View from Brussels #235

Highlights from the Past Weeks

CW 50 / Monday, 12 to Thursday, 15 December: Plenary Session Week (Strasbourg);

CW 51-1 / Monday, 19 December to Friday, 6 January: Green Week / Not in session;

EU COUNCIL – SWEDISH PRESIDENCY PRESENTS WORK PROGRAMME: Security, resilience, prosperity, democratic values and the rule of law – these are the four priorities of the Swedish Presidency. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, leader of the Moderate party, presented his country’s presidency programme in Stockholm on Wednesday. The Scandinavians replaced the Czechs at the turn of the year and have taken over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union for six months.

EU-US PRIVACY SHIELD – COMMISSION PRESENTS ADEQUACY DECISION: As expected, the EU Commission presented the draft for the adequacy decision and thus the successor regulation to the repealed EU-US Privacy Shield before Christmas.

However, this is only a first step on the EU’s side: The data protection authorities of the 27 countries still have to give their feedback on the adequacy agreement. While this is not binding, it is expected that any criticism will be considered before the Commission publishes a final announcement early this year. Members of the European Parliament will also certainly have a (non-binding) look at the agreement before the EU’s national governments adopt the transatlantic pact in early 2023. After that, the national capitals must give their final approval to the agreement (see press release COM).

DIGITAL MARKETS ACT I – IMPLEMENTATION RULES: The deadline for feedback on the EU Commission’s draft implementing rules for the Digital Markets Act (DMA) is still midnight on 9 January.

The draft implementing regulation details the procedural aspects related to the enforcement of the Digital Markets Act, such as the parties’ right to be heard and to inspect files, as well as the elements that must be included in the notification forms.

DIGITAL MARKETS ACT II – ADVISORY COMMITTEE: Member States have completed the appointment of their representatives to the Digital Markets Advisory Committee. It is expected that most of the representatives will come from the national competition authorities, although it is not excluded that some may have been selected by ministries or permanent representations to the EU.

The committee is currently reviewing the draft implementing rules, which will be the subject of the first official meeting next Friday. A second meeting is scheduled for the end of February, when representatives will vote on the revised draft implementing rules. Although the committee has only an advisory role, the Commission may have an interest in responding to indications from Member States in order to create an atmosphere of co-operation with national competition authorities. (see Euractiv)

E-EVIDENCE – FRAGILE AGREEMENT: At a Coreper meeting on 21 December, it became apparent that the political agreement reached in the Council under the Czech Presidency in November is on an extremely weak footing. Many Member States seem to have the impression that the Council gave up too much in the negotiations. Bulgaria, Finland, Hungary, Slovenia and Poland openly reject the agreement for different reasons. Austria, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Romania and Slovakia remained silent and signalled that they might abstain. Belgium, Germany, Ireland and Spain supported the agreement to varying degrees.

The question now is whether the Swedes will seek a formal vote or resume negotiations with the European Parliament, as in the latter case, the Parliament might be tempted to revisit other points of the agreement as well. (see Euractiv)

DIGITAL SERVICES ACT – COMMISSION LAUNCHES CONSULTATION: The EU Commission launched the public consultation on methods and procedures for calculating supervisory fees before Christmas. The deadline is 19 January.

SUSTAINABILITY – RED, EED AND EPBD READY FOR TRILOGUE NEGOTIATIONS: The European Parliament confirmed the amendment of the Renewable Energy Directive, the Energy Efficiency Directive and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive in plenary in mid-December. The Council followed suit a week later and decided on its general direction. This means that the trilogue negotiations can start soon (see Council press release).

CONSUMER PROTECTION – INITIATIVE REPORT ON ONLINE VIDEO GAMES: The Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection has confirmed the draft resolution on consumer protection in online video games.

In it, particular attention was paid to: (i) the introduction of better protection of minors; (ii) ensuring data protection and the protection of vulnerable groups; (iii) the need to support the video games sector (see EP press release).

The resolution is to be discussed in Parliament on 16 January.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE – NEW COMPROMISE PROPOSALS IN THE EP: The EuropeanParliament’s co-rapporteurs circulated a new batch of compromise amendments to the AI law in mid-December on the classification of high-risk AI systems, leaving out general purpose AI for future discussions.

The proposed regulation aims to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) based on its potential for harm. A crucial part of AI legislation is, therefore, the question of which AI use cases should be classified as high-risk, as these have to meet stricter requirements.

Leading MEPs B. Benifei and D. Tudorache have proposed a significant rewording of this part of the AI rulebook in the tenth batch of compromise amendments (see Euractiv).

The next political meeting of the shadow rapporteurs is scheduled for 18 January. Accordingly, a vote in Parliament is not expected before February or March.

ONLINE POLITICAL ADVERTISING – VOTE POSTPONED UNTIL JANUARY: The Internal Market Committee in the EP (IMCO) will vote on the regulation of political advertising later this month. The vote, originally scheduled for December, is now planned for 23-24 January, although disagreement remains within the committee over key points of the dossier (see Euractiv).

