In response to the Russian aggression in Ukraine and the serious concerns this has raised about security of gas supplies in Europe, the Commission has proposed a targeted and urgent revision of the 2017 regulation on security of gas supply. The Commission's proposal would require all EU Member States with gas storage capacity to ensure their underground gas storage is filled up to at least 80 % of capacity by 1 November 2022. Intermediate targets would be introduced and monitored on a monthly basis.
The Directive establishes a framework for the adequacy of statutory minimum wages, promoting collective bargaining on wage setting, and enhancing the effective access of workers to minimum wage protection in the EU. The main elements of the Directive are: A framework for setting and updating statutory minimum wages, Promoting and facilitating collective bargaining on wages, and Improved monitoring and enforcement of minimum wage protection.
On May 18th, Member States, workers and employers in the EU Advisory Committee on Safety and Health at Work (ACSH) reached an agreement on the need to recognise COVID-19 as an occupational disease in health and social care and in domiciliary assistance and, in a pandemic context, in sectors where there is an outbreak in activities with proven risk of infection, and supported an update of the EU list of occupational diseases.
The steel industry has long held a strategic place in the EU economy, fostering innovation, growth, and employment. To face the downturn of steel demand after the economic crisis and ensure a promising future for the sector, the European Commission is working on boosting the industry. Steel is closely linked to numerous industrial sectors such as automotive, construction, electronics and renewable industries.
The revised TEN-E Regulation will support the energy transition by providing financial and policy support for EU projects of common interest (PCIs) in cross-border energy infrastructure. A crucial aspect of the revised TEN-E regulation is that all future PCIs will be obliged to contribute towards the EU's emission reduction targets for 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050, thereby effectively ending EU support for fossil fuel based infrastructure.
In 2013 a new framework for cross-border energy infrastructure planning was established to modernise and expand Europe’s energy infrastructure to address the fragmented interconnections between Member States, and increase the integration of renewable energy sources. This document presents a proposal for a regulation of the European Parliment and of the Council on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure and repealing Regulation (EU) No 347/2013
Today, the Commission is proposing to update the EU consumer rules to empower consumers for the green transition. The updated rules will ensure that consumers can take informed and environment-friendly choices when buying their products. Consumers will have a right to know how long a product is designed to last for and how, if at all, it can be repaired. In addition, the rules will strengthen consumer protection against untrustworthy or false environmental claims, banning ‘greenwashing'.
The Commission welcomes the swift political agreement reached between the European Parliament and EU Member States on the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The regulation, agreed in slightly more than a year after it was proposed, is among the first initiatives of its kind to comprehensively regulate the gatekeeper power of the largest digital companies.
The European Commission has adopted its guidelines on the general regime of conditionality, which aims to protect the EU budget against breaches of the principles of the rule of law. The guidelines explain in detail how the Commission will apply the regulation, including how the rights of the final recipients and beneficiaries of EU funding will be protected.
The European Commission published today a proposal for recasting the EU Directive on Energy Efficiency, aimed at further stimulating EU efforts to promote energy efficiency and achieve energy savings in the fight against climate change. This initiative forms part of the Commission package of proposals “Delivering on the European Green Deal”, with a view to reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 and the ultimate objective of becoming climate neutral by 2050.
The new EU Ecodesign measures for electric motors and variable speed drives that came into force on July 1, 2021, are aimed at improving the energy efficiency of these products across the EU. Applicable to AC induction motors * (such as those found in washing machines, air conditioners, or heat pumps), the new rules update the previous 2009 regulation.
Last week the EP finally adopted the Common Provisions, ERDF and Interreg regulations. The ESF regulation had already been approved at the beginning of June (press release).
