17 December 2021
On Wednesday 15 December, the European Parliament voted in the plenary on its position on the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The text was approved by a large majority of 642 votes in favour, 8 votes against and 46 abstentions and is now ready for the next step: trilogues with the Council and the Commission, which will start immediately after the new year. The preparation of the text was led by MEP Andreas Schwab (EPP, DE) member of the IMCO Committee, with whom we had the opportunity to exchange in the Public Services Board meeting of 12 May 2021.
Following the meeting, SGI Europe, within the Working group on Digital policies, drafted amendments in line with our position paper (you can read it here). Regarding the DMA, we reached out to the MEPs of the leading committee (IMCO) and associated committees (ITRE, ECON). Mid summer, we were happy to see that many amendments that we suggested were tabled to the Draft report.
In the final text, SGI Europe particularly welcomes the inclusion of parcel delivery and freight transport in the definition of ‘Ancillary service’, the definition of ‘ranking’ as a relative prominence given to goods or services offered through core platform services, or the relevance given to search results by online search engines, as presented, organised or communicated by the core platform service providers, the expansion of the obligation of refraining to use, offer or interoperate with an identification service or any other ancillary service of the gatekeeper Article 5 (1) (e). We are furthermore glad to see that the obligation for gatekeepers to refrain from using non-public data was moved from Article 6 to Article 5. You can access the relevant documents here.
SGI Europe will monitor the developments until the end of this legislative process.
Contact: Manca Pocivavsek
On Tuesday 14 December 2021, the European Commission presented its proposal for a Council Recommendation on ensuring a fair transition towards climate neutrality. This proposal comprises policy guidance complementing the measures of the Fit-for-55 package presented in July 2021.
Based on SGI Europe position paper on the fair transition published in November 2021, SGI Europe commented on the proposal in a press release.
Contact: Stefan Enica
On 15 December, the European Commission published its second part of the Fit-For-55 Package, including a revision of the Energy Performance in Buildings Directive (EPBD) and the new Gas Package. This Climate and Energy Package aims at further decarbonising the EU economy, in line with the EU Green Deal ambition to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by at least 55% by 2030 and become climate-neutral by 2050. Read more on our press release.
Contact: Henriette Gleau
On 14 December, the European Commission published its Clean Mobility package, intended to support the transition to cleaner, greener, and smarter mobility, in line with the objectives of the European Green Deal. More on our press release.
Contact: Henriette Gleau
SGI Europe and the EU Social Partners, with their member organisations, have been raising awareness on the challenges related to demographic change, namely ageing and shrinking population. The cross-sectoral social partners organised a conference on 15 December 2021 to present and discuss the final report on the implementation of their autonomous framework agreement on active ageing and an intergenerational approach. The conference also presented the findings on the implementation of the agreement with EU and national cross-industry and sectoral social partners and other relevant actors, and showcased examples of successful implementation of the EU agreement at the national level as a source of inspiration for others. Demographic changes and the capacity to make labour markets more inclusive represent shared areas of interest and challenges for all Member States.
There is a general consensus on the need for actions to make sure that these changes and their impacts on the labour market are accompanied in a successful way. Social partners, public institutions and different stakeholders are aware that these phenomena are impacting the labour market, especially if coupled with increasing digitalisation and skills-related needs. Fostering healthy active ageing and an intergenerational approach to address these challenges has been a priority for social partners in implementing their autonomous framework agreement. This final report provides an overview of the actions taken to implement the Agreement. It includes information on the relevant actions taken by social partners at national, cross-industry, sectoral and enterprise level, challenges related with implementing the agreement as well as initiatives to overcome them.
Contact: Henriette Gleau
This HOSPEEM-EPSU project on Strengthening Social Dialogue in the hospital sector aimed to provide an appropriate framework to address capacity building needs of social partners in 14 targeted countries (Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Romania, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain, Croatia, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia) from 2019 until 2021 by exchanging on and collecting the relevant topics and priorities. The final report and factsheets, translated in languages of the targeted countries are now available, summarising the main insights, conclusions and recommendations. Access all fact sheets and reports here.
Contact: Simone Mohrs, Policy Officer (HOSPEEM)
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