Statement by David McAllister, Chair of Parliament’s UK Coordination Group, following the start of EU-UK negotiations on a future partnership on Monday 2 March.

“With negotiations kicking off today, we are entering into a crucial phase that will set the tone for the future EU-UK relationship. The European Union is united; mutual trust and respect should prevail to ensure the best possible outcome for both parties. EU negotiator Michel Barnier and his team can count on the European Parliament’s full support”.
“As stated in our latest resolution, the EU must do its utmost when negotiating with the UK to guarantee the European Union’s interests. We take note of the UK’s mandate published on 27 February. Members reiterated in their resolution their determination to establish a future relationship with the UK that is as close as possible, noting nonetheless that this will have to be different from that enjoyed by the UK as a member state of the EU. To this end, trust is essential. It is also crucial that the UK government, in the upcoming negotiations, quickly clarifies its approach to the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement, particularly with regard to the protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland.”
Background
 
The European Parliament adopted its latest resolution on EU-UK future relations on 12 February. In the text, MEPs called for future fair competition and a “level playing field” to be guaranteed through robust commitments, and “dynamic alignment” of EU-UK rules.
EU government representatives in the Council gave the go-ahead for talks to start and adopted the EU’s negotiating directives on 25 February, effectively allowing the European Commission to begin negotiating with the British government on behalf of the EU.
Parliament’s “UK Coordination Group”, led by Foreign Affairs Committee Chair David McAllister (EPP, DE), will liaise with the EU Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom. The EP will follow closely the work of the EU negotiator Michel Barnier and continue to influence the negotiations through resolutions. The final agreement will need the approval of the Parliament as a whole.
Compliments of the EU Parliament

Keynote speech by President Charles Michel at the Centre for European Policy Studies

