• Funds to cement NavVis’ position as global leader in digital twin technology
• Financing by EU bank is provided under Investment Plan for Europe

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and NavVis GmbH announced today the signing of a contract which provides financing of €20 million to NavVis GmbH, a global market leader in digital twin technology. NavVis has experienced unprecedented growth and demand for its indoor spatial intelligence solutions, and will further invest in expanding operations to meet the need for technological innovation in the enterprise manufacturing industry.

The EU bank’s loan is backed by a guarantee from the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the heart of the Investment Plan for Europe under which the EIB and the European Commission are working together as strategic partners and the EIB’s financing operations are boosting the competitiveness of the European economy.

EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle, who is responsible for innovation and operations in Germany, said: “NavVis is the world’s largest indoor data platform, this is a truly remarkable achievement. Their approach combines ground-breaking academic research with cutting-edge technologies. For the EIB, as well as the ´Investment Plan for Europe’, it is a top priority to support investment that is geared towards greater competitiveness. Therefore I very much welcome our cooperation with NavVis. We, as the bank of the EU, have to help to make sure that young innovative companies have a continuous access to financing.”

European Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, said: “The Investment Plan for Europe has a very strong track record in identifying and supporting innovative technology companies. The EIB’s €20 million in financing will enable NavVis to continue pushing the boundaries of what is possible with its “digital twin technology” to the benefit of companies in Europe and across the world”.

NavVis CEO, Felix Reinshagen said: “We’re proud to receive this financing from the EIB, which represents an important milestone in our long-term vision of digitizing all buildings. The EIB clearly recognizes the untapped potential  not just in Europe but around the world, and supports our belief that in the future there’ll be a digital twin of every building. The funds will be used for the continuous build-out of our technology and global market presence, and in the months ahead we’ll double down on our expansion into the digital factory space. Now more than ever, enterprises need our support in managing their digital transformation.”

NavVis CFO, Jeno Schadrack said: “We’re honored to have won EIB as a partner who shares our market view and technology vision and trusts in NavVis to play a leading role in the global market for indoor spatial intelligence. The funds will allow NavVis to accelerate the delivery of digital twins to enterprises and support the digital transformation in the manufacturing industry. It also demonstrates that Europe plays an important role in game-changing innovations.”

Background information

About NavVis

NavVis is a leading global provider of indoor spatial intelligence technology and solutions for enterprises, trusted by top companies including BMW, Daimler, Allianz, Audi, and Skoda. NavVis helps enterprises drive efficiencies and optimize business performance through its powerful digital twin platform for the indoors that enables accurate mapping at unprecedented speed and scale, immersive 3D visualization designed for collaboration and location-based apps that pioneer AI-powered positioning technology. Founded in 2013, NavVis is headquartered in Munich and has offices in New York and Shanghai. For more information, visit www.navvis.com.

During July’s plenary session, MEPs will vote on a resolution calling for a revision of funding guidelines for cross-border, trans-European energy infrastructure projects to bring them into line with EU climate policy.

The resolution, adopted on 18 February by Parliament’s industry, research and energy committee, calls for the TEN-E guidelines to be consistent with the EU’s energy and climate targets for 2030, its long-term commitment on decarbonisation and the energy efficiency first principle.

MEPs will also call for a boost to energy storage solutions to help increase the share of renewables in the EU energy mix. New battery technologies, thermal storage and green hydrogen could play a crucial role in reaching the goals set out in the Paris agreement goals and ensuring a constant energy supply.

Today’s updates include DVC data and calculations for the period 1 June 2019 to 31 May 2020 as well as updates to already published DVC periods.

The number of new breaches is 45: 36 equities for the 8% cap, applicable to all trading venues, and 9 equities for the 4% cap, that applies to individual trading venues. Trading under the waivers for all new instruments in breach of the DVC thresholds should be suspended from 10 July 2020 to 9 January 2021. The instruments for which caps already existed from previous periods will continue to be suspended.

In addition, ESMA highlights that none of the previously identified breaches of the caps proved to be incorrect thus no previously identified suspensions of trading under the waivers had to be lifted.

As of 7 July 2020, there is a total of 317 instruments suspended.

Please be aware that ESMA does not update DVC files older than 6 months.

Background

MiFID II introduced the DVC to limit the amount of dark trading in equities allowed under the reference price waiver and the negotiated transaction waiver. The DVC is calculated per instrument (ISIN) based on the rolling average of trading in that instrument over the last 12 months.

The Hague, 7 July 2020

A joint investigation team (JIT) between Belgian and Romanian authorities, set up with the support of Eurojust and participation by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) unveiled a money-laundering scheme associated with an EU-funded railway infrastructure project in Romania. Four people (two of Romanian origin and two Italians) were indicted for money laundering, influence peddling and tax evasion. Various assets were seized and bank accounts were frozen as a result of the investigation.

