Oireachtas Digest on Week : 23 7 June to 13 June 2021 | Ref: 22-21

Spotlight

Last Week : Corporate tax transparency. European Parliament and Council negotiators have made an agreement that sets in place rules that require multinationals and their subsidiaries with annual revenues of over EUR 750 million, and which are active in more than one country, to publish and make accessible the amount of taxes they pay in each member state. The information will also need to be made available on the internet, using a common template, and in a machine-readable format. Funding for accession countries. On Wednesday, Parliament and Council negotiators reached an agreement on the instrument governing the 2021-2027 funding for countries on the path to EU membership. It will be worth €14.2 billion. Eurobarometer. A new Eurobarometer survey commissioned by the European Parliament and conducted between March and April 2021 shows the increasingly felt impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on citizens’ personal lives and financial situation. Eight out of ten respondents know what the EU is doing to tackle the pandemic’s consequences, while citizens put public health, the fight against poverty, supporting the economy and jobs as well as tackling climate change at the top of their priorities for the European Parliament. : COVID 19. On Monday, the European Commission proposed an update to the Council Recommendation on the coordination of free movement restrictions in the EU, which were put in place in response to the COVID- 19 pandemic. As the epidemiological situation is improving and vaccination campaigns are speeding up all over the EU, the Commission is proposing that Member States gradually ease travel measures, including most importantly for the holders of the EU Digital COVID Certificate. RRF. has requested €14.3 billion in grants and €15 billion in loans under the RRF. Czechia has requested a total of €7.1 billion in grants under the RRF New Tax Observatory. The European Commission announced the launch of the European Tax Observatory: a new research laboratory to assist in the EU's fight against tax abuse. The Observatory was created under the initiative of the European Parliament. Funded by the , the Tax Observatory will support EU policy-making through cutting-edge research, analysis and data-sharing. State Aid. The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, an €800 million Greek scheme to support companies active in tourism affected by the coronavirus outbreak. Also the prolongation and modification of an existing German scheme to support the production of electricity from new, modernised and retrofitted cogeneration (‘CHP') plants (except coal and lignite-fired CHP). EU Digital COVID Certificate. On Tuesday, the technical backbone of the EU Digital COVID Certificate: went live. The go-live of the gateway completes the preparatory work at EU level. Next Generation EU. Following the approval of the Own Resources Decision by all EU Member States, the Commission announced its estimates to issue around €80 billion of long-term bonds in 2021, to be topped up by tens of billions of of short-term EU-Bills to cover the remaining financing requirements. European Semester Spring Package: The European Commission has presented Spring Package, which focuses on providing fiscal guidance to Member States as they continue the process of gradually reopening their economies. Schengen area. The European Commission has presented a new Strategy to make the largest free travel area in the world – the Schengen area – stronger and more resilient. Fishing. The EU and the have concluded negotiations on an agreement in principle setting out catch limits for jointly managed fish stocks for 2021. European Digital Identity The Commission has proposed a framework for a European Digital Identity which will be available to all EU citizens, residents, and businesses in the EU.

1

Spotlight

Exchange of Personal Data (Shrems II). On Friday the Commission adopted two sets of standard contractual clauses, one for use between controllers and processors and one for the transfer of personal data to third countries. They reflect new requirements under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and take into account the Schrems II judgement of the Court of Justice, ensuring a high level of data protection for citizens.

European Council and Council of the European Union: The Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council (Transport), met on 3 an 4 June and discussed and agreed on a wide range of topics.

Coming Week: European Parliament: MEPs are in Strasbourg for a Plenary Session. Main topics for debate and decisions are: EU Digital COVID certificate; EU reaction to Belarusian actions;Waiver of COVID-19 vaccines; EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030; Debate on G7 and EU-US Summit; Cyberattacks in the EU; Phasing out cages in animal farming; LUX Film Audience Award.

Commission: College meeting on Tuesday.

