Today, the European Commission adopted its first-ever Strategic Foresight Report, aiming to identify emerging challenges and opportunities to better steer the European Union’s strategic choices. Strategic foresight will inform major policy initiatives. It will support the Commission in designing future-proof policies and legislation that serves both the current needs and longer-term aspirations of European citizens. The 2020 Report presents the rationale for using foresight in EU policy-making, and introduces a comprehensive concept of EU resilience.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “In these challenging times, political leaders have to look wide and far ahead. This report shows the importance of resilience for a strong and lasting recovery. We aim to steer the necessary transitions in a sustainable, fair, and democratic manner.”
Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič, in charge of interinstitutional relations and foresight, said: “The pandemic has not only thrown a sharp light on our vulnerabilities, but has presented opportunities that the EU cannot afford to miss. It has also reaffirmed the need to make our policies evidence-based, future-proof and centred on resilience. We cannot expect the future to become less disruptive – new trends and shocks will continue to affect our lives. The first-ever Strategic Foresight Report therefore sets the scene for how we can make Europe more resilient – by boosting our open strategic autonomy and building a fairer, climate-neutral and digitally sovereign future.”
In light of the ambitious Recovery Plan for Europe, the 2020 Strategic Foresight Report considers EU resilience in four dimensions: social and economic, geopolitical, green, and digital. For each dimension, the report identifies the capacities, vulnerabilities and opportunities revealed by the coronavirus crisis, which need to be addressed in the medium- to long-term.
Embedding Strategic Foresight into EU Policy-making
Strategic Foresight helps improve policy design, develop future-proof strategies and ensure that short-term actions are coherent with long-term objectives. The Commission has relied on foresight for many years; it now aims to embed it into all policy areas, to exploit its strategic value. A first example is the recent Communication on Critical Raw Materials, with foresight helping boost the EU’s open strategic autonomy. Mainstreaming foresight will be achieved by:

systematically conducting foresight exercises for all major policy initiatives;
publishing forward-looking, annual Strategic Foresight reports, analysing emerging trends and challenges to inform our policy- and decision-making;
supporting the development of foresight capacities in EU and Member State administrations; and
building a collaborative and inclusive foresight community with EU and international institutions and partners.

Monitoring Resilience
The 2020 Strategic Foresight Report proposes prototype resilience dashboards to kick‑start discussions among Member States and other key stakeholders on how best to monitor resilience. These discussions can help identify and assess strengths and weaknesses at EU and Member State level, in view of emerging megatrends and anticipated challenges. It can help answer the following question: are we, through our policies and recovery strategy, making the EU more resilient?
Next Steps:

The 2020 Strategic Foresight Report and its successors will inform President von der Leyen’s annual State of the Union addresses and Commission Work Programmes. They will also feed into the forthcoming inter-institutional negotiations on our first-ever multiannual programming.
The overarching Strategic Foresight agenda will chart EU political priorities and key initiatives in Commission Work Programmes, as well as major cross-cutting issues: such as the EU’s open strategic autonomy for a new global order; the future potential of green jobs and required skills; and the intersections of the green and digital transitions across policies.
The annual European Strategy and Political Analysis System (ESPAS) conference  in November 2020 will offer the opportunity to discuss the topic of next year’s Strategic Foresight Report and launch an EU-wide Foresight Network.
The development of shared reference foresight scenarios to inform future policy debate, to ensure coherence across policies, and to serve as a shared, forward‑looking framework for policy proposals. This can also feed into the Conference on the Future of Europe.

Compliments of the European Commission.
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Good morning,

