ECTA WELCOMES MS PINAR SERDENGECTI AS DIRECTOR OF COMPETITION AND REGULATION

On 18 October Ms Pinar Serdengecti joined ecta team as Director of Competition and Regulation. Ms Serdengecti comes from ecta member Iliad Italia where she was Director of Regulatory and Competition Affairs.

She holds a BSc in Economics & Social Sciences from the Bocconi University in Milan, a MA in International Management and Business Administration from the Bocconi University and a MA in Economics of Competition Law from King's College - University of London.

A warm welcome to the team to Ms Pinar Serdengecti. We wish her success.

 

2022 COMMISSION WORK PROGRAMME

On 19 October the European Commission adopted its 2022 Work Programme which sets out the next steps towards a greener, fairer, more digital and more resilient Europe economy. The Commission will follow up on its path to the Digital decade to deliver on the EU's digital transformation by 2030.

You can check below the Commission's agenda for "A Europe Fit for the Digital Age" divided into three groups: new initiatives, REFIT initiatives and priority pending proposals.

Next steps:

The Commission will start discussions with the Parliament and the Council to establish a list of joint priorities on which co-legislators can agree to take a swift action.

New initiatives

The Commission identified that Europe has become vulnerable in some strategic sectors due to the high dependency on a very few limited number of non-EU suppliers. The Commission intends to boost Europe's innovative capacity, security of supply and develop new markets for ground-breaking European tech. The Commission's initiatives for 2022 are the following:

(*) European cyber resilience act (legislative, including impact assessment - Q3 2022).

(*) European Chips act (legislative or non-legislative - Q2 2022).

(*) Roadmap on security and defence technologies (non-legislative, Q1 2022).

(*) Building an EU space-based global secure communication system (legislative, incl. impact assessment, Article 189 TFEU, Q2 2022).

(*) EU strategy for space traffic management (non-legislative, Q2 2022).

(*) Recommendation on improving the provision of digital skills in education and training (non-legislative, Q3 2022).

(*) Single market emergency instrument (legislative, incl. impact assessment, Q1 2022).

(*) Multimodal digital mobility services (legislative, incl. impact assessment, Article 91 TFEU, Q4 2022).

REFIT initiatives

The Commission sets out the most significant REFIT revisions, evaluations and fitness checks that the Commission will undertake in 2022.

Revision of the State aid guidelines for broadband networks

The recent Commission's observations in the 2030 Digital Compass Communication confirm the evolving demand for network capacity and the need to ensure sustainable investments into networks offering Gigabit speeds. The Commission plans a targeted modification of the current rules in order to align the State aid framework with the technological, socioecomonic and policy developments.

Indicative date:

Q2 2022.

Revision of the notice on market definition

The Commissions plans to update the notice on the market definition in antitrust and merger cases. An updated notice will reduce the burdens for companies by increasing the legal certainty and providing more up-to-date guidance on the Commission’s approach to market definition, including in areas not covered in the current notice, such as digital markets.

Indicative date:

Q4 2022.

Other REFIT initiatives

(*) Revision of the vertical block exemption Regulation and of the vertical guidelines -  (non-legislative, incl. impact assessment, Article 103 TFEU and Regulation 19/65/EEC, Q2 2022).

(*) Revision of the horizontal block exemption Regulation and of the horizontal guidelines - (non-legislative, incl. impact assessment, Article 103 TFEU and Regulation 19/65/EEC, Q4 2022).

(*) Revision of certain aspects of EU merger control - (non-legislative, incl. impact assessment, Commission Regulation (EC) No 802/2004 and Commission Notice on simplified procedure, Q2 2022).

(*) Proposal for an EU governments interoperability strategy -  (legislative, incl. impact assessment, Articles 114, 172, 188 and/or 197 TFEU, Q2 2022).

(*) Revision of the design Directive -  (legislative, incl. impact assessment, Article 114 TFEU, Q2 2022).

(*) Revision of the legislation on supplementary protection certificates - (legislative, incl. impact assessment, Articles 114 and 118 TFEU, Q4 2022).

Priority pending proposals

The following Proposals will be a priority for the Commission:

• Proposal on the harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating to the making available on the market of radio equipment.
• Proposal on establishing a framework for a European Digital Identity.
• Proposal on the foreign subsidies distorting the internal market.
• Proposal on the Artificial Intelligence Act.
• Proposal on the machinery products.
• Proposal on establishing the Joint Undertakings under Horizon Europe.
• Proposal on the DMA and the DSA.
• Proposal on the measures for a high common level of cybersecurity across the Union, repealing Directive (EU) 2016/1148.
• Proposal on the Data Governance Act.
• Proposal for a Regulation on Privacy and Electronic Communications.

More information on the 2022 Commission Work Programme

The press release can be found here.
The key documents on the 2022 Commission Work Programme can be found here.

                

CIVIL LIABILITY - ADAPTING THE RULES TO THE DIGITAL AGE AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

The European Commission launched a public consultation on adjusting the liability rules to the digital age, artificial intelligence and circular economy. Interested parties can provide their views on the revision of the Product Liability Directive.

More information can be found here.
The stakeholders can provide their input here.

Consultation period:

18 October 2021 - 10 January 2022 (midnight Brussels time).

 

CYBERSECURITY

Commission's guidelines for the evaluation on the National Coordination Centres' capacity to manage EU funds

On 20 October the Commission adopted guidelines for the evaluation of the National Coordination Centres' (NCCs') capacity to manage EU funds. According to the Regulation, a NCC should be a public sector entity, or mostly owned by the State, or performing public administration functions, and having the capacity to support the Competence Centre and the Network in fulfilling their mission. It shall either possess or have access to research and technological expertise in cybersecurity. It shall also have the capacity to engage effectively and coordinate with industry, the public sector, the academic and research community and citizens.

More information can be found here.

Next steps:

Each Member State shall nominate its NCC by the end of the year, and may ask the Commission for an opinion to assess its capacity to manage EU funding. The Commission will have three months to reply. 

Council's conclusions

On 19 October the Council of the EU adopted conclusions on exploring the potential of a joint cyber unit. The Council stresses the need to consolidate the existing networks and to establish a mapping of possible information sharing gaps and needs within and across cyber communities.

The press release can be found here.

ENISA Telecom security forum

More than 250 telecom security experts discussed the latest developments on the Electronic Communications Framework, the good practices and the experience in dealing with the emerging threats and the emerging technologies.

More information can be found here.

 

DELEGATED ACT ON CROSS-BORDER PROJECTS IN THE FIELD OF RENEWABLE ENERGY

On 21 October the European Commission launched a public consultation on a Delegated act on cross-border projects in the field of renewable energy.

The stakeholders can provide their input here.

Feedback period:

21 October 2021 - 18 November 2021 (midnight Brussels time).

 

THE REVIEW OF EU ECONOMIC GOVERNANCE

On 19 October the European Commission adopted a Communication on the relaunching of the review of EU economic governance. The Commission had suspended the public debate which was launched in February 2020 in order to focus on the pandemic situation. The Commission invites all key stakeholders to engage in this public debate so as to build consensus on the future of the economic governance framework.

The press release can be found here.

Next steps:

Q1 2022 - The Commission will provide guidance for fiscal policy for the period ahead.

 

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT PLENARY SESSION

MEPs were in a Plenary session from 21 to 22 October 2021. You can check the plenary highlights here.

The MEPs calendar can be downloaded from here.

Next week: Committee meetings.