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European Commission in Ireland

In this issue - 16 January
Top News Other news Agenda		Job opportunities Calls for Tender/Proposals Public consultations

President von der Leyen addressing the dinner in Dublin Castle

Financing the climate transition: Commission proposes European Green Deal Investment Plan and Just Transition Mechanism

To achieve the EU's ambition of becoming the first climate-neutral bloc in the world by 2050 will require significant investment from both the EU and the public and private sectors. The Commission this week set out its proposals for a European Green Deal Investment Plan which would aim to mobilise at least €1 trillion of sustainable investments over the next decade. The Commission also this week proposed a Just Transition Mechanism to ensure that the transition towards a climate-neutral economy happens in a fair way, leaving no one behind. Targeted support to help mobilise at least €100 billion over the period 2021-2027 would be provided in the most affected regions.

Commission presents first reflections on building a strong social Europe

The Commission this week presented a Communication setting out how social policy will help deliver on the challenges and opportunities of today and seeking feedback on further action at all levels in the area of employment and social rights. The Commission also launched a consultation of social partners on a European framework for minimum wages. The Commission would like to receive views on how to ensure that every worker in the EU has a minimum wage that allows for a decent standard of living wherever they work.

Image promoting the Social Europe package

Other news

New EU Commissioners take solemn oath to serve the EU

In a ceremony earlier this week, the new College of Commissioners signed a solemn oath to comply with the Treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and to exercise their responsibilities in full independence and in the general interest of the Union. President von der Leyen said: "It is a huge responsibility that we have just undertaken. We are guardians of the Treaties. And we have the responsibility to give life to the Treaties with our daily work and our daily action”.

Trade/WTO: EU, U.S. and Japan agree on new ways to strengthen global rules on industrial subsidies

In a Joint Statement issued this week, the European Union, the United States and Japan announced their agreement to strengthen existing rules on industrial subsidies and condemned forced technology transfers practices. EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan said: “This Joint Statement is an important step toward addressing some of the fundamental issues distorting global trade. The EU has been arguing consistently that multilateral negotiations can be effective in resolving these problems. I welcome the fact that the United States and Japan share this view."

Over 200 Irish 18 year-olds to get Discover EU travel passes

Two hundred and twelve Irish 18 year-olds will get to travel around Europe this summer thanks to a DiscoverEU travel pass. They were selected on the basis of established award criteria and specific Member State quotas and can travel between 1 April and 31 October 2020 for up to 30 days. Successful applicants will now be contacted and can start arranging their trips. In total, there were over 1,200 Irish applications under this round of DiscoverEU.

Ireland sees third largest fall in house prices between 2007 and 2019

Ireland (-16.7%) saw the third largest fall in house prices in the EU between 2007 and the third quarter of 2019 after Greece (-40%) and Romania (-27.2%) according to new Eurostat figures. On average across the EU house prices rose by 19% over the same period with the largest rise observed in Austria (+85.5%). Meanwhile, rental prices across the EU rose by an average of 21% between 2007 and 2019 with the largest increase in Lithuania (+101.1%). Ireland saw a rise of 40%. Rental costs fell in only two countries: Greece (-17.5%) and Cyprus (-0.3%).

Two more top Irish researchers receive European Research Council funding

Two more top Irish researchers are to receive ERC (European Research Council) Proof of Concept grants of €150,000 each. They are: John Boland from Trinity College (for his project on transparent aluminium networks) and Liam O'Faolain from Cork Institute of Technology (for his project to lower the cost of water and air quality evaluation). ERC Proof of concept grants are awarded to ERC grantees to explore the innovation potential of their scientific discoveries and bring the results of their frontier research closer to market.

Image promoting 3 of the projects funded including Liam O'Faolain's

Ilze Juhansone appointed as the Commission's new Secretary-General

Following the proposal of President von der Leyen, Ilze Juhansone, who was the acting Secretary-General of the European Commission, has been appointed as the Commission's new Secretary-General with immediate effect. Ilze Juhansone will be the eighth Secretary-General of the European Commission to assume this post. She was a former Permanent Representative of Latvia to the European Union.

Irish almost twice as likely to travel by plane but few aware of their passenger rights

Over half (53%) of Irish people have used air transport during the past 12 months, up 2 percentage points since 2014 and joint 3rd highest in the EU, according to a new Eurobarometer survey. The EU average was 27% with people in Hungary and Croatia (both 6%) least likely to have used air transport. The survey also shows that only 25% of Irish people who travel by air are aware of their rights under EU law. The figure drops to 8% for rail users, to 7% for users of coach transport and to 6% for people who travel by ferry.

