Le très haut débit s’étend en Bretagne grâce aux fonds européens

74,5 millions d’euros du Fonds européen de développement régional (FEDER) sont investis dans le déploiement du très haut débit dans la région française de Bretagne. Cet investissement de l’UE complètera les investissements du secteur privé et contribuera ainsi à faire passer la couverture très haut débit de la région de 6,2% de la population en 2013 à 68,4% en 2023, un chiffre qui n’aurait atteint que 39,9% sans l’intervention des fonds européens. La Commissaire à la politique régionale Corina Crețu a commenté: “Ce projet de la politique de Cohésion accompagne la stratégie de développement de la Bretagne, en créant de nouvelles opportunités là où la région excelle, comme les sciences et l’économie maritimes ou l’agroalimentaire. Le très haut débit va permettre aux entreprises locales d’accéder à de nouveaux marchés, voire à rayonner à l’international. Par ailleurs, le déploiement du très haut débit permettra d’avoir des services publics plus accessibles pour les populations en zones rurales.” Grâce à ce projet soutenu par le FEDER, de nouveaux services et applications numériques vont pouvoir se développer dans des domaines tels que l’e-santé, les formations en ligne, le travail à distance ou les démarches administratives en ligne. Le projet devrait être achevé à la fin de 2020. (For more information: Johannes Bahrke – Tel.: +32 229 58615; Andreana Stankova – Tel.: +32 229 57857)

Commission welcomes European Parliament’s vote on the strengthening of the Structural Reform Support Programme 

The European Commission welcomes today’s vote by the European Parliament on increasing the budget of the Structural Reform Support Programme by €80 million. Today’s vote will enable the EU to respond to the high demand from Member States and increase its support for reforms already next year. It will also allow the Commission to provide targeted technical support to EU Member States which wish to adopt the euro. Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice-President for the Euro and Social Dialogue, also in charge of Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union, said: “Structural reforms are crucial to modernise our economies, encourage investment, generate jobs and raise living standards. Today’s vote on the strengthening of the Structural Reform Support Programme will enable us to increase the support we provide to Member States to prepare, design and implement growth-enhancing reforms.” The proposal to strengthen the Structural Reform Support Programme is part of European Commission’s package of proposals of 6 December 2017 to deepen Europe’s Economic and Monetary Union. The Structural Reform Support Programme (SRSP) entered into force in May 2017 and currently has a budget of €142.8 million for the years 2017-2020. Today’s agreement will bring the total budget of the Programme to €222.8 million for 2017-2020. The support is provided by the Structural Reform Support Service created in 2015. (For more information: Christian Spahr – Tel.: +32 229 50055; Annikky Lamp – Tel.: +32 229 56151)

16^th European country to join eHealth cooperation for personalised healthcare

Austria became today the 16^th country to sign the European Declaration on linking genomic databases across borders that will improve understanding and prevention of diseases, allowing for more personalised treatments, in particular for rare diseases, cancer and brain related diseases. The signature took place this morning in Vienna, Austria at the margins of the informal meeting of EU health ministers. The Declaration is an agreement of cooperation between the countries that want to provide secure and authorised cross-border access to national and regional banks of genetic and other health data, in accordance with all EU data protection rules. Enhanced cooperation between Member States will help to overcome lack of interoperability and fragmentation of initiatives across the EU, while guaranteeing highest standards for personal data protection. This eHealth initiative will also keep the EU at the forefront of personalised medicine globally, fostering scientific output and industrial competitiveness. The Declaration was originally launched on 10 April 2018 during the Digital Day and has been since then signed by Greece, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK. Read more about European digital health initiative here and in our recent press release. (For more information: Nathalie Vandystadt – Tel.: +32 229 67083; Inga Höglund Tel.: +32 229 50698)

Mergers: Commission clears the acquisition of joint control of Bioepis by Biogen and Samsung BioLogics

The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of joint control by Biogen of the USA over Bioepis, currently solely controlled by Samsung BioLogics, both of South Korea. Biogen, Bioepis and Samsung BioLogics are all active in the development and manufacturing of pharmaceutical products worldwide. The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns because there are no overlaps between the companies’ activities in the European Economic Area. The transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure. More information is available on the Commission’s competition website, in the public case register under the case number M.8956. (For more information: Ricardo Cardoso – Tel.: +32 229 80100; Maria Tsoni – Tel.: +32 229 90526)