Yesterday I interviewed the candidates put forward by the Irish government for the post of Commissioner, Ms Mairead McGuinness and Mr Andrew McDowell.
Both candidates showed great commitment to the European Union and to the job of Commissioner – excellent candidates. They also both clearly have significant experience of EU matters, of course from different perspectives.
Following these interviews, I have decided to propose to the Council and the European Parliament the appointment of Ms McGuinness to the post of Commissioner. She will be in charge of financial services, financial stability and the Capital Markets Union. Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis will assume responsibility for the trade portfolio, and he will remain the Commission’s representative on the Eurogroup, alongside with Commissioner Gentiloni.
Ms McGuinness has significant political experience on EU issues, having been an MEP since 2004 and currently holding the post of first Vice-President of the European Parliament. This experience is crucial in carrying forward the EU’s financial sector policy agenda and ensuring it supports and strengthens the Commission’s key priorities, notably the twin green and digital transition.
I would like to express my thanks to Mr McDowell for his application and wish him well in his future endeavours.
Thank you.
Compliments of the European Commission.
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The European Commission has launched a public consultation inviting Member States and other stakeholders to provide their views and comments on the existing EU State aid rules on public support for the deployment of broadband networks. The public consultation is part of an overall evaluation by the Commission of the relevant rules with a view to assess whether they are still fit purpose or whether they will need to be updated in light of recent technological and market developments. All interested parties can respond to the public consultation until 5 January 2021.
Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said: ”Europe’s digital transformation depends on high quality networks. These are crucial for connecting the regions in the European Union, and contribute to a more competitive and sustainable social market economy. The public consultation will help the Commission assess whether the existing State aid rules on public support for the deployment of broadband networks are still fit for purpose and are equipped to meet the challenges of Europe’s digital future”.
The 2013 Broadband State aid Guidelines enable Member States to provide support for the deployment of broadband networks, subject to certain conditions. In particular, they allow for public investments where a market failure exists and where these investments bring a significant improvement to the market in terms of service availability, capacity, speeds and competition (step change). This ensures that public interventions focus on areas that would otherwise be left behind due to the absence of commercial interest to invest and that support “state of the art” technologies. At the same time, the Guidelines also aim at protecting private investments by providing that no public intervention can take place where private operators have invested or credibly plan to invest and fostering fair competition through competitive selection procedures, technological neutrality and open access requirements for the benefit of all European citizens and businesses.
Separately, the General Block Exemption Regulation (“GBER”) exempts Member States from having to notify aid measures supporting the deployment of broadband networks in areas where no infrastructure of the same category exists or is credibly planned in the near future, provided that certain conditions are met.
Since the adoption of the Broadband State Guidelines in 2013 and of the relevant GBER rules in 2014, broadband technologies have significantly improved and users’ needs have increased, requiring larger bandwidth as well as an improvement of the networks in terms of other parameters such as latency, availability and reliability.
The purpose of the public consultation is to assess whether the Broadband State aid  Guidelines and the relevant GBER provisions have met their objectives, what effect they have had on the market and on competition, and whether they need to be updated in light of recent technological and market developments and the new EU digital policy goals.  In the consultation, the Commission aims at assessing the effectiveness, efficiency, coherence, relevance and EU added value of the existing rules, in line with the Better Regulation requirements.
All details about the public consultation are available online.
Next steps
The consultation will be open until 5 January 2021.
The consultation is part of an overall evaluation by the Commission of the Broadband State aid Guidelines and the relevant provisions of the GBER, which will be carried out under the Commission’s Better Regulation rules. In addition to the public consultation, the evaluation will involve internal analyses by the Commission as well as the conclusions of a study prepared by an external consultant. The Commission will summarise the results of the exercise in a Staff Working Document, which will be made public. The evaluation will provide the basis for a future Commission decision on whether an update of the current rules is necessary.
Background
Under the Better Regulation Guidelines, the Commission evaluates if specific laws, policies and spending activities are fit for purpose and have delivered, at minimum cost, the desired changes to European businesses and citizens. The evaluation findings help the Commission decide whether EU actions should be continued or changed.
The existing 2013 Broadband State Aid Guidelines allow for public investments where a market failure exists and where these investments bring a significant improvement (step change). This is also subject to certain other parameters to protect competition and private investment incentives.
Between 2014 and 2019, Member States spent approximately €30 billion in public funding, in compliance with EU State aid rules, to fill investment gaps in broadband infrastructure deployment and to reach the objectives set out for 2020 by the Digital Agenda for Europe. As a result and according to the Digital Economy and Society Index, by mid-2019, already 86% of households in Europe had access to fast broadband of at least 30 megabits per second (Mbps) download speed, and 30% benefited from Gigabit connectivity.
Building on the EU’s existing 2020 broadband targets, the Commission has identified in its Gigabit Society Communication the connectivity needs to be achieved by 2025 to build a European Gigabit society, where very high capacity networks enable the widespread use and development of products, services and applications in the Digital Single Market. The identified connectivity needs are: (i) all European households should have access to internet connectivity offering download speeds of at least 100 Mbps, upgradable to Gigabit speed, (ii) all main socio-economic drivers such as schools, transport hubs and main providers of public services as well as digitally intensive enterprises should have access to internet Gigabit connectivity with download and upload speeds of at least 1 Gbps; (iii) uninterrupted 5G coverage for all urban areas and all major terrestrial transport paths should be ensured.
