Category: Allgemein

EU to regulate voice call termination rates

Posted on by AlberGeiger

The European Commission has launched a public consultation to gather stakeholder and the public’s opinion on the scope and application of the future EU harmonized rules on voice call termination services. A termination rate is one component in the cost calculation for providing telephone service and is subject to most variation in the EU.

Commission is expected to adopt a Delegated Act in the field of voice call termination rates in Member States by 31 December 2020. The current differences have distorted cross-border competition and fragmented telecom markets. Therefore, the regulation is intended to standardise rates by establishing a pan-European maximum termination rate for fixed and mobile calls. This consultation will determine the services that fall under voice call termination. Telecommunication operators and consumers will benefit, as mitigating the risks of excessive pricing will increase consumption.

EU to review European Financial Benchmarks

Posted on by AlberGeiger

As a result of the manipulation of two prominent benchmarks – the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (EURIBOR) – the EU adopted the Benchmark Regulation (BMR) on indices used in financial instruments and contracts or to measure the performance of investment funds in January 2018. The European Commission has initiated a consultation on the review of the BMR, two years after its entry into force to collect stakeholders’ opinions on benchmarks’ efficiency.

The European Commission will review the regime for critical benchmarks and the effectiveness of the mechanism for authorisation and registration of administrators. It will equally evaluate the categorisation of benchmarks and the rules for third countries. The review of the EU Benchmark Regulation will reinforce the accuracy and integrity of indices, which will determine the strength of market confidence. The review of the BMR may introduce new compliance requirements for benchmark administrators, contributors and users with regard to interest rate, foreign exchange, and commodity.

EU guidelines on International Procurement Instrument

Posted on by AlberGeiger

The European Commission released a new communication, guiding the participation of third country bidders and goods in the EU procurement market. The document aims to foment competition in public tenders and provide information to public buyers in Member States. The document advises on quality standards, how to assess abnormally low-priced offers and compliance with social and environmental obligations.

The EU’s open procurement market is the largest in the world, with an estimated value of €2 trillion yearly. However, many EU trading partners apply restrictive practices in their markets against EU companies; with more than half of the worldwide procurement market (totalling €8 trillion), closed to European businesses. These restrictions affect competitive EU sectors such as construction, transport, medical devices and pharmaceuticals. The Commission’s recent communication coupled with the sustained asymmetric market access has reignited the call for the adoption of the International Procurement Instrument (IPI) before the end of 2019.

The Commission is expected to call on the Parliament and Council to approve the IPI by 2020. The IPI will promote reciprocity, tackle protectionism and open up procurement opportunities for EU companies in third countries.

EU moves on Artificial Intelligence

Posted on by AlberGeiger

In April this year, the European Commission put forward an EU approach to artificial intelligence and robotics. The EU’s plans include funding to encourage the uptake between public and private sectors. Moreover, the EU’s approach foresees support to education and labour to prepare for the deployment of AI. Last, while the EU is determined to stay at the front of this technological development, it will also work on ensuring a proper legal and ethical framework.

More recently, the European Union followed on the above Communication with a plan for AI made in Europe. The plan will foresee concrete measures that will be put forward by the European Commission and the Member States in 2019 and 2020. These will include AI ethics guidelines and a guidance on the Product Liability Directive. In addition, the regulatory framework on Digital Single Market will have to be completed to make AI a success. Completion of legislative proposals in the area of cybersecurity, open data and upcoming EU budgets, will be important to secure the legal framework and the funding opportunities for investment, research and innovation.

For the abovementioned reasons, all potential users, including small and medium-sized enterprises, companies from non-tech sectors and public administrations should engage in the process to shape the rules in order to take advantage of the opportunities.

EU to harmonise device chargers

Posted on by AlberGeiger

After the failure of the negotiations with the industry for a new Memorandum of Understanding to harmonise chargers for data-enabled mobiles sold in the EU, the European Commission has initiated in May 2019 a public consultation to collect stakeholders’ opinions in order to find the best solution to the problem of fragmentation of the charging solutions.

The European Commission will take into consideration three policy options, including no common charging solution, voluntary approach, and a binding regulatory approach that should impose common chargers for the whole industry. This last option would determine economic benefits for consumers, as well as a positive impact on the environment through a reduction of e-waste. However, it will have a negative impact on producers and importers.

EU Retaliates by Targeting US goods

Posted on by AlberGeiger

aviationThe European Union has picked up President Donald Trump’s tariffs challenge and is considering responding with trade countermeasures. The WTO rules afford its members the possibility to impose temporary levies as safeguard. At the same time, it allows its members to retaliate proportionately in case the new trade restrictions are not adequately compensated within 90 days.