Mergers: Commission clears acquisition of Vicentini by Eurocar

The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of Vicentini S.p.A. of Italy by Eurocar Italia S.r.l. (“Eurocar”) of Germany. Eurocar is ultimately controlled by Volkswagen AG (“VW”) of Germany. Both Vicentini and Eurocar are active in the retail distribution of new and used passenger cars and light commercial vehicles of VW brands in Italy, related repair activities and the sale of original equipment manufacturer spare parts. The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns given the limited overlaps between the companies’ activities in Italian provinces and the lack of incentive for the combined entity to shut out downstream competitors from the market. The case was examined under the normal merger review procedure. More information is available on the Commission’s competition website, in the public case register under the case number M.9070. (For more information: Ricardo Cardoso – Tel.: +32 229 80100; Maria Tsoni – Tel.: +32 229 90526)

Eurostat: L’emploi en hausse de 0,4% tant dans la zone euro que dans l’UE28, respectivement +1,5% et 1,4% par rapport au deuxième trimestre 2017 (Deuxième trimestre 2018 par rapport au premier trimestre 2018)

Le nombre de personnes ayant un emploi a augmenté de 0,4% dans la zone euro (ZE19) ainsi que dans l’UE28 au deuxième trimestre 2018 par rapport au trimestre précédent, selon les estimations basées sur les comptes nationaux et publiées par Eurostat, l’office statistique de l’Union européenne. Au premier trimestre 2018, l’emploi avait progressé de 0,4% dans la zone euro et de 0,5% dans l’UE28. Ces chiffres sont corrigés des variations saisonnières. Un communiqué de presse Eurostat est à votre disposition en ligne. (Pour plus d’informations: Christian Wigand – Tél.: +32 229 62253; Sara Soumillion – Tél.: + 32 229 67094)

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Commissioner Arias Cañete at Global Climate Action Summit in California

Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, Miguel Arias Cañete will attend the Global Climate Action Summit (GCAS) taking place in San Francisco, California, on 12-14 September. The summit brings together representatives of national, regional and local governments and of cities, business, industry, academia and civil society – intending to take global climate ambition “to the next level”. Organised by the Governor of California, Jerry Brown, the summit will highlight the central role of non-state actors in climate action. The participants will seek to raise the commitment and ambition of all parties to the Paris Agreement, ahead of the UN climate summit (COP24) in Katowice in December. Commissioner Arias Cañete will address the opening session on 13 September, stressing the need to see climate action as a central element for the modernisation of the European economy and industry. Mr Arias Cañete will also participate in a number of affiliated events and hold meetings with ministerial counterparts and stakeholder groups. The European Commission will co-host two events in San Francisco, on carbon markets (11 September) and clean mobility and decarbonising road transport (12 September). Read more about Commission’s actions on clean energy transitionhereand clean mobility here. Further information about the GCAS here. (For more information: Anna-Kaisa Itkonen – Tel.: +32 229 56186; Lynn Rietdorf – Tel.: +32 229 74959)

Commissioner Navracsics in Verona to promote cultural heritage and in Ljubljana for a Citizens’ Dialogue

This Thursday, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Tibor Navracsics, will attend events in Verona, Italy and Ljubljana, Slovenia. In Verona, he will speak at the launch of the 16^th edition of the Tocatì Festival – the International Festival of Games in the Streets. The festival, which coincides with theEuropean Year of Cultural Heritage, helps to promote traditional games and sports. Later in the day, the Commissioner will hold a Citizens’ Dialogue in Ljubljana, which is part of a full day conferenceentirely devoted to youth, youth work, youth employment and the active participation of youth in society. The event will bring together several NGOs involved in youth work from Slovenia who have led projects, backed by EU funds, to help young people gain skills, enter the labour market, open their own business and to make their voice heard. Live web streaming is available with interpretation from Slovenian into English. More details on the Dialogue, including registration, are available online. (For more information: Nathalie Vandystadt – Tel.: +32 229 67083 and Joseph Waldstein – Tel.: +32 229 56184).

