European Union

Europe needs to build a new project that innovates, protects and illuminates, Parliament president David Sassoli told EU leaders.

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

Europe needs to build a new project that innovates, protects and illuminates, Parliament president David Sassoli told EU leaders.

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

In July, the European Commission unveiled a package of green laws aimed at cutting the EU’s carbon emissions by 55% by 2030. In this special report, EURACTIV looks at the impact the so-called "Fit for 55" package will have on the road transport sector.

The Paris-based NGO Reporters Without Borders says that a record number of journalists – 488 (including 60 women) – are currently detained worldwide, while another 65 are being held hostage. "RSF logged a total of 488 journalists and media workers in prison in mid-December 2021, or 20 percent more than at the same time last year," it said, in a report.

Fiat Chrysler Finance Europe v Commission, Ireland v Commission e.a
State aid
Tax ruling: Advocate General Priit Pikamäe proposes that the Court allow the appeal brought by Ireland and annul the Commission’s decision declaring aid which Luxembourg granted to Fiat as being incompatible with the internal market

Estonia's thriving wood pellet industry is pitting environmentalists who warn it increases logging and harms biodiversity against supporters who say it makes good use of wood that would otherwise go to waste.

Openbaar Ministerie (Tribunal établi par la loi dans l’État membre d’émission)
DFON
Refus d’exécution d’un mandat d’arrêt européen : l’avocat général Rantos précise les critères permettant à une autorité judiciaire d’exécution d’apprécier le risque éventuel d’ingérence du pouvoir exécutif dans les affaires concernant les personnes recherchées

The European Commission's communication on sustainable carbon cycles promising a new source of revenue for farmers received a lukewarm response from the farming sector on Wednesday (15 December) while NGOs blasted it for letting real polluters off the hook.

AB and Others (Révocation d’une amnistie)
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
The principle ne bis in idem does not preclude the issue of a European arrest warrant against persons accused of abducting the son of a former Slovak President

EDA’s groundwork to help Member States move towards the integration of MALE-type Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) in civil air traffic in non-segregated airspace received another significant boost on 13 December 2021 when a live MALE-type RPAS cross-border flight was carried out by the French Air Force from Cognac airbase to Spain and back to France. While multiple inland flights had already been performed in the past by the French Air Force, it was the first time that such a MALE-type RPAS flight crossed European borders in non-segregated airspace class A-C.

During this flight - depicted on the chart below - several handovers were carried out between civilian and military air traffic control centers in Bordeaux, Madrid, Barcelona, and Marseille. The cruise was carried out in upper airspace, up to FL 230, according to one “circular” flight plan. The RPAS had no specific onboard equipment such as a detect and avoid system. The flight was successful as it demonstrated the ability of MALE-type RPAS to perform seamless changes from their initial routing and altitude, as requested by the Air Traffic Control. It also demonstrated the benefit of a robust safety analysis, harmonized procedures and a common Concept of Operations “ConOps” for cross-border operations.

Based on the materials gathered during this flight and on the safety analysis performed by the initial Accommodation Study (2017-2019 timeframe) carried-out by EDA, a validation report will be published early 2022, together with the guidelines on how to “accommodate” MALE-type RPAS in General Air Traffic (GAT)  in non-segregated airspace class A-C. 

Accommodation Study

EDA’s Accommodation Study was ordered in 2018 as part of the Agency’s effort to support Member States in the area of MALE-type RPAS air traffic integration. The study conclusions published in February 2019 provided tailored risk assessments and an enhanced aviation safety case assessment methodology for MALE-type RPAS flying in non-segregated European airspace, alongside manned aviation. Following the presentation of those simulations results, France offered the possibility to perform real flights with a MALE-type RPAS (the FAF Reapers), including a cross-border portion with Spain. 

The material gathered during the latest test flight will further consolidate the work  on the validation report and the guidelines of the study.

More information

• EDA project page on RPAS Accommodation Validation 

 

In this press kit, you will find a selection of the European Parliament’s press releases that show MEPs’ priorities in relation to topics on the summit agenda.

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

In this press kit, you will find a selection of the European Parliament’s press releases that show MEPs’ priorities in relation to topics on the summit agenda.

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

Thursday, 16 December

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

Thursday, 16 December

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

EU leaders come together for the last summit of the year on Thursday (16 December) to discuss external challenges (migration, Russia), agree on ways to boost vaccination and contain the coronavirus pandemic and try to breathe life into a joint security and defence vision for the bloc.

Written by Andrés García with Laia Delgado Callico and Liliia Hrytsai.

This year, STOA’s Annual Lecture focused on critical technologies that, with the roll-out of artificial intelligence and the dramatic increase in new capabilities and online solutions, are bound to have an unprecedented effect on all our lives. It is estimated that the explosion in the number of connected devices will result in more than 500 billion of them worldwide by 2025 – nearly 100 smart objects per inhabitant of the planet. In this context, the event investigated the problem of jointly optimised communication efficiency and resources over wireless networks to leverage massive distributed data and computation resources.

