The EU has launched a final call to arms to complete the existing Gas Directive and clarify the EU energy principles by common rules for gas pipelines, which enter the internal gas market. The objective is to step up efforts to maintain viable alternative gas transit flows after failing to derail the Nord Stream 2 link. The new rules are about to apply to existing and future, domestic and offshore pipelines alike.
The initiative is an attempted response to concerns over the increasing EU energy dependency, which is only expected to be exacerbated over the coming years. The amendment of the Energy Package is expected to ensure that all major pipelines in the EU, or entering EU territory, are operated under the same transparency regime and are accessible to all other operators. This approach is believed to maximise competition and avoid conflicts of interest between operators, ensuring at the same time the resilience of the EU’s gas supplies as well as fair prices.
The present proposal delineates the EU’s attempt to break specific energy export monopolies, providing a new incentive for existing and potential competitors to commence negotiations with the EU. Despite, the business as usual appearances, the proposal shuffles the cards in the ongoing energy game in the EU. Moreover, it is likely to trigger heated reactions in an attempt to open up the energy market to new business opportunities by diversifying the energy sector and reducing dependency on imports.
The European Commission is going ahead with plans for a fair taxation regime on digital giants, aiming to balance the low tax regimes that cost EU governments billions of Euros in foregone revenues. The objective of the initiative is to define a fair, efficient and growth friendly approach to the taxation of digital economy.
In 2015, the European Commission presented an ambitious Aviation Strategy for Europe. Several proposals are still under scrutiny in the EU’s legislative bodies. Others are placed on hold in the European Council.
The European Commission is adopting additional measures to promote digital innovations in healthcare. The recent midterm digital single market review calls for new health care legislation. The review was based on the 2014 European Commission communication to reach cost effective, as well as financially sustainable and resilient healthcare in the EU.
Earlier this year, the European Commission published the Consumer Financial Service Action Plan. Its objective is to improve transparency, and to address price inequalities in cross–border payments in currencies other than the Euro.
The European Commission is in the preparatory phase to present new legislative proposals to support technological progress of road vehicles. The aim is to minimize the risk of injury to the vehicle occupants and other road users.
The EU is determined to simplify and modernize the Common Agricultural Policy (“CAP”). This follows the 2016 findings of the Agricultural Markets Task Force and the Inception Impact Assessment, which was recently concluded.
Members of the European Parliament are pushing for a broader telecom reform to boost competition in the EU. The European Parliament wants to give national regulators new control powers in EU countries which are dominated by very few companies.
The EU institutions and Member States governments are considering various options and regulatory tools to propose suitable rules for drone operation in the European Union. The European Commission, the body responsible for issuing the formal proposal, has recently confirmed that a drone regulation is necessary and would be up and running as 2019.
At the turn of the year, the European Commission made a proposal for a regulation focusing on the protection of personal data in electronic communication, the so-called ePrivacy Regulation.