The Briefing for BT4 Europe
10 May 2023 – Edition 13
Main EU strategic developments
- 9 May: Europe Day Statement by the President of the Europea n Parliament and the German Chancellor The European Union matters.
- 8 May: Swedish Presidency accomplishes a great deal in the areas of business and energy
- 5 May: Statement by President von der Leyen on the end of the COVID 19 pandemic
- 2 May : 30th anniversary of EU single market marked during Swedish Presidency
- 28 April E uropean Parliament Report on ‘ The EU’s international challenges [What Think Tanks are thinking]
Main EU developments relevant to business travel
1. Recovery Monitor developments relevant to the recovery of business travel.
- 5 May: European Commission hosts European Tourism Day.
- 2 May: European Parliament Study on ‘mechanism to resolve legal and administrative obstacles in a cross-border context’.
- 31 March European Commission Transition Pathway for Tourism. European Commission announces 382 pledges made by 179 tourism organisations, and invites further pledges.
- 20 March. European Commission Consultation of Net Zero Industry Act extended to 27 June.
2. Sustainability Monitor developments relevant to the sustainability of business travel.
- 9 May: Future-proof GHG and environmental emissions factors for accounting emissions from transport and logistics operations. Call for tender.
- 3 May: Empowering consumers for the green transition: Council adopts its position.
- 27 April: Urban Mobility Days 2023 taking place from 4-6 October in Seville, Spain. Further information.
- 26 April: European Green Deal: new law agreed to cut aviation emissions by promoting sustainable aviation fuels.
- 26 April: European Commission follow-up to the European Parliament non-legislative resolution on the action plan to boost long-distance and cross-border passenger rail.
- 25 April: Corporate sustainability: firms to tackle impact on human rights and environment.
- 18 April: Fit for 55: Parliament adopts key laws to reach 2030 climate target.
3. Digital transformation Monitor developments relevant to the digital transformation of business travel.
- 5 May: Digital Services Act: Delegated Regulation on independent audits now available for public feedback.
- 28 April: Antitrust: Commission opens investigation into possible anticompetitive practices by Renfe in online rail ticketing.
- 24 April: The European Commission’s Citizens’ Panel proposes 23 recommendations for fair and human-centric virtual worlds in the EU.
- 18 April: Commission calls for massive boost in enabling digital education and providing digital skills.
- 5 April: Commission launches public consultation on the digitalisation of travel documents and facilitation of travel. It will be open until 28 June 2023. Proposal due Q3 2023.
4. Future funding Monitor developments relevant to broadening the financial resources for BT4Europe.
- 27 April: Global Gateway: Commission and EIB announce funds worth €18 billion to boost investments in climate action and sustainable economies
- 20 April: European Commission Info Day on Innovation Fund: 3rd call for small-scale projects. Budget of EUR 100 million, and will run until 19 September 2023. Info day recording here.
5. Upcoming initiatives
- European Commission: Event Synergy Projects in Transport, Energy and Digital Networks, Amsterdam, 11 – 12 May 2023.
- European Parliament conference on the topic ‘Beyond Growth’ – Pathways towards sustainable prosperity in the EU, including new ways of working – 15 to 17 May 2023.
- EU Green Week 2023. EU Green Week will take place between Saturday 3 June and Sunday 11 June.
- The European Commission is expected to adopt a delegated regulation on ‘EU-wide multimodal travel – new specifications for information services’ in Q1 2023. However, the timing will change as a public consultation is still to take place.
- ‘CountEmissionsEU’ will offer a framework for calculating transport and logistics-related door-to door greenhouse gas emissions in a consistent way, regardless of transport mode, sector or country of operation. BT4Europe submitted evidence and met the European Commission to discuss options. The consultation which closed 17 October 2022 and the proposal is anticipated in the second half of 2023.
- A common European mobility data space (non-legislative, 21 June). The 21 June package may be delayed by the European Commission.
- Digitalisation of travel documents and facilitation of travel (legislative, incl. impact assessment, Articles 77(2)(b) and (d) TFEU, Q3 2023). See above re consultation.
- The Multimodal Digital Services initiative. This initiative aims to address challenges for the multimodal digital mobility services (MDMS) to better integrate public transport and rail services and achieve seamless multimodal passenger transport. The Commission is set to adopt a legislative proposal on 21 June. The 21 June package may be delayed by the European Commission.
- The Commission is reviewing the passenger rights regulatory framework, including to ensure its resilience to extensive travel disruptions, and including options for multimodal tickets. The public consultation closed on 7 December and the Commission proposal for a regulation is expected in Q2, 2023.
Notes:
(i) This is the 13th Briefing Report for BT4Europe, it will be updated regularly
(ii) Further information on request.