European Council and Council of the European Union: Justice and Home Affairs Council, 7-8 June 2021 , 10 June 2021 Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council (Energy), 11 June 2021 G7 summit, Cornwall, 11-13 June 2021

European Parliament Plenary Session Strasbourg– Coming Week Highlights

WEEK 23

President’s Diary. EP President will be in Strasbourg from Monday to Thursday for the plenary session. On Tuesday, he will meet ’s State Secretary for European Affairs Clément Beaune, the President of the ’s Parliamentary Assembly, Rik Daems, and EU High Representative . Still on Tuesday, President Sassoli will have a video meeting with Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and Speaker of Canada’s House of Commons Anthony Rota. The President will have a remote meeting with ’s President Rumen Radev on Wednesday.

2

European Parliament Plenary Session Strasbourg– Coming Week Highlights

Biodiversity/Protecting wildlife and humans. MEPs will debate and vote on the new 2030 EU Biodiversity Strategy. They are set to call for 30% of the EU’s land and sea to be protected areas, for binding targets on urban biodiversity such as green roofs on new buildings, and for urgent action to stop the population decline of bees and other pollinators (debate Monday, vote Tuesday, results Wednesday) EU Digital COVID Certificate. MEPs are set to give their final approval to the EU Digital COVID Certificate, to facilitate travel within the EU during the pandemic and contribute to the economic recovery. The certificate will prove that a holder has been vaccinated, recovered from the virus or recently had a negative test (debate and vote Tuesday, results Wednesday). A press conference will take place on Tuesday at 13:15, after the debate. LUX Audience Film award. EP President Sassoli will reveal the LUX European Audience Film Award 2021 winner during a ceremony in the chamber on Wednesday at noon. Representatives of the three films shortlisted for the LUX Award will be present in Strasbourg. EU reaction to Belarusian actions. After a Ryanair flight was forced to land in Minsk and Belarussian journalist Raman Pratasevich and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega were arrested by Belarusian authorities, MEPs will debate the EU’s response to this unprecedented incident with Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell on Tuesday. A resolution will be put to the vote on Thursday Waiver for COVID-19 vaccine patents. MEPs will vote on whether the EU should ask the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to waive intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines, following a debate during the May session (vote Wednesday, results Thursday). Rule of law. In a debate on Wednesday afternoon, MEPs are set to raise the issue of declining respect for the rule of law in several member states, and insist on the urgent need to apply the new rule of law conditionality rules to protect the EU budget. MEPs will vote on a resolution o n Thursday. Special EU summit. Parliament will debate the conclusions of the special meeting of the European Council that took place on 24 and 25 May covering issues such as the COVID-19 vaccination efforts across Europe and foreign policy topics, including Mali and EU relations with the UK (Wednesday). G7 and EU-US Summits. MEPs will discuss their expectations for the G7 and EU-US summits that will tackle issues like COVID-19, climate change, Russia and Belarus (Wednesday). National recovery plans. MEPs will discuss with Council and Commission whether the national recovery plans submitted by member states so far effectively focus on the six agreed policy areas: the green transition, digital transformation, competitiveness, social cohesion, institutional crisis-reaction and preparedness, and the next generation including education and skills (debate Tuesday, vote Thursday). Phasing out cages in animal farming. In response to the European citizens’ initiative “End the Cage Age”, MEPs will debate and vote on a resolution asking to gradually end the use of cages in animal farming, based on a species-by-species approach that would take into account the characteristics of different animals (debate and vote Thursday).

Link to all Full Agenda Newsletter in PDF format here

European Commission Coming Week Highlights

College meeting: Tuesday

3

Portuguese Presidency of Council of the European Union Programme for Inter-Parliamentary Events

Date Meeting EP Location Committee Provisional

14 June High level Interparliamentary Conference on Migration and Asylum Brussels in Europe Remote

16 June Rural Development, Agriculture and Territorial Cohesion | Lisbon

Remot

20 -21 Conference on the role of Parliaments in deepening the EU Africa Lisbon June relationship

22 June Interparliamentary Committee Meeting on the electoral law and the Remote right to inquiry

Slovenian Presidency of Council of the European Union Programme for Inter- Parliamentary Events