The European Commission is ready to exercise these retaliatory policies against the announced tariffs by the US administration, namely 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum. Experts estimate that the tariffs to be imposed by President Trump could affect €6bn in steel and aluminum exports. While the EU still hopes to avoid a full-blown trade war, European Commission officials have already presented EU member states with €2.8bn list of more than 100 US products that could be affected.

The retaliation would likely affect a variety of products from sensitive Republican-dominated states, such as cosmetics and clothing, Harley-Davidson motorbikes, orange juice from Florida and bourbon-whiskey from Kentucky. This list is on hold for the time being and it would require the approval by EU member states.

More EU Burdens on Household Devices

Posted on by AlberGeiger

household deviceOn February 2018, the European Commission has invited all interested parties to submit their views on the energy efficiency and eco-labelling of a series of commonly used electric and electronic devices. The European Commission, welcomes the views of stakeholders and citizens alike on the eco-design of refrigerators, washing machines, dishwashers, household lamps, televisions and computers. The public consultations will inform the ongoing evaluation and will result in the preparation of regulations specific to each product category.

Despite the positive objective to contribute to the energy efficiency and create a level playing field for EU manufacturers of such devices, the new initiative has already shown its dark side. The EU industry is afraid that it will take another hard-financial beating due to increased compliance costs and so are EU consumers. Non-EU manufacturers need to constantly adjust to an ever increasing in complexity matrix of environmental regulations that makes their access to the EU market difficult.

The open consultations will last until May 2018 and the results which will be published shortly after will shape the market of household devices.

EU Declares War on Piracy

Posted on by AlberGeiger

laptop
In January 2018, the European Commission signaled the beginning of public consultations aiming on mapping out markets, which thrive by the abuse of intellectual property rights. The initiative is a first step in a series of escalating responses to a form of organised fraud amounting to a 5% of the total imports to the EU and resulting in damages exceeding the 85bn € for EU producers annually. The EU black list will be followed by custom controls and legislative efforts to crack down on pirates as well as consumer awareness campaigns.

The initiative, however, has raised many eyebrows worldwide, amidst rumours related to the targeting of specific competitive to the EU markets. Specifically, manufacturers from China as well as certain Balkan countries feel pinned down by the impending reforms. Furthermore, serious concerns have been raised on the effect that overly restrictive regulations might have on products considered ‘similar’ or ‘substitutes’.

One thing though is certain, that the new rules will affect a considerable part of the global market.

Alber & Geiger Recognised as Top Lobbying Firm

Posted on by AlberGeiger

aviationAfter a record number of entries for 2017, the finalists for the EU Public Affairs Awards have finally been revealed. Building on the success of the previous year, the second round of the most prestigious lobbying event took place this November in Brussels.

Once again, we have made an impact. Our team’s enthusiasm and dedication made the difference, vindicating nominations in four categories, namely: Lobbying Firm of the Year, Top Member States Lobbyists, Best Lobbyists in the EU Parliament and Lobbying Campaign of the Year. Alber & Geiger was the clear winner in the Lobbying Member States category for its ability to deliver business opportunities and policy solutions to clients in several jurisdictions. The judges highlighted our ability to shape legislation in Member States and activate Member States for EU-level advocacy efforts.

The new recognition of our efforts inspires us to step up our work and get things done faster and more efficiently. We are a success story in government affairs and our clients trust fuels our efforts for constant improvement of our services.

EU to Tackle ‘Fake News’

Posted on by AlberGeiger

aviationAmidst increasing complaints, mainly from small and medium market players, the European Commission is launching a series of initiatives to promote fairness in platform to business relations. The initiative is part of a wider strategy to promote transparency and fairness in the Digital Single Market, including countering the recent scourge of fake news.

Social media are gaining ground from printing press as a source of information for an increasing number of citizens. The tidal wave of malicious propaganda and fake news is a huge source of unregulated revenues and poses a direct threat to businesses, business models and consumers alike. Recognizing that the current pattern of news reporting is not sustainable, the European Commission has called for a counter initiative on misinformation with an alignment of policy, legislative and technological measures.

The new strategy is seeking to find a balance between fundamental political and economic rights and the citizen’s right to access reliable information, while it’s expected to raise the regulatory stakes for major online platforms in case they refuse to comply and cooperate. The European Commission has launched public consultations exploring the scope of future actions and it appears willing to adopt an aggressive strategy to tackle fake news by recently allocating funds to the taskforce countering online disinformation. The proposals will most likely not only affect social media operators but also businesses.