Daily News 29 / 10 / 2018 - Government World Magazine

Plan Juncker : un nouveau centre commercial à Séville et un nouveau fonds pour soutenir les institutions de microfinance

La Banque Européenne d’Investissement (BEI) a accordé un prêt de 70 millions d’euros à l’entreprise LAR España pour la construction d’un nouveau centre commercial, Palmas Altas, dans la ville de Séville, au Sud de l’Espagne. Le prêt est soutenu par le Fonds européen pour les investissements stratégiques (EFSI), le cœur du Plan Juncker. Le projet s’inscrit dans un plan de développement urbain visant à redynamiser les quartiers près du port. 139 boutiques s’installeront dans ce centre commercial, qui deviendra un véritable pôle d’activité économique et sociale, contribuant à la création directe et indirecte de plus de 3400 emplois. De plus, le bâtiment sera doté d’installations dernier cri en termes d’efficacité énergétique et d’utilisation des énergies renouvelables, avec des panneaux photovoltaïques et des systèmes géothermiques. Par ailleurs, vendredi, à l’occasion de la quatrième journée européenne de la microfinance et en présence du Vice-Président Jyrki Katainen, responsable de l’emploi, de la croissance, de l’investissement et de la compétitivité, le Fonds européen d’investissement (FEI) et le fonds Helenos ont signé un accord qui permettra le lancement d’un fonds de 25 millions d’euros destiné à soutenir environ 25 institutions de microfinance et prestataires de services de financement social au cours des cinq prochaines années. Ce nouvel accord bénéficie aussi du soutien du Plan Juncker. L’accord signé entre Helenos et le FEI vise à renforcer les capacités institutionnelles de certains intermédiaires financiers comme ceux ayant besoin de capital-investissement pour étendre leurs activités, tant dans le secteur de la microfinance que dans celui de l’entrepreneuriat social. Il s’agit du premier accord de renforcement des capacités en Europe conclu dans le cadre du programme européen pour l’emploi et l’innovation sociale (EaSI). Le Plan Juncker a déjà mobilisé plus de 344 milliards d’euros d’investissements supplémentaires dans toute l’Europe et soutenu près de 793 000 petites et moyennes entreprises. (Des communiqués de presse sont disponibles ici. Pour plus d’informations: Christian Spahr – Tél.: +32 229 50055; Sophie Dupin de Saint-Cyr – Tel.: +32 229 56169)

SME funding: €12 million for innovators across Europe

Today, 246 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from 24 countries have been selected for financial support from the SME Instrument – a funding mechanism under the EU’s research and innovation programme Horizon 2020. The companies will receive a total amount of €12.2 million to bring their innovations to the market faster. Each company will benefit from €50,000 to create a business plan and will receive free coaching and business acceleration services. The majority of the companies selected for funding are in the field of information and communication technology (ICT), health and engineering. Examples of the projects include a water-injection system to reduce NOx emissions from vehicles, a digital platform for hands-on cybersecurity training, a novel cancer therapy and a technology that dissolves wood waste to extract and reuse raw materials. Companies can already apply for the next round of the SME instrument, which has a deadline of 13 February 2019. The SME Instrument is part of the European Innovation Council (EIC) pilot that supports top-class innovators, entrepreneurs, small companies and scientists with funding opportunities and acceleration services. A news item linking to the list of the beneficiaries is available online. (For more information: Ricardo Cardoso – Tel.: +32 229 80100; Victoria von Hammerstein – Tel.: +32 229 55040; Mirna Talko – Tel.: +32 229 87278)

European Union commits €300 million for clean, healthy and safe oceans

The European Union makes 23 new commitments at the 5^th edition of Our Ocean conference, which starts in Bali, Indonesia today. In support of the new commitments, the European Commission has announced €300 million of EU-funded initiatives, which include projects to tackle plastic pollution, make blue economy more sustainable and improve research and marine surveillance. High Representative/ Vice-President Federica Mogherini said: “The state of our oceans calls for determined global action. No country can succeed alone in this endeavour. It requires determination, consistency and partnerships, within and outside our European Union, and it is in this spirit that today we renew the commitment to protect Our Oceans.” Commissioner Karmenu Vella, responsible for Environment, Maritime affairs and Fisheries said: “We need the oceans and the oceans need us. We have to urgently reduce marine litter and other sources of pollution, halt illegal fishing and support fragile marine ecosystems. And we have to develop our blue economy.” The23 new commitments include €100 million for Research and Development (R&D) projects to tackle plastic pollution and €82 million for marine and maritime research, such as ecosystem assessments, seafloor mapping and innovative aquaculture systems. The new EU action also includes a €18.4 million investment to make the European blue economy – the economic sectors that rely on the ocean and its resources – more sustainable. The EU’s showpiece Earth observation programme Copernicus also features prominently providing support with another €12.9 million for maritime security and for research dedicated to coastal environmental services. Commissioner for the Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs Elżbieta Bieńkowska said: “Earth observation helps citizens around the globe to fight climate change, monitor the blue economy and marine pollution or to manage natural disasters. I am proud to call Copernicus a flagship EU space project.” More information is available in the press release. (For more information: Enrico Brivio – Tel.: + 32 229 56172; Daniela Stoycheva – Tel.: +32 229 53664)