Date Meeting Location

19 July Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Video conference Parliaments of the European Union (COSAC) – Meeting of the Chairpersons

8 – 9 Inter-parliamentary Conference for the Common Foreign and Security Ljubljana/Brussels September Policy and the Common Security and Defence Policy (IPC CFSP/CSDP) tbc

28 Inter-parliamentary Conference on Stability, Economic Coordination and Video conference September Governance in the European Union (SECG)

25 –26 Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group on EP/Brussels October tbc

4

Slovenian Presidency of Council of the European Union Programme for Inter- Parliamentary Events

Date tbc (tentative: High-Level Conference on Migration and Asylum in Europe. EP/Brussels November)

28 – 30 LXVI Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Ljubljana November Parliaments of the European Union (LXVI COSAC) tbc

Date tbc Inter-parliamentary Committee meeting on the Evaluation of ’s EP/Brussels (tentative: activities November)

2022 Ljubljana/National Assembly 30 – 31 Meeting of the Secretaries-General of the European Union Parliaments January (EUSG) tbc

2022 Conference of Speakers of the European Union Parliaments (EUSC) Ljubljana 4 - 5 April tbc

Format: physical meetings or VC (video conference) – a decision will be taken approximately three months in advance

5

Highlights of Week 22. 31 May to 6 June 2021

European Parliament Plenary and Committee Highlights Week 22. 31 May to 6 June 2021

Corporate tax transparency European Parliament and Council negotiators have made an agreement that sets in place rules that require multinationals and their subsidiaries with annual revenues of over EUR 750 million, and which are active in more than one country, to publish and make accessible the amount of taxes they pay in each member state. The information will also need to be made available on the internet, using a common template, and in a machine-readable format. To facilitate the use of the information provided and increase transparency, the data provided will need to be broken down into specific items, including the nature of the company’s activities, the number of full-time employees, the amount of profit or loss before income tax, the amount of accumulated and paid income tax and accumulated earnings. Subsidiaries or branches falling below the revenue threshold will also be required to report if they are deemed to exist only to help the company avoid the reporting requirements. Some provisions allow room for manoeuvre for multinationals to be temporarily exempt from some reporting requirements, but these are nonetheless strongly circumscribed. Next steps The text now needs to be endorsed by the Committees on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Legal Affairs and the Parliament as a whole, as well as Council. The vote in plenary is expected after the summer recess. Link to EP report here

Funding for accession countries On Wednesday, Parliament and Council negotiators reached an agreement on the instrument governing the 2021-2027 funding for countries on the path to EU membership. They agreed on the priorities, objectives and the governance of the modernised Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA III) financing. It will be worth 14.2 billion and will support the implementation of EU-related reforms in the seven partner countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, , Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and . The upgraded pre-accession instrument strengthens conditionality related to democracy, human rights and rule of law, envisaging the suspension of assistance in case of government backtracking in those areas. Link to EP report here

Eurobarometer A new Eurobarometer survey commissioned by the European Parliament and conducted between March and April 2021 shows the increasingly felt impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on citizens’ personal lives and financial situation. Eight out of ten respondents know what the EU is doing to tackle the pandemic’s consequences, while citizens put public health, the fight against poverty, supporting the economy and jobs as well as tackling climate change at the top of their priorities for the European Parliament. Overall, the European Parliament’s spring Eurobarometer survey shows robust support for the European Union as well as broad consensus that global challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic are best tackled at EU level.

6

At the end of the first quarter of 2021, thirty-one percent of Europeans have already seen their personal financial situation affected negatively during the pandemic. A further 26% expect this still to happen. While 57% of respondents represent a clear majority on EU average, important national variations within the EU must be taken into account. Despite the financial impact of the pandemic, a majority of respondents (58%) believe that the health benefits of restriction measures in their country outweigh the economic damage they might have caused. This opinion is shared in most EU countries and suggests a change in attitude compared to the s econd half of 2020, when a slight majority of citizens estimated the economic damage as more important, according to EP survey data from 2020. Link to EP Barometer here

