Highlights from the Past Week

CW 10 / Monday, 7 to Thursday, 10 March: Plenary Sessions Week (Strasbourg);

EU RESTRICTIONS AGAINST RT AND SPUTNIK – BEREC INFORMATION: On Friday, the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications shared more information about the restrictions against RT and Sputnik on its website. It states:

“It is BEREC’s understanding that the obligation to block RT and Sputnik are to be read in a broad manner and that all websites belonging to the entities mentioned in the Annex XV of the Regulation are covered, including the provision of access to them by ISPs. BEREC reiterates that the Regulation 2022/350 is a legal Act that falls within the scope of the exceptions in Article 3(3) of the Open Internet Regulation.

Therefore, BEREC considers that all domains including subdomains (such as www.rt.com, francais.rt.com, *.sputniknews.com, sputniknewslv.com, sputniknews.gr, sputniknews.cn, etc.) related to the entities listed in Annex XV fall under this exemption.” (see BEREC News)

What is also coming to light is an unofficial clarification from the EU Commission on the broad and comprehensive understanding of the ban, addressed to Google, among others, and then published by Google. (see The Washington Post)

EU COMMISSION PROPOSES TO CRIMINALISE CYBER STALKING AND ONLINE MOBBING EU-WIDE: On 8 March, International Women’s Day, the EU Commission presented draft rules “to combat violence against women”. These are intended to implement the Istanbul Convention, a far-reaching 2011 agreement to protect women against from violence.

With it, the Commission proposes to criminalise cyber stalking and cyber harassment, non-consensual sharing of intimate images and incitement to hatred or violence on the Internet throughout the EU. This should also apply to “rape based on lack of consent” and female genital mutilation. (see press release COM)

eID I – NEW TEXT IN COUNCIL: The French Council Presidency has called for closer coordination between the European Digital Identity plans and the EU’s data protection framework in a new compromise text (PDF) published by Politico Pro (paywall) on Friday.

The proposal includes changes to Article 6c on the certification of European eID Wallets that would tie certification requirements more closely to compliance with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation.

eID II – PARLIAMENT WORK DELAYED: The vote in the Industry Committee (ITRE), originally scheduled for September, is to be postponed to the end of October, reports Contexte (paywall, FR).

Meanwhile, the European Parliament’s Research Service published a briefing (PDF) aimed at sifting through the jungle of future digital identity. The document provides an overview of factors limiting the uptake of current eIDAS regulation and the broad outlines of the legislative proposal. It also describes the status of the preliminary work of the Council and the Parliament.

HEALTH DATA SPACE – EU COMMISSION PLANS RELEASED: Contexte (paywall, FR) has published the EU Commission’s plans for the Health Data Space (regulation, annex, communication – PDF). According to the document, the Commission grants EU citizens the right to “access their electronic health data immediately, free of charge and an easily readable, accessible and commonly used format”, such as in a unified electronic health record. Each Member State must establish a national facility to deliver, among other factors, the necessary eHealth services. This is also to function across borders and languages.

With the law, the EU Commission also wants to create a decentralized European infrastructure for the secondary use of health data, for research, innovation or political decision-making purposes.

The Commission plans to present the final proposal on 5 April.

DIGITAL SERVICES ACT – NEGOTIATIONS MOVE FORWARD: The Parliament and Council have begun to move forward on risk mitigation. France, on behalf of its 26 EU members, has proposed tightening obligations for very large platforms, limiting public health risks. With regard to marketplaces, the Council and Parliament shared the opinion that the Commission’s proposal needs to be improved. MEP Schaldemose, according to the latest information, agrees with many of the Council’s ideas, but still wants to have it ensured that online marketplaces must conduct spot checks on products on their platforms.

According to information from Politico Pro (paywall), the Council has opposed the Parliament’s amendment on so-called “dark patterns”, which aims to put an end to online manipulation through inputs designed to trick people.

Meanwhile, the French Council Presidency is trying to stick to its wording on the interface for online marketplaces and its position on search engines. In the area of online advertising, the Commission has tried to find overlaps with the Digital Markets Act to curb targeted advertising.