Thank you for the warm welcome. It’s a special pleasure to be here with you this afternoon and I am delighted that it has been possible for this event to go ahead. I have full confidence in the Belgian authorities in this kind of situation.
CEPS is doing great work, work which is above all very helpful in the efforts to regularly let fresh air into the world of ideas and the future of the European project. I am happy to have this opportunity to share with you some thoughts on this wonderful European project which brings us together.
The first point I would like to share with you is the conviction that Europe must assert itself more on the world stage. And for that a stronger Europe is needed. We must be strong internally in order to have greater clout externally.
Following the European elections and the taking up of office by the new European leadership in the European Commission and in the European Council, we have put into motion a new democratic cycle. This is therefore a good moment to attempt to define the path to be followed and light up the road ahead. It is important, and to my mind essential, that Europe endeavour to be clear in its ideas.
What do we want today? We want a Europe that plays its part in the world, today and tomorrow. A Europe that asserts itself as a geopolitical actor. A Europe on the front line against climate change. And a Europe at the cutting edge of the digital transition.
And on all these fronts, we should never lose sight of our common base of strong, extremely robust values. We must build on them and always be guided by them. This, we might say, is the European hallmark: freedom and respect for human dignity, and responsibility towards the generations to come.
It is not, therefore, a question of picking off the challenges on automatic pilot, one by one. It’s about shaping a desirable future for all. It’s this common ambition that must inspire our choices, at the service of all European citizens.
Today, with you, I would like to take the opportunity afforded by this platform to share three messages. First, we have and we must have a clear goal in sight: for geopolitical, climate and digital matters. Next, a euro that is attractive internationally is a key element in making progress towards that objective. Finally, for an attractive euro, we need a strong Economic and Monetary Union.
Our Union must carve out its place in the world of tomorrow. To do so, we have to address three critical challenges.
First, our Union must be a leader in the world to promote its values and interests. This will take time and hard work. I believe the world needs a strong European voice. And decisive European action. When I talk to European citizens, I hear always the same thing. They say, “We want a strong, confident Europe. In words and also in action.” Because whatever happens in the world has an impact on our Union.
Today, we face strong headwinds. Global competition is back. That’s not great news for the rules-based, multilateral order. Our Union runs the risk of being squeezed between great powers that use their economic tools to promote their foreign policy interests.
And we must also prepare the ecological and the digital transitions. These two transitions are revolutionising our societies and economies. The green transition is probably the great challenge of the twenty first century. The challenge driving millions of young people onto the streets. A challenge all European countries have to support because we have no choice. It affects all our citizens equally.
The digital transition is happening now. Europe must be at the forefront to drive our economy and build a digital world in line with our European values. We know the magnitude of these transitions. We must capitalise on their potential. That’s why European leaders have committed a few weeks ago to very ambitious goals like making Europe the first carbon neutral continent in the world.
We want our European priorities to inspire all our policies. This applies to the euro, to our next European budget, and to our single market. Acting on our ambitions is how we defend our values. And because of these values, we are proud to be European.
The euro is a concrete symbol of success that our citizens carry in their pocket every day. 19 out of 27 member states, for exactly 343 million citizens. My children do not question payments in euro when we travel across the continent. To them it comes naturally. But we forget that only a few years ago we still had to exchange French to Belgian francs or Spanish pesetas to drachma.
Even if the euro faced huge criticism at the start I hear very few people are nostalgic about their national currencies. I believe the euro can definitely boost our strategic autonomy and help us achieve our political objectives.
We live in an interconnected world. But sometimes this can limit our room for manoeuvre. Just one example: the global dominance of the dollar allows US sanctions to reach beyond US borders. This affects European companies, even when they trade legally with third countries. Sometimes we can disagree, even with our closest ally.
But a stronger international euro would certainly give us more latitude in our geopolitical decision-making. An attractive currency offers also a broader access to international financial markets. And this facilitates the funding of the massive investments needed for our digital and ecological transitions. These investments are the key to unlocking the full potential of the two transitions: sustainable development, quality jobs and innovation.
The main question is: how do we get the euro to play a more prominent role on an international stage? This cannot simply be decreed. The decisive step is our collective European action to strengthen our Economic and Monetary Union.
I am convinced that everything we do to strengthen the Economic and Monetary Union will make the euro more attractive. We need to complete the initiatives we have already started. And we need to build new instruments that will prepare our EMU for tomorrow’s challenges.
Let’s start with the initiatives already on the table. Our response to the economic and financial crisis has been: more Europe and more competences for our Union. But to finalise our Banking Union, two reforms must still be completed.
First, the authority that deals with failing banks must have all the financial means to carry out its duties. Second, we still need a European system to guarantee and protect our bank deposits.
But that’s not enough in my opinion, the essential initiatives for tomorrow – a capital markets union, and a better management of the euro area are necessary. With a true Capital Markets Union, our innovative SMEs could better fund their projects. Our abundant savings could be better channelled into concrete green or digital investments. We all see the advantages of capital flowing freely across borders. So we really need to breathe new life into this project.
Steering our economy is a responsibility that cannot rest exclusively with the European Central Bank. European political leaders must strengthen the EMU so that monetary policy is not “the only game in town.”
Economists have long called for a budget for the euro area. The new BICC (budgetary instrument for convergence and competitiveness) currently taking shape is a small step but it is a step in the right direction. The euro is the monetary expression of our shared destiny. And strengthening the EMU is a collective responsibility.
One last word. We need to finance our common projects together. And we can do that by starting with pragmatic steps. For instance, the European Investment Bank could issue a larger number of safe green bonds, if it had additional capital to support the green and digital transitions. This would also expand the pool of risk-free assets denominated in euro, which is currently too small.
Today, the world is more unsettled than ever. But the European Union has a clear compass to guide us through the storm. We are focused on climate change, succeeding in the digital age, and leading on the global stage.
Yes, these goals are ambitious, very ambitious. But Europe has the talent, skills and passion to make it happen. So, we need the resources to back up these ambitions and make them a reality.
If we want to promote our European values, if we want to lead on the big issues of the 21st century, we need a global currency that matches our global ambitions. Thank you.