In February 2020, the Commission published the EU digital priorities among which the Communication on Shaping Europe’s Digital Future and recalled that connectivity to achieve the EU 2025 objectives remains the most fundamental building block of the digital transformation of Europe.
Compliments of the European Commission.
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The European Commission today published a proposal for a Council and European Parliament regulation to scrap duties on certain imports to the EU. In return, the United States will reduce its duties on certain EU exports to the U.S. market. This will put into effect the agreement announced by the EU and the U.S. on 21 August 2020. These tariff reductions between the EU and the U.S. will increase access to both EU and U.S. markets by around €200 million per year.
Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis said: “The EU and the U.S. share the most important economic partnership in the world, with trade in goods and services worth over €1.3 trillion annually. This deal provides both sides with a true win-win outcome, helping us to strengthen our partnership even further. Lowering tariffs on both sides improves access for our exporters and reduces the cost of imported goods. Those are both critically important factors in this time of coronavirus-related economic crisis. From the EU side, we view this agreement as an important step towards improving our relationship and resolving outstanding disputes. We remain eager to deepen transatlantic cooperation wherever possible as we firmly believe that, when it comes to truly global challenges, the chances of achieving successful global outcomes are improved if the European Union and United States work together.”
Once approved in line with the relevant procedures on either side of the Atlantic, the agreement will entail the reduction of U.S. tariffs on EU exports worth some $160 million a year. This includes prepared meals, crystal glassware, surface preparations, propellant powders, lighters and lighter parts. On its side, the EU will eliminate tariffs on imports of U.S. live and frozen lobster products. U.S. exports of these products to the EU are worth some $111 million.
Both sides will eliminate those tariffs on a most-favored nation (MFN) basis, i.e. for any partner, in line with the existing multilateral commitments. The measures will apply with retroactive effect as of 1 August 2020.
Compliments of the European Commission.
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September 07, the Commission, trade unions, chambers of commerce and employers’ organisations are renewing their cooperation to enhance the integration of migrants and refugees into the labour market. In a joint statement released today, they highlight areas for future focus, and express interest in cooperating further in the area of labour migration under the European Partnership on Integration launched in 2017. The signatories reaffirm the importance of a multi-stakeholder approach for early integration into the labour market benefitting both refugees and the economy and society at large.
Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit, said: “The European Pillar of Social Rights makes no distinction where people come from. Regardless of gender, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation, everyone has the right to equal treatment and opportunities regarding employment. Helping refugees integrate into the labour market by upskilling and by accessing quality jobs is paramount for their dignity, and it is paramount for Europe’s social cohesion.”
Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, said: “Better using the skills and potential of refugees and migrants makes our labour markets more inclusive and contribute to the prosperity and cohesion of European society. The past months have shown that migrant workers and entrepreneurs have skills and talents that contribute to the recovery of Europe’s economy. Today, we are renewing our commitment to support employers’ organisations, trade unions and chambers of commerce in their engagement with refugees and we are open to expanding our cooperation further, for instance on labour migration.”
Since the launch of the European Partnership on Integration 3 years ago, the Commission has financed projects implemented by social and economic partners’ organisations to promote the integration of refugees into the labour market. Examples include the Labour-INT project, supporting the integration of refugees from arrival up to the workplace, through skills assessment, training and job placement in Italy, Germany and Belgium; or the European Refugees Integration Action Scheme operating in Bulgaria, Greece, Italy and Spain. Social and economic partners have also put in place initiatives in 20 Member States, such as the fachkraeftepotenzial platform launched by the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber and providing information to companies wishing to hire refugees.
Building on these achievements, the signatories agreed to focus future efforts on 3 areas: linking up stakeholders across economy and society for labour market integration; supporting entrepreneurship; and facilitating the identification, assessment and validation of skills.
In parallel, the Commission and the social and economic partners will aim to explore how to extend their dialogue and future cooperation to the area of labour migration in line with the objectives of the new European Skills Agenda and the upcoming New Pact on Migration and Asylum. This could focus on how to improve labour migration channels to meet Europe’s changing needs.
Background
Through the European Partnership on Integration signed on 20 December 2017, the Commission and social and economic partners have been joining forces to promote the integration of refugees into the labour market. The objectives of the Partnership are to enhance the early integration of refugees into the labour market, ensure that integration benefits refugees as well as the economy and society at large, and promote a multi-stakeholder approach (involving public authorities, employment services, social and economic partners, business organisations, chambers of commerce and industry, skilled crafts chambers, companies and workers, public services’ employers, education and training providers and civil society organisations).
Compliments of the European Commission.
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It is increasingly likely that, unless things change, on 1 January 2021, we will have a no deal Brexit. The only agreement between the EU and the UK would then be the already ratified Withdrawal Agreement.
There are only 50 working days left in which to make a broader agreement. The consequences of a failure to do so for Ireland will be as profound, and even as  long lasting, that those of Covid 19.
A failure to reach an EU/UK Agreement would mean a deep rift between the UK and Ireland.
It would mean heightened tensions within Northern Ireland (NI), disruptions to century’s old business relations, and a succession of high profile and prolonged court cases between the EU and the UK dragging on for years.
Issues, on which agreement could easily have been settled in amicable give and take negotiations, will be used as hostages or for leverage on other issues. The economic and political damage would be incalculable.
We must do everything we can to avoid this.
Changing the EU Trade Commissioner in such circumstances would be dangerous.  Trying to change horses in mid stream is always difficult. But attempting to do so at the height of a flood, in high winds, would be even more so.
