BusinessEurope Headlines No. 2015-32
President Marcegaglia: ‘We must do our utmost to safeguard EU’s economic recovery’
“We should not make the mistake of easing up on reforms whilst growth is temporarily supported by a low oil price and a relatively low euro exchange. We’d pay for it sooner than later”, BusinessEurope President Emma Marcegaglia said at the EU Tripartite Social Summit on 15 October in Brussels. Less growth in emerging economies means that an export-led recovery will be harder to get. This makes it more important than ever to progress on confidence-boosting economic and fiscal reforms that can help “lock-in” the recovery, raise our potential growth rate and help us compete in a more challenging global trading environment, she added when presenting our Autumn Economic Outlook.
Watch the President's message, read more or contact: Daniele Olivieri
Photo © European Union
Climate change: exchanging views with new IPCC Chair Hoesung Lee
On a tour of European institutions in Brussels, Hoesung Lee was received by BusinessEurope Director General Markus J. Beyrer, for a first exchange of views with business after his election as the new Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). At a meeting on 14 October, he highlighted the priorities for his mandate which include institutionalisation of business engagement in the IPCC process and improving IPCC communications. He also pointed out the need to strengthen carbon pricing and its important role in achieving emission reductions in the context of the Paris climate summit.
Contact: Margarida Bolzer
Business recommendations for an ambitious customs chapter in TTIP
To ensure that benefits of streamlining customs procedures will last, BusinessEurope and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce urge negotiators to include an ambitious text in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. This text should foster commercially meaningful modernisation of customs and trade facilitation principles. Ahead of the 11th round of negotiations in Miami, EU and US business organisations submitted their recommendations in a joint statement on customs in TTIP. Among the proposals: a single window and one-stop for each party, cooperation on development of international rules and standards, joint development of trusted trader programmes, modernising border regulations and requirements, simplifying requirements for customs declarations, and the creation of a Transatlantic Business Facilitation Committee.
Read more or contact: Maurice Fermont
Urgent action is needed to ensure legal certainty after Safe Harbour ruling
Safe Harbour is a key instrument for EU companies to transfer data to the USA; its recent invalidation by the Court of Justice of the European Union creates serious legal uncertainty. Companies are currently facing an extremely challenging situation. Urgent guidance is needed from the European Commission, who has to make sure that within the EU there is no fragmented approach to international data transfers. With this message, BusinessEurope Director General Markus J. Beyrer addressed Commission Vice-President Ansip, Commissioner Oettinger and Commissioner Jourová on 14 October, during a meeting with industry representatives on the follow-up to the CJEU ruling. BusinessEurope calls on EU and US authorities to put a revised and improved Safe Harbour framework in place as soon as possible, taking current concerns into account. At the same time, the current negotiations on the general data protection regulation must take account of the need for sound and predictable international transfer mechanisms.
Contact: Guido Lobrano
Business challenges in Ukraine
As of January 2016, the Deep and Comprehensive Free-Trade Agreement (DCFTA) will enter into force, setting a new landscape in trade and investment relations between the EU and Ukraine. The agreement will be an opportunity, but will also present challenges for businesses in Ukraine and the EU. BusinessEurope travelled to Kiev on 7-8 October 2015 with the objective of better understanding the structural reforms that are being undertaken by the Ukrainian government, how they will impact the business environment in the country and its attractiveness for more foreign direct investment. The visit was also an opportunity to exchange views with Ukrainian business organisations on future cooperation to maximise the positive impact of the DCFTA.
Contact: Sofia Bournou
Towards a new energy market design
When establishing a Europe-wide electricity market – a goal supported by European business – the top priority must be security of supply and affordable prices for consumers, both industry and households. A market-based approach should be at the core of a new power market design in order to strengthen European competitiveness whilst aligning with a coherent and consistent climate and energy policy. Absolutely essential are policy framework conditions which facilitate unhindered flows of electricity across borders as well as remain predictable and stable over the longer term. BusinessEurope submitted a response to the public consultation by the European Commission, the objective of which was to seek stakeholder’s views on redesigning the European electricity market.
Read more or contact: Dominik Futschik
On the road to Paris: recent perspectives for a global climate deal
The Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) process is key for a successful agreement at the Paris international climate summit in December 2015. From this summit, business expects more clarity and predictability on policies in order to plan their investment decisions. The BusinessEurope seminar on 8 October 2015 looked into experiences gained from key pledges and first lessons from their analysis in terms of ambition and comparability.
Watch the video or contact: Alexandre Affre
Honouring thirty years of cooperation between European and Chinese patent offices
In 30 years, bilateral cooperation between the European and Chinese patent offices has expanded from a technical cooperation to a strategic partnership. Such cooperation has been instrumental in developing China’s intellectual property system. On 8-9 October 2015, BusinessEurope was invited to celebrate the anniversary. As stated in its contribution to a special commemorative publication, gaining access to the booming Chinese market remains a top priority for European companies. However, investing in China relies for its success on the existence of an effective intellectual property system, including a well-functioning patent system.
Contact: Ilias Konteas
Strengthening implementation of reforms by social partners
In the context of the European semester, country-specific recommendations should become more focused on implementation. As part of this, we believe it is better if social partners themselves can agree on the reforms needed. They are the best placed to know the reality of enterprises and how to implement the agreed actions in practice, BusinessEurope’s Social Affairs Director Maxime Cerutti said at a seminar on the role of social dialogue in European economic and social governance organised by Confrontations Europe, a think-tank, on 8 October in Brussels. That is why we engage in efforts to increase mutual learning between national social partner organisations across Europe to promote more social partner-led labour market reforms. However, if social partners can’t agree member states need to act, he added.
Contact: Guillaume Cravero
Calendar
19-23 October 2015: 11th round of TTIP negotiations, Miami- 25 October 2015: Parliamentary elections in Poland
- 26 October 2015: Meeting of the Environment Council
Contact: BusinessEurope Headlines