European Commission Highlights Week 22. 31 May to 6 June 2021

Coronavirus: Commission proposes update to coordinated travel measures ahead of the summer On Monday, the Commission proposed an update to the Council Recommendation on the coordination of free movement restrictions in the EU, which were put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As the epidemiological situation is improving and vaccination campaigns are speeding up all over the EU, the Commission is proposing that Member States gradually ease tra vel measures, including most importantly for the holders of the EU Digital COVID Certificate. The Commission has also proposed to update the common criteria for risk areas and to introduce an ‘emergency brake' mechanism, to address the prevalence of new variants of concern or interest. The proposal also includes specific provisions on children to ensure unity of travelling families and a standard validity period for tests. Key updates to the common approach to travel measures inside the EU, building on the colour-coded map published by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC): Link here

Recovery and Resilience Facility: Romania. Romania has requested €14.3 billion in grants and €15 billion in loans under the RRF. The Romanian plan is structured around six pillars: the green transition, digital transformation, smart growth, social and territorial cohesion, health and resilience, and policies for the next generation. The plan includes measures on sustainable transport, education, healthcare, building renovation and the digitalisation of public administration. Projects in the plan cover the entire lifetime of the RRF until 2026. The plan proposes projects in all seven European flagship areas. Projects in the plan cover the entire lifetime of the RRF until 2026. Czechia. Czechia has requested a total of €7.1 billion in grants under the RRF. The Czech plan is built around six pillars: digital transformation, green transformation and physical infrastructure, education and the labour market, R&D and innovation, public administration and health. Projects in the plan cover the entire lifetime of the RRF until 2026. The plan proposes projects in all seven European flagship areas.

New European Tax Observatory to support fight against tax abuse. The European Commission announced the launch of the European Tax Observatory: a new research laboratory to assist in the EU's fight against tax abuse. Paolo Gentiloni, Commissioner for Economy, hosted the launch event today together with Paul Tang, Chair of the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Tax Matters, and Sven Giegold, Member of the European Parliament. The Observatory was created under the initiative of the

7

European Parliament. Funded by the European Union, the Tax Observatory will support EU policy-making through cutting-edge research, analysis and data-sharing. The Observatory will be fully independent in conducting its research, objectively informing policymakers and suggesting initiatives that could help to better tackle tax evasion, tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning. Headed by Professor Gabriel Zucman, and based at the Paris School of Economics, the Tax Observatory will be a source of new ideas for combating tax avoidance and an international reference for the study of taxation in a globalised world. Link to Commission statement here

State Aid : The Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, an €800 million Greek scheme to support companies active in tourism affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The scheme is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and will be open to companies of all sizes that experienced a turnover decline of more than 30% in 2020, compared to 2019. The aid will take the form of direct grants, with a maximum amount for each grant of either up to 5% of the beneficiary's annual turnover or €400,000 per company, whichever the lowest. The Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, the prolongation and modification of an existing German scheme to support the production of electricity from new, modernised and retrofitted highly efficient cogeneration (‘CHP') plants (except coal and lignite -fired CHP). The scheme (‘Kraft-Wärme- Kopplungsgesetz' – ‘KWKG 2020'), which is approved until 2026, will further promote energy efficiency, lead to a better integration of cogenerated power into the German electricity market and lower CO2 emissions, without unduly distorting competition.

EU Digital COVID Certificate: EU Gateway goes live with seven countries one month ahead of deadline On Tuesday, the technical backbone of the EU Digital COVID Certificate: went live. The go-live of the gateway completes the preparatory work at EU level. Since 10 May, 22 countries have already tested the gateway successfully. While the Regulation will be applied from 1 July, all Member States, which have passed the technical tests and are ready to issue and verify certificates, can now start using the system on a voluntary basis. Already seven Member States – Bulgaria, Czechia, , Germany, Greece, and – have decided to connect to the gateway and started issuing first EU certificates, while certain countries have decided to launch the EU Digital COVID Certificate only when all functions are deployed nationwide. Therefore, more countries will join in the coming days and weeks. An updated overview is available on a dedicated webpage. The political agreement of 20 May has to be formally adopted by the European Parliament and the Council. The Regulation will enter into application on 1 July, with a phasing-in period of six weeks for the issuance of certificates for those Member States that need additional time. In parallel, the Commission will continue to provide technical and financial support to Member States to on-board the gateway. Link to Commission statement here