The EU would lose an exceptionally competent Trade Commissioner when he was never more needed. An Irishman would no longer hold the Trade portfolio. The independence of the European commission, a vital ingredient in the EU’s success would have been compromised…a huge loss for all smaller EU states.
According to Michel Barnier, the EU/UK talks, which ended last week, seemed at times to be going “backwards rather than forwards”.
The impasse has been reached for three reasons.
The meaning of sovereignty
Firstly, the two sides have set themselves incompatible objectives.
The EU side wants a “wide ranging economic partnership” between the UK and the EU with” a level playing field for open and fair competition”. The UK also agreed to this objective in the joint political declaration made with the EU at the time of the Withdrawal Agreement.
Since it agreed to this, the UK has had a General Election, and it has changed its mind. Now it is insisting, in the uncompromising words of it chief negotiator, on “sovereign control over our laws, our borders, and our waters”.
This formula fails to take account of the fact that any Agreement the UK might make with the EU (or with anyone else) on standards for goods, services or food stuffs necessarily involves a diminution of sovereign control.
Even being in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) involves accepting its rulings which are a diminution of “sovereign control”. This is why Donald Trump does not like the WTO and is trying to undermine it.
The Withdrawal Agreement from the EU (WA), which the UK has already ratified, also involves a diminution of sovereign control by Westminster over the laws that will apply in Northern Ireland (NI) and thus within the UK.
The WA obliges the UK to apply EU laws on tariffs and standards to goods entering NI from Britain, ie. going from one part of the UK to another.
This obligation is one of the reasons given by a group of UK parliamentarians, including Ian Duncan Smith, David Trimble, Bill Cash, Owen Patterson and Sammy Wilson, for wanting the UK to withdraw from the Withdrawal Agreement, even though most of them voted for it last year!
Sovereignty is a metaphysical concept, not a practical policy.
Attempting to apply it literally would make structured, and predictable, international cooperation between states impossible. That is not understood by many in the UK Conservative Party.
The method of negotiation
The second difficulty is one of negotiating method. The legal and political timetables do not gel.
The UK wants to discuss the legal texts of a possible Free Trade Agreement first, and leave the controversial issues, like level playing field competition and fisheries, over until the endgame in October.
The EU side wants serious engagement to start on these controversial issues straight away.
Any resolution of these controversial issues will require complex legal drafting, which cannot be left to the last minute. After all, these legal texts will have to be approved by The EU and UK Parliaments before the end of this year.
There can be no ambiguities or late night sloppy drafting.
The problem is that the UK negotiator cannot yet get instructions, on the compromises he might make, from Boris Johnson. Boris Johnson is preoccupied instead with Covid 19, and with keeping the likes of Ian Duncan Smith and Co. onside.  He is a last minute type of guy.
Trade relations with other blocs
The Third difficulty is that of making provision for with the Trade Agreements the UK wants to make in future with other countries like the US, Japan and New Zealand. Freedom to make such deals was presented to UK voters as one of the benefits of Brexit.
The underlying problem here is that the UK government has yet to make up its mind on whether it will continue with the EU’s strict precautionary policy on food safety, or adopt the more permissive approach favoured by the US.
Similar policy choices will have to be made by the UK on chemicals, energy efficiency displays, and geographical indicators.
The more the UK diverges from existing EU standards on these issues, the more intrusive will have to be the controls on goods coming into Northern Ireland from Britain, and the more acute will be the distress in Unionist circles in NI.
Issues that are uncontroversial in themselves will assume vast symbolic significance, and threaten the peace of our island.
The UK is likely be forced to make side deals with the US on issues like hormone treated beef, GMOs and chlorinated chicken. The US questions the scientific basis for the existing EU restrictions, and has won a WTO case on beef on that basis.  It would probably win on chlorinated chicken too.
If the UK conceded to the US on hormones and chlorination, this would create control problems at the border between the UK and the EU, wherever that border is in Ireland.
Either UK officials would enforce EU rules on hormones and chlorination on entry of beef or chicken to this island, or there would be a huge international court case.
All this shows that, in the absence of some sort of Partnership Agreement between the EU and the UK, relations could spiral out of control.
Ireland, and the EU, needs its best team on the pitch to ensure that this does not happen!
Compliments of John Bruton, former Fine Gael politician and Taoiseach and Ambassador of the European Union to the United States | This article was first published in The Irish Farmers Journal.
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The European Commission has today launched a public consultation on its future Action Plan on Organic Farming. This sector will play an important role in achieving the European Green Deal ambition, and reaching the objectives set out in the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity Strategies. It is a priority for the Commission to ensure that the organic farming sector has the right tools in place as well as a well-functioning and consensual legal framework which is key to achieving the objective of 25% of agricultural land dedicated to organic farming. While the new organic regulation provides a solid basis, secondary legislation still to be adopted needs to be equally resilient. At the request of Member States, the European Parliament, third countries, and other stakeholders, the Commission has therefore proposed today as well to postpone the entry into force of the new organic legislation by one year, from 1 January 2021 to 1 January 2022.
Agriculture and rural development Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski said: “The Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategies set ambitious targets for the agricultural sector to ensure it is Green Deal-ready. Organic farming will be a key ally in the transition that we are leading towards a more sustainable food system and a better protection of our biodiversity. The Commission will support the organic sector towards the achievement of the 25% target of agricultural land under organic farming by 2030 with the appropriate policy and legal framework. ”
The future Organic Farming Action Plan, due for adoption early in 2021, will be an important instrument to accompany the future growth of the sector. The Commission’s Farm to Fork and Biodiversity Strategies include the target of reaching 25% of agricultural land under organic farming by 2030. To help reach this target, the European Commission is putting in place and making use of key tools:

