The EU is moving to boost its data economy by creating a single market for data storage and processing services, such as cloud computing. This freedom to choose a data service provider anywhere in Europe is expected to lead to more innovative data-driven services and more competitive prices for businesses, consumers and public administrations. Member states’ ambassadors endorsed the new rules today, following a provisional agreement with the European Parliament on 19 June.

Free movement of data is crucial for unlocking the vast potential of the data economy. This legislation will ensure that data is allowed to flow freely, allowing companies and public administrations to store and process non-personal data wherever they choose in the EU. These rules will provide legal certainty and trust in the increasing use of data-driven innovations for the benefit of all citizens.

Ivaylo Moskovski, Bulgarian Minister for Transport, Information Technology and Communications

The reform will remove any restrictions imposed by member states’ public authorities on the geographical location for storing or processing non-personal data, unless such restrictions are justified on grounds of public security. Important sources of non-personal data include the rapidly expanding Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and machine learning. Current uses of aggregate and anonymised sets of non-personal data include for example big data analytics and precision farming.

To ensure that the rules will work in practice, member states must either repeal their data localisation requirements or notify those that are permitted to the Commission. The text clarifies that member states’ public administrations are not prevented from insourcing the provision of services involving data processing. 

If a data set contains both personal and non-personal data, the general data protection regulation will apply to the personal data part of the set, while the non-personal data will be covered by the free flow of data regulation.

Member states’ competent authorities will continue to have access to data even when it is stored or processed in another country. This may be necessary for example for the purposes of regulatory or supervisory control.

The draft regulation also encourages the development of codes of conduct to make it easier for users of data processing services to switch service providers or to port their data back to their own IT systems.

Removing data localisation restrictions is considered a key factor in ensuring that the data economy can achieve its full potential and double its value to 4% of European GDP in 2020.

With this agreement, the Council and the Parliament succeeded in meeting the June 2018 deadline that EU leaders set for this priority dossier in the European Council in October 2017.

How will it become law?

Once the agreed text has undergone legal and linguistic finalisation, it must be formally adopted, first by the Parliament and then by the Council (agreement at first reading). Following adoption, the regulation will be published in the EU’s Official Journal. It will apply six months after publication.

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(Susceptible de modifications en cours de semaine)

Déplacements et visites

 

Lundi 02 juillet 2018

President Jean-Claude Juncker in Strasbourg, France (until 04/07): receives Mr Joseph Daul, President of the European People’s Party (EPP) and Mr Manfred Weber, Chairman of the EPP Group in the European Parliament.

Mr Frans Timmermans in Luxembourg: holds a Citizens’ dialogue with Mr Jean Asselborn, Minister for Foreign and European Affairs, Immigration and Asylum of Luxembourg.

Mr Maroš Šefčovič in Bucharest, Romania: attends a joint meeting with Mr Viorel Ștefan, Vice Prime Minister of Romania; Mr Anton Anton, Minister for Energy and Mr Dănuţ Andruşcă, Minister for the Economy; delivers a speech at the “Energy Forum – Romania´s energy priorities – the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2019 ” at the Romanian Parliament; meets Mr Liviu Dragnea, President of the Chamber of Deputies; visits an EU-funded project at Politehnica University of Bucharest and exchanges views with professors and students; and meets Ms Viorica Dăncilă, Prime Minister of Romania.

Mr Jyrki Katainen receives Mr Guto Bebb, Minister for Defence Procurement of the United Kingdom.

Mr Jyrki Katainen in Luxembourg: meets Mr Alexander Stubb, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank (EIB).

Mr Johannes Hahn in Serbia: meets Mr Aleksandar Vučić, President of Serbia and Ms Ana Brnabić, Prime Minister of Serbia.

Ms Marianne Thyssen delivers a keynote speech at the “Results of 2018 Pensions Adequacy Report” conference, in Brussels.

M. Pierre Moscovici à Athènes, Grece (jusqu’à 03/07): rencontre M. Euclid Tsakalotos, Ministre des Finances de la République Hellénique.

Mr Christos Stylianides in Saarbrücken, Germany: meets Mr Klaus Bouillon, Minister for the Interior of Saarland to discuss rescEU.

Mr Carlos Moedas receives Mr Arnaud Leroy, President of the French Agency for the Environment and Energy Management (ADEME).

Ms Mariya Gabriel in Sofia, Bulgaria: delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of Bulgaria International Mathematics Competition 2018.

 

Mardi 03 juillet 2018

College meeting

President Jean-Claude Juncker in Strasbourg, France: addresses the Plenary of the European Parliament on the conclusion of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council and on the beginning of the Austrian Presidency of the Council; participates in a joint press conference with Mr Antonio Tajani, President of the European Parliament, and Mr Sebastian Kurz, Chancellor of Austria; and addresses the Plenary of the European Parliament on the conclusions of the June European Council.

Mr Valdis Dombrovskis in Strasbourg, France: meets a high-level delegation from the European Australian Business Council (EABC), led by Mr Mathias Cormann, Minister for Finance of Australia; and Mr Peter Cosgrove, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia.

