25 May 2022
Confirmed speakers: MEP Ismail Ertug (S&D/DE, AFIR Rapporteur), Antoine Grange (CEO Europe, Transdev), Michael Villa (Executive Director, Smarten), Julien Martin (Head of Regulation, EDF Mobility), Elisa Schenner (Head of EU office, Wiener Stadtwerke GmBH)
Decarbonising urban and peri-urban mobility is essential to achieve the EU's climate neutrality in 2050, with the relationship between transport and energy more crucial than ever. With SGI Europe members at the core of this interconnection between energy and transport, the event will gather key stakeholders, enabling the transition towards zero-emission mobility from energy suppliers to public transport providers.
Contact: Ariel Carpanini
On 24 May, SGI Europe and the European Federation of Education Employers (EFEE) organised the third sectoral workshop of the European project 'Green Skills in VET', which focused on the transport sector. The project is co-financed by the European Commission. Find the summary of the workshop here.
Contact: Stefan Enica
On Tuesday, 17 May 2022, SGI Europe answered the Public Consultation on microplastics, which aims to support the European Commission's initiative on Microplastics pollution – measures to reduce impacts on the environment (proposal for a Regulation). You can find our response here.
Reducing microplastics has already been established as a priority outlined in several initiatives, such as the Plastics Strategy (2018), the EU Green Deal (2019), the Circular Economy Action Plan (2020) and the Zero Pollution Action Plan (2021).
In the public consultation, SGI Europe outlined, in particular, the concerns that microplastic pollution poses to the environment since they contain and accumulate hazardous chemicals, travels over long distances and adsorbs and transports other contaminants, etc.
From the water sector perspective, microplastics harm the environment (in particular aquatic environments) and significantly harm the economy. In agriculture, nutrients in sewage sludge could be used as an inexpensive fertiliser. This, however, is not possible due to the high containment of microplastics.
SGI Europe calls for coordinated and comprehensible efforts required from all parties (legislators, manufacturers, retailers, consumers, and others) involved. The life cycle for each product and all relevant substances and substance mixtures must be thought through before reaching the market. There needs to be clear prioritisation of prevention over the reduction.
Since this public consultation is an early step in policy-making, the study is ongoing. By early June, we can expect an impact assessment and the first possible measures by the end of 2022.
Contact: Manca Pocivavsek
On Monday 23 May, the European Commission published the European Semester Spring Package, including a Communication, the Country-Specific Recommendations, and the Country Reports. SGI Europe also participated on 25 May in a dedicated hearing of the Employment and Social Protection Committees of the European Council on the topic.
In the package, the European Commission highlights that the combination of global shocks and the green and digital transition pose specific challenges for social policy in Europe. Considering this context, several issues are particularly relevant for SGI Europe and its members.
The war in Ukraine profoundly affects the European economy, which calls for swift policy responses to advancing energy security and tackling the rise in living costs. Furthermore, the labour market's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic requires continuous effort to improve education and training and address the skills needed by the twin transition. Simultaneously, labour shortages are an increasing cause for concern across different sectors, including healthcare, construction, IT and communications. The Semester Package forecasts the employment rate to grow (increase from 72,5 % in 2021 to 73,5 % in 2022 and 74,2% in 2023), coupled with a projection of high inflation stemming from the war in Ukraine.
The Semester Spring Package also highlights that the most vulnerable people continue to be disproportionately affected by the crises. A coordinated and holistic policy-making would address those challenges, both at the EU and national levels.
Contact: Guillaume Afellat
On 12 May 2022, the ECJ published a judgement on Case C-719/20 - Comune di Lerici concerning the in-house provision of services.
The preliminary question was raised by the Italian Consiglio di Stato in the dispute between the Comune di Lerici and the Provincia di La Spezia. After a merger of enterprises providing local public services of economic interest (including waste management), the initial granting authority (Comune di Lerici) lost its shares and control over the entity providing "in-house' services. It, however, continued organising the provision of waste management services as an 'in-house' service by a new entity (ACAM Ambiente SpA).
In its judgement, the ECJ recalls that the conditions for the in-house exemption were first defined by the ECJ case law (see Teckal judgement) in 1999 and were codified in the Public Procurement Directive (article 12 of Directive 2014/24/EU). It outlines that the control over the 'in-house' provider by a contracting authority must be similar to the one over its own departments: more than 80% of the activities of the controlled legal entity must be are carried out in the performance of tasks entrusted to it, and there is no direct private capital participation in the "in-house' operator.
The ECJ ruled that it is against the EU law if a contract initially awarded to an in-house operator (without a competitive procedure) over which the contracting authority exercised the control similar to its own departments to be automatically carried over by an economic operator who has taken over that entity. The contracting authority does not control that economic operator in the same way and does not participate in its capital.
Contact: Manca Pocivavsek
Join us, stay informed
Subscribe to have all the latest news and developments delivered straight to your inbox.