An Action Plan for Organic Farming, which will be instrumental in helping boost the sector, both at demand and supply level. It will be organised around three key angles: stimulating demand for organic products while maintaining consumer trust; encouraging the increase of the organic farming area in the EU; and, enhancing the role of organic production in the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss, including in sustainable resource management. The public consultation launched today aims at gathering feedback on the draft plan from citizens, national authorities and relevant stakeholders. The questionnaire will be online for a period of 12 weeks, until 27 November

The new organic legislation, which will reflect the changing nature of this rapidly growing sector. The new rules are designed to guarantee fair competition for farmers while preventing fraud and maintaining consumer trust. To ensure a smooth transition between the current and future legislation and to allow the industry and Member States to be fully ready to implement the new rules, the Commission has proposed to postpone by one year its entry into force. The postponement was originally requested by Member States, the European Parliament, third countries, and other stakeholders due to the complexity and importance of the secondary legislation under preparation. As a result of the coronavirus crisis, work on the secondary legislation has slowed down. The postponement will allow sufficient time for the necessary extensive consultations and legislative scrutiny.

The EU agri-food promotion policy, which supports the European agricultural sector by promoting its quality features on the internal market and in third countries. For the year 2021, the Commission plans to allocate a specific budget of €40 million to organic farming under the promotion policy. This budget will co-finance promotion actions and information campaigns on the EU organic sector, raising awareness about its qualities and aiming at stimulating demand.

In addition to these key tools, the current and future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) will continue to support the further development of organic farming in the EU. For instance, measures under the rural development programmes offer support to farmers who wish to convert to organic farming as well as maintaining this type of agriculture.
Background
Organic farming aims to produce food using natural substances and processes, leading to an agricultural method with limited environmental impact. It encourages the use of farm-derived renewable resources, the enhancement of biological cycles within the farming system, the maintenance of biodiversity, the preservation of regional ecological balances, the maintenance and increase of soil fertility, and the responsible use and proper care of water. Additionally, organic farming rules encourage a high standard of animal welfare and require farmers to meet the specific behavioural needs of animals.
On 20 May 2020, the Commission adopted its Farm to Fork and Biodiversity Strategies. In line with the European Green Deal, they propose ambitious EU actions and commitments to halt biodiversity loss in Europe and worldwide and transform our food systems into global standards for competitive sustainability, the protection of human and planetary health, as well as the livelihoods of all actors in the food value chain.
Compliments of the European Commission.
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The Commission has today adopted a proposal for a Council Recommendation to ensure that any measures taken by Member States that restrict free movement due to the coronavirus pandemic are coordinated and clearly communicated at the EU level.
The Commission’s proposal sets out four key areas where Member States should work closer together:

