BDI/BDA BRUSSELS UPDATE

Transcription

1 BDI/BDA BRUSSELS UPDATE THE GERMAN BUSINESS REPRESENTATION May 2015 European business calls for concrete initiatives for private investments»invest in Europe«was at the central theme of this year s conference organised by the European industry s umbrella organisation BUSINESSEUROPE in Brussels. At the heart of this event was a dialogue with the new European Commission and the European Parliament. >> page 2 Digital Single Market Environmental Policy Capital Market Union European Commission publishes strategy On 6 May 2015 the European Commission presented its strategy for the creation of the digital single market. >> page 2 New strategy for a circular economy After the European Commission withdrew the original package for a circular economy in February 2015, it is now preparing a new strategy. >> page 3 Opportunities for more investments in Europe In mid-february the European Commission published a strategy paper on harmonisation and simplification of capital market rules. >> page 4 Trade Policy BDI Newsletters In order to receive BDI newsletters on specific issues please register on Update on the status of the TTIP The ninth round of negotiations on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership took place in New York from 20 to 24 April. >> page 4

2 BDI/BDA Brussels Update May European business calls for concrete initiatives for private investments BUSINESSEUROPE President Emma Marcegaglia underlined industry s high expectations of the Juncker Commission: a comprehensive Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership TTIP, competitive energy prices, digitisation of industry, less bureaucracy and a functioning European single market. During the day s first panel debate, Kramer stressed the importance of Juncker s 350 billion Euro investment fund for closing the investment gap in Europe. However, it is decisive that the investment package mobilises additional especially private investments. In the central panel discussion, Grillo highlighted the need for more coherent and investment-friendly EU legislation with the First Vice-President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans:»We must move away from risk-oriented regulation towards opportunity-oriented regulation«grillo said.»invest in Europe«was at the central theme of this year s conference organised by the European industry s umbrella organisation BUSINESSEUROPE in Brussels with around 350 participants from business and politics. Ingo Kramer, the President of Germany s leading employer organisation (BDA), called for a dismantling of the main obstacles to investment (such as increasing energy costs, heavy business taxation or skills shortages) in order to restore Europe s attractiveness as a destination for investors. His industrial counterpart, BDI President Ulrich Grillo, emphasised that investments and competitiveness require a coherent European legislative framework for energy and digital. Further speakers were Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament, Günther Oettinger, Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, Cecilia Malmström, Trade Commissioner, and Jyrki Katainen, Vice-President of the European Commission with responsibility for jobs, growth, investments and competitiveness. Contacts: Séverine Féraud (BDA), s.feraud@arbeitgeber.de Joscha Ritz (BDI), j.ritz@bdi.eu European Commission publishes strategy for the Digital Single Market On 6 May 2015 the European Commission presented its strategy for the creation of the digital single market. Its realisation is one of the European Commission s central priorities for the years ahead. Under Commissioners Günther Oettinger and Andrus Ansip, the new European Commission has been working on the strategy since the start of its mandate. Through the initiative, the Commission expects to stimulate additional growth potential of 415 billion Euro. The strategy essentially builds on three action priorities: better access for consumers and businesses to online goods and services, creating the right conditions for digital networks and services to flourish, and maximising the growth potential of the European digital economy. In its communication, the Commission has announced numerous initiatives. Alongside harmonised rules for online sales, ter-

