Issue 2014/144. This. Contents Transport and Environment, Employment, ... 6

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1 Issue 2014/144 This issue includes news from 21 November 2014 to 4 December Contents General, Cross-cutting & Institutional Affairs Economy, Energy Enterprise Transport Infrastructure... 4 Environment, Climate, Rural Fisheries... 5 Employment, Skills Education... 6 Health Sport... 7 Justice Home Affairs... 8 Regional Policy... 9

2 2 General, Cross-cutting & Institutional Affairs Annual Growth Survey On 28 November 2015, Commission adopted its Annual Growth Survey, which outlines main features of its new jobs growth agenda. Survey starts European Semester of economic budgetary policy coordination Survey aims to streamline this coordination process, by empowering Member States to take greater responsibility actions y take. Commission hopes se changes will mean rem is more fully implemented. Commission recommends that European economic social policy be focused on: Boosting investment through new Investment Plan Accelerating structural rem, including by progresss in energy digital economy, cutting red tape. Fiscal responsibility, with more efficient public spending measures t address tax fraud tax evasion. Commission also recommends that Member State rems focus on labour markets, sustainable pensions, modernising social protection systemss (including health systems) improving flexibility of product services markets, framework conditions business investment, quality of investment in research innovation efficiency of public administration. Commission will now hold bilateral meetings with Member States. In March 2015, Heads of State or Government will adopt economic priorities based on findings recommendations of Annual Growth Survey. In May, following more bilateral meetings, Commission will issue country-specific recommendations budgetary, economic social policies. Economy, Energy Enterprise Juncker Investment Plan On 26 November, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker presented an Investment Plan Europe. Plan aims to mobilise 315 billion in investment in European economy over next three years, undertake targeted initiatives to ensure this investment meets needs of real economy, provide greater regulatory predictability remove barriers to investment. Plan does not present any new money, as such, but rar repackages existing EU funds seeks to reduce risk. Plan is largely focused on infrastructure, seeking to make it significantly more reliant on private investment. Plan also esees a greater role European Investment Bank (EIB) in Europe s economic recovery. main str of Plan is a new European Fund Strategic Investments (EFSI), with a 16 billion guarantee from EU budget including contributions from Horizon Programme, Connecting Europe Facility a commitment of 5 billion from EIB s own reserves. Commission estimates that EFSI could reach an overall multiplier effect of 1:15 in real investment in economy (i.e. mobilise 315 billion). This impact could be higher with contributions from Member States national promotional banks. 2

3 3 75% of EFSI s resources will go to infrastructure projects, typicallyy providing greater risk coverage, thus facilitating private investment. remaining 25% of ESFI will provide direct equity securitisation of loans SMEs mid-caps, relying on European Investment Fund (EIF) operational implementation. Plan also recommends boosting impact of European Structural Investment Funds through a significant increase in use of innovative financial instruments, particularly in areas of SME-support, energy efficiency, ICT, transport R&D support. Commission will provide guidance to each Member State on this, will put in place a dedicatedd monitoring system to track results. second str proposes to set up a pipeline projects at EU-level to strengn technical assistance through an investment advisory Hub, to be in place by June An Investment Task Force comprised of EIB, Commission Member States is currently examining potentially viable projects EU-level investment. Task Force will present its final report by mid-december. Heads of State or Government will discuss report at European Council Summit on December. third str of Plan is providing greater regulatory predictabilit ty, removing barriers to investment, furr reincing Single Market. Better regulation is one of main priorities of European Commission, which will be reflected in Commission Work Programme 2015, expected to be published on 16 December. In particular, Commission will step up its efts under Regulatory Fitness Permance Programme (REFIT). Plan furr emphasises important medium to long-term role of Capital Markets Union (more accurately described as thcoming policies to completee single market capital alternative sources of financing). European Parliament Heads of State or Government were invited to endorse Plan, which includes a commitment to fast-track adoption of relevant legislative measures. This is anticipated to be ready EFSI advisory Hub to begin operations by mid Commission Member States will review Plan in mid-2016, furr options may be considered in context of mid-term review of EU budget While Gross Domestic Product private consumption in EU were in second quarter of 2014 roughly at same level as in 2007, total investment was about 15% below 2007 figures. However, investment in UK fell sharply in ; investment is projected to grow by 9% compared with 2% in EU. Long term investment On 26 November, European Parliament Member State governments reached agreement on Regulation establishing a framework European Long-Term Investment Funds (ELTIFs). Commission first proposed creation of ELTIFs in June 2013, as a means of boosting investment in long-term projects such as infrastructure. ELTIFs are expected to appeal particularly to long-term institutional investors such as pension funds insurers, but final text does allow retail investments of a minimumm of 10,000. At fund manager s discretion, redemptions will 3