Common criteria and thresholds for Member States when deciding whether to introduce travel restrictions;
Mapping of common criteria using an agreed colour code;

A common framework for measures applied to travellers from high-risk areas;
Clear and timely information to the public about any restrictions

Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides, said: “Today we propose to our Member States a well-coordinated, predictable and transparent approach to travel restrictions where these are needed, always placing the protection of public health first. We must avoid further disruption of already fragile economies and additional uncertainty for citizens who have made huge sacrifices. They expect this from us after so many months living with COVID-19.”
Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, said: “Our right to move freely in the EU has been heavily impacted by the pandemic. For the many citizens who rely on frictionless travel every day, the cacophony of national rules in the EU is overwhelming. We want to simplify things. We are proposing straightforward criteria, applicable without discrimination, which are easy to follow by Member States and allow to inform Europeans properly.”
Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, said: “Since March, the Commission has developed and delivered a solid foundation of internal and external border control recommendations for Member States to follow. Today’s measures builds on this track record so that we can fully benefit from our Schengen area. That is why we want a clear ‘green, orange, red’ system and not a kaleidoscope of individual measures”.
Common criteria
There is currently a wide discrepancy between national criteria for introducing measures that restrict free movement in the European Union. The Commission is proposing that each Member State takes into account the following criteria when putting in place any restrictive measures:

The total number of newly notified COVID-19 cases per 100 000 people in a given area in a 14-day period;
The percentage of positive tests from all COVID-19 tests carried out in given area during a seven-day period;
The number of COVID-19 tests carried out per 100 000 people in a given area during a seven-day period.

Member States should provide this data on a weekly basis to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Member States should also provide this data at the regional level to ensure that any measures can be targeted to those regions where they are strictly necessary.
On the basis that the Member State of departure has a weekly testing rate of more than 250 per 100 000 people, the Commission is proposing that Member States should not restrict free movement of people travelling from another Member State where:

The total number of newly notified COVID-19 cases in a given area is equal to less than 50 per 100 000 people during a 14-day period, OR,
The percentage of positive tests from all COVID-19 tests in a given area is less than 3%.

A common colour code
Based on the data provided by Member States, the Commission proposes that the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control publishes a map of EU and EEA countries, updated weekly, with a common colour code to support Member States and travellers. The Commission proposes the following:

Green for an area where the total number of newly notified COVID-19 cases is less than 25 during a 14-day period AND the percentage of positive tests from all COVID-19 tests is less than 3%;

Orange for an area where the total number of newly notified COVID-19 cases is less than 50 during a 14-day period BUT the percentage of positive tests from all COVID-19 tests is 3% or more OR the total number of newly notified COVID-19 cases is between 25 and 150 BUT the percentage of positive tests from all COVID-19 tests is less than 3%;

Red for an area where the total number of newly notified COVID-19 cases is more than 50 during a 14-day period AND the percentage of positive tests from all COVID-19 tests is 3% or more OR the total number of newly notified COVID-19 cases is more than 150 per 100 000 people during a 14-day period;

Grey if there is insufficient information available to assess the criteria proposed by the Commission OR the number of COVID-19 tests carried out per 100 000 people is less than 250.

A common approach for travellers from high-risk areas
The Commission proposes a common approach amongst Member States when dealing with travellers coming from ‘high-risk’ zones. Member States should not refuse the entry of persons travelling from other Member States. Member States that introduce restrictions to free movement based on their own decision-making processes, could require:

persons travelling from an area classified as ‘red’ or ‘grey’ to either undergo quarantine OR undergo a COVID-19 test after arrival – COVID-19 testing being the preferred option;*