Compliments of the European Parliament Press Center

On 25-27 February 2020, EU Ambassador to the U.S. Stavros Lambrinidis visited northern California.
Upon his arrival to San Francisco, Ambassador Lambrinidis was greeted by European Consuls General at the German Residence — German Consul General Hans-Ulrich Südbeck currently serves as EU Local Chair. There are now twelve European Consulates in San Francisco since the opening of an Estonian Consulate a few weeks ago. 
Ambassador Lambrinidis was then received by Governor Gavin Newsom in Sacramento. During their meeting, they discussed the close partnership between California and the European Union on a wide range of common priorities, from climate action and the digital economy to science and the future of mobility. The European Union recently welcomed Governor Newsom’s decision to order a moratorium on the death penalty.
He also met with San Francisco Mayor London Breed and praised the city for its leading role in technology and sustainability. San Francisco is home to many Europeans who contribute to the city’s prosperity and unique way of life.
In Silicon Valley, Ambassador Lambrinidis met with European and American tech entrepreneurs. EU trade and investment in California create 750 thousand jobs (see infographic here).
Ambassador Lambrinidis finally joined Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis on stage at UC Berkeley to discuss “California, the EU and the Future of the Transatlantic Relationship” (see here).
EU officials will be back in California on April 6 for the California-EU Energy Efficiency Forum (register for the webcast here). And Executive Vice President – A Europe Fit for the Digital Age Margrethe Vestager will speak at CODE CONFERENCE 2020 in Los Angeles (May 26-28). 
Compliments of the Delegation of the European Union to the United States

On the occasion of the World Wildlife Day, the European Commission launched today in Monaco a new global coalition for biodiversity. With this communication campaign, the Commission is calling for stronger mobilisation in raising awareness about the need to protect biodiversity.
Ahead of the crucial CoP 15 meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity in October 2020, the Commission is turning to all national parks, aquariums, botanic gardens, zoos, science and natural history museums to join forces and boost public awareness about the nature crisis.
European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius said: “Biodiversity crisis is an important part in climate change. Protection and restoration of biodiversity would not only save the nature for future generations, but also help to tackle climate change, and avoid negative consequences on our food, health and economy. We urgently need to take global action, otherwise, our only chance of seeing nature is in the zoos and botanical gardens. That would be a failure of the humankind.”
With their collections, education and conservation programmes, national parks, aquariums, botanic gardens, zoos, science and natural history museums are the best ambassadors to raise public awareness about the dramatic effects of the biodiversity crisis. The Commission also encourages national, regional and local authorities, non-governmental organisations, businesses, scientists and individual citizens to play their part in raising awareness ahead of the United Nations Biodiversity Summit (CoP 15).
During CoP 15, the 196 Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity are expected to adopt a new global framework to protect and restore nature, as much-needed as the Paris Agreement focusing on the climate urgency. Following the Summit, the focus of the coalition for biodiversity will be on coordinated actions with tangible impact aimed at bending the curve of biodiversity loss. This initiative is consistent and fully in line with other initiatives and coalitions, such as the High Ambition Coalition led by Costa Rica.
Background
The Global coalition for biodiversity will complement the highly successful coalition of “World aquariums #ReadyToChange to #BeatPlasticPollution” launched in 2017 which gathered more than 200 aquariums in 41 countries to raise global awareness about marine litter.
The Oceanographic Museum of Monaco today hosted a ceremony to mark both this launch and the handover of direction of the Aquariums coalition from the European Commission to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) under the Clean Seas campaign.
Later this month, the European Commission will announce the new EU Biodiversity Strategy to protect and restore nature in Europe, detailing the EU’s ambition for the Biodiversity CoP15. A major public engagement event, EU Green Week, will also aim to mobilise society for nature and biodiversity from 1-5 June 2020, with dozens of events across Europe, and a conference in Lisbon and Brussels.
A 2019 Report from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services IPBES shows that nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history. The rate of species extinctions is accelerating, with up to a million species facing extinction, and with likely serious impacts on people around the world. This means ecosystems would no longer be able to support humanity by providing water, food, clean air and timber, and their services of pollination, climate regulation, soil formation and regulation of floods would be seriously affected.
Compliments of the European Commission

