With the Directive on transparent and predictable working conditions, workers in the EU will have the right to more complete information, a limit to the length of probationary periods, take up another jobwith another employer, be informed within a reasonable period in advance when work will have to be done, effective measures that prevent abuse of zero-hour contract work, receive a written reply to a request for transfer to another more secure job or receive cost-free mandatory training related to the job.
The European Commission has proposed a Circular Economy package to mainstream circular economy products on the European market, scale up circular economy business models and increase circularity literacy in Europe. As part of the EU Industrial Strategy and the EU Green Deal, the new Circular Economy Package outlines measures to accelerate circular economy in the European Union. The outlined measures will target companies and consumers alike.
The European Commission has adopted an amendment to the State aid Temporary Crisis Framework, initially adopted on 23 March 2022 to support the economy in the context of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This amendment extends the Temporary Crisis Framework by providing for the following additional types of aid measures in line with the REPowerEU Plan: accelerating the rollout of renewable energy and facilitating the decarbonisation of industrial processes.
The Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court are the building blocks which supplement and strengthen the existing centralised European patent granting system. A reform of European patents has been long awaited, and it will come into effect on January 2023. With the new European patent with unitary effect, companies are free from the choice of countries of application.
New storage legislation adopted in June will strengthen the EU's security of gas supply in view of the upcoming and next winters. Faced with the threat of supply disruptions by Russia, the EU Gas Storage Regulation requires that Europe's gas reserves are refilled before the winter, and their management protected from outside interference. The rules were adopted in record time thanks to the Parliament and Council's readiness to examine the legislative proposal as a matter of urgency, against the backdrop of Russia's war against Ukraine.
The Commission welcomes the adoption by the European Parliament of theDigital Services Actand Digital Markets Act, proposed by the Commission in December 2020. The Digital Services Package sets out a first comprehensive rulebook for the online platforms that we all depend on in our daily lives. These new rules will be applicable across the whole of the EU and will create a safer and more open digital space, grounded in respect for fundamental rights.
The twin geopolitical and energy crises have thrown into sharp relief the high costs of Europe’s continued fossil gas dependency. Europe has diverse and abundant renewable energy resources – but to date not all technologies have been scaled up to fully harness their potential. The lack of incentives for Member States to provide long term visibility prevents innovative renewable technologies from reaching the commercial stage.
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.
