State of the Union: President Juncker to deliver his 2018 Address next week
On Wednesday 12 September, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker will deliver his fourth State of the Union Address in the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The speech will begin at 9:00 CET and will be transmitted live on EbS in all EU languages. This year’s speech comes ahead of the 2019 European elections and in the context of the ongoing debate about the future of the European Union at 27. President Juncker will set out proposals that can deliver positive results for citizens ahead of the Sibiu Summit on 9 May 2019, paving the way for a wide-ranging debate in the run-up to the European elections. The State of the Union Address marks the start of the dialogue with the European Parliament and the Council to prepare the Commission’s annual Work Programme, in which the President and First Vice-President detail the actions that the European Commission intends to take by means of legislation and other initiatives, with a Letter of Intent to the President of the European Parliament and the Presidency of the Council. The State of the Union Address is followed by a plenary debate with Members of the European Parliament. More information on the State of the Union Address and President Juncker‘s preparations ahead of his speech on 12 September, is available in the press release here, in all EU languages. (For more information: Margaritis Schinas – Tel.: +32 229 60524; Mina Andreeva – Tel.: +32 229 91382; Alexander Winterstein – Tel.: +32 229 93265; Natasha Bertaud – Tel.: +32 229 67456)
Le plan Juncker soutient un prêt de 85 millions d’euros pour de nouveaux traitements des maladies rares et chroniques
La Banque européenne d’investissement (BEI) et la société pharmaceutique Grifols, basée à Barcelone, ont signé aujourd’hui un prêt de 85 millions d’euros afin de soutenir les initiatives de recherche, de développement et d’innovation (RDI) de l’entreprise. Celles-ci ont pour objectif d’identifier de nouveaux traitements pour les maladies rares et les maladies chroniques. Cet accord a reçu le soutien du Fonds européen pour les investissements stratégiques (EFSI). C’est la troisième fois depuis 2015 que le plan Juncker apporte son concours aux activités de RDI de Grifols. Le commissaire européen en charge de la santé et de la sécurité alimentaire Vytenis Andriukaitis a déclaré: «Je suis heureux de voir que EFSI finance toujours plus d’investissements pour la R&D et l’innovation dans le secteur de la santé. Ce prêt présente au moins trois aspects bénéfiques: de nouvelles thérapies pour les patients atteints de maladies rares, un sérieux coup de pouce à la R&D et, enfin, un investissement dans des emplois hautement qualifiés.» (Un communiqué de presse complet est en ligne ici. Pour plus d’informations: Christian Spahr – Tél.: +32 229 50055; Siobhán Millbright – Tél.: +32 229 57361)
Cohesion Policy: over €300 billion of investment allocated to projects in EU Member States
The overall volume of investments allocated to projects in the real economy has gone up to €303 billion – an increase of €42 billion from end-2017 until June 2018, the most recent update of the ESIF Open Data Platform shows. The share of the Cohesion Policy budget devoted to specific projects over the 2014-2020 period is now amounting to 62% of the total planned budget, compared to 54% at the end of 2017. Spending on selected projects has also increased to 15% of the total planned investment over the period, with investments worth €75 billion already completed. Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Crețu said: “The new data received from the Member States shows that Cohesion Policy implementation continues to speed up and to support economic growth everywhere in Europe.” Bulgaria, Cyprus, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Spain were the top performers in terms of increased selection of projects. The updated financial data is available on the ESIF Open Data Platform. (For more information: Johannes Bahrke – Tel.: +32 229 58615, Andreana Stankova – Tel.: +32 229 57857)
Eurostat: Le PIB en hausse de 0,4% tant dans la zone euro que dans l’UE28 au deuxième trimestre 2018, soit +2,1% dans les deux zones par rapport au deuxième trimestre 2017