The European Commission welcomes the Council’s decision today, as expected, to authorise the opening of the future partnership negotiations with the UK.  
The negotiating directives adopted today are based on the draft recommendation put forward by the Commission on 3 February 2020. They fully respect existing European Council guidelines and conclusions, as well as the Political Declaration agreed between the EU and the United Kingdom in October 2019.
The comprehensive negotiating directives define the scope and terms of the future partnership that the European Union envisages with the United Kingdom. These directives cover all areas of interest for the negotiations, including trade and economic cooperation, law enforcement and judicial cooperation in criminal matters, foreign policy, security and defence, participation in Union programmes and other thematic areas of cooperation. A dedicated chapter on governance provides an outline for an overall governance framework covering all areas of economic and security cooperation.
President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen said:“We are now ready to start negotiations with the United Kingdom. We want to build a close, ambitious future partnership, as this is in the best interest of people on both sides of the Channel. I would like to thank the European Parliament and all Member States for their continued trust in our negotiating team. We will work as hard as we can to achieve the best possible result.”
Michel Barnier, the European Commission’s Chief Negotiator, said: “We are determined to reach a deal that protects EU interests. We will work hand-in-hand with the European Parliament and all Member States and will continue to be fully transparent throughout this process.”
As Union negotiator, the Commission intends to continue work in close coordination with the Council and its preparatory bodies, as well as with the European Parliament, as was the case during the negotiations for the Withdrawal Agreement.
 

The Council today adopted a decision authorising the opening of negotiations for a new partnership with the UK, and formally nominating the Commission as EU negotiator. The Council also adopted negotiating directives which constitute a mandate to the Commission for the negotiations.

The Council has adopted a clear and strong mandate for our negotiator, Michel Barnier. This confirms our readiness to offer an ambitious, wide-ranging and balanced partnership to the UK for the benefit of both sides. The EU is now ready to start negotiations.
Andreja Metelko-Zgombić, Croatian State Secretary for European Affairs

Infographic – EU-UK negotiations
See full infographic
The EU wishes to establish an ambitious, wide-ranging and balanced economic partnership with the UK. The mandate stresses that the future partnership should be underpinned by robust commitments to ensure a level playing field for open and fair competition, given the EU and the UK’s geographic proximity and economic interdependence.
The EU intends to establish a free trade agreement with the UK which ensures that zero tariffs and quotas apply to trade in goods. This agreement should provide for cooperation on customs and regulatory aspects. It should also include effective management and supervision, dispute settlement and enforcement arrangements.
On fisheries, the mandate outlines that the future partnership should uphold the existing reciprocal access to waters as well as stable quota shares. The agreement on fisheries should be established by 1 July 2020, to give time for determining fishing opportunities after the end of the transition period.
The mandate also contains provisions for future cooperation in areas such as digital trade, intellectual property, public procurement, mobility, transport, and energy.
The EU will seek to establish a comprehensive security partnership with the UK. The partnership should comprise law enforcement and judicial cooperation in criminal matters, as well as foreign policy, security and defence. The mandate foresees that the future partnership should be embedded in an overall governance framework covering all areas of cooperation.
Council decision authorising the opening of negotiations, 25 February 2020
Negotiating directives
Next steps
The Commission will agree with the UK the dates for the first negotiating sessions. The first formal meeting between the EU and the UK negotiators is expected to take place in early March.
Background
The Council decision and the negotiating directives are based on a recommendation presented by the Commission on 3 February 2020. They build on the political declaration agreed by the EU and the UK in October 2019, as well as on the European Council (Art. 50) guidelines on the future EU-UK relationship of March 2018 and April 2017.
On 13 December 2019, EU27 leaders reconfirmed their aim of establishing as close as possible a future relationship with the UK. They invited the Commission to submit to the Council a draft negotiating mandate for a future relationship with the UK immediately after its departure. 
The entry into force of the withdrawal agreement marked the end of the period under Article 50 TEU and the start of a transition period until 31 December 2020. During the transition period, the UK will continue to apply Union law but it will no longer be represented in the EU institutions.
Compliments of the European Commission