Almost one in five Irish enterprises experience ICT related security incidents in 2018

New Eurostat figures show that 18% of Irish enterprises experienced problems due to ICT related security incidents at least once in 2018. This compares to an EU average of 12% and a high of 35% in Sweden. The most commonly reported problems across the EU were unavailability of ICT services, denial of service attacks and ransomware attacks. The figures also that 76% of Irish and 62% of EU enterprises inform their staff of their obligations in ICT security related issues.

Mergers: Commission approves AbbVie's acquisition of Allergan, subject to conditions

The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition of Allergan by AbbVie. The approval is conditional on the divestment of a product under Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager said: "Our decision makes sure that the merger between AbbVie and Allergan will not disrupt the development of a promising innovative treatment for these diseases."

Agenda

Monday 20 January: Presentation on Georgia's Priorities for the Presidency of the Council of Europe 2019-2020, Europe House, Dublin 2

The Embassy of Georgia to Ireland in partnership with the European Movement Ireland is hosting a presentation on Georgia's Priorities for the Presidency of the Council of Europe (November 2019 to May 2020). This event takes place on Monday morning 20 January (starting at 9 am) at Europe House, 12-14 Lower Mount Street, Dublin 2. Speakers will include: H.E. George Zurabashvili, Ambassador of Georgia to Ireland; Don Sexton, Director of EU Division, Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade; Noelle O Connell, Executive Director European Movement Ireland. Anyone interested in attending this event should register in advance at: Dublin.emb@mfa.gov.ge

Monday 20 January: Foreign Affairs Council, Brussels

Agenda highlights include: a discussion on current affairs, talking about pressing issues on the international agenda, like the situation in Bolivia, India, Libya and Venezuela; the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in Sahel and the role the EU can play; climate diplomacy; and the Middle East peace process.

Monday 20 January: Eurogroup, Brussels

Agenda highlights include: the IMF mission to the Euro Area; Portugal - update draft budgetary plan; Economic policy of the Euro Area and policy priorities of the new governments of Spain, Austria and Finland.

Tuesday 21 January: Economic and Financial Affairs Council, Brussels

Agenda highlights include: digital taxation; the European Green Deal Investment Plan; and the European Semester.

Monday 27 January: Agriculture and Fisheries Council, Brussels

Information on this meeting will be available in due course at the link below.

Tuesday 28 January: General Affairs Council, Brussels

Information on this meeting will be available in due course at the link below.

Job opportunities

IT specialists at the European Commission

The European Commission is looking for experienced specialists and assistants to work as temporary agents mainly in Luxembourg in the following fields: Advanced Technology: High Performance Computing; Advanced Technology: Quantum technologies; Data Analysis and Data Science; Digital Workplace, Office Automation and Mobile Computing; ICT Security; and IT Infrastructure and Cloud.

Traineeships at the European Commission

Applications are now open for 5 month traineeships at the European Commission starting on 1 October 2020. The traineeship programme is open to university graduates who Have completed a standard 3-year higher education degree corresponding to a complete Bachelor’s cycle, or equivalent. The traineeship is open to all EU citizens, regardless of age. A limited number of places are also allocated to non EU nationals. A living allowance of approximately €1,220 per month is paid to each trainee.

Image promoting traineeships at the European Commission

Calls for Tender/Proposals

Mixed Multiple Framework Contract for Thematic Communication Services, Advertising and Media Planning

The European Commission is currently searching for agile, flexible and future-oriented companies to assist with its communication and outreach activities. A new call for tenders has been published for support of punctual communication actions and well-defined, short-term communication initiatives and advertising. The Commission and the rest of the signatories will award two framework contracts, each concluded for 4 years, with a maximum ceiling of 40 and respectively 50 million euro. They will be concluded with three different contractors, ranked in cascade. The deadline for the receipt of tenders is 28 February 2020. For more information, please contact Ioan-Petru Vascan at ioan-petru.vascan@ec.europa.eu.

Public consultations

Origin-labelling for meat - evaluation

The purpose of the evaluation is to assess whether the established rules for the mandatory origin labelling are effective, efficient, coherent, relevant and bring EU added value. The consultation is open until 2 March 2020.

Fair minimum wages

The European Commission has launched a first-stage consultation of social partners on Fair Minimum Wages in the EU. The Commission wants to know whether social partners believe EU action is needed, and if so, if they wish to negotiate it between themselves. There will not be a one-size-fits-all minimum wage. Any potential proposal will reflect national traditions, whether collective agreements or legal provisions.

EU Emission Trading System State aid Guidelines

The purpose of the consultation is to gather feedback from all interested parties on the draft new ETS Guidelines before their adoption in the course of 2020. In particular, interested parties should assess whether the draft Guidelines are well designed to address the risk of carbon leakage due to indirect emission costs (notably as regards the eligible sectors for compensation), while preserving the incentive of the ETS for a cost-effective decarbonisation of the economy and minimising competition distortions in the internal market. The consultation is open until 10 March 2020.

This is the Newsletter of the Representation of the European Commission in Ireland.
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