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Image header Agence Europe
Europe Daily Bulletin No. 13578
Contents Publication in full By article 31 / 38
ECONOMY - FINANCE - BUSINESS / Economy

EU Council expected to approve modification to Belgian and Latvian post-Covid-19 recovery plans

On Tuesday 18 February, the EU’s Council of Economic and Financial Affairs Ministers is expected to approve without debate a revision of the post-Covid-19 recovery plans for Belgium and Latvia.

In Belgium, the revision, linked to objective circumstances, concerns a measure in the national recovery plan designed to speed up the digitisation of the Flemish regional government. The Belgian recovery plan remains unchanged at €5.3 billion, including €5 billion in subsidies.

To see the draft Council decision and its annex, go to https://aeur.eu/f/fgh

At the end of 2024, the Latvian government submitted a request to the European Commission to revise its recovery plan, covering 28 measures which, for objective reasons, would no longer be achievable or would be achievable by alternative means. The Latvian recovery plan remains unchanged at €1.97 billion.

To see the draft Council decision and its annex, go to https://aeur.eu/f/fgi (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)

Contents

INSTITUTIONAL
BETTER REGULATION: European Commission is releasing details of its simplification strategy in dribs and drabs
BETTER REGULATION: European Commission says it wants to cooperate with Parliament on its “simplification” policies
BUDGET: Estonia and Spain call for increased long-term EU budget post-2027
BUDGET: European Commission wants design of next long-term EU budget to be a collective one
EXTERNAL ACTION
UNITED STATES: EU27 seek coordination on transatlantic relations
CANADA: Justin Trudeau in Brussels to discuss trade and international cooperation with EU
KOSOVO: Kaja Kallas and Marta Kos welcome smooth running of elections, but call for reforms
CENTRAL ASIA: António Costa looks forward to continuing cooperation with countries of Central Asia at first summit between two regions at beginning of April
Russian invasion of Ukraine
UKRAINE : Europe must provide “overwhelming” share of future aid to Ukraine, says Pete Hegseth
MIGRATION: Ukrainian refugees - European Court of Auditors praises speed of aid to communities via CARE, but cannot assess its effectiveness
SECURITY - DEFENCE - SPACE
NATO: United States will no longer tolerate an imbalanced defence relationship, warns Pete Hegseth
SECTORAL POLICIES
DIGITAL: European Commission proposes to withdraw its proposal for an AI Liability Directive
ENVIRONMENT: disagreements persist between European Parliament and EU Council on revision of Waste Framework Directive
ENERGY: market players call for plan for affordable energy prices in EU to not include price cap mechanism
FISHERIES: European Commission introduces harmonised system for collecting catch data on recreational fisheries in EU
BREACHES OF EU LAW
ENVIRONMENT: Birds Directive - European Commission refers France to EU Court of Justice
BANKS: seven EU countries taken to Court of Justice for failure to transpose directive on non-performing loans
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT PLENARY
REGIONS: European Parliament advocates targeted support for EU regions bordering Russia, Belarus and Ukraine
RUSSIA: MEPs call for support for Russian civil society and opponents of Putin
SERBIA: political crisis in Serbia - European Parliament calls for reforms and supports demonstrators
DRC: European Parliament should call on EU to sanction Rwanda
UNITED STATES: Hadja Lahbib warns of long-term consequences of withdrawal from Paris Agreement, WHO, and suspension of humanitarian aid
JUSTICE: faced with divided MEPs, Michael McGrath defends International Criminal Court against US sanctions
TAXATION: European Parliament approves EU Council’s position on VAT in Digital Age package
TAXATION: European Parliament approves European Commission’s new proposal on administrative cooperation rules
MERCOSUR: European Parliament rejects amendment calling for refusal to sign EU/Mercosur agreement
GMOs: European Parliament opposes placing on market of two transgenic maize varieties
ECONOMY - FINANCE - BUSINESS
FINANCE: European Commission wants to reduce time limit for securities transactions in EU by October 2027
FINANCE/CLIMATE: Insurance Europe calls for streamlined sustainability rules
ECONOMY: euro area countries recommend “slightly contractionary” fiscal stance in 2025 and 2026
ECONOMY: EU Council expected to approve modification to Belgian and Latvian post-Covid-19 recovery plans
NEWS BRIEFS
AGRICULTURE : European Commission approves three new geographical indications
ARMENIA: Armenian Parliament approves, at first reading, bill on opening of accession negotiations with EU
CLIMATE: European Commission’s legislative proposal on 2040 target brought forward to first quarter of 2025
EUROPEAN COMMISSION : Pierre Bascou appointed Deputy Director-General at Directorate for Agriculture and Rural Development
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: harassment - two parliamentary assistants obtain access to internal parliamentary committee report
CSDP: Markus Ritter’s mandate as head of EUMA mission extended by one year
Op-Ed
OP-ED: Europe in the microwave, how Putin is bringing our continent to a boil - by Wouter Beke