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EU Legislation, Initiatives, etc.
CBI: Proposed EU pension changes would force £350bn of extra costs on UK businesses, hit long-term growth by a potential 2.5%, slash 180,000 jobs and cut the value of pensions, according to independent analysis commissioned by the CBI.
The European Commission wants to impose a new funding regime for pensions, which would force employers to divert hundreds of billions of Euros into defined benefit schemes. Under the plans, pension schemes run by individual employers would be required to implement similar changes to those proposed for insurance firms – which under the EU’s ‘Solvency II’ process would have to hold enough funds to pay out for a once-in-200-years catastrophe.
EU News: The European Business Schools Women on Boards Initiative is migrating their 'Global Board Ready Women' list of 8,000 women into an online database. The women on this list all fulfil stringent criteria for Corporate Governance as defined by publicly listed companies and are well qualified and ready to go on boards as of today.
EU News: EU inventors will soon be able to get a unitary patent. After over 30 years of talks, a new regime will cut the cost of an EU patent by up to 80%, making it more competitive vis-à-vis the US & Japan. MEPs cut costs for small firms and tailored the regime to their needs, in a compromise deal with the in a compromise deal with the Council endorsed by Parliament.
The international agreement creating a unified patent court will enter into force on 1 January 2014 or after 13 contracting states ratify it, provided that UK, France & Germany are among them.
The other two acts would apply from 1 January 2014, or from the date when the international agreement enters into force, whichever is the latest. Spain & Italy are currently outside the new regime, but could decide to join in at any time.
The other two acts would apply from 1 January 2014, or from the date when the international agreement enters into force, whichever is the latest. Spain & Italy are currently outside the new regime, but could decide to join in at any time.
EU News: By the end of the year new EU rules to better care for passengers when travelling by sea & inland waterway will be protected by a set of minimum rights anywhere within the European Union. As from 31 December 2012, passengers travelling by sea have the right to claim compensation for loss or damage in the event of accidents.
PC&PE: The House of Lords EU Committee has called for a more coordinated & more flexible approach by the EU & its Members States to external migration policy to help Europe address its demographic challenges and deliver economic growth over the decades ahead.
EU News: The Commission has adopted pan-EU rules on a minimum list of elements to be included in a medical prescription taken by a patient travelling from one EU country to another. The provisions for a common way to identify the patient, the prescriber and the prescribed product, are to be put into national law by the Member States by 25 October 2013.
EU News: Plans for ‘youth guarantee’ schemes to ensure that no young person in the EU is without a job for more than 4 months won strong support in the Employment & Social Affairs Committee recently. MEPs voted a resolution calling on EU employment ministers to agree in February 2013 to a Council recommendation that all member states introduce these schemes.
EU News: The European Commission is holding a public consultation on the best way to improve air quality in Europe. The consultation closes on 4 March 2013 – See ‘Consultation’ section for more information.
EU News: The European Commission is holding a public consultation on the future development of unconventional fossil fuels such as shale gas in Europe. The consultation closes on 20 March 2013 – See ‘Consultation’ section for more information.