3 BDI/BDA Brussels Update May ritorial restrictions (also known as»geo-blocking«) should be lifted. To this end, the Commission is considering inter alia a change of the legislative framework for e-commerce. A further key issue is the modernisation of EU copyright, which is announced for the end of In addition, the Commission wants to carry out a comprehensive assessment of the role of platforms by the end of the year. In this area, BDI calls for a more dispassionate debate. Market economics and innovations require functioning, open and fair competition. This calls for transparent, dependable and above all binding rules. BDI welcomes the fact that the European Commission is moving cyber-security into closer focus. It has proposed the establishment of public-private partnership projects around cybersecurity. Trust in network security is a pre-condition for the future challenges of industrial digitisation. This can be promoted through cooperation between government, industry and society. International cooperation should also be developed in this direction. In the third pillar, the Commission underlines the growth potential offered by industrial digitisation, cloud services and the Internet of things. Unfortunately, it does not explicitly address the transformation of Industry 4.0. Rather, it concentrates strongly on the big data sector, which is growing at 40 percent annually. According to the Commission this potential must be better exploited. For 2016, it therefore wants to launch an initiative on free movement of data and plans to look at the issue of data ownership rights in the business-to-business area. In addition, it wants to start a European Cloud Initiative. Industry broadly welcomes the fact that an emphasis is also to be placed on standardisation. Cost-based European and international standards and global norms are of decisive importance for the interoperability and integration of new technologies. Not least the networking of people, products and machines in an»internet of everything«across systems requires a seamless information flow on the basis of global norms and standards. It is also positive that the Commission incorporates the needs of the work world for skilled workers in its strategy. Education and training structures should be adjusted to reflect changed requirements in all sectors in order to secure employment possibilities. The European Commission is therefore in favour of stronger recognition of digital skills and qualifications as well as a fundamental upgrading of ICT specialist competence. Contacts: Anne Meister (BDA), a.meister@arbeitgeber.de Stefanie Stündel (BDI), s.stuendel@bdi.eu Commission is preparing a new strategy for a circular economy sustainable sourcing and markets for secondary raw materials, product design, production systems, sustainable consumption, recycling as well as sustainable reduction and management of residual waste. In this way the Commission would like to widen the recent focus on waste policy and in particular move aspects of product policy as well as development of functioning secondary raw material markets further into the foreground. Furthermore, the specific situation in individual Member States should be given greater consideration and legal requirements and objectives in the area of waste policy should be improved at local level, in particular regarding household waste. The new package is then expected to comprise a new proposal for a revision of waste law and an action plan with further measures and concrete deadlines. After the European Commission withdrew the original package for a circular economy in February 2015, it is now preparing a new strategy which is expected to inform a new package of measures in the fourth quarter of According to sources, the Commission will concentrate on six thematic areas as its preparations for the package continue: Among other things, the Commission has announced an online consultation for May and a stakeholder conference on 25 June to help it prepare the new package. Dr Alexander Kessler (BDI), a.kessler@bdi.eu

4 BDI/BDA Brussels Update May Opportunities for more investments in Europe An effective capitals market union would be an important step towards completing the single market. Because companies will in future need a greater degree of access to an integrated capital market in order to place their sources of finance on a broad base. However, the Commission initiative will only be successful if it is not frustrated by excessive financial market regulation. Obvious inconsistencies between regulatory initiatives constitute high hurdles for a functioning capital markets union. Expressly welcome is the differentiated regulatory treatment of securitisations. Well regulated securitisation markets open up new avenues in business and infrastructure financing. The Capitals Market Union is taking shape. In mid-february the European Commission published a strategy paper on harmonisation and simplification of capital market rules. The objective is to move ahead with integration of European financial markets and to make cross-border investments in Europe more attractive. In the short term, the European Commission plans first and foremost the creation of a market for high quality securitisations, the simplification of the prospectus directive as well as uniform rules for private placements. In the longer term, a stronger harmonisation of company, insolvency and tax law is foreseen. The capital markets union must be developed with balance and without illusions. European countries have their own financial traditions, business structures and financing needs. Capital market financing options are still unlikely to become a real alternative to the bank loan for the broad mass of small and medium-sized enterprises. Bank- and capital-market-based financing models should interlinked in an intelligent way. The project can then make a positive contribution to more investments, growth and jobs in Europe. Dr Reinhard Kudiß (BDI), r.kudiss@bdi.eu Update on the status of the TTIP negotiations The ninth round of negotiations on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership took place in New York from 20 to 24 April. The priority was an exchange on new negotiating offers for dismantling customs duties, talks on regulatory cooperation and the architecture of an agreement in the area of services. Since the European Commission had not yet presented a new negotiating position in the area of investment protection, there were no discussions on this theme. These will continue at the earliest in the framework of the tenth round of negotiations in July. European Parliament is preparing a resolution on TTIP The European Parliament s resolution is of great importance for the upcoming negotiations. It is currently being discussed in various Committees and is expected to be adopted in June.

5 BDI/BDA Brussels Update May Once the negotiations will be concluded, the European Parliament must approve of any agreement. Future timetable: no agreement in 2015 Both EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström and EU Chief Negotiator Ignacio Garcia Bercero have made it clear that it is not realistic to expect the negotiations to be concluded this year. Nevertheless, the negotiations in 2015 should be used to reach agreement on a political framework in many negotiating areas. Hannover Messe trade fair, BDI s Presidential Board adopted a statement of principles on TTIP in German, which you can read here. In a brochure entitled»we want TTIP«, Chairmen and Managing Directors of large and SME businesses call for an agreement and explain how this could help their companies, employees and customers. The german brochure can be found here. Fabian Wendenburg (BDI), f.wendenburg@bdi.eu In 2015, BDI will continue to make the case for a strong TTIP with clear rules for trade and investment. On the occasion of the Photo credits: BUSINESSEUROPE (1, 2), Fotolia (1, 2), Fotolia/Christian Maurer (1, 3), Fotolia/Adam Gryko (1, 4), Fotolia/jamdesign (1, 4) Editors: Joscha Ritz (Responsible in terms of German Press Law), Leonie Dack The responsibility for the content of external contributions rests with the respective author. Publisher: BDI - Federation of German Industries Breite Str. 29; Berlin;