European Union

CEPA #TheGoodPestManager would like to thank everyone in the pest management industry for their hard work through what has been a difficult year. The industry remains essential to public health, and contributes to the protecting our urban environments and supply chains.

Media freedom throughout Europe needs all the support it can get, but the situation in the Balkans is particularly worrying, participants told an online conference "Media Freedom in the Balkans” organised by EURACTIV.

A series of protests have been staged in front of the European Commission and at a vaccine manufacturing plant in Belgium, calling for temporarily lifting of the intellectual property (IP) rights of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.

The COVID-19 pandemic has cast a new light on the compelling necessity of addressing health inequalities across the globe.

Written by Clare Ferguson,

European Parliament (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

The European Parliament returns to Strasbourg this month (though still in a hybrid format), for the first time since February 2020. This welcome sign that life is returning to a form of normality in Europe means that many Members who travel to Strasbourg will have direct experience of the issues addressed by an important point on their agenda – the Digital Covid Certificate. As we enter the second summer under coronavirus restrictions, many people in the EU are hoping to be able to travel at last, to visit loved ones or for a holiday. Parliament agreed to an accelerated procedure to consider the proposals for a digital Covid certificate, with the aim of allowing EU countries to open their borders without worsening the coronavirus situation. The co-legislators have agreed to a compromise on this proposal, now named the ‘EU Digital Covid Certificate’, and the system should be in operation by 1 July 2021. Parliament has ensured that the testing required is more affordable and accessible, through the allocation of around €100 million for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. If necessary, EU countries may still impose duly justified additional restrictions with 48 hours advance notice. A second proposal covers travel for third-country nationals within the EU. Members are expected to debate the final adoption of the texts on Tuesday morning.

Over 60 % of European small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which employ 100 million people, have reported a fall in turnover in 2020. Members will take part in a joint debate on the State of the SMEs Union on Monday evening and have already called for the EU strategy for a sustainable and digital Europe to take the impact of Covid‑19 into account. A new SME strategy for a sustainable and digital Europe is proposed, aimed at supporting SMEs in becoming more sustainable and digital, and at improving access to markets and financing. Parliament has requested that the European Commission set ambitious targets for the reduction of the administrative burden on SMEs by June of this year, and would also like to see better assessment of the costs and benefits for SMEs of proposed EU legislation in future.

In light of these impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) 2021‑2027 budget for social inclusion will be greatly needed, to provide resources to improve youth employability and equal opportunities for children at risk of poverty. On Tuesday afternoon, Members are expected to debate the adoption at second reading of the text, a compromise reached with the co-legislators after some disagreement, on an €88 billion EU budget for employment, education and social inclusion measures (almost 8 % less than under the previous multiannual financial framework, MFF).

When it comes to tackling the diverse challenges outside the EU, a multi-instrument funding architecture with many and various priorities and management structures is not ideal for the kind of effective and flexible action needed to help other countries cope with the pandemic and other issues. Members will debate Parliament’s consent to an interinstitutional agreement on the proposed regulation establishing a Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument 2021‑2027 on Tuesday afternoon. If agreed, the proposal would allocate €70.8 billion (in 2018 prices) under the 2021‑2027 MFF and bring together the 10 previous funds for external action along with the European Development Fund. The agreement enhances Parliament’s oversight of the strategic direction of the funding, including ending assistance to countries that do not respect democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

External affairs are also scheduled for Wednesday morning, where Members will hear Council and Commission statements on the preparation of the G7 summit of 11‑13 June and the forthcoming EU‑US Summit, which will provide an opportunity for a closer examination of the emerging contours of President Biden’s foreign policy.

A country’s resilience to hybrid threats such as cyber-attack is now considered to be an important indicator of stability, as public administrations become more reliant on digital technologies. Members are expected to hear Council and Commission statements on Wednesday afternoon on recent cyber-attacks on EU and national public and private institutions, particularly in light of the EU digitalisation agenda, as part of a joint debate, including an oral question on the future EU cybersecurity strategy. The 230 000 daily new malware infections detected by the ENISA cybersecurity agency between January 2019 and April 2020, give an idea of the scale of the issue. Parliament is also expected to decide on formal adoption at second reading of a provisional agreement on establishing the instrument for financial support for customs control equipment, on Monday evening. The instrument will be used to purchase, maintain and upgrade detection equipment for customs, border and security controls at external EU borders. Parliament has succeeded in amending the proposal to ensure the equipment has optimal cybersecurity and safety standards. Once adopted, the regulation should come into effect retroactively, as of 1 January 2021.

Meanwhile, a majority of Europeans think that more should be done to improve animal welfare. Many Members of the European Parliament agree, and have been supporting the European citizens’ initiative, ‘End the cage age‘. With nearly 1.4 million signatures, this popular initiative has gained sufficient support to oblige the European Commission to propose legislation to ban the use of the remaining cages, farrowing crates, stalls and pens still authorised in the EU for a range of livestock. Members are scheduled to debate the initiative on Thursday morning, along with an Agriculture & Rural Development Committee motion for a resolution proposing to phase out cages in farming, possibly by 2027. A debate on protecting biodiversity against habitat loss, where trade policy has a clear role to play, is also scheduled for Monday afternoon.