Commissioner Crețu discusses the present and future of cohesion policy on an official visit to Romania

Starting on Wednesday 12 September, Commissioner Crețu will travel across the western part of Romania and meet with local authorities to discuss the present and future of cohesion policy in the country. Upon her arrival on 12 September, she will meet with Ms Astrid-Cora Fodor, major of Sibiu, Ms Daniela Câmpean, President of the County Council, and Ms. Adela Maria Muntean, Prefect of the Sibiu County. On 13 September, Ms Crețu will participate in and deliver a speech at the High-level Conference “Romanian coal regions in energy transition” in the city of Petroșani. On 14 September, together with Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Mr Phil Hogan, Ms Crețu will participate in a Citizens’ Dialogue on “A modern budget for a stronger Union” in Cluj-Napoca. The two Commissioners will be joined by Mr Petre Daea, Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development of Romania. On 15 September, the Commissioner will travel to Turda and Alba-Iulia. She will meet with the mayors of the two cities, Mr Cristian Octavian Matei and Mr Mircea Hava, respectively, as well as with Mr Dănuț-Emil Halalai, Prefect of Alba County, Mr Ion Dumitrel, President of Alba County Council and Mr Nicolaie Moldovan, City Manager of Alba Iulia. The visit will continue on 17 and 18 September, when the Commissioner will participate in high-level events in the capital Bucharest, including the Three Seas Initiative Business Summit. (For more information: Johannes Bahrke – Tel.: +32 229 58615, Andreana Stankova – Tel.: +32 229 57857)

Le Commissaire Phil Hogan présente le certificat d’Indication Géographique Protégée de la “choucroute d’Alsace” à Strasbourg

Le Commissaire à l’agriculture Phil Hogan remettra aujourd’hui officiellement le certificat d’Indication Géographique Protégée (IGP) de la «choucroute d’Alsace» lors d’une cérémonie organisée à la Maison de la Région du Grand Est à Strasbourg. Ce terme a été ajouté au registre européen des IGP cet été. Les feuilles de choux sont préparées en Alsace pour devenir de la «Choucroute d’Alsace» pouvant être servie crue ou cuite. La choucroute est associée à l’Alsace depuis longtemps comme en témoigne par exemple l’étymologie et l’origine du terme choucroute en français, proche du terme alsacien Sürkrüt (sür: qui signifie aigre et krüt: chou). Ce légume ainsi cuisiné est ensuite consommé comme une garniture à de nombreux plats dont la fameuse choucroute garnie, accompagnée de saucisses, pommes de terre et lard. La France compte actuellement 249 termes de produits régionaux et recettes traditionnelles protégées – sans compter les nombreux vins et spiritueux -par un des trois labels de protection européen: Appellation d’Origine Protégée (AOP), Indication Géographique Protégée, et Spécialités Traditionnelles Garanties (STG). (Pour plus d’information: Daniel Rosario – Tel: +32 2 29 56185; Clémence Robin – Tel: +32 229 52 509)

Upcoming events of the European Commission (ex-Top News)

La Commission propose près de 4,7 millions d’euros du Fonds d’ajustement à la mondialisation afin d’aider des travailleurs licenciés dans le secteur de la confection au Portugal

La Commission européenne a proposé aujourd’hui de fournir au Portugal près de 4,7 millions d’euros du Fonds européen d’ajustement à la mondialisation (FEM) pour aider les anciens travailleurs du secteur de l’habillement et plusieurs centaines de jeunes sans emploi, éducation ou formation (NEET) à trouver un nouvel emploi. Marianne Thyssen, commissaire européenne chargée de l’emploi, des affaires sociales, des compétences et de la mobilité du travail, a déclaré: “Les travailleurs portugais ont été durement touchés par la concurrence mondiale. Les 4,7 millions d’euros du Fonds européen d’ajustement à la mondialisation aideront 730 travailleurs ayant perdu leurs emplois, ainsi qu’un nombre équivalent de jeunes sans emploi, éducation ou formation, afin d’adapter leurs compétences et de faciliter leur transition vers de nouvelles opportunités.” Le Portugal a demandé le soutien du FEM suite au licenciement de 1 161 travailleurs de deux entreprises fabricant des vêtements dans les régions de Norte, Centro et Lisboa. Les mesures cofinancées par le FEM pourraient fournir aux 730 travailleurs, confrontés aux plus grandes difficultés, ainsi qu’à 730 jeunes sans emploi, éducation ou formation (NEET) de moins de 30 ans, différentes possibilités visant à améliorer leurs compétences, y compris la formation professionnelle, ainsi qu’une aide à ceux qui veulent créer une entreprise. Ces mesures seraient complétées par des indemnités, telles que la contribution aux frais de déplacement et de formation. Le coût total estimé de l’ensemble des mesures s’élève à environ 7,7 millions d’euros, dont 4,7 millions d’euros proviendraient du Fonds d’ajustement à la mondialisation. La proposition est maintenant soumise au Parlement européen et au Conseil des ministres de l’Union européenne pour approbation.(Pour plus d’informations:Christian Wigand– Tél.: +32 229 62253; Sara Soumillion – Tél.: + 32 229 67094)