From 24 to 28 February 2020, the first European Cooperation week of the year gets underway at EUIPO. This important forum brings together IP experts from all over the EU with the common goal of implementing the European Cooperation Programmes within the current Strategic Plan 2020 at EUIPO.
Experts from the European Union Intellectual Property Network (EUIPN) will meet for the 8th European Cooperation Projects (ECP) working group meetings, the EUIPN Point of Contacts (PoCs) meeting and the Classification working group meeting on trade marks and designs.
The meetings are a key driver of the development and sustainability of the ECP outcomes. They gather more than 170 experts from intellectual property offices of the EU, EUIPO and user associations, together with observers from the European Patent Office (EPO) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
The 8th ECP working groups will be reviewing the progress made on five different European Cooperation projects, including the ECP3 New Tools project on Decision Desktop, ECP4 Shared Services and Practices (CP11 and CP12), ECP5 European Network of Authenticities, and ECP2 major improvements to TMView and DesignView.
Participation and engagement in the working groups has increased over the past years, thus reinforcing the exchange of knowledge. The working group members play a decisive role in shaping the outcome of each project, all of which combine to strengthen and develop the IP system across the EU. For example, experts will be invited to validated the last updates to the new TMview version planned to go live in April (the beta version was launched in late 2019), while progress in the drafting of common practices in the Convergence Programme on new types of practices will be sought.
The EUIPN Point of Contacts meeting gathers members of the EU Intellectual Property Network (EUIPN), with the aim of facilitating a collaborative approach with EUIPO and building an interconnected, efficient and reliable IP system, through continuous cooperation and consultations, for the benefit of users. The meeting will serve to highlight the importance of efficient implementation of the new cooperation model, as well as preparing for the assessment of interest for participation in ECPs during the last part of 2020 and 2021 by the national and regional intellectual property offices of the EU.
The Classification Working group meetings, in cooperation with the Digital Transformation Department (DTD) of EUIPO, will be dealing with two different work streams, designs and trade marks, bringing together classification experts from EU IP offices as well as WIPO and User Associations.
Work stream “Designs” will be focusing on the discussion of issues related to the maintenance of the Harmonised Database of Product Indications (HDBPI) and improvements to enhance the use and quality of the database. This will be the first time a maintenance meeting is held for DesignClass. It will take place twice a year, with the next one planned for September 2020.
Similarly, work stream “trade marks” will focus on the discussion of issues related to the classification of Goods and Services, such as the content and operational issues of the Harmonised Database (HDB), Taxonomy and Nice updates.
The European Cooperation week will pave the way for future actions across the different projects, including technical acknowledgement in the March Liaison meeting or adoption of common practices in the June Management Board and Budget Committee meetings. As usual, a second European Cooperation week will be planned for the end of September 2020.
Compliments of the European Union Intellectual Property Office

