Odilia Abreu, MsC’s Post

The political agreement reached yesterday by the European Parliament and the Council on the Pact on Migration and Asylum constitutes a major breakthrough towards a common system for managing migration in the EU. The agreement covers five key proposals of the Pact: 🌎 Screening Regulation: creating uniform rules concerning the identification of non-EU nationals upon their arrival, thus increasing the security within the Schengen area. 🌍 Eurodac Regulation: developing a common database gathering more accurate and complete data to detect unauthorised movements. 🌏 Asylum Procedures Regulation: making asylum, return and border procedures quicker and more effective. 🌍 Asylum Migration Management Regulation: establishing a new solidarity mechanism amongst Member States to balance the current system where a few countries are responsible for the vast majority of asylum applications, and clear rules on responsibility for asylum applications. 🌏 Crisis and Force majeure Regulation: ensuring that the EU is prepared in the future to face situations of crisis, including instrumentalisation of migrants. Once these proposals are formally adopted by the European Parliament and Council, the pillars of the New Pact on Migration and Asylum will be in place. 🤝 In my opinion, "this is a great sign of hope. My wish is that we will be able to be truly responsible and in solidarity, and that there will be more and more opportunities for all and that we will be able to take advantage of them. Merry Christmas and Happy 2024 full of Peace, Health and Love for all". https://lnkd.in/e8Nima5y

Global Gateway: EU and Namibia agree on next steps of strategic ... - European Commission: Global Gateway: EU and Namibia agree on next steps of strategic ...  European Commission

"Europe can never outspend the U.S. and China. We’re not good at being American. Even worse at being Chinese.” “Unlike what we may hear, Europe does not need to reinvent itself, it needs to get back to basics: remove barriers, enforce existing rules. … Rather than betting on taxpayers’ money to subsidize our economy." That. #resilience #competitiveness #sustainability #security #stability #Vestager #EU https://lnkd.in/eXPH-pAr

Today, the Commission published its 9th Cohesion Report, showing that Cohesion Policy is fulfilling its mission to narrow economic, social, and territorial disparities across the EU. People on the ground including civil society have more knowledge of the exact needs of their territory. As such they must be involved in decision and policy making. This inclusion and empowerment can also serve to counteract rising political discontent and distrust of public authorities. The EESC will play an important role towards this direction. https://lnkd.in/dKSekQc7

EU gives the green light and closes State aid investigation into public financing of the Øresund fixed rail-road link - but requires Denmark to recover tax support.   Yesterday, the European Commission announced that Denmark and Sweden's State guarantee model granted for the Øresund fixed rail-road link does not breach EU State aid rules, since the aid is considered to be existing (not new). However, part of Denmark's tax support is considered to be new aid, which further is disproportionate and therefore incompatible with the TFEU. On this basis, Denmark is obligated to recover this part of the aid, including interest.   Denmark is now tasked with calculating the amount to be recovered in accordance with the Commission's decision-making framework, which aims to rectify any distortions to fair competition.   Read the Commissions press release here: https://lnkd.in/drhrTBEF (The public version of the decision is not yet available but will be once potential confidentiality issues have been resolved - under case numbers SA.52162 and SA.52617)

A largely unreported story from this week is the advancement of accession negotiations between the EU and Bosnia - «In light of the results achieved since 2022, the Commission considers that Bosnia and Herzegovina has achieved the necessary level of compliance with the membership criteria. Therefore, the Commission recommends to the Council to open accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina. ».  #europeancommission #europe #economie #economy #investment #bosnie #bosnia

Initiatives in the #eu to strengthen #economicsecurity will affect #supplychains #cscmp #resilience #industrialpolicy #tradepolicy https://lnkd.in/gPFMmRAb

With the Foreign Subsidies Regulation, the European Commission protects the internal market against unfair competition. More specific: against unfair advantages for recipients of foreign subsidies trying to win public contracts in the EU. According to this Regulation, companies are obliged to notify their public procurement tenders in the EU when the estimated value of the contract exceeds €250 million, and when the company was granted at least €4 million in foreign financial contributions from at least 1 third country in the 3 years prior to notification. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eqptjSre #EU #MarketProtection #China #subsidies #grants

EU Budget 2025 aims to reinforce funding for Europe's priorities The Commission has proposed an annual #EU #budget of €199.7 billion for 2025. The budget will be complemented by an estimated €72 billion of disbursements under #NextGenerationEU. This substantial financial envelope will support the EU in meeting its political priorities while integrating the changes agreed in the mid-term revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework (#MFF) in February 2024. The draft budget 2025 directs funds to where they can make the greatest difference, in cooperation and in line with the needs of the EU Member States and our partners around the world to make Europe more resilient and fit for the future to the benefit of EU citizens and businesses. This will be done by fostering the green and digital transitions, by creating jobs while strengthening Europe's strategic autonomy and global role. It will enable support to key critical technologies through the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP). The draft budget 2025 will also provide – in line with the MFF mid-term revision – continued support for Syrian refugees in Türkiye and the wider region, the Southern Neighbourhood including the external dimension of migration, as well as the Western Balkans. Crucially, it will provide stable and predictable support to Ukraine. https://lnkd.in/ew-VhaeX