakharov Prize
FINANCE: “pensions bomb”, a priority for new European Commissioner for Financial Services, Maria Luís Albuquerque, according to Better Finance
INDUSTRY: ACEA maintains pressure on emergency measures to support CO2 emissions reduction target
MIGRATION: following Netherlands, Hungary announces it, too, will withdraw from European asylum and migration policies during revision of treaties
DIGITAL: conservatives in European Parliament concerned about EU’s “censorship” of certain social networks
FISHERIES: Spain challenges proposed level of anchovy quotas in Iberian waters