On Tuesday, the political trilogue talks on the DSA will enter the second round. On the agenda will be risk assessment and mitigation for very large platforms and obligations for online marketplaces, including so-called “know-your-business-customer” obligations. Dark patterns, search engines and the definition of very large online platforms are also to be discussed. The meeting is to conclude with an “exploratory debate” on recommendation algorithms, online advertising and consumer compensation.

Meanwhile, a cross-party coalition of MEPs, including MEP van Sparrentak (Greens, NL) and MEP Šimečka (Renew, SK), has called on the Commission to strengthen rules to combat disinformation in the DSA. In a letter to senior Commission officials, including Commission President Von der Leyen, MEPs called for the switching off of personalised algorithms and for compelling platforms to present posts and videos chronologically. Posts that go viral should also be thoroughly checked by fact-checkers as soon as possible, and posts from Russian state-backed sources should be downgraded. (see van Sparrentak on Twitter)

DIGITAL MARKETS ACT – FRANCE PRESSING AHEAD FOR A MARCH CONCLUSION: Euractiv reports on the current state of negotiations on the DMA. Five working party meetings have been scheduled for the Council with a view to obtaining an updated mandate at COREPER on 23 March – that is, just one day ahead of the next and (hoped-for) final political trilogue.

In addition to the point of minimum levels for penalties, the point of interoperability remains highly contentious. What is also ongoing are discussions on targeted advertising issues.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE II – REPORT IN THE LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: On Tuesday, MEP Voss will already present his report in the Legal Affairs Committee (JURI). The Committee has exclusive responsibility for Articles 13 (transparency and provision of information to users), 14 (human oversight), 52 (transparency obligations for certain AI systems) and 69 (codes of conduct). Its text contains 309 amendments.

In his report, Voss calls for a clearer definition of “trustworthy AI” that requires AI system providers to “acknowledge the EU Charta of Fundamental Rights and ensure that the AI system is lawful, ethical and robust” and for European standards organisations to take this into account.

The definition of “high-risk” AI systems is too broad and vague for Voss. He proposes that instead of entire sectors, only AI systems that “fulfil clear and transparent criteria” should be categorised as high-risk. The Commission had already proposed this in a 2020 White Paper.

Voss also wants to strengthen the enforcement of the AI Act by improving the GDPR. Authorities across Europe should be able to introduce cases themselves if the national authority that would actually be responsible fails to act. (see Politico Pro, paywall)

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE III – REPORT IN THE INDUSTRY COMMITTEE: MEP Maydell (EPP, BG) has delivered the first concrete amendments for the Industry Committee (ITRE) in her draft report (PDF). ITRE has an exclusive say on Article 15 (accuracy, robustness and cybersecurity) and Article 55 (measures for small-scale providers and users).

Both the Maydell and Voss reports call for an alignment of the EU definition of AI with an OECD definition. Both Voss and Maydell want to exclude “general AI” from the regulation – i.e. AI that can be used for multiple purposes, such as speech recognition. Maydell proposes the creation of a new European benchmarking institute that could operate under the new AI Committee and whose task would be to establish European benchmarks and metrics for AI accuracy.

Maydell’s primary concern is to include start-ups and SMEs in the European AI debate. She suggests creating an AI regulatory sandboxing programme and including start-ups in the AI Act’s standardisation process. She also calls on the European Commission to reduce regulatory costs for smaller companies.

DIGITAL DECADE – AMENDMENTS IN THE PARLIAMENT: MEP Dlabajová’s (Renew, CZ) Industry Committee (ITRE) report (PDF) on the Digital Decade targets was published last week. It includes proposed amendments to a number of 2030 targets, including efforts to expand the EU’s connectivity goals by having Gigabit networks cover “all factories and business facilities” as well as households by the end of the decade. The report also notes that Europe’s digital leadership will depend on its ability to boost connectivity in rural areas, develop microelectronics and the ability to process Big Data.

