Newsflash - 21 January 2022

Digital Services Act adopted by the European Parliament plenary

On Thursday 20 January, the Digital Services Act (DSA) was adopted during the plenary session of the European Parliament. The proposal aims at establishing clear responsibilities for online platforms. SGI Europe was active during the legislative process, promoting our proposals for amendments to the leading (IMCO) and associated (ITRE, JURI, LIBE) committees. You can read our position paper here.

SGI Europe fully supports the aim to regulate digital services, as it should not be left up to digital platforms to decide on their own whether they remove illegal content or not.  We support the implementation of the principle of “what is illegal offline should be illegal online”. However, one of the areas where the content should be particularly protected and not subject to removal by the platforms is editorial content. In addition to that, the cultural sphere should remain the prerogative of Member States: the DSA should not affect Member States’ competence to regulate issues related to cultural diversity and media pluralism.

SGI Europe welcomes the adoption of amendment 513 tabled in the plenary, which calls for platforms respect of the freedom of expression, freedom and pluralism of the media, and other fundamental rights and freedoms was finally adopted. However, amendment 511, which would amend the recital corresponding to amendment 513, was not adopted.

The European Parliament will now start engaging with its co-legislator, the Council, as well as the Commission in order to negotiate the final version of the DSA.

Contact: Manca Pocivavsek

Save the date - 23 February 2022: Awarding Ceremony of the SGI Europe CSR Label

The process of the 8th edition of the SGI Europe CSR Label will be concluded with a unique Awarding Ceremony, scheduled for 23 February 2022, and hosted at the headquarters of Electricité de France (EDF) in Paris, where 19 enterprises from different sectors will be awarded. Online participation will be possible for SGI Europe members.

The Ceremony will bring together awarding SGI enterprises and policymakers, and will engage a conversation on the ‘EU Taxonomy Regulation’, and the role of SGIs in the recovery actions and the green transition.

As the only EU label for services of general interest (SGIs), the SGI Europe CSR Label has rewarded over 150 enterprises for their outstanding Corporate Social Responsibility activities since its creation in 2008.

More information on the event will be communicated in the coming weeks.

Contact: Stefan Enica

Sustainability Board priorities for the French Presidency of the Council of the EU (PFUE)

Starting from 1 January 2022, France has been holding the Presidency of the Council of the EU. “Recovery, Strength and a Sense of Belonging” is the French Presidency’s motto for its mandate that will last until 30 June 2022. The French Presidency’s official programme, that you can find here, highlights the need for an economic development aligned with EU climate goals.

In its programme, the PFUE highlights the need to establish “a true ecological sovereignty for Europe,” in line with the concept of strategic autonomy. To that end, intensive efforts to support the new European Raw Material Alliance (ERMA) will be set during the French mandate, as well as to decarbonise the EU energy sector and develop green technologies.

To that extent, the “Fit for 55” package will be a priority for the French Presidency. It will support the delivery of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which has been set as a priority by the French government. The delivery of the updated Emissions Trading System (ETS) will also be of primary importance. SGI Europe is actively following and monitoring the development of these vital files, amongst others, within the Fit-for-55 package.

Although not expressly mentioned in the programme of the PFUE, the French Presidency will continue to support nuclear energy as an energy that could allow to respond to the increasing demand for energy linked with the electrification of important sectors of the EU economy. This is relevant also for the financing of the green transition which SGI Europe follows through, amongst others, its involvement in the Platform for Sustainable Finance.

Last but not least, the PFUE supports the initiative of the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE), in which SGI Europe is active, amongst others, in the working group “Climate change and the environment”.

Contact: Henriette Gleau

Priorities for the Social Affairs Board during the French Presidency of the EU

Addressing the social priorities of the French presidency (PFUE) during a debate at the European Parliament, French President Emmanuel Macron assured MEPs that the PFUE will prioritise files that improve the quality of employment, ensure decent salaries, reduce the gender wage gap, give rights to platform workers, fight discrimination and guarantee gender balance on company boards.

The PFUE intends to begin the negotiations with the European Parliament on the directive on adequate minimum wages, as well as the directive on improving working conditions of platforms workers. The PFUE will also move forward negotiations on the proposed directive on pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms to improve access to employee information.

Concerning these legislative files, SGI Europe calls for:

• Establishing thresholds for minimum wages is too far-reaching, as this would interfere with national collective bargaining systems and the process for setting nationally relevant criteria. SGI Europe supports the Council’s approach to recommend the use of indicators and associated reference values to guide Member States in better assessing minimum wage adequacy.
• Extensive and far-reaching obligations for employers are likely to create a considerable burden when implementing a pay transparency directive. The detailed and complex nature of the proposal and legal uncertainties make it difficult to anticipate its impacts and to know how and when employers have fulfilled their obligations.
• About the proposal for a directive on working conditions of platform workers, SGI Europe calls for the definition of the status of people that perform work through digital platforms (and whether they are to be seen as employees or self-employed) to remain at national level in the hands of Member States, national social partners, or national courts.

Contact: Guillaume Afellat

Review of the EU economic governance at the Eurogroup meeting

Eurozone finance ministers held their first meeting of the year on 17 January, with two new relevant entries participating in the Eurogroup format: Germany’s new finance minister Christian Lindner and Sigrid Kaag from the new Dutch coalition government.

Amongst the key topics on the agenda, ministers debated the euro area recent performance in terms of economic adjustment and resilience vis-à-vis international peers. Commenting on the subject, the President of the Eurogroup Paschal Donohoe highlighted that the efforts taken to support the European economy have proven to be appropriate and effective with a strong recovery despite the many risks.

Based on the Eurogroup work plan outlining its involvement in the economic governance review, ministers also addressed the  euro area fiscal framework touching on the following items: the draft budgetary plan process; surveillance procedures, fiscal rules, national economic policy coordination and commitments related to national finances.

Lastly, the Eurogroup discussed the draft recommendation on the economic policy of the euro area for the new year. Approved the following day, on 18 January, the ECOFIN Council initiated the annual 'European Semester' process by adopting conclusions on the 2022 alert mechanism report and the annual sustainable growth strategy. The recommendation on the economic policy of the euro area (EAR) will instead be submitted for endorsement to the European Council in March 2022 before being adopted by the Council at one of its upcoming Ecofin meetings.

Contact: Antonio Astolfi