Highlights from the Past Weeks
CW 28 / Monday, 10 July to Thursday, 13 July: Plenary Session Week (Strasbourg);
TADPF – COMMISSION SIGNS DECISION ON DATA TRANSFER: The European Commission last week adopted its new adequacy decision for the EU-US data protection framework, creating a new legal framework for transatlantic data flows after the two previous decisions were challenged before the ECJ. (Video of the press conference, press release COM)
Probably the most important change to the first draft decision concerns a redress mechanism that allows an EU resident to lodge a complaint with their national data protection authority, which is then processed through the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) with their US counterparts.
Meanwhile, Austrian activist Max Schrems said that the latest version of the adequacy decision “will end up back at the Court of Justice early next year”, which could then “even suspend the new agreement while it examines its content”. (See Euractiv)
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE – PROGRESS IN NEGOTIATIONS IN THE TRILOGUE: According to the 4-column document of 10 July (PDF), progress has already been made in the technical work on the AI Act regulation on obligations related to high-risk systems, the notification procedure and the issue of standards. Among other things, the document requires importers to keep a copy of the certificate issued by the notified body for ten years, as requested by the Council. (See Contexte, Paywall, FR and Euractiv)
Kai Zenner (from MEP Voss’ office) has recently shared a list of dates and contents of the negotiations (see LinkedIn). Accordingly, a total of three political and 16+4 technical trilogue meetings are on the agenda until the end of October.
At their meeting on 18 July, negotiators were to address the issue of the classification of high-risk systems (Article 6) and the list of high-risk areas (Annex III), according to the draft agenda (PDF) published by Contexte(paywall, FR).
DATA ACT – FIRST CONSOLIDATED VERSION OF THE COMPROMISE: Now that EU lawmakers have reached a political agreement on the EU Data Protection Act, both the Parliament and the EU Council must clear the final hurdles.
The deputy permanent representatives of the EU countries confirmed the text on Friday. In Parliament, the leading industry committee will deal with the dossier on Wednesday and the plenary session of the Parliament will possibly approve the agreement in October.
In the new definition of “functional equivalence”, the word “maintenance” (of a certain level of functioning) has been replaced by “restoration” (of that level) based on a client’s data and digital assets. (See consolidated version of 7 July – PDF; also Contexte, paywall, FR)
VIRTUAL WORLDS – EU COMMISSION PRESENTS STRATEGY: The European Commission last week adopted a new strategy on Web 4.0 and virtual worlds to steer the next technological shift and ensure an open, safe, trustworthy, fair and inclusive digital environment for EU citizens, businesses and public administrations.
Virtual worlds will impact how people live together, bringing opportunities and risks that need to be addressed. The new strategy is aiming for a Web 4.0 and virtual worlds that reflect EU values and principles, where people’s rights are fully upheld and where European businesses can thrive. (See press release COM)
CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE I – TALKS IN PARLIAMENT AND COUNCIL STALL: The European Parliament’s negotiators have only one last week to make progress on the text before the summer break and perhaps find compromises for the first articles.
Many points are still open with regard to the obligation of platforms to assess and mitigate risks (Articles 3 to 6). As for the discussions on the disclosure orders (Articles 7-11), they are only at the beginning. The details of the final compromise on digital identity could also influence the debates on age verification.
On the Council side, the compromise proposal (PDF) prepared by the Spanish Presidency was subjected to a first examination by the experts of the Law Enforcement Working Group on 5 July, which will continue on 26 July at its last meeting before the summer break. However, most states have not yet formally commented on this draft. The Council of the EU still plans to adopt a general approach on 28 September. (See Contexte, paywall, FR)
CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE II – COMMISSIONER REACTS TO ACADEMICS: Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson on Monday criticised two IT security academics for focusing on “technical hypotheticals” and spreading false claims about the scanning of content for child sexual abuse.