However, the amendments note that “severe gaps persist in the Union between the required number of professionals who have acquired advanced digital skills and their availability on the Union labour market” and call on the Commission to be more ambitious in this area. The wording on the provision of “climate neutral” technologies is strengthened and “blockchain” is added as a key digital technology in dealing with climate change. (see Politico Pro, paywall)

EU PARLIAMENT CONFIRMS REPORT OF INGE SPECIAL COMMITTEE: With a clear majority, the plenary of the European Parliament has endorsed the report of the Special Committee on Foreign Interference in All Democratic Processes in the EU, including Disinformation (INGE). The committee investigated how malicious foreign actors manipulate information and undermine democratic processes in the EU. It concluded that these actors can, without fear of consequences, influence elections, carry out cyber attacks, recruit former senior politicians and advance polarisation in public debate. (see EP press release)

The mandate of the Special Committee ends on 23 March. However, a resumption has already been confirmed. (see following item).

EU PARLIAMENT APPOINTS THREE SPECIAL COMMITTEES: The Parliament has set up three new committees to look into the use of spyware by EU governments, malicious foreign interference (building on INGE), and lessons learned from the pandemic.

Following a proposal by the Conference of Presidents, the plenary approved the scope, number of members and term of office of the new committees. The lists of members will be announced at the next plenary session on 23 and 24 March in Brussels. (see EP press release)

COUNTERFEIT WATCH LIST 2022 – SUBMISSIONS PUBLISHED: The EU Commission had launched a consultation on the new Watch List 2022 from 15 December to 14 February. Now that the deadline has passed, the submssions have been published. Until 5 April, everyone has the opportunity to comment on them.

“The comments should be targeted and aim at providing information to the Commission that stakeholders consider important for the proper assessment of the submissions in light of the objectives of the Watch List”, TRADE says. The email address for feedback is: trade-counterfeit-and-piracy-watch-list@ec.europa.eu

NIS2 – 4-COLUMN DOCUMENT PUBLISHED: Politico Pro (paywall, EN) has published the negotiating document (PDF) on the draft EU cybersecurity directive NIS2. The version is dated 15 February, ahead of the final trilogue meeting in Strasbourg on 17 February, and contains some draft compromise wording. The next negotiating session is scheduled for the afternoon of 15 March.

DNS4EU – CRITICISM OF THE EU IDEA GETS LOUDER: Earlier this year, the EU Commission put out to tender a project to set up an EU-run domain name service – DNS4EU. But the organisations and experts who are expected to lead the work are far from enthusiastic.

Quad9, a non-profit organisation that runs DNS services with security and privacy features, said it could “not discern a model compatible with our existing, strongly-held primary mission to provide user privacy and security”. The problem, Quad9 said, is that the Commission is subsidising the creation of a DNS service that is designed in such a way that it cannot be integrated into the wider Internet community.

A recent study by ICANN, the Internet’s administrative organisation, showed that (contrary to the Commission’s information) most Internet users in the EU use their providers’ DNS servers and not Google, which “casts doubt on the EU plans for a central European DNS resolver”.

“There are many reasons not to apply”, says RIPE NCC, “and there are a few reasons to participate”. (see Heise – DE)

FRANCE – REGULATOR CALLS ON COURT TO BLOCK PORNOGRAPHY WEBSITES: Arcom has followed through on its announcement and petitioned the Paris court to order the main Internet service providers to prevent access to the websites in question after Pornhub, Tukif, xHamster, Xnxx and XVideos failed to respond to requests to use an age verification system.

Meanwhile, Youporn and Redtube have also received a request for a response. (see press release Arcom, FR as well as Euractiv).

UNITED KINGDOM – FIGHT AGAINST MISLEADING ONLINE ADVERTISING: The UK government has launched a consultation (mainly multiple-choice) on wider reforms that could give regulators greater powers to tackle harmful, offensive and misleading online advertising. Influencers who do not declare payment for advertising products could face tougher penalties under the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport’s plans.