Where justified, Member States could consider recommending that persons travelling from an area classified as ‘orange’ undergo at least a COVID-19 test prior to departure or upon arrival. Member States could require persons arriving from an area classified as ‘red’, ‘orange’ or ‘grey’ to submit passenger locator forms, notably those arriving by airplane, in accordance with data protection requirements. Travellers with an essential function or need – such as workers exercising critical occupations, frontier and posted workers, students or journalists performing their duties – should not be required to undergo quarantine.
Clear and timely information to the public
The Commission proposes that Member States provide details of upcoming restrictions to free movement or the lifting of travel restrictions to Member States and the Commission on a weekly basis. Changes should be notified a week before entering into force.
Information should also be made available on the ‘Re-open EU‘ web platform, with a link to the weekly-published map by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
Citizens and businesses need predictability. Member States must make all efforts to minimise the social and economic impact of travel restrictions. This should include the provision of information to the public in in a clear, comprehensive and timely manner.
Background
The right of European citizens to move and reside freely within the European Union is one of the most cherished achievements of the European Union, as well as an important driver of our economy. Any restrictions to the fundamental right of free movement within the EU should only be put in place where strictly necessary and be coordinated, proportionate and non-discriminatory to address public health risks.  To limit the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak, Member States have adopted various measures, some of which have had an impact on free movement. A well-coordinated, predictable and transparent approach to the adoption of restrictions on freedom of movement is necessary to prevent the spread of the virus, safeguard the health of citizens as well as maintain free movement within the Union, under safe conditions. This is important for the millions of citizens who rely on frictionless cross-border travel every day, and crucial for our efforts to start safely re-building the economy.
Next steps
The Commission’s proposal for a Recommendation will be discussed by the Council with the aim of an adoption in the coming weeks.
Compliments of the European Commission.
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Governments have taken unprecedented fiscal action in response to the COVID-19 crisis, but countries will need to support economic recovery in the face of significantly increasing fiscal challenges, according a new OECD report.
Tax Policy Reforms 2020 describes the latest tax reforms across OECD countries, as well as in Argentina, China, Indonesia and South Africa. The report identifies major tax policy trends adopted before the COVID-19 crisis and takes stock of the tax and broader fiscal measures introduced by countries in response to the pandemic, from its outbreak to June 2020.
The report shows that while the size of fiscal packages in response to the COVID-19 crisis has varied across countries, most have been significant, and many countries have taken unprecedented action. It also points out that most countries have adopted a phased approach to COVID-19, gradually adapting their fiscal packages as the crisis has unfolded. Initial government responses focused on providing income support to households and liquidity to businesses to help them stay afloat. As the crisis has continued, many countries expanded their initial response packages. The most recent measures and discussions suggest that the recovery phase will be supported by expansionary fiscal policy in a number of countries.
With countries facing such high levels of uncertainty, policy agility will be key and targeted support measures should be maintained as long as needed to avoid scarring effects, according to the report. Once recovery is well underway, governments should shift from crisis management to more structural tax reforms, but they must be careful not to act prematurely as this could jeopardise recovery. “Right now, the focus should be on the economic recovery. Once the recovery is firmly in place, rather than simply returning to business as usual, governments should seize the opportunity to build a greener, more inclusive and more resilient economy,” said Pascal Saint-Amans, Director of the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration. “One path that should be urgently prioritised is environmental tax reform and tax policies to tackle inequalities”.
Rising pressure on public finances as well as increased demands for fairer burden-sharing should also provide new impetus to reach an agreement on digital taxation. “Tax co-operation will be even more important to prevent tax disputes from turning into trade wars, which would harm recovery at a time when the global economy can least afford it,” Mr Saint-Amans said.
Tax Policy Reforms 2020 also provides an overview of the reforms introduced before the COVID-19 crisis. It highlights continuation of a number of trends identified in previous years, including personal income tax reductions for low and middle-income households and the stabilisation of standard value-added tax (VAT) rates observed across many countries. Corporate tax rates have continued to decline, but at a faster pace than in 2019.
Areas where clear progress has been made include reforms to ensure the effective collection of VAT on online sales of goods, services and intangibles, and the adoption of measures in line with the OECD/G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project to protect corporate tax bases against international tax avoidance. On the other hand, progress on environmentally related taxes has been slow, with reforms being concentrated in a small number of countries and limited in scope.
The report also notes that there has been a marked change in property taxation compared to previous years, with an increase in the number of reforms in that area, generally aimed at raising taxes.
For more information and to access the report, visit www.oecd.org/tax/tax-policy-reforms-26173433.htm.
CONTACTS:

Pascal Saint-Amans, Director of the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration | pascal.saint-amans[at]oecd.org

David Bradbury, Head of the Tax Policy and Statistics Division | david.bradbury[at]oecd.org