In a blog post, the commissioner contrasted an article by co-founder of a survivors’ movement, Bob Shilling, with one by professors Carmela Troncoso and Bart Preneel. Johansson said companies already scan online chats, emails and messages for child sexual abuse material, extortion and grooming. The proposal, she added, does not prescribe specific technologies and will legally and technically only apply to child abuse. (See Politico Pro, paywall)
CHILD PROTECTION – CODE OF CONDUCT FOR AGE-APPROPRIATE DESIGN: Last week, the special group “Code of Conduct for Age-Friendly Design” held its first meeting. One of the Commission’s key actions under the BIK+ Strategy is to support the implementation of legislation through the development of a comprehensive Code of Practice on Age-Friendly Design. The Code of Conduct is intended to play a central role in shaping the way the industry deals with its youngest sector.
The Special Group is composed of representatives from industry (including through trade associations), academia and civil society and consists of 21 members selected following a call for expressions of interest. On behalf of the Commission, DG Connect will chair the Special Group and provide secretariat services through the Better Internet for Kids+ platform contractor. The joint efforts of the group are intended to create a balanced and comprehensive framework that promotes responsible behaviour in the digital domain by all parties concerned with children. (See press release COM)
INFRASTRUCTURE I – COUNCIL WANTS GIA WITH GUIDELINE CHARACTER: The Gigabit Infrastructure Act (GIA) aims to accelerate the rollout of high-capacity networks in the EU, in particular 5G and fibre. Last week, the Telecommunications Working Group discussed the first compromise text presented by the Spanish Presidency earlier this month.
While the EU countries’ reservations about regulation seem to be fading thanks to the “minimum harmonisation” provisions, the debates mainly revolve around the “tacit consent” principle.
The Spanish Presidency gave the telecommunications industry representatives until 8 September to submit their comments. A second Presidency compromise text is expected by mid-September and a third by the end of October in order to reach a common position before the end of the mandate in December. (See Euractiv)
Meanwhile in Parliament, the amendments (63-262, 263-459 – PDF) were published in the Industry Committee. The vote on the report is scheduled for 19 September.
INFRASTRUCTURE II – OUTCOME OF CONSULTATION AND WIK STUDY: The European Commission published the results of a study last week. The aim was to identify the investment needs to achieve the Digital Decade goals for digital infrastructure.
According to the report, there is an estimated shortfall of €114 billion for fibre-to-the-home (FTTP) networks, €33.5 billion for full 5G and a further €26 billion to €79 billion depending on the type of deployment. As a result, the total investment gap is estimated to be at least €174 billion. (See COM press release)
Euractiv, meanwhile, reports indications that the first results of the consultation on sender fees will be officially published next week. It turns out that the picture is rather blurred for cloud services, as it could be difficult to determine who is generating the traffic. The need to incentivise more efficient data processing, including new technologies that could help reduce environmental impacts, was widely recognised. However, some contributions highlighted that ISPs have so far managed the increase in traffic without an increase in energy consumption.
SUSTAINABILITY – PARLIAMENT ADOPTS ENERGY EFFICIENCY DIRECTIVE: In a plenary session on 11 July, the European Parliament adopted the preliminary agreement on the revision of the Energy Efficiency Directive as a first reading position with 471 votes in favour, 147 against and 17 abstentions. (SeeEP press release)
In the Council, the final confirmation is on the agenda(A items – PDF) of the Ministers of Agriculture for 25 July.
CHIPS ACT – PARLIAMENT CONFIRMS LAW IN PLENARY: Parliament on Tuesday approved plans to secure chip supplies in the EU by boosting manufacturing and innovation and introducing emergency measures against shortages.
The new law, already agreed by Parliament and Council, aims to create a favourable environment for chip investments in Europe by speeding up authorisation procedures and recognising their critical importance through a so-called “status of highest possible national importance”. Small and medium-sized enterprises will also benefit from increased support, especially in the area of chip design to foster innovation. (See EP press release)
In the Council, the final confirmation is on the agenda(A items – PDF) of the Ministers of Agriculture for 25 July.