The UK government is also expected to publish a new version of its main content regulation bill as early as next week, before it goes before MPs in the spring. The updated draft of the bill requires companies to put in place appropriate systems and processes to prevent or minimise large platforms publishing or hosting fraudulent advertisements.

Ofcom – the national regulator tasked with overseeing online safety and with the power to impose massive fines and block services in the UK for companies that do not comply – will be tasked with setting out what platforms must do to comply with the new rules. (see Politico Pro, paywall)

Relevant Publications, including from the EP Think Tank:

• Versailles Declaration, 10 and 11 March 2022
• The impact of influencers on advertising and consumer protection in the Single Market (At a Glance)
• Revision of the eIDAS Regulation: Findings on its implementation and application (Briefing)
• Plenary round-up – March I 2022 (At a Glance)
• European Parliament: Facts and Figures (Briefing)
• Victims of terrorism (Briefing)

Outlook for the Coming Week

You can find a list of the upcoming dates of the European Parliament here as well as an overview of the plenary sessions week. The meeting calendar for 2022 can be found here (PDF). On Monday, AI is already one of the topics the agenda of the Legal Affairs Committee. Meanwhile, dark patterns and the DSA are on the agenda of the Internal Market Committee.

An overview of the most important dates of the Council week can be found here, the meeting calendar is accessible here, and the list of the main topics for the coming 14 days is available here, while an indicative calendar of meetings of the French Presidency Council can be found here (PDF).

Included among these dates are:

Summits and Ministerial Meetings:

• Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council Meeting, Monday, 14 March – Agenda, A Items, Background Brief;
• Economic and Financial Affairs Council (incl. Global Level of Corporate Taxation), Tuesday, 15 March – Agenda;
• Informal Video Conference of Ministers of Health, Tuesday, 15 March;
• Informal Video Conference of Education Ministers, Wednesday, 16 March;
• Environment Council, Thursday, 17 March – Agenda, A Items;
• Informal Conference of Tourism Ministers, Friday, 18 March;

Preparatory Bodies:

• Working Party on Competition, Monday, 14 March and Thursday, 17 March;
• Working Party on Telecommunications and Information Society (incl. eIDAS, 5G), Tuesday, 15 March;
• Horizontal Working Party on Cyber Issues (incl. NIS2, 5G), Tuesday, 15 March and Friday, 18 March;
• Working Party on Competitiveness and Growth (Industry), Wednesday, 16 March;
• Working Party on Cooperation in Criminal Matters (COPEN), Wednesday, 16 March, Thursday, 17 March and Friday, 18 March;
• Working Party on Tax Questions (Direct Taxation), Thursday, 17 March;
• Working Party on Hybrid Threats, Thursday, 17 March;
• Working Party on Intellectual Property, Thursday, 17 March;
• Working Party on Competitiveness and Growth (Internal Market), Friday, 18 March;
• COREPER I (incl. DSA), Wednesday, 16 March;
• COREPER II, Wednesday, 16 and Friday, 18 March;

Information about the weekly Commission meeting can be found in the preview (PDF) or (at short notice) in the current agenda. Topics of particular relevance include the legislative proposal against child abuse (now rescheduled for 30 March), and the Media Freedom Act (29 June).

The following topic is on the agenda for the coming week:

• Central Securities Depositories Review

You can find the judicial calendar of the ECJ here. According to initial reports, the ruling in Poland’s case on Art. 17 of the DSM Directive is scheduled for 26 April (C-401/19).