4 be permitted bee end of life-cycle of assets. agreement must be mally endorsed become EU law. fund, provided fund has by governments MEPs 4 enough liquid bee it can Energy Unionn At a recent high-level EU Energy Policy Competitiveness Conference in Brussels new Vice-President of European Commission responsible Energy Union Maroš Šefčovič, European Commissioner Climate Action Energy Miguel Arias Cañete, presented ir priorities next five years. ir speeches focused on five main priority areas on which to future European Energy Union will be based: need increased security, solidarity trust within Union including strengning coordinatio on among EU Member States exploring option of common purchasing of gas. Completion of a competitive internal market, removing remaining regulatory barriers. Moderation of energy dem, through improved energy efficiency in EU. Decarbonis sation of EU energy mix. Furr investment in research innovation. se five building blocks, according to Šefčovič, should lead to creation of a resilient Energy Union, with afdable, secure sustainable energy supply. In first quarter of 2015 European Commission will come ward with a strategy paper setting out key actions to be undertaken during next two years. Creative Industries On 25 November EU Ministers in Education, Culture, Youth Sport Council adopted conclusions on a European audio-visual policy in digital era, in context of an upcoming review of 2010 Audiovisual Media Services Directive, preparations to modernise EU s copyright framework. On 21 November, a discussion also took place in Committeee of Regions Education, Youth, Culture, Research Committee on EU s strategy to promote an integrated approach to cultural heritage Europe. Discussions noted, with concern, that cultural heritage is still undervalued, with government aid continually diminishing. Members of committee endorsed need maximum efficiency in sourcing of funding, as well as showing appreciation Commission ss recognition of culture as integral to European economy identity. Transport Infrastructure Transport infrastructure EU Transport Ministers met in Brussels on 3 December, amongst or issues, adopted a set of conclusion ns on transport infrastructure trans-european transport network (TEN-T). Above all, Ministers called on Commission to consider role of transport infrastructure investment as a key driver of economic growth job creation as part of its upcoming 2015 review of Europe 2020 strategy. 4

5 5 Based on analysis of individual Member States requirements in field of transport infrastructure, Council recognised Commission s estimation that 500bn investment is required to complete TEN-T with 250bn of investment necessary to complete Core Network by Discussion covered prioritisatio on of Connecting Europe Facility funding Core Network infrastructure too, need alignment between priorities of Core Network Corridors planning of national transport infrastrucutre. Minsters also discussed upcoming submission of Work Programmes TEN-T Core Network Corridors, which are due to be presented to Council by Commission on 222 December. meeting also emphasised importance of or ms of financing infrastructure, need to blend European or national grant funding with innovative financial instruments. Ministers furr encouraged European Investment Bank to provide necessary technical assistance to Member States in order to incentivise private investment in major investment projects. At 3 December meeting Ministers also discussed progress on Fourth Railway Package, as well as adopting a General Approach on two proposals of Single European Sky II+ package, to acceleratee implementation of Single European Sky, amend rules European Aviation Safety Agency. Shipping emissions European Parliament Council of EU have reached inmal agreement on a proposed Regulation on monitoring, reporting verification (MRV) of CO2 emissions of maritime transport. agreement paves way a European MRV system, which is to become operational as of 2018 will apply to ships above 5000 gross tonnes (GT), not including international maritime shipping. Exemptions will be granted to warships, naval auxiliaries, fishing vessels, wooden ships of a primitive build, ships not propelled by mechanical means government ships used non-commercial purposes. MEPs initially favoured a stricter Regulation, calling scope of law to be widened to include ships of 400 GT, as well as monitoring of air pollutant NOx, though eventually agreed to maintain original scope proposed by Commission. proposed Regulation is seen as a stepping stone towards a global MRV instrument, will be reviewed should an international agreement to cut shipping emissions, which is currently under negotiations at International Maritime Organisation (IMO), be reached. agreement on EU MRV Regulation still requires mal endorsement from European Parliament Council. This process is unlikely to entail furr changes to specifics of agreement, which is expected to be finalised in spring Environment, Climate e, Rural Fisheries Agriculture Rural Development Speaking at sixth Knowledge Innovation Summit in Brussels, new European Commissioner Agriculture Rural Development, Phil Hogan, outlined his main priorities his mate as a Commissioner. He identified fostering innovation in agriculture rural development as his key priority, also stressing need to ensure protection of natural 5