DIGITAL SERVICES ACT – AMAZON ALSO OBJECTS TO VLOP CLASSIFICATION: After Zalando, Amazon is now also objecting to the classification as a very large internet platform (VLOP) by the EU Commission. If other large retailers did not also fall under the associated tighter regulation, this would be unfair treatment, the online retailer said. (See Euractiv)
TAXES – PROGRESS ON PILLAR 1 OF THE OECD AGREEMENT: Last Wednesday, 138 countries agreed on an “outcome statement” that said there has been “significant progress” in agreeing on how Pillar 1 of the October 2021 OECD tax treaty will be implemented.
Pillar 1 should make it possible to shift part of the income tax paid by large multinational companies from the country where the company is based to the country where the income is generated. However, not all details have been clarified yet. (See OECD press release)
FRANCE – PRESS PUBLISHERS SUE TWITTER: Le Figaro, Les Échos, Le Parisien, Le Monde, Télérama, Courrier international, Le HuffPost, Malesherbes Publications and L’Obs have applied to the President of the Paris Court for an injunction against Twitter and its French subsidiary. They accuse the social network of “never being willing to negotiate despite months of efforts and unsuccessful reminders”. They demand “the transmission of figures and statistics that will make it possible to determine precisely the amount of remuneration to which they are entitled”. (SeeContexte, paywall, FR)
Relevant publications, including from the EP Think Tank:
- Plenary round-up – July 2023 (At a Glance)
- Virtual worlds (metaverses) (At a Glance)
- Draft bill on the Digital Services Act (Germany) via Netzpolitik, DE
Selected consultations
- Draft BEREC Report on practices and challenges of the phasing out of 2G and 3G – Feedback on the report: 13 June to 15 August 2023
- Cyber Solidarity Act – feedback on the act: 20 April 2023 until 20 July 2023 (extended)
- Evaluation of the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) and the European Cybersecurity Certification Framework – Call for Evidence: 14 July to 16 September 2023
- Child Protection – Integrated Systems – Call for Evidence: 14 July to 20 October 2023
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) and for 2024 here.
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 and the priorities of the new Spanish Presidency can be found on the dedicated website. A first draft of the 2024 Belgian Presidency calendar (PDF) has been published by Politico.
Council appointments include:
Summits and Ministerial Meetings:
- Informal Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Fisheries, Monday, 17 and Tuesday, 18 July – Programme;
- Informal Meeting of Health Ministers, Thursday, 20 and Friday, 21 July – Programme;
- Foreign Affairs Council, Thursday, 20 July – Agenda, A items;
- Informal Ministerial Meeting on Competitiveness (Consumer Protection, Internal Market and Industry), Monday, 24 and Tuesday, 25 July – Programme;
- Agriculture and Fisheries Council (incl. Chips Act, EED), Tuesday, 25 July – Agenda, A items;
- Informal Meeting of Health Ministers, Thursday, 27 and Friday, 28 July;
- Informal Ministerial Meeting on Competitiveness (Research), Thursday, 27 and Friday, 28 July – Programme;
Preparatory Bodies:
- Working Party on Tax Issues (Indirect Taxation) (including VAT in the Digital Age), Wednesday, 19 and Thursday, 20 July (Agenda);
- Horizontal Working Party on Cyber Issues, Wednesday, 19 July;
- Working Party on Intellectual Property (Copyright), Monday, 19 July (Agenda);
- Horizontal Working Party on Enhancing Resilience and Countering Hybrid Threats, Thursday, 20 July;
- Working Party on Telecommunications and Information Society (including AI, e-IDAS), Thursday, 20 July (Agenda);
- Working Party on Information Sharing and Data Protection (DAPIX) (incl. GDPR, TADPF), Monday, 27 July (Agenda);
- Working Party on Cooperation in Criminal Matters (COPEN), Monday, 24 July;
- Working Party on Law Enforcement (Police) (including CSAM), Wednesday, 26 July (Agenda);
- Coreper I (including CRA, AI, Chips Act, EED), Wednesday, 19 July (Agenda) and Wednesday, 26 July;
- Coreper II, Monday, 17 July and Wednesday, 19 July (Agenda) and Wednesday, 26 July;
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 next week:
- College seminar – preparation of the State of the European Union
The judicial calendar of the ECJ can be found here. Due to the summer break, there will be no meetings between 16 July and 31 August.