Mr Jyrki Katainen in Strasbourg, France: meets a high-level delegation from the European Australian Business Council (EABC), led by Mr Mathias Cormann, Minister for Finance of Australia; and Mr Peter Cosgrove, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia.

Mr Günther H. Oettinger in Karlsruhe, Germany: delivers the opening address “Europe: a Continent of Silicon Valleys” at the Digital, Life, Design (DLD) event.

M. Pierre Moscovici à Athènes, Grece: rencontre M. Prokopīs Pavlopoulos, Président de la République Hellénique; M. Alexis Tsipras, Premier Ministre de la République Hellénique; M. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Président de Nea Dimokratia parti politique; Mme Fofi Gennimata, Présidente de Panhellenic Socialist Movement et de Movement for Change; et prononce un discours au Parlement Hellénique.

Ms Elżbieta Bieńkowska in Strasbourg, France: meets a high-level delegation of the European Australian Business Council (EABC).

Ms Corina Creţu in Strasbourg, France: meets the RegioStars Award finalists.

Mr Carlos Moedas in Lisbon, Portugal: delivers a keynote speech at the award ceremony of the Doctoral Scholarships Awards in Medicine and Nursing Jose de Mello Saude; and a keynote speech at the meeting “Ciência 2018”, under the support of the Minister for Science, Technology and Higher Education.

Ms Mariya Gabriel in Strasbourg, France: receives Ms Yuliya Morenets, founder of TaC – Together against Cybercrime International.

 

Mercredi 04 juillet 2018

President Jean-Claude Juncker in Strasbourg, France: participates in a debate on the future of Europe in the Plenary of the European Parliament with Mr Mateusz Morawiecki, Prime Minister of Poland.

Mr Maroš Šefčovič hosts a meeting of chairs of EU standardisation bodies on battery, in Brussels.

Mr Günther H. Oettinger in Munich, Germany: delivers the keynote speech at the Munich Economic Summit “Reshaping Europe”, organised by the Ifo Institute.

Mr Johannes Hahn in Vienna, Austria: participates in the Economy Ministers’ Meeting ahead of the 2018 Western Balkans Summit in London.

Mr Miguel Arias Cañete in Paris, France: meets Mr Nicolas Hulot, Minister of State, Minister for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition of France.

Mr Dimitris Avramopoulos receives Mr Joseph Daul, President of the European People’s Party (EPP).

Mr Phil Hogan receives Mr John Wilson, Chairman of Fonterra,co-operative of New Zealand farmers.

Ms Margrethe Vestager in Copenhagen, Denmark: meets Mr Karsten Dybvad, CEO at the Confederation of Danish Industries; and attends an event celebrating the 200^th anniversary of the Danish National Bank.

Mr Carlos Moedas receives Mr Phil Wynn Owen, Member the European Court of Auditors (ECA).

Mr Carlos Moedas receives Mr Mario Monti , President of Bocconi University in Milan and Chair of the ‘High-level search committee’.

Mr Carlos Moedas delivers the welcome speech at the first meeting of the ‘High-level search committee to find the next President of the European Research Council’, in Brussels.

Mr Julian King receives Mr Michael Punke, Vice-President of Global Public Policy at Amazon Web Services.

 

Jeudi 05 juillet 2018

President Jean-Claude Juncker in Vienna, Austria (until 06/07): together with the College of Commissioners, pays an official visit to Vienna to mark the beginning of the Austrian Presidency of the Council; and participates in a working dinner hosted by Mr Sebastian Kurz, Chancellor of Austria, on the beginning of the Austrian Presidency of the Council.

Mr Maroš Šefčovič delivers a speech via webstream at the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) Annual Conference.

Mr Miguel Arias Cañete delivers a speech on the Conference of the Parties (COP24) at the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), in Brussels.

Ms Marianne Thyssen receives Mr Hideki Makihara, State Minister for Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan.

Ms Mariya Gabriel receives Mr David Kaye, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression.

Ms Mariya Gabriel receives representatives from the European Tech Alliance.

Vendredi 06 juillet 2018

President Jean-Claude Juncker in Vienna, Austria: meets Mr Sebastian Kurz, Chancellor of Austria; holds a joint press conference with Mr Sebastian Kurz; meets Mr Alexander Van der Bellen, President of Austria; and together with the College of Commissioners, participates in a working lunch hosted by the Federal Parliament of Austria, on the beginning of the Austrian Presidency of the Council.

Mr Tibor Navracsics in Budapest, Hungary: participates in the first EU-Japan Policy Dialogue on Education, Culture and Sport in the presence of Mr Yoshimasa Hayashi, Minister for Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and Mr Shinjiro Komatsu, Deputy Minister for Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

 

Samedi 07 juillet 2018

Ms Margrethe Vestager in London, the United Kingdom: delivers a keynote speech at Ditchley Foundation’s annual lecture.

Dimanche 08 juillet 2018

Ms Elżbieta Bieńkowska in Pulawy, Poland: participates in a Citizens’ dialogue.