Glossary of Terms
Trilogue – Negotiations between the institutions on legislative proposals generally take the form of tripartite meetings (‘trilogues’) between Parliament, the Council and the Commission. For a given file, each institution designates its negotiators and defines its negotiating mandate. Trilogues may be organised at any stage of the legislative procedure (first, second or third reading). Any provisional agreement reached in trilogues is informal and has therefore to be approved by the formal procedures applicable within each of the two institutions. In Parliament, the text of the provisional agreement has to be approved by a vote in committee after which it is confirmed in plenary.
The European Committee of the Regions is an EU advisory body composed of locally and regionally elected representatives coming from all 27 Member States. Through the CoR they are able to share their opinion on EU legislation that directly impacts regions and cities. CoR members are elected representatives serving in local or regional authorities. The CoR appoints a rapporteur (one of its members) who consults stakeholders and prepares the opinion. The opinion is then presented to all members in plenary session who vote to amend and adopt it. Finally, the opinion is shared and communicated to all relevant EU institutions.
The acquis communitaire is the body of common rights and obligations that are binding on all EU countries, as EU Members. It is constantly evolving and comprises:
- the content, principles and political objectives of the Treaties;
- legislation adopted in application of the treaties and the case law of the Court of Justice of the EU;
- declarations and resolutions adopted by the EU;
- measures relating to the common foreign and security policy;
- measures relating to justice and home affairs;
- international agreements concluded by the EU and those concluded by the EU countries between themselves in the field of the EU’s activities.
Applicant countries are required to accept the acquis before they can join the EU.
The Digital Services Act will oblige tech companies such as twitter and Facebook to monitor online content more aggressively which will protect internet users. Platforms will have to tell regulators what it is exactly they are doing to tackle fake news or misinformation. Brussels will not dictate how these platforms should police the internet but it will provide more of an oversight and concrete guidelines in the interest of users being safer and getting more accurate information online. Among the compromise amendments was around the issue of targeted advertising with legislators banning this practice against minors and the use of information around sexual preferences and religious beliefs. The legislation is likely to have a so-called ‘Brussels effect’ meaning a ripple effect on governments in other jurisdictions around the world.
The Digital Markets Act comes after a number of highly contested decisions adopted by the Commission against tech companies for abusing their position of dominance. One such case which was appealed to the CJEU is Google (Shopping) v Commission. The DMA contains a prohibition on self-preferencing and obliges companies that are qualified as gatekeepers in the digital market (Google being one of them) to apply ‘non-discriminatory’ conditions in the classification of services and products that they offer. It is interesting to note that the new legislative proposals provide for ex ante control in contrast to the ex post control of traditional competition instruments. This, coupled with the fact that the proposals envisage a prima facie prohibition of self-preferencing for digital gatekeepers without having to address effects specifically will in theory allow for speedier and more effective controls on abuses of competition law in light of modern technology.
The EU Commission is the institution which represents EU’s interests and is known in that respect as the ‘Guardian of the Treaties’. The powers and functions of the Commission are set out in the treaties, in particular under Article 17(1) TEU. The Commission is composed of a College of Commissioners from 27 Member States, who are assigned responsibility for specific policy areas by the President.
More information on the steps towards joining the EU can be found using this link. The conditions for membership are known as the ‘Copenhagen criteria’ and include a functioning market economy, a stable democracy and the rule of law, and the acceptance of all EU legislation, including the euro. For more information about Ukraine’s potential accession please see EU Law Live’s podcast with Ukrainian academic Roman Petrov.
A Directive is a legal instrument which is binding as to the result to be achieved, but the choice of form and methods to achieve this is up to the Member States. An example of this is the Renewable Energy Directive which imposes an obligation on Member States to achieve 32% by 2030. Given the various forms of renewable energies and taking account of specific circumstances of Member States (some will prefer solar others wind depending on geographic location) the Directive leaves it up to Member States to achieve that 32%.
A Regulation, on the other hand, has general application, is binding in its entirety and is directly applicable in all Member States. An example of an EU Regulation is the non-commercial movement of pet animals which sets out identical rules for all Member States on transporting pets around the EU.
EU’s Covid recovery funds, formerly knows as the EU’s NextGenerationEU, is the largest stimulus package ever financed in Europe. A total of 2.018 trillion in grants and loans was announced to help rebuild a post-COVID-19 Europe. The fund hopes to build a greener, more digital and more resilient Europe. The centerpiece is the Recovery and Resilience Facility which required Member States to come up with a plan and submit this to the Commission for approval. More information is available at this link.
The Council of the European Union. The Council is one of three legislative bodies and together with the European Parliament serves to amend and approve or veto the proposals of the European Commission. The Council of the European Union (National level Ministers eg. Ireland’s Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe is President of the Eurogroup) and the European Council (Heads of State) are intergovernmental institutions. The presidency of the Council rotates among the EU member states every 6 months with the presidency chairing meets at every level in the Council, helping to ensure the continuity of the EU’s work in the Council.