In November 2018 compared with October 2018, seasonally adjusted production in the construction sector decreased by 0.1% in the euro area (EA19), while it increased by 0.2% in the EU28, according to first estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In October 2018, production in construction fell by 1.6% in the euro area andby 1.1%in the EU28.
The euro area annual inflation rate was 1.6% in December 2018, down from 1.9% in November. A year earlier, the rate was 1.4%. European Union annual inflation was 1.7% in December 2018, down from 2.0% in November. A year earlier, the rate was 1.7%. These figures are published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) today issued a Call for Evidence to collect information from market participants on the integration of sustainability risks and factors in the prudential assessment of assets and liabilities for insurers and (re)insurers.
In its call for Opinion, the European Commission asked EIOPA to assess whether Solvency II presents any inherent incentives and/or disincentives to sustainable investment.
With this Call for Evidence EIOPA will analyse how sustainability risks affect (re)insurers’ investments, with particular focus on climate change and collect market practices on insurance underwriting.
To support EIOPA’s analysis, National Competent Authorities will collect information from individual undertakings within their jurisdiction.
Based on the collected evidence and analysis EIOPA will prepare the draft Opinion for consultation during the second half of 2019 for submission to the European Commission in Q3/2019.
The deadline for submission to this Call for Evidence is Friday, 8 March 2019 at 23:59 hrs. Submissions received after this deadline will not be considered.
Further details about EIOPA’s Action Plan can be obtained via this link to its Website.
EFSA has taken a major step towards becoming a fully open data organisation by committing to publish the scientific data it uses for EU-wide monitoring programmes and surveys and many of its risk assessments.
In a report published today, EFSA lays out how it intends to share data collected in areas such as: food consumption habits; pesticide residues in food; chemical contaminants and additives in food; foodborne disease outbreaks; and antimicrobial resistance.
The data will be made available on Knowledge Junction, EFSA’s curated, open repository, which was set up to improve transparency, reproducibility and reusability of evidence in food and feed safety risk assessments. The first datasets will be published this year.
Knowledge Junction is a community on the Zenodo platform and can be accessed by anyone with a web browser.
Mary Gilsenan, head of EFSA’s Evidence Management Unit, said: “Making this data freely available will mark a significant milestone for the Member States who provide so much of the data we use, and for EFSA itself.
“For the first time, when we publish certain scientific outputs we will simultaneously make available all the data used in the assessment. This will give us a data publication process that is timely, comparable, interoperable and accessible.”
As well as being in line with one of EFSA’s key strategic objectives – to widen its evidence base and maximise access to its data – the move is part of wider EU efforts to promote public access to data and information.
Ms Gilsenan added: “Open data is a key enabler for transparency, accountability and evidence-based decision-making. Moving from data-on-demand to a proactive data-by-default approach is a positive move for EFSA and all our stakeholders.”
The report was drafted by EFSA data specialists in close consultation with experts and authorities from EU Member States.
It includes a review of the measures that individual countries are taking to provide public access to government data. Food and feed safety organisations are taking different approaches, but the availability of food safety data is increasing year by year.
“We hope our report will help to stimulate the adoption of an open data policy in the food safety domain across Europe,” Ms Gilsenan said. “Access to open data can help consumers to make healthy choices, enhance food safety monitoring systems and drive innovation in the food production sector.”
Infographic – Cutting CO2 road transport emissions
The EU is taking steps to reduce CO2 emissions of cars and vans. Under the revised rules, there will be stricter CO2 emission standards for new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. A provisional agreement reached by the Presidency and Parliament representatives on 17 December was endorsed by member states today.
The new rules will ensure that from 2030 onwards new cars will emit on average 37.5% less CO2 and new vans will emit on average 31% less CO2 compared to 2021 levels. Between 2025 and 2029, both cars and vans will be required to emit 15% less CO2.
Today’s agreement gives the go-ahead to decarbonize and modernize Europe’s road transport. It represents an integrated approach to the transition towards low emission mobility, and supports the long-term competitiveness of the sector, including by facilitating innovation in clean technologies, such as batteries and recharging infrastructure. It makes sure that cars will emit on average 37.5% less CO2 in 2030 compared to the current emission standard limits and is therefore an important step to achieve our climate goals. In addition, we are improving the test procedures with stricter rules to ensure a reliable representation of the real world emissions.
