Large companies will soon need to publicly disclose detailed information on the way they operate and manage social and environmental risks. On Tuesday, the Legal Affairs Committee adopted its position on the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) with 22 votes in favour and one against. If agreed with EU governments, the bill will make businesses…
Business
Global Minimum Corporate Tax Rate
Following the OECD deal on a global minimum corporate tax rate, the Socialists in the European Parliament say that the EU must now ensure a rapid and ambitious implementation. EU ministers are expected to adopt an agreement tomorrow, but according to media reports they will postpone the implementation to December 2023. The Socialists and Democrats say…
Protecting IP in Ukraine
The Commission and the European Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) worked together to define a first set of measures to safeguard protection of intellectual property in Ukraine. In agreement with the Commission, the EUIPO has adopted the following measures: the EUIPO will safeguard Ukrainian intellectual property rights in the European Union by providing full support to…
Belgian Air Travel Starts to Pick Up Again
This last February, Brussels Airport welcomed around 825,000 passengers, up by 400% compared to February 2021, but still down by 50% compared to the same period before the crisis (February 2019). A better month than January (-52%), despite being shorter by 3 days. In terms of freight, the volumes transported increased by 13% compared with February…
We all Need to Go Faster With Digital Transformation
The Carbon Footprint of Cryptocurrency
MEPs have voted on regulating markets in crypto assets (MiCA) and the carbon footprint of cryptocurrency. Eero Heinäluoma, MEP and S&D negotiator on crypto assets, said, “Cryptocurrency uses up as much energy as electric cars do. Bitcoin mining alone consumes more energy than countries the size of Austria or Portugal. With such a heavy carbon footprint,…
Suspension of Soyuz launches operated by Arianespace & Starsem
Arianespace is strictly abiding by the sanctions decided by the international community (European Union, United States of America and United Kingdom) following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. As part of the mandate given by the ESA Member States to Arianespace, the operation of the Soyuz launcher from Europe’s Spaceport (CSG, French Guiana) and from…
€11.3 billion EFSF loan for Greece
The Board of Directors of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) decided to reduce to zero the step-up margin accrued by Greece for the period between 17 June 2021 and 1 January 2022, as part of the medium-term debt relief measures agreed for the country in 2018. The value of this sixth successive reduction amounts…
Digital Connectivity Vital for Economy and Society
CEOs from leading companies have called for large content platforms to contribute to the cost of the European digital infrastructure that carries their services. The plea comes in an open letter from José María Álvarez-Pallete (Chairman and CEO, Telefónica), Tim Höttges (CEO, Deutsche Telekom), Nick Read (CEO, Vodafone), Stéphane Richard (Chairman and CEO, Orange) The letter reads,…
EU Standardisation Strategy
The European Commission has presented its standardisation strategy. It stresses the importance of standardisation for global competitiveness and supports policies aimed at better anticipating and defining the European standardisation priorities. Reaction came from BusinessEurope Director General Markus J. Beyrer. Beyrer said, “We must consolidate a strong European Standardisation System and improve and speed up standardisation processes which…