20 January 2023
On Tuesday 17 January, the plenary of the European Parliament welcomed Ulf Kristersson, Swedish Prime Minister, to exchange on the priorities of the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU, which started on 1st January.
On this occasion, Prime Minister Kristersson presented the priorities of the Swedish Presidency of the EU and reaffirmed that the main goal is to keep putting Europe on a greener, safer and freer path. He also underlined the critical challenges of our time, including the ongoing war in Ukraine and the energy crisis and the economic downturn, which will make the coming months challenging.
As presented in the programme of the Swedish Presidency of the Council, the transversal priorities will focus on:
In his concluding remarks, PM Kristersson recalled Sweden’s full commitment to a greener, safer and freer EU. Referencing the eurozone crisis, the pandemic, and the war in Ukraine, he highlighted that the EU has a successful track record to address, mitigate and manage major crises.
However, while crisis management is necessary, it is not sufficient on its own. The Swedish Presidency will therefore commit to a green and sustainable agenda, relying on a renewed close cooperation with Trans-Atlantic partners, while ensuring the continuation of ongoing legislative processes between the EU institutions.
Contact: Maxime Staelens
On Wednesday 18 January 2023, the plenary of the European Parliament adopted its Resolution on the 30th anniversary of the single market: celebrating achievements and looking towards future developments. 537 MEPs voted in favour of the Resolution, 35 against and 66 abstained.
The resolution calls for a clear recognition of the achievements of the single market, support for the improved consumer protection it brought along, promotion of competitiveness and sustainable growth throughout the EU, and the calls for further deepening it in line with the green and digital transition.
In the debate ahead of the adoption of the resolution, several MEPs pointed out that ambitious plans for the green transition need to be supported by better enforcement of the rules and further investments. While MEPs criticized the recent protectionist interventions by some Member states, others highlighted that the Single Market will be crucial in responding to crises (such as a genuine Single EU Energy Market).
The 30th anniversary of the Single Market will be a crucial moment to reflect on the place of SGIs in the EU social and economic model. Due to their importance to citizens and companies, SG(E)Is are treated differently than other services. A special emphasis on the principle of subsidiarity has left space for national policies to design the provision of SGIs in line with their political, historical and cultural contexts. Enabling citizens and economic actors, high-quality, affordable and accessible SGIs are crucial to ensure the competitiveness of the EU economy. In this context, SGI Europe will closely monitor the developments and ensure the visibility of SGI enterprises in shaping the future of the Single Market.
Contact: Manca Pocivavsek
On Wednesday 18 January, MEPs gathered in plenary debated with the Council and the Commission on the future EU strategy to boost international competitiveness, trade, and quality jobs. Jessika Roswall, Swedish Minister for EU Affairs representing the Presidency of the Council, stressed that recent crises, as well as actions by the US and China have proven the need for a strong, forward-looking approach to the EU industrial strategy, including an acceleration of the green and digital transitions.
Thierry Breton, Commissioner for the Internal Market, recalled the importance of developing a solid manufacturing basis, the introduction of sustainable solutions that preserve the integrity of the Single Market and the importance of the announced Net-Zero Industry Act for the development of clean technologies in Europe. Mr Breton’s speech echoed the address of Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, at the World Economic Forum. On Tuesday in Davos (Switzerland), the President announced an upcoming Commission proposal on Net-Zero Industry, which should lay out a series of cleantech objectives for 2030. It will also be the EU’s response to the US Inflation Reduction Act, a massive green subsidy package.
SGI Europe welcomes the announced ambitions of the “Net-Zero Industry Act”. It should help reach targets of the EU Green Deal, the Fit-for-55 and the Zero Pollution packages by tackling pollution and greenhouse gas emissions while ensuring long-term sustainability and economic resilience. SGI Europe remains fully committed to helping and support all efforts made by the European Union to safeguard the competitiveness of the EU and its social and economic model, relying on accessible, affordable and high-quality services of general interest.
Contact: Benoît Cassorla
On 18 January, the European Parliament plenary challenged the decision by the EMPL committee to enter into interinstitutional negotiations on the proposal for a directive on platform work. Pursuant to Rule 71 of the European Parliament, the vote scheduled on Thursday 19 January (which would have transformed the report adopted by the EMPL committee as the institution's position for the trilogue) has been postponed until the mini-plenary on 2 February 2023. 71 MEPs, disagreeing with the EMPL committee report, required more time to include new amendments to the text agreed in the committee.
On the Council side, the EPSCO Council failed to reach an agreement on a compromise position on 8 December. One group of Member states, including Portugal, the Netherlands and Spain, “asked for a lower threshold of criteria to be fulfilled with regard to the triggering of the presumption of employment”. Another group of Member states took a radically different stance and asked to increase the threshold to trigger the legal presumption to four criteria out of seven. Their reasoning is based on the need to avoid the administrative burden, as well as safeguard national procedural rules and respect Member States’ competences.
SGI Europe is convinced that a responsible solution should provide the basis for all Member States to secure, while respecting common European rules, the necessary clarity as regards the classification of platform workers based on diverse national law or practice. We call on the Parliament to consider amendments to the EMPL report, in order to bring closer the positions of the two institutions and prepare the ground for a pragmatic and more balanced negotiations.
Contact: Guillaume Afellat
On Tuesday 17 January, MEP have adopted in their its position on revising EU shipments of waste legislation. The report was agreed with with 594 votes in favour, 5 against and 43 abstentions.
The negotiating position of the European Parliament calls for stricter rules to protect the environment and human health, and will be the institution’s position in the upcoming trilogue with the Council. MEPs went beyond the European Commission’s proposal and demand to completely ban export of plastic waste and hazardous waste to non-OECD countries. The report also recommends to make more effective use of waste by promoting circular economy schemes and zero-pollution projects.
During the Plenary discussion on 16 January, the Commission recalled that such a ban needs to be closely monitored in order to avoid any violations of existing international commitments and its general effectiveness. However, rapporteur Pernille Weiss (EPP, DK) underlined that the text will continue to allow the export of non-hazardous waste for recovery to non-OECD countries, if they give consent and demonstrate the ability to treat the waste in a sustainable manner.
For SGI Europe, the top priority must remain the prevention of waste and support to Member States at risk of failing their recycling and waste prevention obligations. In order to fulfill this task, manufacturers need to implement sustainability principles at the start of product design. Streamlining prevention of waste across legislative initiatives - such as the Circular Economy Action Plan, the Battery Directive and the Textile Action Plan – should lead an increased focus on the promotion of preventative measures, designed with the waste management sector at the heart of the discussion.
As part of the SGI Europe Work Programme 2023, the Environment Task Force will continue to monitor the Waste Shipment legislation and follow its developments.
Contact: Henriette Gleau
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