NextGenerationEU: European Commission to issue around €80 billion in long-term bonds as part of funding plan for 2021 Following the approval of the Own Resources Decision by all EU Member States, the Commission announced its estimates to issue around €80 billion of long-term bonds in 2021, to be topped up by tens of billions of euros of short-term EU-Bills to cover the remaining financing requirements. The exact amount of both EU- Bonds and EU-Bills will depend on the precise funding needs, and the Commission will revise today's

8

assessment in the autumn. In this way, the Commission will be able to fund, over the second half of the year, all planned grants and loans to Member States under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, as well as cover the needs of the EU policies that receive NextGenerationEU funding. Link to Commission statement here

European Semester Spring Package: The European Commission has presented the European Semester Spring Package, which focuses on providing fiscal guidance to Member States as they continue the process of gradually reopening their economies. This guidance aims to help Member States strengthen their economic recoveries, making the bes t possible use of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the key instrument at the heart of NextGenerationEU. The European Semester has been adapted this year, given the links to Member States' recovery and resilience plans, laying out the investments and reforms that the RRF will finance. On March 3 2021, the Commission's Communication on fiscal policy clarified that the decision to deactivate the general escape clause should be taken based on an overall assessment of the state of the economy based on quantitative criteria, with the level of economic activity in the EU compared to pre -crisis levels as the key quantitative criterion. On the basis of the Commission's Spring 2021 Economic Forecast, the general escape clause will continue to be applied in 2022 and is expected to be deactivated as of 2023. The Commission has identified macroeconomic vulnerabilities related to imbalances and excessive imbalances for the 12 Member States selected for in-depth reviews in the 2021 Alert Mechanism Report. Three Member States continue to experience excessive imbalances (, Greece, and ) and nine others are experiencing imbalances (Croatia, France, Germany, Ireland, the , , Romania, , and ). The implementation of reforms and investments under the RRF is expected to help address the challenges identified over previous Semester cycles and play an important role in addressing existing macroeconomic imbalances. Link to Commission statement here

Towards a stronger and more resilient Schengen area The European Commission has presented a new Strategy to make the largest free travel area in the world – the Schengen area – stronger and more resilient. 36 years ago, 5 Member States agreed to remove controls between themselves. Today, the Schengen area without controls at internal is home to over 420 million people in 26 European States. The Schengen area is composed of all EU countries except Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Cyprus and Ireland. It also includes four non-EU countries: , , and . The Strategy aims to:  Ensure effective management of the EU's external borders,  Reinforce the Schengen area internally  Improve preparedness and governance:  Enlarge the Schengen area: Link to Commission statement here

EU and UK reach agreement in principle on fishing opportunities for the remainder of 2021 The EU and the United Kingdom have concluded negotiations on an agreement in principle setting out catch limits for jointly managed fish stocks for 2021. The agreement closes the first ever annual consultations on fishing opportunities between the EU and the UK

9

under the terms of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). The successful conclusion of the negotiations, which started in January, creates a strong basis for continued EU-UK cooperation in the area of fisheries. The agreement in principle on the management of key shared stocks secures the fishing rights of both the EU and the UK fleets in both the EU and the UK waters until the end of 2021, as foreseen under the TCA. It establishes the total allowable catches (TAC) for 75 share d fish stocks for 2021, as well as for some deep-sea stocks for 2021 and 2022. It also provides clarity on access limits for non-quota species. The signing of the agreement, expected in the coming days, will also enable both parties to engage in quota exch anges. Link to Commission statement here

