7 March 2024
On 5 March 2024, the Belgian presidency of the Council of the European Union organised, at the invitation of Wallonia and its Minister in charge of Housing, Christophe Collignon, a European Conference of Housing Ministers. On this occasion, ministers of Housing from the 27 Member States exchanged best practices in resilient renovation and construction programs aligned with climate change. They also reflected on diversifying funding sources to face current challenges.
The ministers endorsed the Liège Declaration for “Affordable, Decent and Sustainable Housing for All” after these discussions. This declaration calls for a “European New Deal” for affordable and social housing with a dual objective:
It aims to address housing accessibility, which is a growing challenge in the EU. The EU is currently faced with a strong tendency towards significant increases in housing prices and rents, combined with a lack of social and affordable housing supply. Over the last decade, average rents have increased by 19% in the EU and housing prices by 47%, with housing price growth consistently outpacing income growth. Nearly 10% of EU citizens face excessive housing costs (where total housing costs accounted for more than 40% of total available income), with a significant increase recorded since 2020.
Contact: Maxime Staelens
In December 2023, the Council of the EU – presided over by Spain – launched an Informal Working Group on Social Investment (IWGSI). With the participation of all Member states and cross-sectoral EU social partners, Belgium continued coordinating the group’s work. The main objective of the IWGSI is to improve the common understanding of the impact of social reforms and investments on economic growth and social cohesion.
The working group had its last meeting on Tuesday 5 March 2024 and developed an overall understanding of the importance of social investment returns, both on economic and social terms. The group members agreed on possible venues to explore at the EU level, especially regarding the development of a methodology to measure returns and statistical capacity to evaluate social investments. The IWGSI also emphasises the importance of working on standard guidelines at the EU level to identify clear links, promote and ensure a high-quality analysis of social investment and their economic and social outcomes and further explore underlying causalities. The working group also recommends that Member States assess the interactions between economic and social data to provide a more comprehensive and multipurpose view of the interrelationships between the economy and societal well-being.
The working group's work and an EMCO-SPC opinion on social investments will be discussed during a Jumbo EPSCO-ECOFIN on 12 March 2024 to agree on Council conclusions on the importance of social investments in June 2024.
Contact: Guillaume Afellat
On 4 March, European Parliament and Council negotiators reached a provisional political agreement on regulation on packaging and packaging waste. This regulation aims to minimise packaging waste generated in the EU while harmonising the internal market and boosting the circular economy.
According to the agreement, Member States must ensure by 2029 the separate collection of at least 90% per annum of single-use plastic bottles and metal beverage containers through deposit return systems (DRSs). The minimum requirements for DRS will not apply to systems already in place before the regulation's entry into force if the systems in question achieve the 90% target by 2029. SGI Europe welcomes that Member States can develop individual ways to achieve these targets and the exemption from the requirement to introduce a DRS if they reach a separate collection rate of above 80% in 2026.
The agreement also requires the European Commission to assess the state of technological developments in bio-based plastic packaging three years after the entry date of this regulation. Based on this assessment, the Commission could be in a position to propose sustainability requirements for this kind of packaging.
SGI Europe also welcomes the planned update of standards on compostable packaging to reflect the actual conditions in bio-waste treatment facilities. SGI Europe strongly recommended the pros and cons of compostable plastics and the different treatment levels amongst member states to the Commission. SGI Europe stands ready to analyse this process further.
The revised regulation needs to be endorsed by the Council and the Environment Committee of the European Parliament (ENVI) before entering into force.
Contact: Henriette Gleau
On Thursday, 7 March 2024, the Competitiveness Council meeting took place in Brussels. On this occasion, Ministers discussed a report on the work to reach an agreement on the late payment regulation, which is part of the 'SME relief package' presented by the Commission on 12 September 2023 to address the needs of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the current economic environment.
Following this first discussion, Ministers exchanged views on the 2024 annual single market and competitiveness report. Through nine competitiveness drivers identified in the EU’s 2023 Long-term competitiveness Communication (functioning of the Single Market, access to private capital, public investment and infrastructure, research and innovation, energy, circularity, digitalisation, education and skills, and trade and open strategic autonomy), the European Commission’s report, published on 14 February 2024, detailed the competitive strengths and challenges of the EU Single Market. Together with the upcoming report on the future of the EU competitiveness (currently under preparation by Mario Draghi), which is expected to be published in September 2024, this report will feed institutions with data and input to promote the competitiveness of the EU economy.
Linked to this issue of EU competitiveness, the Swedish delegation asked for information on the impact of state aid rules on long-term competitiveness. It included a joint letter with Czechia, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Poland, and Portugal emphasising the need for policy renewal, which they intend to inform the European Commission about.
Contact: Benoît Cassorla
On 5 March, the European Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy presented the first-ever European Defence Industrial Strategy, proposing an ambitious set of actions to support the competitiveness and readiness of the EU defence industry.
The European Defence Industrial Strategy (EDIS) sets a clear long-term vision to achieve defence industrial readiness in the European Union and underlines the need to invest “more, better, together, and European”.
Additionally, The European Commission tabled a legislative proposal for the European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP) and a framework of measures to ensure the timely availability and supply of defence products. The European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP) is the framework that should bridge short-term emergency measures developed to support Ukraine (ASAP – Act in Support of Ammunition Production – and EDIDP – European Defence Industrial Development Programme) to a more structural and longer-term approach to achieve defence industrial readiness. This will ensure continuity in supporting the European defence technological and industrial base to accompany its swift adaptation to the new reality.
Contact: Maxime Staelens
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