INFRASTRUCTURE LEVY I – ANNUAL COMPETITION REPORT 2022: MEP Andrew Schwab (EPP, DE) has tabled an amendment to the opinion of the Internal Market Committee (IMCO) on the Annual Report on Competition Policy 2022 calling for new legislative initiatives targeting free-riding of network infrastructure by OTT platforms.

In Amendment 33 (PDF), Schwab makes the following arguments:

• The telecommunications market remains one of the most critical markets in the EU, as it needs to be resilient for all types of communications. The investments in the telecommunications market were not sufficient for this purpose;
• The outdated regulatory system allows the use of the networks by OTT (over-the-top) platforms as free riders;
• Therefore, the Commission should come forward with a new proposal to update the European Electronic Communications Code and review its competition policy guidelines to consider the idea of consolidation at EU level as an option for European telecoms companies to compete effectively and continue to invest in infrastructure, in particular gigabit networks, for the benefit of the EU single market.

INFRASTRUCTURE LEVY II – INTERNET EXCHANGES WITH OPEN LETTER: The Association of European Internet Exchange Providers (Euro-IX) has written (PDF) to Commissioners M. Vestager and T. Breton expressing its concerns about the“fair share” proposal for large tech companies to contribute to the cost of telecoms infrastructure. Among other things, they fear an increase in costs, a reduction in interconnection density and the unintended creation of new systemic vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure.

BROADBAND – COMMISSION ADOPTS STATE AID RULES: The European Commission has adopted a revised Communication on State aid to broadband networks. These revised Broadband Guidelines set out the rules under which the Commission will assess aid measures notified by Member States to support the roll-out and take-up of broadband networks in the EU. The new rules contribute to the EU’s strategic goals of ensuring gigabit connectivity for all people in Europe and 5G coverage across Europe by the end of this decade, which is crucial for the Union’s digital transformation. The new guidelines will enter into force on the day following their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. This is expected to happen in January 2023 (see press release COM).

NIS2 – PUBLICATION IN THE OFFICIAL GAZETTE: On 27 December, the NIS2 Directive was published in the EU Official Journal. The Directive thus enters into force on 16 January, and Member States have 21 months to implement it.

Relevant Publications, including from the EP Think Tank:

• Plenary round-up – December 2022 (At a glance)
• Outcome of the European Council meeting of 15 December 2022 (Briefing)
• Priority dossiers under the Swedish EU Council Presidency (Briefing)
• Digitalising cross-border judicial cooperation (Briefing)
• Reaching the EU-US Data Privacy Framework: First reactions to Executive Order 14086 (Briefing)
• EU cyber-resilience act (Briefing)
• Strengthening cyber resilience (Briefing)
• Personalised pricing (At A Glance – Study In Focus) (At A Glance)

Outlook for the Current Week

You can find a list of the upcoming dates of the European Parliament here.
The meeting calendar for 2023 is available here (PDF).

You can find an overview of the most important dates of the week of the Council here or the meeting calendar here.
The official calendar as well as the programme of the Swedish Presidency can be found on the corresponding website.

Among the dates are:

Summits and Ministerial Meetings:

• none

Preparatory Bodies:

• Working Party on Tax Questions – Direct Taxation, Monday, 9 January;
• Working Party on Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters (COPEN), Monday, 9 January and Friday, 13 January;
• Working Party on Telecommunications and Information Society (including the work programme of the Commission and the Swedish Presidency), Tuesday, 10 January;
• Working Party on Law Enforcement Group (Police), Tuesday, 10 January;
• Working Party on Intellectual Property, Tuesday, 10 January and Wednesday, 11 January;
• Working Party on Audiovisual Sector and Media (including EMFA), Wednesday, 11 January;
• Working Party on Consumer Protection and Information Group, Wednesday, 11 January;
• Horizontal Working Party on Cyber Issues (including NIS2), Monday, 11 January and Friday, 13 January;
• Working Party on Competitiveness and Growth (Single Market) (including SMEI), Friday, 13 January;
• Working Party on Tax Issues (Indirect Taxation) (including VAT in the Digital Age), Friday, 13 January;
• Coreper I, Wednesday, 11 January;
• Coreper II, Wednesday, 11 January;

Information about the weekly Commission meeting can be found on the website of the Commission in the preview (PDF) or (at short notice) in the current agenda.
The following topics are on the agenda for this week:

• College Seminar

The judicial calendar of the ECJ can be found here.