Lawrence Speer, in the OECD Media Office | Lawrence.Speer[at]oecd.org

Compliments of the OECD.
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Today, the Commission presents an Action Plan on Critical Raw Materials, the 2020 List of Critical Raw Materials and a foresight study on critical raw materials for strategic technologies and sectors from the 2030 and 2050 perspectives. The Action Plan looks at the current and future challenges and proposes actions to reduce Europe’s dependency on third countries, diversifying supply from both primary and secondary sources and improving resource efficiency and circularity while promoting responsible sourcing worldwide. The actions will foster our transition towards a green and digital economy, and at the same time, bolster Europe’s resilience and open strategic autonomy in key technologies needed for such transition. The List of Critical Raw Materials has been updated to reflect the changed economic importance and supply challenges based on their industrial application. It contains 30 critical raw materials. Lithium, which is essential for a shift to e-mobility, has been added to the list for the first time.
Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President for Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight said:
” A secure and sustainable supply of raw materials is a prerequisite for a resilient economy. For e-car batteries and energy storage alone, Europe will for instance need up to 18 times more lithium by 2030 and up to 60 times more by 2050. As our foresight shows, we cannot allow to replace current reliance on fossil fuels with dependency on critical raw materials. This has been magnified by the coronavirus disruptions in our strategic value chains. We will therefore build a strong alliance to collectively shift from high dependency to diversified, sustainable and socially-responsible sourcing, circularity and innovation“.
Thierry Breton, Commissioner for Internal Market said: “A number of raw materials are essential for Europe to lead the green and digital transition and remain the world’s first industrial continent. We cannot afford to rely entirely on third countries – for some rare earths even on just one country. By diversifying the supply from third countries and developing the EU’s own capacity for extraction, processing, recycling, refining and separation of rare earths, we can become more resilient and sustainable. Implementing the actions that we propose today will require a concerted effort by industry, civil society, regions and Member States. We encourage the latter to include investments into critical raw materials into their national recovery plans.”
The Action Plan on Critical Raw Materials is aimed to:

develop resilient value chains for EU industrial ecosystems;
reduce dependency on primary critical raw materials through circular use of re-sources, sustainable products and innovation;
strengthen domestic sourcing of raw materials in the EU;
diversify sourcing from third countries and remove distortions to international trade, fully respecting the EU’s international obligations.

To achieve these objectives, today’s Communication outlines ten concrete actions. First, the Commission will in the coming weeks establish a European Raw Materials Alliance.  By bringing together all relevant stakeholders, the alliance will primarily focus on the most pressing needs, namely to increase EU resilience in the rare earth and magnet value chains, as this is vital to most of EU industrial ecosystems, such as renewable energy, defence and space. Later, the alliance could expand to address other critical raw material and base metal needs over time.
To make better use of domestic resources, the Commission will work with Member States and regions to identify mining and processing projects in the EU that can be operational by 2025. A special focus will be on coal-mining regions and other regions in transition, with special attention to expertise and skills relevant for mining, extraction and processing of raw materials.
The Commission will promote the use of its earth-observation programme Copernicus to improve resource exploration, operations and post-closure environmental management. At the same time, Horizon Europe will support research and innovation, especially on new mining and processing technologies, substitution and recycling.
In line with the European Green Deal, other actions will address the circularity and sustainability of the raw materials value chain. The Commission will therefore develop sustainable financing criteria for the mining and extractive sectors by the end of 2021. It will also map the potential of secondary critical raw materials from EU stocks and wastes to identify viable recovery projects by 2022.
The Commission will develop strategic international partnerships to secure the supply of critical raw materials not found in Europe. Pilot partnerships with Canada, interested countries in Africa and the EU’s neighbourhood will start as of 2021. In these and other fora of international cooperation, the Commission will promote sustainable and responsible mining practices and transparency.
Background
The secure supply of raw materials for the EU’s industry is a long-standing issue. The EU has sought ways to address it, from the establishment of the Raw Materials Supply Group in the 1970s to the launch of the Raw Materials Initiative in 2008. This initiative set out a strategy for reducing dependencies for non-energy raw materials for industrial value chains and societal well-being by diversifying sources of primary raw materials from third countries, strengthening domestic sourcing and supporting the supply of secondary raw materials through resource efficiency and circularity.
The European Green Deal and the new EU Industrial Strategy acknowledge that access to resources is a strategic security question for making the green and digital transformations a success. Currently, the coronavirus crisis is leading many parts of the world to look critically at how they organise their supply chains, especially where public safety or strategic sectors are concerned. The Commission’s proposed recovery plan puts an emphasis on building back greener, more digital and more resilient. Therefore, Europe should strive to develop open strategic autonomy and diversify raw materials supply.
Compliments of the European Commission.
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