 

Prévisons du mois de juillet:

09/07 EU-Ukraine Summit

11-12/07 NATO Summit

12/07 Eurogroup

12-13/07 Informal meeting of justice and home affairs ministers, in Innsbruck, Austria

13/07 EU-the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Stabilisation and Association Council

13/07 EU-Bosnia and Herzegovina Stabilisation and Association Council

13/07 Economic and Financial Affairs Council

16/07 Informal meeting of competitiveness ministers (Internal market and industry), in Vienna, Austria

16/07 Agriculture and Fisheries Council

16/07 Foreign Affairs Council

16-17/07 EU – CELAC Ministerial meeting

17/07 Informal meeting of competitiveness ministers (Research), in Vienna, Austria

17/07 General Affairs Council (Art. 50)       

19-20/07 Informal meeting of employment and social policy ministers, in Vienna, Austria

24/07 Economic and Financial Affairs Council (Budget)

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The EU-Mauritania partnership is currently built on three main agreements:

1. The National Indicative Program (NIP) for Mauritania under the 11^th European Development Fund (EDF), for €160 million
2. The Partnership Agreement on Fisheries amounting to €55 million in addition to €5 million sectorial budget support per year
3. The EU Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF), under which projects worth more than €70 million are ongoing.

Mauritania is also a strategic partner of the EU in the fight against smuggling and trafficking, violent extremism and terrorism in the Sahel region.

EU development cooperation today

The indicative allocation for Mauritania (NIP) under the 11^th EDF amounts to €160 million for the period 2014-2020, with 60% of the amount already committed. This support focuses on three sectors of intervention designed to help Mauritania address key challenges identified in close cooperation with the Mauritanian authorities, in line with the government’s priorities:

• Food security and sustainable agriculture: actions are implemented to promote the country’s potential in agriculture and to reinforce the efficiency and the governance of the sector.
• The rule of law: this sector aims to help the Mauritanian government strengthen the general governance, the credibility and the efficiency of its institutions, with a special focus on human rights.
• Health: the projects aim at supporting the reform of the health sector, to improve coverage to all the population.

Moreover, the EU provides substantial support under the EU Trust Fund. Mauritania benefits from seven bilateral projects worth a total of €55 million, which on a per capita basis, represents the top of the list in the region. These projects deal with highly strategic and priority concerns of the Mauritanian Government: job creation, notably in the fisheries sector, resilience of urban-rural populations, fight against radicalisation and terrorism. Furthermore, Mauritania is eligible under seven regional Trust Fund projects, of which three relate to the G5 Sahel, in which it plays a central role.

Results of the EU’s support to Mauritania

• Employment and technical training: Through a methodology named “work school” (“chantier école”), more than 500 young people in 2017 were trained and accompanied to access the construction and public works job market. As regards small-scale fishing, 300 young people are now in a training programme. In parallel, more than 160 enterprises followed four months of training to upgrade their capacities, with a view to improve entrepreneurship as well as services provided to SMEs.
• Administration capacity building: During the last two years, around 2700 participants from the Mauritanian administration have benefitted of important training programmes aiming at reinforcing the efficiency of public administration.
• Health: The EU is a major contributor to the National Programme for Health Development) that took off in 2017. Measures testing the universal health coverage system are now targeting 20 000 citizens. The final objective is to create a universal health coverage system in the entire country.

Examples of current EU development programmes in Mauritania

• Rural Development: A total envelope of €78 million targets sustainable agriculture and food security, in three stages: a programme at both central and decentralised level to increase the resilience of pastoralists and rainfed agricultural producers in four provinces neighbouring Mali; and two additional programmes to improve infrastructure for productive and energetic investments in rural areas (€35 million) and to strengthen value chains (€18 million). This will permit to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable populations to food and nutritional insecurity in Mauritania within the context of climate change.

• Health (“Programme d’Appui au Secteur de la Santé”): €20 million. The overall objective is to improve and achieve a more equitable access to quality health care in line with the objectives of the National Health Development Plan and the National Social Protection Strategy.

• Support to the rule of law and access to justice for all: €12.6 million.The implementation of this project will start early 2019. It aims at increasing judicial competence and integrity, as well as increasing access to justice.

• Justice support (“Programme d’Appui à la Réforme de la Justice”) is the third EU intervention in the field of rule of law in Mauritania since 2010. The programme provides institutional, structural and infrastructural support to the justice sector, in order to contribute to significant structural reform.

• Security and development: €13 million. This pilot project is implemented in the context of crisis in the border areas with Mali. It aims at strengthening the capacity of the armed and security forces while improving the living conditions of the population in these border areas with the delivery of public services (health, education, agriculture).

• Migration management: €8 million. This action, financed through the Trust Fund for Africa, contributes to the Regional Initiative “EUTF-IOM Initiative for Migrants Protection and Reintegration in Africa”. Based on the needs of Mauritania in terms of migration management, the IOM’s experience in Mauritania and discussions between IOM Mauritania and the EU Delegation, this project aims at strengthening border management and the protection and supporting the return and reintegration of migrants.

For more information

Press release – Commissioner Mimica in Mauritania for the AU Summit

Joint press release – Africa and Europe put women’s empowerment and gender equality at the top of their agenda