Au cours du deuxième trimestre 2018, le PIB corrigé des variations saisonnières a progressé de 0,4% tant dans la zone euro (ZE19) que dans l’UE28 par rapport au trimestre précédent, selon l’estimation publiée par Eurostat, l’office statistique de l’Union européenne. Au cours du premier trimestre 2018, le PIB avait également augmenté de 0,4% dans les deux zones. En comparaison avec le même trimestre de l’année précédente, le PIB corrigé des variations saisonnières s’est accru de 2,1% tant dans la zone euro que dans l’UE28 au deuxième trimestre 2018, après respectivement +2,4% et +2,3% au premier trimestre 2018. Au cours du deuxième trimestre 2018, le PIB des États-Unis a progressé de 1,0% par rapport au trimestre précédent (après +0,5% au premier trimestre 2018). Par rapport au même trimestre de l’année précédente, le PIB a progressé de 2,9% (après +2,6% au premier trimestre 2018). Un communiqué de presse Eurostat est à votre disposition en ligne. (Pour plus d’informations: Christian Spahr – Tél.: +32 229 50055; Annikky Lamp – Tél.: +32 229 56151)
Mergers: Commission clears Apple’s acquisition of Shazam
The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Shazam by Apple. The Commission concluded that the merger would not adversely affect competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) or any substantial part of it. Today’s decision follows an in-depth investigation of Apple’s proposed acquisition of Shazam. Apple operates “Apple Music”, which is the second largest music streaming service in Europe, after Spotify. Shazam offers a leading music recognition application in the EEA and worldwide. Apple and Shazam mainly offer complementary services and do not compete with each other. The Commission concluded that the transaction would raise no competition concerns in the EEA or any substantial part of it. A merger decision does not release companies from respecting all relevant data protection laws. Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said: “Data is key in the digital economy. We must therefore carefully review transactions which lead to the acquisition of important sets of data, including potentially commercially sensitive ones, to ensure they do not restrict competition. After thoroughly analysing Shazam’s user and music data, we found that their acquisition by Apple would not reduce competition in the digital music streaming market.” A full press release is available in EN, FR, DE. (For more information: Ricardo Cardoso – Tel.: +32 229 80100; Maria Tsoni – +32 229 90526)
Mergers: Commission clears acquisition of Frutarom by IFF
The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of Frutarom Industries Ltd. of Israel by International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (‘IFF’) of the US. Frutarom develops, produces, and markets taste and health products, including flavours, fine ingredients, pharmaceutical/nutraceutical products, and cosmetics and personal care products. IFF is active in the development, creation and sale of flavours and fragrances that are used in consumer goods industries. The Commission concluded that the proposed transaction would raise no competition concerns under any plausible market definition in Europe, given the moderate overlaps and vertical links between the companies’ activities, and the very limited increments in the levels of concentration brought about by the transaction. Moreover, after the transaction, a number of strong players would remain in the market. The transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure. More information is available on the Commission’s competition website, in the public case register under the case number M.8981. (For more information: Ricardo Cardoso – Tel.: +32 229 80100; Maria Tsoni – Tel.: +32 229 90526)
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Vice-President Katainen in Vienna for ministerial meetings
Vice-President Jyrki Katainen, responsible for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness, will be in Vienna, Austria 7-8 September. He will attend the informal ECOFIN Council to address questions related to the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the recently proposed InvestEU Programme. The Vice-President will attend the working breakfast of Finance Ministers belonging to the European People’s Party and meet bilaterally with Mr. Löger, Austrian Federal Minister of Finance, Mr. Teodorovici, Romanian Minister of Finance, and Mr Hoyer, President of the EIB. Furthermore, he will participate in a Citizens’ Dialogue on the future of Europe on Friday from 15:00 to 16:30 which will be livestreamed. (For more information: Christian Spahr – Tel.: +32 229 50055; Siobhán Millbright – Tel.: +32 229 57361)
Commissioners’ weekly activities
Upcoming events of the European Commission (ex-Top News)
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