Quantum Technologies Flagship kicks off with first 20 projects

Today, the Quantum Technologies Flagship, a €1 billion initiative, was launched at a high-level event in Vienna hosted by the Austrian Presidency of the Council of the EU.The Flagship will initially fund 20 projects with a total of €132 million via the Horizon 2020 programme, and from 2021 onwards it is expected to fund a further 130 projects. Andrus Ansip, Commission Vice-President for the Digital Single Market, said: “Europe is determined to lead the development of quantum technologies worldwide. The Quantum Technologies Flagship project is part of our ambition to consolidate and expand Europe’s scientificexcellence. If we want to unlock the full potential of quantum technologies, we need to develop a solid industrial base making full use of our research.” Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, added: “The Quantum Technologies Flagship will form a cornerstone of Europe’s strategy to lead in the development of quantum technologies in the future. Quantum computing holds the promise of increasing computing speeds by orders of magnitude and Europe needs to pool its efforts in the ongoing race towards the first functional quantum computers.” Its total budget is expected to reach €1 billion, providing funding for the entire quantum value chain in Europe, from basic research to industrialisation, and bringing together researchers and the quantum technologies industry. A press release and a memo are available online. (For more information: Christian Wigand– Tel.: +32 229 62253 – Tel.: +32 229 67083; Joseph Waldstein – Tel.: +32 229 56184)

Aide humanitaire: l’Union Européenne débloque 58 millions d’euros pour le Sahel et la République centrafricaine

La Commission a alloué 50 millions d’euros supplémentaires à la région du Sahel et 8 millions d’euros à la République centrafricaine (RCA) en réponse aux besoins croissants de ces pays en matière de nourriture, de nutrition et pour faire face aux nombreuses situations d’urgence. Le montant total de l’aide humanitaire accordée par l’UE aux pays du Sahel en 2018 s’élève maintenant à 270 millions d’euros et à 25.4 millions d’euros pour la RCA. Le commissaire en charge de l’aide humanitaire et de la gestion de crises, Christos Stylianides a déclaré: “Alors que la situation humanitaire au Sahel continue de se détériorer, nous intensifions notre assistance pour faire face à la crise alimentaire majeure que traverse la région. Les violences et les conflits en cours, ainsi que les effets du changement climatique engendrent des déplacements massifs, de la malnutrition aigüe et de l’insécurité alimentaire qui touche des millions de personnes, et les enfants tout particulièrement. Nous demeurons prêts à faire preuve de solidarité envers les personnes les plus vulnérables et à sauver des vies”. Dans le cas de la RCA, le commissaire Stylianides a ajouté: “Face aux violences et aux déplacements de population dans le pays, nous devons continuer de faire tout notre possible pour répondre aux besoins de tous ceux qui ont été contraints de quitter leur domicile.” Le communiqué de presse complet est disponible ici. (Pour plus d’informations: Carlos Martin Ruiz De Gordejuela – Tel.: +32 229 65322; Daniel Puglisi – Tel.: +32 229 69140)

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of sole control over EMI Music Publishing by Sony

The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition of EMI Music Publishing by Sony Corporation of America. The Commission found the deal raises no competition concerns, in particular as it will not increase Sony’s market power vis-à-vis online platforms. EMI Music Publishing (“EMI MP”), a music publishing company, is since 2012 jointly owned and controlled by Sony Corporation of America (“Sony”) and Mubadala Investment Company PJSC (“Mubadala”), an investment fund based in the United Arab Emirates. Under the proposed transaction, Sony would now acquire sole control and ownership over EMI MP. The Commission focused its investigation on assessing whether Mubadala has acted as a constraint on Sony’s ability to leverage across both recording music and music publishing rights and, in particular, into the potential impact of the removal of this constraint on any hypothetical Sony strategy for EMI MP. The Commission looked especially into the (a) provision of music publishing services to authors, (b) the exploitation of the copyrights offline, and (c) the exploitation of publishing rights for online use. Following its phase I investigation, the Commission concluded that the transaction would raise no competition concerns in any of the affected markets and cleared the case unconditionally. A full press release is available in EN, FR, DE. (For more information: Ricardo Cardoso – Tel.: +32 229 80100; Maria Tsoni – Tel.: +32 229 90526)

