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Passe-Parole

A bi-monthly brief highlighting 5 EU developments impacting the legal sector and creating opportunities to make a difference with EU lawmakers.
By Fiona Murray, Passerelle
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Issue no. 7      30th July 2019

Welcome to this edition of Passe-Parole. We are sending you this brief because we have had contact in the past or because we believe it will be of value to you in your professional role.

 

At issue...

The EU 2019-24: new faces and priorities; Commission proposals to strengthen the rule of law; EU Artificial Intelligence (AI) initiatives including new AI Europe stakeholder platform; Commission recommendations for fighting money laundering, 2nd ERFF conference on consumer financial services.

Plus, the outcome of the first stakeholder meeting of the European Justice Stakeholders Forum (EJSF) ‘Bridging Legal & Policy’ initiative and an update on the 4th EJSF annual plenary on fundamental rights.

1

EU 2019-24 – Commission President priorities and key MEPs

A new EU leadership, which will set the priorities of the future Commission and Parliament until 2024, is taking shape. Commission President-Elect, Ursula von der Leyen, will assume office on 1st November. Her political priorities in a potential post-Brexit EU include: Europe's first ever Climate Law to enshrine its target of being the world's first climate-neutral continent by 2050; legislation for a coordinated EU approach on the human and ethical implications of AI; fair taxation; reform of WTO trade rules and a new comprehensive rule of law mechanism.

During July, the newly-elected Members of the European Parliament agreed the political groups and their leaders. David Maria Sassoli was voted in as Parliament President. Key committee chairs and vice chairs were also appointed. These include Ms Lucy Nethsingha (Renew Europe, UK) as Chair of the legal affairs committee (JURI) and Mr Juan Fernando López Aguilar (Socialist, Spain) as Chair of the civil liberties committee (LIBE).

2
Rule of Law – new Commission Communication and Finnish EU Council Presidency activities

On 17th July, the Commission published a Communication on measures to strengthen the rule of law in Europe. Directed to the future EU leadership, its recommendations - based around 3 pillars - include an annual conference with civil society, a rule of law review cycle and annual report, and a more effective enforcement mechanism including proceedings before the European Courts.

Finland, which assumed the Presidency of the EU Council on 1st July for the second half of 2019, has included strengthening common values and the rule of law among its priorities. Among other activities on this topic, the Presidency will organise major conferences in Helsinki, September, and in Brussels, November.

3

Artificial Intelligence & the new EU 2020+

On 26th June, the Commission’s Expert Group on AI published recommendations to the EU on how AI can best support citizens, business and administrations in ways that both benefit and protect. The Commission also launched a pilot process to test the ethics guidelines recommended by the expert group in April. The outcome of both initiatives will feed into an EU coordinated AI plan at the end of the year and into the new Commission's AI strategy due in early 2020.

Meanwhile, on 20th June, Passerelle organised a first meeting of business stakeholders in Brussels interested in supporting a brand new EU forum on AI. A second meeting on the ‘Artificial Intelligence Europe’ (AIE) platform with a wider range of business stakeholders is planned for the autumn. For more information and details on participation, please contact us: fiona@passerelle-pa.com .
 

4

Anti-money laundering – Commission recommendations for better enforcement

The Commission adopted a Communication and four reports on the 24th July that assess the effectiveness of current EU measures to fight money laundering in the EU. The assessment identified divergences in the application of EU legislation and vulnerabilities including anonymous products, identification of beneficial owners and new unregulated products such as virtual assets. Possible recommendations for future EU leaders to consider include an Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Regulation instead of the existing Directives, which would be directly applicable in the Member States, and a dedicated EU AML supervisory body.

5

Consumer financial services – 2nd ERFF conference, 5th November, Brussels

During 2019, the European Retail Financial Forum (ERFF), managed by Passerelle, has been in dialogue with EU consumer representatives to identify areas where the consumer experience in cross-border financial services could still be improved along with potential solutions. These have been gathered into a discussion paper that will feed into the 2nd ERFF Annual Conference ‘Consumers at the heart of finance in Europeto be held on 5th November 2019 in Brussels. This event will be open to consumer representatives, EC officials, MEPs, and industry stakeholders. If you are interested in receiving an invitation, please contact us at info@erff.eu.

The discussion paper focuses on three key areas: opening a bank account and daily banking; obtaining credit; investment, pensions and insurance. It highlights that while EU regulation such as SEPA, PSD2, and MiFid2 assist in the provision of retail financial products, consumer expectations of accessing financial services across the EU are still often frustrated. But in today's digital, mobile world, consumers and industry alike want citizens to have access products and services across borders. And they want these to be available via digital channels and supported by succinct, easily digestible information.

European Justice Stakeholders Forum news

On 6th June the EJSF held a first meeting of corporates interested in a potential new ‘Bridging Legal & Policy’ (BLP) initiative. The aim of this initiative is to create a platform where corporates (legal & policy colleagues) can focus on the legal aspects of new EU polices and draft laws so as to avoid / minimize problems at the implementation / enforcement stages.

Participants at the June meeting agreed that topics to be addressed could cover areas such as e-commerce, B2B issues, consistency in EU regulation, cybersecurity, data protection, sustainability issues, and business and human rights among others. BLP activities would include member meetings to exchange best practices and test ideas, and focused thematic workshops with EU policymakers.

A second BLP stakeholder meeting for corporates is foreseen for early October in Brussels. For more information and an invitation, please contact us: info@ejsf.eu .

Meanwhile, preparations are well under way for the 4th EJSF annual plenary, taking place on 19th November in the European Economic & Social Committee (EESC), Brussels. On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the entry into force of the EU Charter, the theme of this year’s event is ‘Rights under threat – how can the EU Fundamental Rights Charter work better for citizens?’ . Co-hosted with the EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), confirmed speakers so far include Mr Arno Metzler, President Group III, EESC; Ms Johanna Suurpää, Director-General, Department for Democracy and Public Law, Finland (representing Finland’s EU Presidency - 2nd half 2019) and Mr Gabriel Toggenburg, senior legal advisor FRA. For more information, please contact us: info@ejsf.eu .

The European Justice Stakeholders Forum (EJSF) is a high level platform for funded projects, events and campaigns between the legal profession and the EU law and policy makers on major challenges facing the justice sector, the legal profession and the rule of law.

... in closing

“Lady Justice is blind – she will defend the rule of law wherever and by whomever it is attacked.” European Commission President-Elect Ursula von der Leyen, Political Guidelines for the new European Commission 2019-2024, 16 July 2019
 
 

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Passerelle is a Brussels-based EU affairs consultancy. We help legal practitioners and professionals, law firms and legal associations to engage constructively with the EU institutions on issues relevant for the profession, thus building lasting and trusted partnerships, influence and reputation in Europe. We are founders of and manage the European Justice Stakeholders Forum.
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