European Parliament Committees

CW 2 / Monday, 9 to Thursday, 12 January: Political Group and Committee Meeting Week (Brussels);

LIBE Committee (Civil Liberties)

Current Meetings

• Thursday, 12 January 2023, 9.00-13.00 (Brussels)

Extract from the provisional agenda

…

12 January 2023, 12.30 – 13.00

*** Electronic vote ***

8. Authorising Member States to ratify, in the interest of the European Union, the Second Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime on enhanced co-operation and disclosure of electronic evidence

LIBE/9/07837

*** 2021/0383(NLE) 06438/2022 – C9-0146/2022

 

Rapporteur:
	Birgit Sippel (S&D)
Responsible:
	LIBE

• Adoption of draft report

…

12. European Production and Preservation Orders for electronic evidence in criminal matters

LIBE/9/00283

***I 2018/0108(COD) COM(2018)0225 – C8-0155/2018

 

Rapporteur:
	Birgit Sippel (S&D)
Responsible:
	LIBE
Opinions:
	IMCO	Decision: no opinion

• Vote on the provisional agreement resulting from interinstitutional negotiations (to be confirmed)

13. Harmonised rules on the appointment of legal representatives for the purpose of gathering evidence in criminal proceedings

LIBE/9/00281

***I 2018/0107(COD) COM(2018)0226 – C8-0154/2018

 

Rapporteur:
	Birgit Sippel (S&D)
Responsible:
	LIBE
Opinions:
	IMCO	Decision: no opinion

• Vote on the provisional agreement resulting from interinstitutional negotiations (to be confirmed)

…

Further Meetings (calendar)

• Monday, 30 January 2023, 15.00-18.30 (Brussels)
• Tuesday, 31 January 2023, 9.00-12.30 and 14.00-18.00 (Brussels)

JURI Committee (Legal)

Current Meetings

• Monday, 9 January 2023, 15.00-17.30 (Brussels)

Extract from the provisional agenda

…

9 January 2023, 15.15 – 16.45

6. 6. Exchange of views with Didier Reynders, Commissioner for Justice:
   Presentation of Commission’s proposals for:
   – a regulation on jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition of decisions and acceptance of authentic instruments in matters of parenthood and on creation of a European Certificate of Parenthood
   – a directive on adopting non-contractual civil liability rules to artificial intelligence
   – a directive on liability of defective products
   – Exchange of views on a Convention of 2 July 2019 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters (HCCH 2019 Judgments Convention)

…

Further Meetings (calendar)

• 23-24 January 2023 (Brussels)

DossiersTimetable (5 October 2022)

ITRE Committee (Industry)

Current Meetings

• none

Further Meetings (calendar)

• Monday, 23 January 2023, 15.00-18.30 (Brussels)
• Tuesday, 24 January 2023, 9.00-12.30 and 14.30-18.30 (Brussels)

Timetable for dossiers (6 December 2022)

IMCO Committee (Single Market)

Current Meetings

• none

Further Meetings (calendar)

• Monday, 23 January 2023, 15.00-18.30 (Brussels)
• Tuesday, 24 January 2023, 9.00-12.30 and 14.30-18.30 (Brussels)

Dossiers Timetable (November 2022)

CULT Committee (Culture)

Current Meetings

• none

Further Meetings (calendar)

• Monday, 23 January 2023, 15.00-18.30 (Brussels)
• Tuesday, 24 January 2023, 9.00-12.30 and 14.30-18.30 (Brussels)

PEGA Committee (Pegasus Investigation Committee)

Current Meetings

• Monday, 9 January 2023, 15.00-18.30 (Brussels)

Extract from the provisional agenda

…

3. Presentation of the study on“The impact of the use of Pegasus and similar spyware in the EU or targeting EU citizens, on Article 2 TEU values, privacy and data protection and on democratic processes in the Member State” by Prof. Dr Giovanni Sartor
4. Exchange of views with Mr Serge Lasvignes, Chairman of the National Committee for the Control of Intelligence techniques

…

Further Meetings

• Monday, 23 January 2023, 15.00-18.30 (Brussels)

INGE2 Committee (Special Committee on Foreign Interference)

Current Meetings

• Thursday, 12 January 2023, 9.00-11.30 (Brussels)

Extract from the provisional agenda

…

3. Foreign interference in all democratic processes in the European Union, including disinformation

ING2/9/09468

2022/2075(INI)

 

Rapporteur:
	Sandra Kalniete (PPE)		PR – PE736.601v02-00
Responsible:
	ING2

• Consideration of draft report

Deadline for tabling amendments: 31 January 2023, 12.00

* * *

Together with the Panel for the Future of Science and Technology (STOA) of the European Parliament

4. Hearing on the topic “Climate change disinformation – International disinformation impact on the EU’s climate goals” with:– Jon Roozenbeek, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Psychology, Cambridge University- Jennie King, Head of Civic Action and Education / Climate Disinformation Lead, Institute for Strategic Dialogue- John Cook, Climate Change Communication Research Hub, University of Monash

* * *

4. Presentation of the in-depth analysis on“Legal Loopholes and the Risk of Foreign Interference”, presented by Katherine Jones, Associate Fellow, Chatham House; Senior Associate on Governance, Human Rights and Diplomacy at Oxford Information Labs; Associate at the Oxford Human Rights Hub

…

Further Meetings (calendar)

• open

Further Parliamentary Calendar Dates

• CW 3 / Monday, 16 to Thursday, 19 January: Plenary Session Week (Strasbourg);
• CW 4 / Monday, 23 to Thursday, 26 January: Committee and Mini-Plenary Session Week (Brussels);
• CW 5 / Monday, 30 January to Thursday, 2 February: Mini-Plenary Session Week (Brussels);