Graţiela Leocadia Gavrilescu, Romanian Vice Prime Minister and Minister of the Environment
Average CO2 emissions of new cars registered in the EU will have to be 15% lower in 2025 and 37.5% lower in 2030, compared to the emission limits valid in 2021. The CO2 emissions of new vans will need to be 15% lower in 2025 and 31% lower in 2030. These are EU wide fleet targets. The CO2 reduction effort will be distributed among manufacturers on the basis of the average mass of their vehicle fleet.
A review clause provides for a possible revision of the 2030 targets and for the introduction of binding reduction targets for 2035 and 2040 onwards.
The Parliament and the Council agreed on a mechanism to encourage the sale of more zero- and low-emission vehicles such as fully electric cars or plug-in hybrid vehicles based on the approach proposed by the Commission in its original proposal. If a manufacturer meets certain benchmarks, it will be rewarded with less strict CO2 targets. The benchmark levels for 2025 will be 15% for cars and vans, and for 2030 35% for cars and 30 % for vans.
The two specific incentives for zero-and low-emission passenger cars agreed in the Council general approach were maintained with some adjustments:
For vans, the Parliament and Council agreed to leave the Commission proposal unchanged in respect to incentives for zero- and low-emission vehicles.
The niche derogation from the targets for those vehicle manufacturers which sell relatively few vehicles in Europe will be continued until 2028.
The effects of the transition of the automotive sector on in particular employment will be addressed via a provision on a socially fair and just transition. The Commission is to consider the possibility of allocating revenue from the excess premiums to a dedicated fund or relevant programmes aimed at ensuring a just transition and if appropriate submit a legislative proposal by 2027.
The Parliament and the Council have agreed on new rules that aim to ensure the robustness and representativeness of emissions data reported.
Firstly, stricter rules have been agreed for the transition from the old NEDC test procedure to the more accurate WLTP test procedure as the basis for calculating the specific emission targets for manufacturers.
Secondly, there will be an increased focus on monitoring “real-drive emissions”. The Commission will monitor the real world representativeness of the CO2 emission values based on data from the fuel consumption meters installed in new cars and vans. In order to prevent an increase in the emissions gap, the Commission is to assess the feasibility of developing a mechanism for the adjustment of the manufacturers’ specific targets as of 2030 and if appropriate submit a legislative proposal to this effect. The Commission must also as part of the review in 2023 assess the feasibility of developing real-world emission test procedures.
Thirdly, there are also specific provisions on in-service conformity testing and on detecting strategies which may artificially improve the CO2 performance of cars and vans.
In addition, the Commission will evaluate the possibility of developing a common EU methodology for the assessment and reporting of lifecycle emissions (life-cycle analysis) of vehicles and, where appropriate, prepare follow-up measures including legislative proposals.
The Commission will review the existing European Directive on car labelling by 2020 in order to improve information to consumers, including evaluating options for introducing a fuel economy and CO2 emission label for vans.
The Commission presented the proposal for a new regulation in November 2017 as part of the third clean mobility package. The European Parliament adopted its position on 3 October. The Council agreed its position (general approach) on 9 October.
Negotiations with the European Parliament started on 10 October and ended in a provisional agreement on 17 December, which was confirmed by EU ambassadors of the member states today.
On the European Parliament’s side, the ENVI Committee is scheduled to endorse the provisional agreement on 21 January. The formal adoption of the new rules will happen before the summer.
The overall aim of the proposal is to contribute to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement and to reach the EU wide 30% reduction target by 2030 compared to 2005 of the non ETS (Emissions Trading System) sector set by the European Commission, which is translated into national targets in the Effort Sharing Regulation.
The proposed measures and targets are based on the 2030 climate and energy framework and the energy union strategy, which aims at a reduction in transport emissions and energy consumption. The reduced need for fossil fuels will also improve the security of energy supply in the EU and reduce our dependence on energy imports from third countries.