Commission proposes a trusted and secure Digital Identity for all Europeans The Commission has proposed a framework for a European Digital Identity which will be available to all EU citizens, residents, and businesses in the EU. Citizens will be able to prove their identity and share electronic documents from their European Digital Identity wallets with the click of a button on their phone. They will be able to access online services with their national digital identification, which will be recognised throughout Europe. Very large platforms will be required to accept the use of European Digital Identity wallets upon request of the user, for example to prove their age. Use of the European Digital Identity wallet will always be at the choice of the user. Next Steps In parallel to the legislative process, the Commission will work with Member States and the private sector on technical aspects of the European Digital Identity. Through the Digital Europe Programme, the Commission will support the implementation of the European Digital Identity framework, and many Member States have foreseen projects for the implementation of the e-government solutions, including the European Digital Identity in their national plans under the Recovery and Resilience Facility. Link to Commission statement here

New EU copyright rules Monday 7 June marks the deadline for Member States to transpose the new EU copyright rules into national law. The new Copyright Directive protects creativity in the digital age, bringing concrete benefits to citizens, the creative sectors, the press, researchers, educators and cultural heritage institutions across the EU. At the same time, the new Directive on television and radio programmes will make it easier for European broadcasters to make certain programmes on their online services available across bo rders. Furthermore, today, the Commission has published its guidance on Article 17 of the new Copyright Directive, which provides for new rules on content-sharing platforms. Link to Commission statement here

New tools for safe exchanges of personal data On Friday the Commission adopted two sets of standard contractual clauses, one for use between controllers and processors and one for the transfer of personal data to third countries. They reflect new requirements under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and take into account the Schrems II judgement of the Court of Justice, ensuring a high level of data protection for citizens. These new tools will offer more legal predictability to European businesses and help, in particular, SMEs to ensure compliance with requirements for safe data transfers, while allowing data to move freely across borders, without legal barriers. The new standard contractual clauses take into account the joint opinion of the European Data Protection Board and the European Data Protection Supervisor, feedback from stakeholders during a broad public consultation and the opinion of Member States' representatives. Link to Commission statement here

10

European Council and Council of the European Union Highlights Week 22. 31 May to 6 June 2021

Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council (Transport), 3 - 4 June Single European Sky 2+The Council agreed on its position (‘general approach’) on the proposals to review the Single European Sky (SES) legislative framework. The SES initiative aims to reform the air navigation services industry in order to make efficient the way in which European airspace is organised and managed. Hired vehicles. The Council agreed on a general approach on revised rules for the use of hired vehicles for the carriage of goods by road. The proposal seeks to establish a clear and uniform regulatory framework for the hired vehicles market linked to the carriage of goods, and to ease the restrictions on using hired vehicles in international transport. Third country certificates in inland navigation The Council also agreed on a general approach on a proposed amending directive on the transitional measures for the recognition of third countries’ certificates in inland navigation. The amendment will ensure continuity and legal certainty for individuals and economic operators in the inland waterways sector. Rail at the forefront of smart and sustainable mobility The Council approved conclusions on ‘Putting rail at the forefront of smart and sustainable mobility’. Sustainable and smart mobility The Council also adopted conclusions on the Commission’s strategy for sustainable and smart mobility. Ministers then exchanged views on the way forward on this strategy, including elements that are not detailed in the Council conclusions. The discussion, as well as the conclusions, will help the Commission focus its future work in this area. Data Governance Act. The Council assessed progress on a draft regulation on European data governance, known as the Data Governance Act. The proposal aims to promote the availability of data for reuse by increasing trust in data intermediaries and by strengthening various data-sharing mechanisms across the EU. These measures are designed to give the EU a competitive advantage by allowing it to capitalise on the vast quantities of data generated every day. High common level of cybersecurity across the EU. Ministers also took stock of progress on a proposed directive on measures for a high common level of cybersecurity across the EU (revised NIS directive or NIS2). The objective of the NIS2 proposal is to further improve the resilience and incident response capacities of public and private entities, competent authorities and the EU as a whole. 2030 Digital Compass The Council held a policy debate on the topic ‘2030 Digital Compass: How to chart the way towards the EU’s digital future’ based on the Commission’s Digital Compass communica tion. Link to Council report here

Sources: EU Parliament, Commission, and Council websites

11