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Europe Daily Bulletin No. 13639
Contents Publication in full By article 40 / 42
NEWS BRIEFS / Montenegro

According to MEPs, Podgorica still needs to make substantial efforts to achieve political stability and join EU by 2028

13/05/2025 (Agence Europe) – On Tuesday 13 May, members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) approved (51 votes in favour, 7 against) the report by Marjan Šarec (Renew Europe, Slovakian) on Montenegro’s progress towards the EU. The country, which is one of the two candidates - along with Albania - most advanced in the integration process, hopes to become a member of the Union by 2028 - an “ambitious” objective, but one that is apparently supported by MEPs. They do, however, have some reservations about the progress made in electoral and judicial reform and in the fight against organised crime and corruption. They also expressed concern about interference from third countries, particularly Russia, which is very active in the region, and called on the State’s institutions to “coordinate their efforts to achieve political stability”. See the report: https://aeur.eu/f/gsh (IS)

Contents

ECONOMY - FINANCE - BUSINESS
TAXATION: Council of EU agrees on value added tax on imports, but concerned about risks associated with e-commerce
TAXATION: energy taxation - Polish Presidency of EU Council proposes an assessment of environmental performance of energy products
TAXATION: European Commission wants to focus on tax simplification to make EU more competitive
ECONOMY/DEFENCE: Andrzej Domański believes EU countries may reach agreement in May on ‘SAFE’ loan instrument designed to increase military spending
BANKS: Germany repeats its “red lines” regarding ‘CMDI’ package to strengthen banking crisis management
FINANCE: simplification – Warsaw expresses reservations about continuation of negotiations between European Parliament and EU Council on retail investment package
FINANCE: EU countries await “ambitious” legislative proposal on financial securitisation
EDUCATION - YOUTH - CULTURE - SPORT
CULTURE: European ministers call for budget increase in face of geopolitical, environmental and democratic threats
CULTURE/DIGITAL: EU Council approves conclusions on evaluation of legal framework for audiovisual media services and video platforms
CULTURE: European ministers approve conclusions to support young artists and cultural and creative professionals
EDUCATION: European ministers support ‘Union of Skills’, on condition of complementarity with European Education Area
SPORT: EU Member States support integrated approach to sport and physical activity across all educational pathways
SECTORAL POLICIES
ENERGY: at their informal meeting, majority of European energy ministers supported definitive phase-out of Russian fossil fuels
ENERGY: countries bordering Baltic Sea and European Commission sign a memorandum of understanding to promote interconnections in region
ENERGY: Member States called upon to adopt proposed agreement on intra-EU arbitration procedures within ECT
ENERGY: in committee, MEPs approve own-initiative report on development of electricity networks
HOME AFFAIRS: criminalising distribution and possession of child sexual abuse material—European Parliament is ready to negotiate with EU Council
DIGITAL: European Commission tests its guidelines for better protection of minors online
DIGITAL: European Union and Japan strengthen scientific and technological cooperation
INDUSTRY: European Commission’s action plan for chemical industry should be presented by summer
PATENTS: president of European Patent Office calls on all Member States to participate in unitary patent
AGRICULTURE: European Commission plans “significant” change to CAP post-2027
SEA: protecting ocean areas is not a punitive measure against fishermen, says MEP Emma Fourreau
ENVIRONMENT: European Commission and EU Council questioned about their priorities by MEPs ahead of COP20 on international trade in endangered species
ENVIRONMENT: in absence of an alternative, MEPs support European Commission’s authorisation of substance DBNPA
SECURITY - DEFENCE - SPACE
SPACE: Josef Aschbacher hopes new EU Space Act will not complicate industry’s work
EXTERNAL ACTION
ENLARGEMENT: Marta Kos criticises Hungary’s block on opening chapters in Ukraine’s accession negotiations
SERBIA: EU supports Belgrade’s accession, but continues to demand full foreign policy alignment
ALBANIA: EU welcomes turnout at legislative elections, but condemns imbalance in vote
HUMANITARIAN AID: Hadja Lahbib calls for “strong” and flexible humanitarian budget in EU’s post-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework
TRADE/CLIMATE: MEPs adopt their position on ‘omnibus’ that simplifies Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism
INSTITUTIONAL
DEMOCRACY: moment of truth at the European Parliament for European Ethics Body
BUDGET: pan-European organisations, EIB, Cohesion Fund... MEPs explore how to implement ‘smart conditionality’
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS - SOCIETAL ISSUES
DEMOGRAPHY: EU co-legislators tighten rules on low-level and detailed collection of statistics
SOCIAL AFFAIRS - EMPLOYMENT
EMPLOYMENT: MEPs call for ‘social clauses’ in preparation for revision of EU public procurement rules
NEWS BRIEFS
ECB: euro area countries ready to speed up work on digital euro
ECONOMY: green light from Council of EU for revision of 4 post-Covid-19 national recovery plans
ENVIRONMENT: European Parliament committee approves provisional agreement with EU Council on plastic pellet loss
FINANCE: ‘T+1’ settlement cycle - European Parliament political groups ask for an extra week to finalise their position
MONTENEGRO: according to MEPs, Podgorica still needs to make substantial efforts to achieve political stability and join EU by 2028
DIGITAL: launch of European Vulnerability Database to strengthen Europe’s digital security
TRANSPORT: European Commission launches a call for evidence for revision of Air Services Regulation