Today, the Commission unveils its ideas and actions for a digital transformation that works for all, reflecting the best of Europe: open, fair, diverse, democratic and confident. It presents a European society powered by digital solutions that put people first, opens up new opportunities for businesses, and boosts the development of trustworthy technology to foster an open and democratic society and a vibrant and sustainable economy. Digital is a key enabler to fighting climate change and achieving the green transition. The European data strategy and the policy options to ensure the human-centric development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) presented today are the first steps towards achieving these goals.
The President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said: “Today we are presenting our ambition to shape Europe’s digital future. It covers everything from cybersecurity to critical infrastructures, digital education to skills, democracy to media. I want that digital Europe reflects the best of Europe – open, fair, diverse, democratic, and confident.”
Executive Vice-President for A Europe Fit for the Digital Age, Margrethe Vestager, said: “We want every citizen, every employee, every business to stand a fair chance to reap the benefits of digitalisation. Whether that means driving more safely or polluting less thanks to connected cars; or even saving lives with AI-driven medical imagery that allows doctors to detect diseases earlier than ever before.”
Commissioner for Internal Market,Thierry Breton, said: “Our society is generating a huge wave of industrial and public data, which will transform the way we produce, consume and live. I want European businesses and our many SMEs to access this data and create value for Europeans – including by developing Artificial Intelligence applications. Europe has everything it takes to lead the ‘big data’ race, and preserve its technological sovereignty, industrial leadership and economic competitiveness to the benefit of European consumers.”
Europe as a trusted digital leader
Digital technologies, if used with purpose, will benefit citizens and businesses in many ways. Over the next five years, the Commission will focus on three key objectives in digital:
·     Technology that works for people;
·     A fair and competitive economy; and
·     An open, democratic and sustainable society.
Europe will build on its long history of technology, research, innovation and ingenuity, and on its strong protection of rights and fundamental values. New policies and frameworks will enable Europe to deploy cutting-edge digital technologies and strengthen its cybersecurity capacities. Europe will continue to preserve its open, democratic and sustainable society and digital tools can support these principles. It will develop and pursue its own path to become a globally competitive, value-based and inclusive digital economy and society, while continuing to be an open but rules-based market, and to work closely with its international partners.
Europe as a leader in trustworthy Artificial Intelligence
Europe has all it needs to become a world leader in Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems that can be safely used and applied. We have excellent research centres, secure digital systems and a robust position in robotics as well as competitive manufacturing and services sectors, spanning from automotive to energy, from healthcare to agriculture. 
In its White Paper presented today, the Commission envisages a framework for trustworthy Artificial Intelligence, based on excellence and trust. In partnership with the private and the public sector, the aim is to mobilise resources along the entire value chain and to create the right incentives to accelerate deployment of AI, including by smaller and medium-sized enterprises. This includes working with Member States and the research community, to attract and keep talent. As AI systems can be complex and bear significant risks in certain contexts, building trust is essential. Clear rules need to address high-risk AI systems without putting too much burden on less risky ones. Strict EU rules for consumer protection, to address unfair commercial practices and to protect personal data and privacy, continue to apply.
For high-risk cases, such as in health, policing, or transport, AI systems should be transparent, traceable and guarantee human oversight. Authorities should be able to test and certify the data used by algorithms as they check cosmetics, cars or toys. Unbiased data is needed to train high-risk systems to perform properly, and to ensure respect of fundamental rights, in particular non-discrimination. While today, the use of facial recognition for remote biometric identification is generally prohibited and can only be used in exceptional, duly justified and proportionate cases, subject to safeguards and based of EU or national law, the Commission wants to launch a broad debate about which circumstances, if any, might justify such exceptions.
For lower risk AI applications, the Commission envisages a voluntary labelling scheme if they apply higher standards.
All AI applications are welcome in the European market as long as they comply with EU rules.
Europe as a leader in the data economy
The amount of data generated by businesses and public bodies is constantly growing. The next wave of industrial data will deeply transform the way we produce, consume and live. But most of its potential remains unfulfilled. Europe has everything it takes to become a leader in this new data economy: the strongest industrial base of the world, with SMEs being a vital part of the industrial fabric; the technologies; the skills; and now also a clear vision.
The objective of the European data strategy is to make sure the EU becomes a role model and a leader for a society empowered by data. For this, it aims at setting up a true European data space, a single market for data, to unlock unused data, allowing it to flow freely within the European Union and across sectors for the benefit of businesses, researchers and public administrations. Citizens, businesses and organisations should be empowered to make better decisions based on insights gleaned from non-personal data. That data should be available to all, whether public or private, start-up or giant.
To achieve this, the Commission will first propose to establish the right regulatory framework regarding data governance, access and reuse between businesses, between businesses and government, and within administrations. This entails creating incentives for data sharing, establishing practical, fair and clear rules on data access and use, which comply with European values and rights such as personal data protection, consumer protection and competition rules. It also means to make public sector data more widely available by opening up high-value datasets across the EU and allowing their reuse to innovate on top.
Second, the Commission aims at supporting the development of the technological systems and the next generation of infrastructures, which will enable the EU and all the actors to grasp the opportunities of the data economy. It will contribute to investments in European High Impact projects on European data spaces and trustworthy and energy efficient cloud infrastructures.
Finally, it will launch sectoral specific actions, to build European data spaces in for instance industrial manufacturing, the green deal, mobility or health.
The Commission will also work to further narrow the digital skills gap among Europeans, and explore how to give citizens better control over who can access their machine-generated data.
Next Steps
As set out in the strategy presented today, the Commission will present later this year a Digital Services Act and a European Democracy Action Plan, propose a review of the eIDAS regulation, and strengthen cybersecurity by developing a Joint Cyber Unit. Europe will also continue to build alliances with global partners, leveraging its regulatory power, capacity building, diplomacy and finance to promote the European digitalisation model.
The White Paper on Artificial Intelligence is now open for public consultation until 19 May 2020. The Commission is also gathering feedback on its data strategy. In light of the input received, the Commission will take further action to support the development of trustworthy AI and the data economy
Background
Since 2014, the Commission has taken a number of steps to facilitate the development of a data-agile economy such as the Regulation on the free flow of non-personal data, the Cybersecurity Act, the Open Data Directive and the General Data Protection Regulation.
In 2018, the Commission presented for the first time an AI strategy, and agreed a coordinated plan with Member States. The framework for AI presented today also builds on the work carried out by the High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence, which presented their Ethics Guidelines on trustworthy AI in April 2019.
In her Political Guidelines, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed the need to lead the transition to a healthy planet and a new digital world. In that context, she announced to kick-start the debate on human and ethical Artificial Intelligence and the use of big data to create wealth for societies and businesses during her first 100 days in office.
Compliments of the European Commission