6 6 resources, biodiversity, lscape, soil water. Commissioner also stressed importance of Rural Development Programme, which will stimulate rural areas to strengn diversify economic activity. An examplee of this is roll-out of fast broadb, which is to be used dataa collection analytics in crop livestock management. Innovation is key to sustainable rural development, he said, to help agri-food sector maintain competitiveness create more better jobs in rural areas. Hogan stated that agricultural research in Horizon 2020 programme should focus on: increasing efficiency, sustainability resilience of primary production, while increasing its capacity climate change mitigation adaptation; providing ecosystem services public goods; empowering rural areas to enhance support innovation. Hogan also spoke bee members of European Parliament s Agriculture Rural Development Committee on 3 December, where he outlined role of new Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) in contributing to growth jobs agenda. Pledging simplification of CAP as a major priority of 2015, Hogan noted that CAP can support ambitions of Juncker s 26 November Investment Plan. CAP could accomplish this in numerous ways, such as through increasing market orientation, encouraging modernisation of sector, using Rural Development to encourage investments in rural areas, improving access to finance farmers, particularly young farmers. Employment, Skills Education Growth employment On 20 November, in a speech to 4th Annual Convention of European Platm against Poverty Social Exclusion, Marianne Thyssen, Commissioner Employment, Social Affairs, Skills Labour Mobility, spelled out her mate a job-rich recovery via investment, jobs rebalancing economic social agenda. This will be achieved by investment structural rem, Thyssen noted that 315bn growth investment package, announced on 26 by Jean-Claude Juncker, European Social Fund will be central engines of this rem. Recognition of Non-Formal Learning European Commission, along with European Centre Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP), has published an analysis of validation of non-mal inmal learning across Europe. report shows that although significant progress has been made since 2010, Member States still face significant challenges in mally recognising skills gained outside of schools or university. Inability to demonstrate skills knowledgee learned is cited as a significant problem, given skills-mismatch structural unemployment problems presently faced. report highlights key challenges, including: Low level of public awareness validation of skills; Acceptance e of validation being lower than educational qualifications; Costs bureaucracy involved in validating skills being prohibitive; A lack of coordinationn or a comprehensivee system validation, meaning inefficiency abounds. 6

7 Commission has also published country reports all EU Member States, including a separate analysis Scotl. Scotl report notes that although Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is linked to Scottish Credit Qualifications Framework (SCQF) has developed significantly since 2010, re are still barriers to greater uptake of non-mal inmal skillss validation including perception that RPL is expensive. report notes that learners are often ree placed in mainstream programmes, which already exist, or that an RPL learner in Scotl may be wrongly perceived as a part-time learner due to ir taking of few courses to obtain ir qualification. Digital healthh skills ehealth Stakeholder Group ( an advisory body of European Commission) has published a report analysing eskills in European healthcare workce. Aimed at providing a better understing of issues impacting eskills development, needs in ehealth sector, report encourages European Commission EU Member States to take steps to ensure that ehealth is part of curricula of healthcare professionals. report provides a seriess of practical stepss to tackle eskills gaps in European healthcaree sector, includes following recommendations: Commission should coordinate efts at EU level should set up a matic network of stakeholde ers tasked to map common needs in eskills. Commission should also ensure exchange of best practices in training curricula. Member States should strengn efts to include eskills as part of Continuous Professional Developme ent. Health Sport Health in Europe 2020 On 1 December, EU Health Ministers discussed contribution of investmentss in healthh to achieving objectives of Europe 2020 strategy, which is to undergo a mid-term review in UK was represented at Council meeting by Deputy Permanent Representative to EU, Shan Morgan. discussion was guided by an Italian Presidency text whichh notes that investments in health should be seen as investments productivity competitiveness. text states that: In terms of health, mid-term review of Europe 2020 should build on work of European Innovation Partnership on Active Healthy Ageing take into account role that improved health outcomes can have on meeting headline employment target, particularly by contributing to longer working lives. healthh social care sectors account approximately 10% of employment in EU, including a relatively high proportion of high-skilled jobs, created 2.8 million new jobs between Investing in prevention innovation should be seen as important aspects of ensuring sustainabil ity of public finances. 7 7