European Parliament Committees
CW 29 / Monday, 17 July to Thursday, 20 July: Committee Meeting Week (Brussels);
CW 30 / Monday, 24 July to Thursday, 28 July: Green Week / Not in session;
LIBE Committee (Civil Liberties)
Current Meetings
- Monday, 17 July, 14.30-18.00 (Brussels)
- Tuesday, 18 July 9.00-12.30 and 14.30-18.00 (Brussels)
Extract from the provisional agenda
…
18 July 2023, 9.00 – 9.20
*** Electronic vote ***
- Establishing a common framework for media services in the internal market (European Media Freedom Act) and amending Directive 2010/13/EU
LIBE/9/10143
***I 2022/0277(COD) COM(2022)0457 – C9-0309/2022
| Rapporteur for the opinion: | |||
| Ramona Strugariu (Renew) | PA – PE746.757v01-00 AM – PE748.953v01-00 AM – PE748.949v01-00 AM – PE748.952v01-00 |
||
| Responsible: | |||
| CULT* | Sabine Verheyen (PPE) | PR – PE746.655v02-00 AM – PE747.019v01-00 AM – PE747.025v01-00 AM – PE747.023v01-00 AM – PE747.024v01-00 AM – PE747.022v01-00 |
|
- Adoption of draft opinion
…
*** End of electronic vote ***
Further Meetings (calendar)
- Monday, 4 September, 14.30-18.00 (Brussels)
JURI Committee (Legal)
Current Meetings
- Wednesday, 19 July, 10.00-12.30 (Brussels)
Extract from the provisional agenda
…
- Policy implications of the development of virtual worlds – civil, company, commercial and intellectual property law issues
JURI/9/11996
| Co-rapporteurs: | |||
| Axel Voss (PPE) Ibán GarcĂa Del Blanco (S&D) |
|||
| Responsible: | |||
| JURI | |||
- Exchange of views
…
Further Meetings (calendar)
- Thursday, 7 September (Brussels)
Dossiers timetable (12 June 2023)
ITRE Committee (Industry)
Current Meetings
- Wednesday, 19 July, 9.00-12.30 and 14.30-18.30 (Brussels)
Extract from the provisional agenda
19 July 2023, 9.00 – 12.30
…
- Presentation by the Commission of the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2019/881 as regards managed security services
…
- Laying down measures for a high common level of cybersecurity at the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union
ITRE/9/08708
***I 2022/0085(COD) COM(2022)0122 – C9-0122/2022
| Rapporteur: | |||
| Henna Virkkunen (PPE) | |||
| Responsible: | |||
| ITRE* | |||
- Reporting back to committee on the negotiations (Rule 74(3))
…
*** Electronic vote ***
*** Votes at approximately 10.00 in physical presence only ***
- Harmonised rules on fair access to and use of data (Data Act)
ITRE/9/08515
***I 2022/0047(COD) COM(2022)0068 – C9-0051/2022
| Rapporteur: | |||
| Pilar del Castillo Vera (PPE) | AM – PE738.549v01-00 AM – PE738.511v01-00 AM – PE738.548v01-00 AM – PE738.509v01-00 |
||
| Responsible: | |||
| ITRE* | |||
| Opinions: | |||
| IMCO* | Adam Bielan (ECR) | AD – PE736.701v02-00 AM – PE738.591v02-00 AM – PE738.594v01-00 AM – PE738.592v02-00 |
|
| JURI* | Ibán GarcĂa Del Blanco (S&D) | AD – PE736.696v02-00 AM – PE738.512v01-00 |
|
| LIBE* | Sergey Lagodinsky (Verts/ALE) | AD – PE737.389v02-00 AM – PE738.725v01-00 AM – PE738.644v01-00 |
|
- Vote on the provisional agreement resulting from interinstitutional negotiations
…
- Horizontal cybersecurity requirements for products with digital elements and amending Regulation (EU) 2019/1020
ITRE/9/10122
