European Union

On 29 May 2017, the Council adopted a decision authorising the signing of an agreement with the United States on insurance and reinsurance. 

The agreement will provide legal certainty for EU and US insurers and reinsurers in the application of regulatory frameworks. It will enable improved protection for policyholders and other consumers through cooperation between supervisors and the exchange of information. 

The text was negotiated by the Commission on the basis of a mandate approved by the Council in April 2015. It includes provisions on reinsurance, group supervision and the exchange of information. A joint committee will oversee its implementation. 

The Council's decision provides for provisional application of some of the agreement's provisions, pending the completion of the procedures necessary for its conclusion. The Council also requested the consent of the European Parliament for conclusion of the agreement.

The decision was adopted at a meeting of the Competitiveness Council, without discussion.

The Council agreed on a general approach to reform the system of type-approval and market surveillance for motor vehicles.

This major reform will modernise the current system, adapt it to new technologies available on the market and improve control tests on car emissions data.

"Public health, air quality and innovation are at the core of this agreement. The only way to restore and increase trust in the European automobile industry is to help to develop clean and safety technologies. Reliable control tests for cars will be established so that emission irregularities that happened in the past cannot reappear in the future”, said Chris Cardona, Chair of the Council and Minister for the Economy, Investment and Small Business of Malta.

The aim of the reform is to achieve a high level of safety and environmental performance of motor vehicles and to address the main shortcomings identified in the existing type-approval system.

The Council general approach will have to be negotiated with the European Parliament before becoming law. The Parliament voted its position on 4 April.

Important changes will be introduced in three areas by strengthening:

• the quality of testing that allows a car to be placed on the market through improved technical services
• market surveillance to control the conformity of cars already available on the market, with the possibility for member states and the Commission to carry out spot-checks on vehicles in order to detect failures at an early stage
• the oversight of the type-approval process, in particular through the establishment of a Forum for the exchange of information on enforcement, made up of representatives of national approval and market surveillance authorities

All member states agreed to improve the harmonised implementation of the rules across the EU so as to reduce the possible differences in interpretation and application by national type-approval authorities and technical services. They also agreed that more effective market surveillance rules should apply to better detect non-compliance at an early stage.

A minimum number of cars to be checked

The new market surveillance obligations agreed by the Council would require every country to conduct a minimum number of checks on cars each year. This minimum number of checks will be 1 in every 50,000 new vehicles registered in that country the previous year.

The checks will include verification of emissions under real driving conditions.

The general approach foresees an obligation for member states to finance market surveillance activities. The fees for type-approval activities would be levied on manufacturers who have applied for type-approval.

Those countries with fewer resources to carry out the required tests will be able to ask other countries to carry out the tests on their behalf.

More robust oversight to detect failures

The Commission will be empowered to carry out tests and inspections of vehicles to verify compliance and react to irregularities immediately. This will increase the independence and quality of the EU type-approval system.

The Commission could also impose fines for infringements on manufacturers and importers of up to €30 000 per non-compliant vehicle.

An audit system based on peer reviews will be established. The type-approval authorities would be peer-reviewed by two type-approval authorities of other member states at least once every five years. The Commission will be able to participate in peer evaluation teams and should draw up a summary of the outcomes of peer evaluations and make them public.

Type-approval authorities however would not be subject to peer evaluation when they designate all their technical services on the basis of accreditation of internationally recognised standards.

Furthermore, an advisory Forum for exchange of information on enforcement measures would be established with the purpose to harmonise different interpretations and practises among the member states. This Forum should also examine the outcomes of peer evaluations.

In addition, the national authorities will have to submit each year to the Forum a comprehensive overview of their planned market surveillance checks.

As far as technical services are concerned, the Council text proposes the involvement of the national accreditation bodies in the assessment of the technical services and the establishment of joint assessment teams.

The position of technical services vis-à-vis manufacturers will be strengthened, and will include the right and duty to carry out unannounced factory inspections and to conduct physical or laboratory tests.

The technical services will carry out the tests for type-approval under the responsibility of type-approval authorities. The proper functioning of technical services is crucial for ensuring a high level of safety and environmental protection and so maintain consumer confidence in the system.

Background

The draft regulation to modernise the type-approval system of motor vehicles was presented by the Commission on 27 January 2016. It will replace the EU's current legal framework which is set out in directive 2007/46/EC.

It preserves the general purpose of directive 2007/46/EC to facilitate the free movement of motor vehicles in the internal market and apply the principle of mutual recognition by laying down harmonised type-approval requirements.

A fundamental overhaul of the existing system, which was designed ten years ago, was already foreseen in the EU's work programme.

However, irregularities discovered on the use of illegal defeat devices by certain car manufacturers have made public opinion, authorities and economic operators aware of the need to implement robust provisions on type-approval, as well as to improve testing methods with respect to pollutant emissions from vehicles, to prevent similar cases in the future.

The EU has taken a further step to prevent corporate tax avoidance, adopting rules to close down 'hybrid mismatches' with the tax systems of third countries. 

On 29 May 2017, the Council adopted a directive to prevent corporate groups from exploiting the disparities between two or more tax jurisdictions to reduce their overall tax liability. 

“Our aim here is to tackle one of the main practices that multinational companies have devised to reduce their tax bills”, said Edward Scicluna, minister for finance of Malta, which currently holds the Council presidency. “The directive adds to the rules we adopted last year to tackle the most common forms of tax avoidance. It will also ensure implementation of the OECD's recommendations.” 

The directive was adopted at a meeting of the Competitiveness Council, without discussion. This follows an agreement at a meeting on 21 February 2017. The European Parliament gave its opinion on 27 April 2017.

Member states will have until 1 January 2020 to transpose the directive into national laws and regulations (1 January 2022 for one specific provision).

In Taormina, at the 2017 G7 summit, leaders adopted the final communiqué, the roadmap on gender equity and they agreed an action plan on innovation, skills and labour.

We, the leaders of the G7, stand united in expressing our deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims of the brutal terrorist act in Manchester in the United Kingdom. We condemn in the strongest possible terms terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

Countering terrorism and violent extremism, acts of which have struck G7 members, as well as all regions of the world, regardless of country, nationality or belief, remains a major priority for the G7. We stand united in our joint endeavour to make sure that our citizens are safe and secure, and their values and way of life fully preserved, and will take the strongest action possible to find, identify, remove, and punish, as appropriate, terrorists and those who abet their activities.

Saturday 27 May 2017
G7 Summit -Taormina (Italy)
09.15 Working session with outreach partners
11.45 Working session
13.00 Working lunch

Sunday 28 May 2017
Bratislava
12.00 Meeting with Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Bohuslav Sobotka
12.30 Intervention at the Globsec 2017 conference

Thursday 1 June 2017
14.15 Phone call with President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko
18.30 Informal dinner with Premier of China's State Council Li Keqiang

Friday 2 June 2017
EU-China summit
10.40 Arrival and welcome of Premier Li Keqiang
10.45 Meeting
12.30 Signature ceremony
13.20 Working lunch
15.40 Press conference

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