News

On 10/03/2020, the European Commission presented a Communication on a New Industrial Strategy for Europe. According to the European Commission, the Strategy should “help Europe's industry lead the twin transitions towards climate neutrality and digital leadership. The Strategy aims to drive Europe's competitiveness and its strategic autonomy at a time of moving geopolitical plates and increasing global competition.” The European Commission intends to evaluate, revise and, if necessary, adjust EU competition rules (since 2021), including merger control and the effectiveness of State aid guidelines, as outlined in the Strategy. In its press release on the Strategy, the Commission states that "as competition brings the best out of our companies, the ongoing review of EU competition rules, including the ongoing evaluation of merger control and fitness check of State aid guidelines, will ensure that our rules are fit for purpose for an economy that is changing fast, increasingly digital and must become greener and more circular."
More information is available here and here.

The European Commission published on 10/03/2020 a Strategy for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in order to support them in their transition to a more sustainable economy and digitalisation. The strategy aims to strengthen the competitiveness of the 25 million SMEs in the EU, which employ around 100 million people. The measures proposed (including, for example, the proposal to remove regulatory and practical barriers to entrepreneurship, access to quick financing, or the proposal for alternative dispute resolution) are intended to facilitate the functioning of SMEs in and outside the Single Market. The strategy has already been welcomed by Europe's largest agricultural organization, Copa and Cogeca.
More information is available here.

The European Commission and the EIP-AGRI Service Centre are organizing a workshop on moving to carbon-neutral agriculture, which should take place in Estonia on 17-18/06/2020. Farmers and other interested parties who have or wish to gain experience in designing or implementing agricultural systems or practices contributing to the reduction of the carbon footprint of European agriculture can apply by 30/03/2020. The theme of the seminar is closely linked to the European Commission's priorities, especially European Green Deal aimed at achieving climate neutrality by 2050.
More information is available here.

On 04/03/2020, the Commission launched a public consultation on a proposal for the revision of the Energy Taxation Directive aiming at aligning the taxation of energy products and electricity and updating the scope and structure of tax rates. The consultation is open until 01/04/2020, available here.

On 04/03/2020, the Commission launched a public consultation on the roadmap of the proposal for a carbon border adjustment mechanism directive to avoid the risk of shifting production to countries with less stringent emissions regulations. The consultation is open until 01/04/2020, available here.

On 04/03/2020, the Commission launched a public consultation on a proposal for a legal act on the Food Safety Regulation to revise the list of substances that are banned or authorized under food control only (hydroxyanthracene derivatives). The consultation is open until 01/04/2020, available here.

On 06/03/2020, the Commission launched a public consultation on a proposal for a Regulation on European climate law in an effort to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, the purpose of which is to enact the objective set in Europe for achieving zero emissions in Green Deal. The consultation is open until 01/05/2020, available here.

On 02/03/2020, the Commission launched a public consultation on evaluation of the EU legal framework on food irradiation to see if current legislation is still relevant to the current situation in the food supply chain. The consultation is open until 25/05/2020, available here.

On 04/03/2020, the Commission launched a public consultation on the European Climate Pact in the framework of the Green Deal. The consultation is open until 27/05/2020, available here.

In a statement on 09/03/2020, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) confirmed that there is currently no evidence that food is a likely source or route of transmission of COVID-19. The claim is supported by experience from previous outbreaks of related coronaviruses, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), for whom transmission through food has also not been reported. For this reason, EFSA is not currently actively involved in the study of the spread of coronavirus COVID-19. However, the Office continues to monitor the situation from sources from other scientific workplaces.
More information is available here.