January 28, 2020 About the EUIPO

Enhancing TM protection on e-commerce marketplaces: workshop

Representatives from e-commerce marketplaces and the EUIPO will meet in Alicante on 25 February for a first exploratory workshop.

The workshop will focus on EU trade mark (EUTM) rights, and will be structured around three main issues — information resources on trade mark rights, access to the IP protection programmes of e-commerce marketplaces and exchange of information, all with the aim of enhancing trade mark protection on e-commerce marketplaces.

This first gathering will pave the way for a broader event and discussions with IP owners, and will centre on the discussion of opportunities and concrete actions to jointly develop the EUIPO’s initiatives envisioned in its Strategic Plan 2025 to adapt its services to the growth of e-commerce.

The workshop will also offer an opportunity for the EUIPO and e-commerce marketplaces to present information resources and initiatives, and explore how they could develop cooperation to promote and facilitate access to trade mark rights with e-commerce focused SMEs.

Representatives from e-commerce marketplaces interested in participating are invited to contact observatory@euipo.europa.eu

• EIB loans for an aggregate amount of PLN 200m (EUR 46,4m) will help retrofit existing pipes and substations and connect new homes; in Bydgoszcz, the loan will also finance the installation of new highly-efficient generation sources 
• The projects will benefit around 500,000 end-users in total and result in better air quality in both cities and their surroundings
• Both EIB loans are backed by the Investment Plan for Europe

The European Investment Bank (EIB), in its enhanced role as the EU Climate Bank, is stepping up its support to Polish towns to implement ambitious energy efficiency programmes. The heating distribution operators of Bydgoszcz and Lublin will receive EIB loans to modernise their networks, which will result in reduced energy losses and better air quality for their populations.

The EIB will lend PLN 100m (equivalent to EUR 23,2m) to Bydgoszcz’s district heating operator (Komunalne Przedsiębiorstwo Energetyki Cieplnej sp. z o.o. – KPEC) to finance the upgrade of the city’s district heating network and part of its energy generation system. The neighbouring municipalities (Solec Kujawski, Szubin, Nakło nad Notecią and Koronowo) will also benefit.

The EIB will also lend PLN 100m (equivalent to EUR 23,2m) to Lublin’s district heating operator (Lubelskie Przedsiębiorstwo Energetyki Cieplnej SA – LPEC) to finance the upgrade of the city’s district heating network.

In both cases, the EIB will finance up to 50% of the project costs. 

The operations are part of the framework loan for the heating sector in Poland, which has the guarantee of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the financial pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe (Juncker Plan). Before Bydgoszcz and Lublin, Opole was the first city to benefit from the programme in early 2019. 

Lilyana Pavlova, EIB Vice-President, said: “Energy efficiency is one of the surest ways to bring energy demand down and, by doing so, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These are our first loans to both Bydgoszcz and Lublin’s heat network operators. They add to a growing list of Polish municipal operators that receive EIB support to finance their energy efficiency programmes, leading to better air quality. This is also part of the overall transition to a low carbon economy and we are happy as the EU Climate bank to play a role”.

Paolo Gentiloni, European Commissioner for the Economy, said: “To make the European Green Deal Investment Plan a success, we need to invest hugely in energy-efficiency projects. The Investment Plan financing provided by the EU’s climate bank will lead to a transformation of the towns of Bydgoszcz and Lublin. This is great news for residents and another success story for the transition towards climate-neutrality.”

Additional information about the loans

• In Bydgoszcz, plans by KPEC (Komunalne Przedsiębiorstwo Energetyki Cieplnej sp. z o.o.) to revamp the City’s district heating network will result in a more efficient heat supply for around 250,000 end-users, or approx. 70% of its population. The EIB loan will finance KPEC’s five-year investment program (2018-2022). In total, 55 km of old lines and 96 old substations will be retrofitted and 71 km of new lines and 416 new substations will be constructed. Moreover, five high efficiency gas CHP engines will replace the existing coal fired units, delivering primary energy savings of up to 25%. The carbon footprint of the electricity generated will be 228 g CO₂/kWh_e, below the EIB’s threshold of 250 g CO₂/kWh_e.
• In Lublin, plans by LPEC (Lubelskie Przedsiębiorstwo Energetyki Cieplnej S.A.) to revamp the City’s district heating network will result in a more efficient heat supply for around 250,000 end-users, which constitutes around 75% of its population. The EIB loan will finance LPEC’s five-year investment program (2018-2022). In total, 33 km of old lines and 211 old substations will be retrofitted and 28 km of new lines and 355 new substations will be constructed, contributing to an added 59 MW_th of capacity and a safer and more efficient district heating network.
• The EIB signed the contract with Bydgoszcz’s KPEC in December 2019 and with Lublin’s LPEC in October 2019. Most of funds made available by the EIB are expected to be disbursed this year.
• The EIB Board of Directors approved the framework loan for the heating sector in Poland in 2018 for up to EUR 250m (just over PLN 1bn). So far, including the PLN 120m (equivalent to EUR 28m) loan to Opole signed in January 2019, the EIB has signed lending agreements for an aggregate sum of PLN 320m (equivalent to EUR 74m).

​The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) published today its annual report on the use on the use of exemptions and limitations from the regular supervisory reporting during 2018 and Q1 2019 by national competent authorities (NCAs) under Solvency II.

In total 13 national competent authorities NCAs — the same number as in 2018 — granted limitations (under Article 35(6) of the Solvency II Directive) to 838 solo undertakings for first-quarterly reporting in 2019 (compared with 791 solo undertakings in the first quarter of 2018 — Q1 2018). Five NCAs (five in 2017) granted limitations and exemptions from reporting using item-by-item templates (under Article 35(7)) to 136 solo undertakings for annual reporting in 2018 (139 in 2017).

Five NCAs (three in 2018) granted limitations for quarterly reporting to 37 groups in Q1 2019 (33 in Q1 2018). Two NCAs (three in 2017) granted limitations and exemptions from reporting on an item-by-item basis for annual reporting to six groups in 2018 (seven groups in 2017).

The report on the use of limitations and exemptions from reporting addresses the issue of proportionality of the reporting requirements, from which the limitations and exemptions on reporting as foreseen in Article 35 of the Solvency II Directive should not be seen as the only proportionality tools. This report, following the approach taken last year, introduces two new examples how proportionality is implemented in the reporting, reflecting the nature, scale and complexity of the risks inherent to the business: the look-through reporting of collective investment undertakings (CIUs) for unit-linked contracts and the number of templates used by different sized companies.

The UK is leaving the EU on 31 January, but of course that won’t be the end of cooperation. How do you see future EU-UK relations?

Ideally, we should be able to go beyond a free trade agreement with the UK. Not only “zero tariffs” and “zero quotas” but also “zero dumping”; that means that our European social and environmental standards will be fully respected in our future trade relationship.

If we can achieve this, there is hopefully sufficient trust between the EU and the UK to move towards a real association agreement with more than just an economic pillar, but also cooperation on police matters, defence, intelligence exchange and foreign affairs. I think we should be ambitious because in the new world order, the EU and the UK could really use each other’s support.

How do you see the role of the Parliament in maintaining future relations with the UK?

The Parliament will be involved in negotiations on the future relationship via the UK coordination group that will replace the Brexit steering group as of 1 February.

But we also need parliamentary oversight on the joint committee consisting of representatives of the UK government and the European Commission. This joint committee will make decisions of interpretation regarding the withdrawal agreement, including citizens’ rights. So it’s vital that the the European Parliament – together with the House of Commons – obtains democratic oversight over what and how this joint committee decides.