The event was moderated by STOA Chair Eva Kaili (S&D, Greece), who began by highlighting the European commitment to developing critical technologies and the relevance of semiconductors for achieving strategic autonomy for Europe in the future geopolitical arena. Eva Kaili also referred to the emerging European deep-technology start-up scene and discussed the digital Europe programme, which will provide strategic funding to tackle the challenge of making Europe greener and more digital.

Following this introduction, the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, delivered a scene-setting speech on the subject of edge computing, 6G and satellite communications. He argued that, as Europe moves forward on critical technologies, it is necessary to establish clear and robust rules enabling everyone to benefit from innovation. Commissioner Breton remarked that Europe’s digital sovereignty, industrial leadership and resilience are conditioned by the capacity to develop these critical technologies. He went on to provide an overview of the multiple initiatives related to digital technologies that Europe is pursuing to meet its current needs and face the ongoing evolution, as well as the industrial data revolution. He specifically mentioned initiatives such as the artificial intelligence act, the digital services act (DSA), the digital marketsaAct (DMA) and the data governance act (DGA).

Commissioner Breton considers 6G to be a game-changer, which is expected to dramatically increase performance, capacities and signal response time standards. Development of this new technology will be conditioned on its cybersecurity dimension, for which the European Commission will be providing an equivalent updated version of the 5G Security Toolbox. He further commented on the dedicated initiative on space-based connectivity, to be launched in 2022. Providing broadband access to everyone in Europe and the whole African continent, its infrastructure will integrate quantum encryption features and low-orbiting satellites.

This was followed by a discussion also moderated by Eva Kaili with the participation of several Members of the European Parliament. Eva Maydell (EPP, Bulgaria) commented on the legislative instruments required to make all these technologies future-proof, as well as on the role of industry and public‑private partnerships (PPP). Maria‑Manuel Leitão Marques (S&D, Portugal) highlighted several points related to international cooperation and the need for strategic autonomy.

As keynote speaker, Vincent Poor of Princeton University explained the motivation behind 6G and its new requirements, in addition to its performance metrics such as communication speed and efficiency. He also discussed the new paradigm shifts that are expected, and several application scenarios and key sectors that could be particularly impacted by 6G. Vincent Poor also presented some network security concerns for 6G and how they could be addressed, concluding with a review of enabling technologies and some comments on the way in which 6G will affect future communication networks.

The event continued with brief interventions from renowned experts in the field. Yuanyuan Yang, of the United States National Science Foundation/Stony Brook University, gave a presentation of the challenges and opportunities posed by the use of smart devices, applications and edge computing. Eleni Diamanti of the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) followed, speaking about the two pillars of quantum technologies: quantum computing and quantum communication. She stated that quantum technologies offer a new paradigm for processing information and how we conceive infrastructure, in respect of cybersecurity. Finally, Gerhard Fettweis, of TU Dresden, pointed out that 5G provides the basis for remote control of robots, or what is known as personal mobile robotics. As coordinator of the 5G Lab Germany, he clarified the various implementation issues from the European perspective. In his view, all industry will be robotised, so we need to develop trust, authenticity, privacy, accountability and availability of our technologies according to EU values.

Eva Kaili then kicked-off the discussion with questions regarding blockchain, security, trust, 5G and the cloud. Eva Maydell commented on the challenges regarding changes in requirements for internet communication and the increasing need for standards. Maria‑Manuel Leitão‑Marques mentioned the Gaia‑X project and its chances to become an effective European cloud. The discussion was especially oriented towards the EU’s role and its capability to drive a human-centric approach for safe exploitation of the opportunities created by these critical technologies. A sustainable digital transformation is bound to have a significant impact on our technological, economic and societal development. It is imperative, according to the participants in the discussion, that the EU maximise the opportunities offered by digital and communication technologies while managing the risks, to ensure citizens have adequate access to safe, secure, inclusive and cost-effective solutions. The panellists agreed that the next five years will define the role of the different players in the area and that there was a need for action to ensure the EU remains ahead in this global competition.

Eva Kaili concluded the Annual Lecture by pointing out that critical technologies will definitely transform the world, offering new opportunities to all citizens. She added that Europe leads the way to human-centric innovation, therefore it is important to make sure that other countries will follow the same path, because technologies go beyond physical borders.

The full recording of the workshop is available here.

Your opinion counts for us. To let us know what you think, get in touch via stoa@europarl.europa.eu.

Six-year-old Johanna squeezed her eyes shut as she received her first coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday (15 December) at the Bethesda children's hospital in the Hungarian capital Budapest.

The US Embassy in Bucharest and the European Commission on Wednesday (15 December) expressed "concern" after Romanian judge Cristi Danileţ was expelled from the magistracy over TikTok posts.

European Central Bank policymakers will gather on Thursday (16 December) for a crunch meeting, as soaring inflation heaps pressure on the bank to wind down its stimulus just as a new coronavirus variant threatens to derail the recovery.

A revision of rules to protect workers of carcinogenic and other hazardous substances has been informally agreed on Thursday by Parliament and Council negotiators.
Committee on Employment and Social Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP