WIREDGOV

EU Legislation, Initiatives, etc.

EU News:  Full implementation of EU waste legislation would ‘save €72 billion a year, increase the annual turnover of the EU waste management and recycling sector by €42 billion and create over 400,000 jobs by 2020’ according to a European Commission study published last week. 

The underlying problem is that too many prices do not reflect the true cost of disposal of goods – if they did, this would help prevent waste in the first place.  In addition, many Member States still lack adequate infrastructure for separate collection, recycling and recovery. An absence of systematic control and enforcement mechanisms is another hindrance, coupled with a lack of reliable data on waste management.

Press release & links

EU News:  Doing business in more than one Member State often means dealing with several tax administrations in different languages.  Dealing with multiple VAT obligations can be very burdensome & costly for companies. The proposal adopted last week is a first step towards a One Stop Shop for all electronically delivered services that will benefit businesses as from 1 January 2015. 

As set out in last December's Commission Communication on the future of VAT (see IP/11/1508), the One Stop Shop approach for EU trade across borders will be applied first to e-commerce, broadcasting and telecom services.  In the future the Commission will seek to extend the One Stop Shop step by step to other goods and services.

Press release & links

EU News:  The European Commission has adopted a new 4-year strategy (2012-2015) that aims to further improve the welfare of animals in the European Union.

Press release & links

EU News:  The European Commission has launched a Europe-wide public debate on corporate restructuring and anticipating change (consultation closes on 30 March 2012).  The aim is to identify successful practices and policies in the field of restructuring and adapting to change – See ‘Consultations’ section for more information.

EU News:  Last week the European Commission launched an on-line public consultation on possible measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ships. All interested stakeholders can send their contributions until 12 April 2012 – See ‘Consultations’ section for more information.