MEPs underlined that Parliament will only give its consent to a budget that meets the European Union’s ambitions, in a debate on EU funding for 2021-2027.

Talking about the budget means talking about the EU’s future, MEPs said in a key plenary debate with Nikolina Brnjac, Croatian State Secretary for Foreign and European Affairs, representing the Council, and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The debate on Wednesday came ahead of a special EU summit starting on 20 February, where member states will try to agree on a common position on the next multiannual financial framework (MFF).
Most MEPs insisted that sufficient funding is key to achieve common ambitions such as fighting climate change, the digital and ecological transformation, dealing with the social consequences of the latter, and continuing to support regions and cities, farmers, young people, researchers or entrepreneurs. Implementing the Green Deal with a reduced budget, for example, would mean cutting successful EU programmes elsewhere, MEPs highlighted. Some said that certain EU policies need to be assessed more thoroughly, and that more spending discipline is needed.
In addition, introducing new sources of revenue (“Own Resources”) for the EU and linking the EU budget to the respect of rule of law are key for MEPs.
Compliments of the European Parliament

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published seven opinions on position limits  regarding commodity derivatives under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive and Regulation (MiFID II/MIFIR) today.

ESMA’s opinions agree with the proposed position limits regarding:
ICE Endex Dutch TTF Gas contracts
EEX Phelix DE Base Power contracts
EEX Capesize TC5 Freight contracts
EEX Spanish Power Base contracts
MEFFPOWER  Baseload contracts
ESMA found that the proposed position limits are consistent with the objectives established in MiFID II and with the methodology developed for setting those limits.
In addition to the five opinions above, ESMA published two opinions on the proposed position limits regarding the OMIP SPEL Base contracts. The first opinion relates to the position limits initially notified by Comissão do Mercado de Valores Mobiliários (CMVM ) which ESMA did not find consistent with the objectives established in MiFID II. In such circumstances, Article 57(5) of MiFID II requires the competent authority concerned  to modify the position limits in accordance with ESMA’s opinions or provide ESMA with justification why the change is considered to be unnecessary. In December 2019, CMVM accordingly notified ESMA of revised position limits for the OMIP SPEL base contracts. ESMA agreed with those revised position limits in a subsequent opinion which also has been published today.
ESMA will continue to assess the notifications received and issue opinions in order to ensure that the position limits are set in accordance with the MiFID II framework.
Compliments of the European Commission