Mergers: Commission clears acquisition of joint control over Maxam by Rhône Capital

The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of joint control over MaxamCorp Holding, S.L. (“Maxam”) of Spain by Rhône Capital L.L.C. of the US. Maxam is active in the manufacture and supply of civil explosives and initiating systems and related products, services and solutions, and also supplies ammunition and defence products. Rhône Capital is an investment management firm. The Commission concluded that the proposed transaction would raise no competition concerns given the lack of horizontal overlaps and vertical relationships between the companies’ activities. 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.9105. (For more information: Ricardo Cardoso – Tel.: +32 229 80100; Giulia Astuti – Tel.: +32 229 55344)

Innovation Radar Prize 2018: Vote to elect Europe’s world-class innovators is open

As of today, EU citizens are invited to vote for their favourite scientific and technological breakthroughs funded by the European Union. The European Commission has launched a competition to identify Europe’s top future innovators. Citizens can now vote for the 20 innovators they think most deserve the Innovation Radar Prize 2018, which is open until 12 November 2018. 50 different innovations can be selected using the European Commission’s Innovation Radar, a data driven search engine which helps to identify high potential innovations and key innovators. Finalists include SMEs, universities and start-ups located across Europe. The winning 20 finalists will get to pitch their plans taking their innovation to market to a jury of experts at the ICT 2018 event in Vienna on 5 December 2018. (For more information: Christian Wigand– Tel.: +32 229 62253 – Tel.: +32 229 67083; Joseph Waldstein – Tel.: +32 229 56184)

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Commissioner Bulc and EU Transport Ministers to discuss the Commission’s proposal on seasonal clock change in Graz today [Updated on 29 /10 / 2018 at 12:27]

At the Informal Council EU Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc and EU Transport Ministers will discuss today the Commission’s proposal on the discontinuation of seasonal clock changes. The European Commission proposed an ambitious timeline in order to address the concerns of citizens on the matter. Follow the press conference with Commissioner Bulc and Austrian Minister for Transport, Innovation and Technology, Norbert Hofer, on EbS. There will also be a joint session of environment and transport ministers together with Commissioner Bulc and Commissioner Arias Cañete, which will focus on challenges, opportunities and strategies of a future of clean and safe road mobility. As already outlined in our proposals on ‘Europe on the Move’, the Commission’s aim is to foster the transformation to a cleaner and safer mobility system, while furthering the decarbonisation of the European transport sector. These topics constitute common priorities for all three policy areas – environment, climate change and transport. The outcome of this debate will be reflected and presented in the Presidency’s “Declaration of Graz”. You can find more detailed information on the meeting on the Austrian Presidency’s website of the event. (For more information: Enrico Brivio – Tel.: +32 229 56172; Stephan Meder – Tel.: +32 229 1 39 17)

Vice-President Dombrovskis in Zagreb, Croatia

Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice-President for the Euro and Social Dialogue, also in charge of Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union, is in Croatia for a European Semester country visit today and tomorrow. He will participate in a Citizens’ Dialogue on the theme of “Croatia on the road to the euro” and will deliver a keynote speech at a conference organised by Večernji list and Poslovni dnevnik. Vice-President Dombrovskis will hold a number of meetings, including with President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović; Prime Minister Andrej Plenković; Mr Boris Vujčić, Governor of the Croatian National Bank; Mr Zdravko Marić, Minister of Finance; Mr Tomislav Tolušić, Minister of Agriculture. He will also engage in an exchange of views with members of the Croatian Parliament. (For more information: Christian Spahr – +32 229 50055; Johannes Bahrke – +32 229 58615; Enda McNamara – Tel.: +32 229 64976)

Commissioner Stylianides in the United States to discuss Europe’s humanitarian actions and education in emergencies

Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides is in Boston to deliver today a public lecture on “Europe’s Humanitarian Face: Empowering and Protecting through Education” at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Education in emergencies remains one of the most underfunded areas in international crisis response and the European Commission has committed this year to raise the share of education in humanitarian aid funding to 10%. By doing so, the Commission aims at bringing back children to education within three months from displacement or outbreak of a crisis. (For more information: Carlos Martin Ruiz De Gordejuela – Tel.: +32 229 65322 ; Daniel Puglisi – Tel.: +32 229 69140)

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