European Union News - Industry

The agreement reached at the Doha Climate Change Conference was welcomed by the European Union. In particular, the EU welcomed the workplan agreed for 2013 and beyond under the Durban Platform. The balanced Doha outcome enabled the EU to confirm its commitment to participate in the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol starting on 1 January 2013.

The European Commission presented the R&D Scoreboard that shows that despite the continuing economic and financial crisis, major EU-based firms continue to rely on R&D for their competitive edge. In addition, R&D-intensive sectors tended to show above average employment growth.

MEPs adopted a resolution on the new programme for SMEs (known as COSME) which explicitly sets as goals to reduce the number of days to set up a new SME to three, cutting start-up costs to €100 and having a one-stop shop for business start-ups in all member states.

The European Environment Agency (EEA) published a report that shows how the climate change is affecting all regions in Europe, causing a wide range of impacts on society and the environment. In addition, the European Parliament approved a resolution which called for the EU to aim for a 30% reduction in emissions by 2020.

Two resolutions approved by MEPs in plenary session underline that the emergence of exploration for shale oil and shale gas in some EU countries should be backed up with "robust regulatory regimes". Moreover, an amendment urging member states not to authorise any new fracking operations in the EU, tabled by MEPs from various groups was rejected.

The European Commission gave its green light a new Spanish scheme for the early depreciation of assets acquired via finance leases. According to the Commission, and following a long investigation, this scheme does not constitute state aid under EU rules, inter alia because it is not selective.

MEPs adopted in plenary session the new legislation that makes motorbikes safer and greener. This new legislation will apply to all powered two- and three-wheel vehicles, from mopeds to heavy motorcycles, and also quads, as of 2016.

Due to the the rapid build-up of the surplus of emissions allowances, the European Commission presented a formal proposal to revise the auction time profile and delay ("back-load") the auctioning of 900 million allowances in the third phase of the EU ETS starting next year. In addition, it adopted a report on the state of the European carbon market which sets out a range of possible structural measures that can be taken to tackle the surplus.

The new legislation proposed by the European Commission supposes attaining a 40% objective of the under-represented sex in non-executive board-member positions in publicly listed companies, with the exception of small and medium enterprises. The Directive will establish that companies which have a lower share of the under-represented sex among the non-executive directors will be required to make appointments to those positions on the basis of a comparative analysis of the qualifications of each candidate, by applying clear, gender-neutral and unambiguous criteria.

The Advanced Emergency Braking Systems (AEBS) and Lane Departure Warning Systems (LDWS) for commercial vehicles will be harmonised at international level following the agreement reached between the European Commission and its international partners.

The SANDRA ('Seamless aeronautical networking through integrations of data links, radios and antennas') project, a new data link which is the connection between the Airborne Thematic Mapper (ATM) and ground systems, and co-funded by the Seventh Framework Programme for Research (FP7), will help cope with the demand in aircraft operations because the current systems are unable to process and provide flight information in real time in European airspace.

A special meeting held by the Environment Committee with the Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard in the European Parliament was focused in the progress towards a global deal to curb aviation emissions and proposals to delay the release of greenhouse gas allowances in the Emissions Trading System (ETS).