***I 2022/0272(COD) COM(2022)0454 – C9-0308/2022
| Rapporteur: | |||
| Nicola Danti (Renew) | PR – PE745.538v01-00 AM – PE746.921v01-00 AM – PE746.920v01-00 |
||
| Responsible: | |||
| ITRE* | |||
| Opinions: | |||
| IMCO* | Morten Løkkegaard (Renew) | AD – PE742.490v02-00 AM – PE746.662v01-00 |
|
| LIBE* | Decision: no opinion | ||
- Adoption of draft report
– Vote on the decision to enter into interinstitutional negotiations
…
*** End of electronic vote ***
…
Further Meetings (calendar)
- Thursday, 7 September (Brussels)
Dossiers timetable (PDF) (11 July 2023)
IMCO Committee (Single Market)
Current Meetings:
- Monday, 17 July (Brussels)
- Tuesday, 18 July (Brussels)
Extract from the provisional agenda
…
18 July 2023, 9.00 – 9.30
- Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on data collection and sharing relating to short-term accommodation rental services and amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1724
IMCO/9/10596
***I 2022/0358(COD) COM(2022)0571 – C9-0371/2022
| Rapporteur: | |||
| Kim Van Sparrentak (Verts/ALE) | PR – PE746.732v01-00 AM – PE749.042v01-00 |
||
| Responsible: | |||
| IMCO* | |||
| Opinions: | |||
| TRAN | Josianne Cutajar (S&D) | PA – PE746.981v01-00 AM – PE749.212v01-00 |
|
- Consideration of compromise amendments
…
18 July 2023, 14.30 – 16.30
- EU Digital single market – are you in? Opportunities for EU candidate countries
* Exchange of views
…
Further Meetings (calendar)
- open
Dossiers timetable (June 2023)
CULT Committee (Culture)
Current Meetings
- Monday, 17 July (Brussels)
- Tuesday, 18 July (Brussels)
Extract from the provisional agenda
17 July 2023, 15.00 – 17.30
…
- Exchange of views with the Commission on the 2023 Annual Work Programmes (Creative Europe; European Solidarity Corps and Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme)
* * *
18 July 2023, 9.30 – 12.30
*** Electronic vote ***
…
- Implementation of the 2018 Geo-blocking Regulation in the digital single market
CULT/9/11287
| Rapporteur for the opinion: | |||
| Sabine Verheyen (PPE) | PA – PE746.896v01-00 AM – PE749.201v01-00 |
||
| Responsible: | |||
| IMCO* | Beata Mazurek (ECR) | PR – PE749.206v01-00 | |
- Adoption of draft opinion
- Virtual worlds – opportunities, risks and policy implications for the single market
CULT/9/10919
| Rapporteur for the opinion: | |||
| Laurence Farreng (Renew) | PA – PE746.918v01-00 AM – PE749.262v01-00 |
||
| Responsible: | |||
| IMCO | Pablo Arias EcheverrĂa (PPE) | ||
- Adoption of draft opinion
…
*** End of electronic vote ***
- Cultural diversity and the conditions for authors in the European music streaming market
CULT/9/11751
| Rapporteur: | |||
| Ibán GarcĂa Del Blanco (S&D) | PR – PE750.068v01-00 | ||
| Responsible: | |||
| CULT | |||
- Consideration of draft report
- Structured dialogue with Margaritis Schinas, Vice-President of the European Commission
…
Further Meetings (calendar)
- Thursday, 7 September 2023 (Brussels)
Further Parliamentary Calendar Dates
- CW 31-33 / Monday, 31 July to Sunday, 20 August: Parliamentary recess;
- CW 34 / Monday, 21 August to Friday, 25 August: Green Week / Not in session;
- CW 35 / Monday, 28 August to Thursday, 31 August: Committee Meeting Week (Brussels);