EU grants further €7.5 million to help 50 scientists bring their research findings to market

The EU keeps acting to turn Europe’s world-class research into success. Today, the European Research Council (ERC) is awarding 50 ERC grant holders with additional funding of up to €150,000 each to test the commercial or societal potential of their original projects. Commissioner Carlos Moedas said: “The grants awarded today show how we can transform top science into practical innovations that will benefit everyone. Investing in research and innovation means we’re investing in EU’s future. That’s why we’ve proposed to switch our ambition to even higher gear in creating Horizon Europe, EU’s next research and innovation programme, boosting its funding up to an unprecedented EUR 100 billion and completing the European Innovation Council.” The ERC ‘Proof of Concept’ grants awarded today help researchers explore new business opportunities, prepare patent applications or verify the practical viability of scientific concepts. The grants cover research on a variety of topics. Rewarded projects include for instance, one uncovering how social media algorithms actually work, developing organoid tests for late stage cancer, and creating low-cost greener batteries. The grants, awarded three times a year, are part of the EU’s research and innovation programme, Horizon 2020. A full press release and project examples are available on theERC website. (For more information:Lucía Caudet– Tel.: +32 229 56182; Mirna Talko – Tel.: + 32 229 87278)                          

Mergers: Commission clears acquisition of joint control over AKOFS by Akastor, Mitsui and MOL

The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition of joint control over AKOFS Offshore 1 AS (“AKOFS”) of Norway by Akastor AS (“Akastor”), also of Norway, Mitsui & Co. Ltd. (“Mitsui”) and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. (“MOL”), both of Japan. AKOFS provides vessel-based installation and construction and well intervention services for subsea oil and gas developments. Akastor is a public limited investment company whose portfolio includes companies mainly active in the oilfield services sector. Mitsui is trading company group engaged in a range of global business activities including in the offshore oil and gas industry. MOL is a multi-modal transport group specialising in a number of categories of global ocean shipping and related markets. The Commission concluded that the proposed transaction would raise no competition concerns as the companies’ activities do not overlap in the European Economic Area. The transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure. More information is available on the Commission’s competition website, in the public case register under the case number M.9065. (For more information: Ricardo Cardoso – Tel.: +32 229 80100; Maria Tsoni – Tel.: +32 229 90526)

Mergers: Commission clears acquisition of the W&B Rail Franchise by Keolis and Amey

The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of the Wales and Borders Rail Franchise (“W&B Rail Franchise”) by Keolis (UK) Limited (“Keolis”) and Amey Rail Limited (“Amey”), all of the UK. The W&B Rail Franchise provides passenger rail services across Wales, as well as services to destinations in England. Keolis provides public transportation services in 16 countries across the world. Amey provides infrastructure asset management services to private and public sectors, mainly in the UK. The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns because none of the companies are engaged in business activities in the same product and geographic market. The transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure. More information is available on the Commission’s competition website, in the public case register under the case number M.9042. (For more information: Ricardo Cardoso – Tel.: +32 229 80100; Maria Tsoni – Tel.: +32 229 90526)

Upcoming events of the European Commission (ex-Top News)

Thank you Minister and thank you for yet another productive day in Vienna.

First of all, I would like to make few points on the proposals linked to the new Multiannual financial framework and the euro area reform.

We discussed InvestEU, which builds on the success of the European Fund for Strategic Investment and aims to leverage EUR 650 billion in investment.

InvestEU is a major simplification – we propose one investment instrument instead of 14, which will lead to more efficiency and less bureaucracy. This effort was recognised by the Member States today.

InvestEU will also be more policy driven: it is designed to target market gaps in sectors relevant to our policy objectives.

Our discussion today focused on how to take public support for investment to a more ambitious level through InvestEU.