8 Gender Violence On 25 November European Parliament marked International Day Elimination of Violence against Women with a plenary debate attended by European Commissioner Justice, Consumers Gender Equality, Vera Jourova. Members of Parliament's Women's Rights Gender Equality Committee called more EU-level action on gender violence, including a re is a clear link between poor health social exclusion. Health system investments should shift from a resource-centred approach to an outcomes- should be integrated into National Rem Programmes taken into account in Country Specific Recommendations. focused approach, focusing on interventions that are needed to achieve results. Robust health indicators should be developed, Health Systems Permancee Assessment In response to text, Ministerss noted that healthcare is a Member State competence, as such, best way ward is through inmation best practices exchange. Some delegations called better reflection of role of health in achieving Europe 2020 objectives, but introduction of a headline target on health was not supported. Italian Presidency of Council will compile results of various discussions on Europe 2020 into a report to be endorsedd by General Affairs Council on 16 December, bee being warded to European Council Summit of Heads of State or Government on December. Commission intends to make proposalss relating to Europe 2020 review bee March 2015 European Council Summit. Sport innovation Ministers at 25 November Education, Youth, Culture Sport Council meeting adopted conclusions on sport as a driver of innovation economic growth. y noted that sport is an important driver of innovation, with significant transferable innovation example in manufacturing, IT, health, food drink, tourism education sectors. conclusions call upon Member States to: Promote cross-sector cross-border clusters in technology transfer innovative solutions sport. Facilitate access to a wider range of financing sport sector, including venture capital better use of EU funding programmes (such as Horizon 2020 or COSME) to develop innovative solutionss concerning economic aspect of sport sector. Exchange best practice to create support strategic partnershipss in sport, with European Commission sport stakeholders, explore possibility of promoting public- private partnershipss in sport infrastructure projects. Ministers also called on Commission to organise a high-level as well as discussing promotion of cross-sectoral event on contribution of sport to innovationn economic growth, sport physical activity at school age. Justice Home Affairs 8 8

9 Directive a European Year against Gender Violence. Commissioner Jourova stated that her commitment to combating gender violencee would be reflected in a dedicated chapter in Commission'ss new strategy on gender equality, which will be published in She reminded MEPs of existing legislation such as Victims' Rights Directive European Protection Order, said that existing efts on gender violence should be evaluated bee introducing any new measures. Regional Policy Sixth Cohesion Report On 19 November, European Ministers discussed Commission s Sixth Report on Economic, Social Territorial Cohesion, published in July. report analyses state of social cohesion in EU, highlights challenges faced by national, regional local authorities in overcoming impact of financial economicc crisis. Ministers stressed importance of reincing coherence between Cohesion Policy economic governance, including through alignment of Cohesion policy with European semester Country Specific Recommendations. y also underlined importance of knowledge good practice sharing in various areas of implementation, called on Commission Member States to continue work towards an EU Urban agenda, ensuring that it correspondss to principle of subsidiarity. 9 Lastly, need a regular debate at ministerial levell on results of Structural Investment Funds was underlined. European Europe 2020 Committee of Regions has published its 5th annual Monitoring Report, looking at implementation of Europe 2020 strategy over past year, as seen by EU cities regions. Aiming to improve ownership, focus effectiveness of Europe s growth job strategy; report analyses key aspects of strategy s progress. It includes chapters on trends in regional development, such as increasing regional disparities, as well as on multi-level governance, European Semester, Partnership Agreements. 9