 

European Parliament Committees

CW 11 / Monday, 14 to Thursday, 17 March: Committee Meetings Week (Brussels);

LIBE Committee (EP)

Current Meetings

• Wednesday, 16 March 2022, 9.00-12.00 and 13.45-15.45 (Brussels)
• Thursday, 17 March 2022, 9.00-12.00 and 13.45-15.45 (Brussels)

Excerpt from the Draft Agenda

…

16 March 2022, 13.45 – 14.30

15. Implementation of the EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child (COM(2021)142) one year since its adoption

LIBE/9/08405

• Exchange of views with Dubravka Šuica, Vice-President for Democracy and Demography

…

17 March 2022, 9.00 – 12.00

17. GDPR Implementation, enforcement and lessons learned

LIBE/9/08409

• Hearing
  (see separate draft agenda)

…

Further Meetings (Calendar)

• Thursday, 31 March 2022, 9.00-12.00 (Brussels)
• Wednesday, 20 April 2022, 9.00-12.00 and 13.45-15.45 (Brussels)
• Thursday, 21 April 2022, 9.00-12.00 and 13.45-15.45 (Brussels)

JURI Committee (EP)

Current Meetings

• Monday, 14 March 2022, 16.45-17.45 ((Brussels)
• Tuesday, 15 March 2022, 9.00-12.00, 13.45-15.45 and 16.45-18.45 (Brussels)
• Wednesday, 16 March 2022, 45-17.00 (with FEMM, Brussels)

 

Excerpt from the Draft Agenda

...

15 March 2022, 11.00 – 12.00

11. Harmonised rules on Artificial Intelligence (Artificial Intelligence Act) and amending certain Union Legislative Acts

JURI/9/05999

***I 2021/0106(COD) COM(2021)0206 – C9-0146/2021

 

Rapporteur for the opinion:
	Axel Voss (PPE)
Responsible:
	IMCO, LIBE*	Brando Benifei (S&D) Dragoş Tudorache (Renew)
Opinions:
	ENVI	Susana Solís Pérez (Renew)	PA – PE699.056v01-00 AM – PE704.585v01-00
	ITRE*	Eva Maydell (PPE)	PA – PE719.801v01-00
	TRAN	Josianne Cutajar (S&D)
	CULT*	Marcel Kolaja (Verts/ALE)	PA – PE719.637v01-00
	JURI*

• Consideration of draft opinion

…

20. Presentation of the annual report 2021 and work programme 2022 of the EP Coordinator on Children’s Rights, Mrs Ewa Kopacz Vice-President of the European Parliament

…

Further Meetings

• Monday, 28 March 2022, 13.45-16.15 and 45-18.45 (Brussels)

Dossiers Timetable (17 February 2022)

 

ITRE Committee (EP)

Current Meetings

• Monday, 14 March 2022, 14.45-16.15 (with CONT, ITRE, REGI; Brussels)
• Tuesday, 15 March 2022, 9.00-12.00 (Brussels)

Excerpt from the Draft Agenda

…

5. Presentation by Ms Kadri Simson, Commissioner for Energy, of the REPowerEU Communication
6. Presentation by the Commission of the hydrogen and decarbonised gas market package
7. Exchange of views with the Commission on the latest technological breakthroughs in nuclear fusion

…

Further Meetings (Calendar)

• Monday, 21 March 2022, 13.45-15.45 and 16.45-18.45 (Brussels)
• Tuesday, 22 March 2022, 9.00-12.00, 13.45-15.45 and 16.45-18.45 (Brussels)
• Thursday, 31 March 2022, 10.00-11.30 (Brussels)

Dossiers Timetable (1 March 2022)

 

IMCO Committee (EP)

Current Meetings

• Wednesday, 16 March 2022, 9.45-12.45, 13.45-15.15 and 16.45-18.45 (Brussels)
• Thursday, 17 March 2022, 9.30-12.30 (Brussels)

Excerpt from the Draft Agenda

 

16 March 2022, 9.30 – 11.15

4. Contestable and fair markets in the digital sector (Digital Markets Act)

IMCO/9/04998

***I 2020/0374(COD) COM(2020)0842 – C9-0419/2020

 

Rapporteur:
	Andreas Schwab (PPE)
Responsible:
	IMCO*

• Reporting back to committee on the negotiations (Rule 74(3))

5. Single Market For Digital Services (Digital Services Act) and amending Directive 2000/31/EC

IMCO/9/04992

***I 2020/0361(COD) COM(2020)0825 – C9-0418/2020

 