Member States confirmed that the EIB should remain the privileged but not exclusive partner for implementing InvestEU. National Promotional Institutions must play an important role in the implementation as well. We are determined to help them to build capacity where need be and we expect the larger and more experienced institutions to support this effort. We believe that such an approach would foster investment flow to smaller projects, support innovation and contribute to the geographical balance.

We also discussed the Reform Support Programme, which has for the main objective to incentivise and support structural reforms at Member State level.

There is a shared understanding that structural reforms are fundamental to improve the performance and resilience of our economies. There is also a common understanding that reforms are not purely a national issue, but a matter of common concern.

Our discussion focused on the main innovation of the Reform Support Programme, which is the Reform Delivery Tool.

The Reform Delivery Tool is carefully designed to incentivise timely reforms while preventing moral hazard and deadweight loss. The financial support would be paid out upon timely and full implementation of the reforms agreed. And the funds can be claimed back if the reforms are reversed.

And it’s not about imposing the reforms. The use of this instrument would be voluntary.

Many Member States underlined the necessity to ensure national ownership of reforms. I agree that the ownership is key.

The spirit of our proposal is that reforms under the Reform Delivery Tool will be proposed by Member States, then negotiated and agreed in open partnership with Member States. And we agree that there are good synergies to be found between political objectives pursued under the EU economic convergence, regional development and economic and social challenges that Member States face.

Having said that, we are open to further discussions on the Reform Delivery Tool and looking forward to improving our proposals further.

We also discussed the fiscal stabilisation function for the euro area.

Two points here:

Although buffers built up in national budgets should be the first line of defence, in a single currency union a stabilisation function is certainly needed to face major asymmetric shocks.

The Commission’s European Investment Stabilisation Function is a carefully weighted and pragmatic proposal. It is based on the concept of protecting the public investment in times of economic downturns.

So we believe that our proposals can frame future discussions, of course, taking into account proposals and ideas from the Member States to further improve them.

On the taxation of the digital economy, let me thank the Austrian Presidency for keeping this file high on the agenda and for the progress that is being achieved. I would also like to thank Angel Gurría who was also present today for his personal commitment to driving tax agenda at the OECD.

The European Union needs a modern taxation system, which reflects the developments in our economies. One of the main developments is that companies and entrepreneurs are increasingly operating in the digital environment. All speakers today agreed that it is important that digital companies pay their fair share of tax.

While we have to work towards a long-term solution on digital taxation, preferably in the OECD or at G20 level, the Commission fully supports the Austrian Presidency in its efforts to swiftly adopt our proposal for an interim solution – a digital services tax.

We therefore welcome the positive signals from many Member States, here in Vienna, and look forward to turning words into deeds. 

Thank you.

The number of new breaches is 142: 126 equities for the 8% cap, applicable to all trading venues, and 16 equities for the 4% cap, that applies to individual trading venues. Trading under the waivers for all new instruments in breach of the DVC thresholds should be suspended from 12 September 2018 to 11 March 2019. The instruments for which caps already existed from previous periods will continue to be suspended.

In addition, ESMA highlights that some trading venues in the meantime have submitted corrected data that affects past DVC publications. For a total number of 4 instruments, this means that previously identified breaches of the 8% and 4% caps prove to be incorrect. For these instruments, the suspensions of trading under the waivers should be lifted.

As of 7 September, there is a total of 674 instruments suspended.

Please be aware that ESMA does not update DVC files older than 6 months. In other words, suspensions that were expected to be triggered in the past months due to the publication of the DVC results in the files related to the periods 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2017 and 1 February 2017 to 31 January 2018 cannot be lifted anymore.

In addition, the “Expected suspension end date” for suspensions that are active as of 7 September 2018 has been changed whenever the suspension period was equal to 6 months and 1 day. The suspensions are expected to start before 8:00 am CET on the “Suspension start date” and terminate at the close of trading day on the “Suspension end date”.

Last but not least, as communicated on 9 August, the disclaimer of the relevant ISINs were corrected in the DVC Results Files covering the periods 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2017 and 1 February 2017 to 31 January 2018.

Background

MiFID II introduced the DVC to limit the amount of dark trading in equities allowed under the reference price waiver and the negotiated transaction waiver. The DVC is calculated per instrument (ISIN) based on the rolling average of trading in that instrument over the last 12 months.