 The focus of the investigation was alleged corruption and money-laundering offences committed in relation to two different contracts for railway infrastructure development in Romania, which obtained co-funding from the European Union. The money-laundering offence is linked to the illicit money resulted from corruption, not to the EU funding.

The criminal investigation was initially opened by the Belgian judicial authorities in 2016 and by the Romanian National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) in 2017. Given the cross-border dimension of the criminal activity, those involved decided to set up a joint investigation team (JIT). Eurojust assisted with drafting of the agreement and the functioning of the joint investigation team and provided financial support. It also facilitated direct contact between the national judicial and law enforcement authorities from both countries involved and OLAF.

In April 2019, simultaneous operations were carried out by the JIT members in Belgium and Romania, during which strong evidence was found of corruption and money laundering linked to works undertaken by an Italian construction company through its Romanian subsidiary. The works were part of an EU-funded project aimed at improving the railway infrastructure between Bucharest and Constanta.

The indictment against the four suspects was issued last week and the file was sent to the relevant Romanian Court. The Belgian authorities are continuing the investigations linked to criminal activities committed on Belgian territory.

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Germany holds the Presidency of the Council until the end of 2020. The first series of hearings is taking place from 3 to 16 July. A second set of hearings will take place in September. This press release will be updated regularly.

Hearings held on 3, 6 and 7 July

Women’s Rights and Gender Equality

On Friday 3 July, Franziska Giffey, Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, told the Women’s Rights Committee that the presidency has two main priorities on gender equality. Firstly, to tackle the lack of equality between men and women on the labour market, notably by presenting an Equal Pay Directive in November. Secondly, to put an end to all forms of gender-based violence, notably by pushing for the Istanbul Convention to be ratified by all member states, and establishing a single, European-wide helpline for women in emergency.

In the debate, MEPs asked the Minister how she was planning to make progress on the Women on Boards Directive, which has been blocked in the Council by eight member states, including Germany. ‘‘I will hold targeted discussions and I will fight very strongly to make headway on this file’’, she replied. Several MEPs also called for all EU policies, including the next MFF and the recovery plan, to include a gender perspective.

Environment and Public Health

On Monday 6 July, Health Minister Jens Spahn told the Environment and Public Health Committee that, following the COVID-19 pandemic, coordinating EU health policies and strengthening crisis management, increasing EU production of essential medicinal products and devices (such as face masks) and creating a European health data space are the top German priorities. MEPs questioned the Minister on the future EU health policy, vaccine strategy and medicine and protective equipment shortages.

On Tuesday 7 July, Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety Minister Svenja Schulze said that the German priorities include agreeing on the climate law with a 2030 target, an EU biodiversity strategy, the circular economy including extending the lifespan of products, and digitalisation. How to get the EU recovery package in line with the EU Green Deal, Climate Law, MRV shipping, forest and agricultural policies including animal welfare were some of the issues raised by MEPs.

Internal market and consumer protection

On 7 July, Economic Affairs and Energy Minister Peter Altmaier highlighted that the recovery fund is crucial in emerging from the COVID-19 crisis. Strengthening the single market through digitalisation will also be high on the agenda. Mr Altmaier told MEPs that the presidency will support the development of data infrastructure for European initiative Gaia-X, aiming to improve interoperability, availability and storage of data within the EU.

The presidency will also aim at protecting consumers from hate speech, disinformation and unsafe products, addressing the challenges posed by artificial intelligence (AI) and will focus on effective enforcement of EU consumer laws, Justice and Consumer Protection Minister Christine Lambrecht ensured the committee.

MEPs’ questions focused on the presidency’s views on regulating online platforms, in particular on the upcoming Digital Services Act, competition rules and the EU’s digital and industrial sovereignty, the green and digital transitions, support for SMEs, the diversification of supply chains, and the options for regulating AI, amongst other topics.

Committee on Legal Affairs

On Tuesday 7 July, Justice and Consumer Protection Minister Christine Lambrecht talked about how the repercussions of the COVID-19 crisis on the restrictions to freedom of expression, rule of law and the increased spread of disinformation and hate speech online must be tackled. She confirmed that the future framework for AI, the intellectual property rights strategy, digitalisation of justice, and corporate social responsibility will be the main focus of upcoming meetings.

The Committee Chair welcomed the ambition shown by the Presidency and highlighted that the next six months will be crucial for the future of Europe and will shape the rest of the Parliament’s term. Several MEPs talked about the lack of coordination and interoperability of COVID-19 tracing apps, the independence of the judiciary in the upcoming rule of law mechanism, the priorities of the Digital Services Act and reiterated the need to finally break the deadlock on the ‘women on boards’ and ‘country-by-country reporting’ files in the Council.