Rapporteur:
	Christel Schaldemose (S&D)
Responsible:
	IMCO*

• Reporting back to committee on the negotiations (Rule 74(3))

…

8. Presentation of Policy Department study “The impact of influencers on advertising and consumer protection in the Single Market”

…

16 March 2022, 13.45 – 16.15

Public Hearing

10. Dark patterns and how such practices harm consumers and the Digital Single Market

IMCO/9/08305

• Hearing

…

16 March 2022, 16.45 – 18.45

13. Exchange of views with Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice President of the European Commission for a Europe Fit for the Digital Age – as part of the structured dialogue

…

Further Meetings (Calendar)

• Monday, 28 March 2022, 13.45-16.15 and 16.45-18.45 (Brussels)

Dossiers Timetable (March 2022)

 

CULT Committee (EP)

Current Meetings

• Monday, 14 March 2022, 16.15-18.45 (Brussels)
• Tuesday, 15 March 2022, 9.00-12.00, 13.45-15.45 and 16.45-18.45 (Brussels)

Excerpt from the Draft Agenda

 

14 March 2022, 16.15 – 18.45

…

4. E-sport and videogames – exchange of views with the participation of experts preparing a research paper on the topic
5. Exchange of views with the European Audiovisual Observatory

15 March 2022, 9.00 – 12.00

…

10. Harmonised rules on Artificial Intelligence (Artificial Intelligence Act) and amending certain Union Legislative Acts

CULT/9/07983

***I 2021/0106(COD) COM(2021)0206 – C9-0146/2021

 

Rapporteur for the opinion:
	Marcel Kolaja (Verts/ALE)		PA– PE719.637v01-00
Responsible:
	IMCO, LIBE*	Brando Benifei (S&D) Dragoş Tudorache (Renew)

• Consideration of draft opinion

…

Further Meetings (Calendar)

• Monday, 25April 2022 (Brussels)

AIDA Committee (EP) – Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence in the Digital Age

Current Meetings

• None

Further Meetings (Calendar)

• Tuesday, 22 March 2022, 9.00-12.00 (Brussels)

 

INGE (EP) – Special Committee on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in the European Union, including Disinformation

Current Meetings

• Tuesday, 15 March 2022, 9.30-12.00 and 13.45-15.45 (Brussels)

Excerpt from the Draft Agenda

15 March 2022, 9.40 – 12.00

…

4. Chair’s announcements

In association with the Delegation to the EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee (D-RU)

5. Exchange of views on “Beyond election day: cooperation between China and Russia to influence democratic processes in Europe”, with:– Nicolás de Pedro, Senior Fellow at The Institute for Statecraft in London, Member of the Experts Pool on Russia at the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (Hybrid CoE) in Helsinki

   – Ivana Karásková, China Research Fellow and a Project Coordinator, Association for International Affairs (AMO)

   – Konstantinas Andrijauskas, Associate Professor of Asian Studies and International Politics, Institute of International Relations and Political Science, Vilnius University

15 March 2022, 13.45 – 15.45

6. Debriefings after the INGE missions to Washington D.C. on 21-24.2.2022 and to Paris on 14.3.2022
7. Hearing on “Code of Practice 2.0: the way ahead to restore trust?”, with:– Giuseppe Abbamonte, Director for Media Policy (DG CNECT), European Commission

   – Luca Nicotra, Campaign Director, AVAAZ

   – Luboš Kukliš, Chief Executive of the Slovak Media Authority and Chair of the European Platform of Regulatory Authorities (EPRA)

…

Further Meetings (Calendar)

• Monday, 28 March 2022, 16.45-18.45 (Brussels)

Further Scheduled Parliamentary Calendar Dates

• CW 12 / Monday, 21 to Thursday, 24 March: Mini Plenary Sessions Week (Brussels);
• CW 13 / Monday, 28 to Thursday, 31 March: Political Group and Committee Meetings Week (Brussels);
• CW 14 / Monday, 4 to Thursday, 7 April: Plenary Sessions Week (Strasbourg);