Following 2019 proposals to update the EU Ombudsman’s Statute, to align it with the Lisbon Treaty and strengthen the role of this guardian of institutional accountability and transparency, Members are expected to debate a new European Parliament regulation governing the Ombudsman’s duties on Wednesday afternoon, in the presence of Emily O’Reilly, the current European Ombudsman. Parliament’s proposals include possible extension of the deadline for institutions to reply to the Ombudsman’s findings, and allowing the Ombudsman to carry out own-initiative inquiries. However, other proposals were not retained following discussions with the other institutions. Mention of sexual harassment is less specific and the proposed two-year extension of the deadline for filing complaints was discarded. Although the Council has already informally indicated its agreement with the proposal, its formal consent as well as an opinion from the European Commission will be required before the new statute can be formally adopted in a future plenary session. For Parliament to exercise its own oversight role regarding the EU’s executive in full, a majority in Parliament may set up a temporary committee of inquiry to investigate alleged contraventions or maladministration in the implementation of Union law. However, current legislation restricts Parliament’s investigative powers. Accordingly, such a committee would have no power to summon witnesses, and cannot formally require witnesses to testify under oath, or impose sanctions. As far back as 2012, Parliament proposed to revise the regulation of its right of inquiry, where it has the right of initiative. However, adoption of the regulation is subject to a special legislative procedure requiring Council and Commission consent, which has not been forthcoming to date. Seeking to break the deadlock on strengthening Parliament’s right of inquiry, the AFCO committee has put questions to both the Commission and the Council for oral answer on the plenary agenda for Tuesday evening, seeking assurances that they will engage in good-faith political dialogue with the Parliament to reach agreement.

Written by Beatrix Immenkamp.

© Denis / Adobe Stock

A key objective of the EU’s external action is to preserve peace, prevent conflicts and strengthen international security, in accordance with the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter. In the context of its common foreign and security policy (CFSP), the Union offers assistance to third states, international organisations and regional organisations engaged in peace support operations. Moreover, the EU’s common security and defence policy (CSDP) – part of the CFSP – provides the Union with its own operational capacity, allowing it to deploy civilian and military assets (provided by the EU Member States) in third countries. While many of the operations and missions the EU supports have military and defence implications, the EU cannot finance activities with military or defence implications from the EU budget. EU Member States therefore have mechanisms to fund expenditure with military and defence implications directly from national budgets.

The European Peace Facility (EPF) is a new off-budget fund with a financial ceiling of €5.692 billion financed by Member State contributions. The EPF, which will be operational by 1 July 2021, will make it easier for Member States to share the costs of EU military operations. It will also help the EU to support military peace-support operations conducted by third countries and regional organisations, anywhere in the world. Controversially, for the first time, the EU will be able to provide the armed forces of partner countries with infrastructure and equipment, including weapons. Several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have warned that the new facility risks fuelling conflict and human rights abuses around the world. They warn that this could exacerbate violence and arms proliferation, and fuel the very dynamics the EPF seeks to address. By contrast, practitioners believe the facility will ensure that the EU is taken seriously as a security provider and is able to maintain its influence in conflict areas. The Council has called for swift operationalisation of the EPF and has invited Member States and the High Representative to present proposals for assistance measures.

Read this briefing on ‘European Peace Facility: Promoting peace or fuelling conflict?‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

• Military CSDP operations
• African-led peace support operations with ongoing APF/future EPF funding

Last week (26 May), a new helicopter mission simulator installed at EDA’s helicopter training centre at Sintra Airbase in Portugal was officially inaugurated during a joint visit by Portuguese Defence Minister João Gomes Cravinho, EDA Chief Executive Jiří Šedivý, EU Military Committee (EUMC) Chairman General Claudio Graziano as well as representatives from all EU Member States. 

The new simulator, a top-notch piece of technology, will allow the training centre to deliver the ground and simulator training parts of the different helicopter tactical courses organised under EDA’s Helicopter Exercise Programme (HEP) as well as the Helicopter Tactics Course (HTC) programme and the Helicopter Tactics Instructor Course (HTIC) programme.  

At the same time, it will help prepare the transition of EDA’s full range of helicopter training activities to the future Multinational Helicopter Training Centre (MHTC) which is expected to reach its initial operational capability in October 2023. Between now and then, EDA expects to deliver three more multinational ‘Blade’ exercises (the first of them, Hot Blade 21, will take place later this month in Portugal), two HEP helicopter tactics symposia, 15 HTC, three HTIC, seven Electronic Warfare and four Composite Air Operations planning courses. 

The future MHTC is expected to host around 35 weeks of training per year in its facilities. This will significantly contribute to standardising helicopter tactics training in Europe and enhancing interoperability between Member States’ helicopter crews. 
Portugal, as the host nation of the current EDA helicopter training centre and the future MHTC, has very actively supported EDA in the build-up of this centre and will lead the process to develop and implement the next generation of helicopter trainings at the MHTC.

First successful training 

The new state-of-the-art training simulator has already successfully undergone its baptism of fire on 17 May when EDA’s 67th Helicopter Tactics Course (HTC) was held at Sintra Airbase. The simulator was used for the first time, providing realistic and synthetic training to helicopter crews in an immersive environment that replicates the operational scenarios and environmental conditions in which rotary wing may operate.  Two crews from Portugal and two from Germany participated in this training that used the latest simulation software, including virtual reality devices. 

Composite Air Operations (COMAO) Planning Course

Earlier in May, another training, the 5th Helicopter Composite Air Operations (COMAO) Planning Course, has also taken place at Sintra Air Base. 17 trainees from Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Portugal, Lithuania and Cyprus as well as an EDA chief instructor team supported by instructors from EDA´s contractor Inzpire, conducted the course assuring the related COVID-19 restrictions, rules and regulations were met to the highest standards. The main objective of the course was to increase interoperability and build a common understanding on how to approach complex mission planning in a multinational environment.

The 2-week course started with a theoretical part, including detailed briefings on COMAO and 4 T’s (Task, Target, Threat and Tactics) mission planning and finished with participants performing large force operations planning, allowing them to gather experience in rotary wing tactics in complex mission scenarios.    

More information:

• EDA Helicopter Initiatives 
• MHTC sets course for Sintra (EDA magazine article)

 

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