Day: May 23, 2022

Delivering on a key action from the EU Strategy on COVID-19 Therapeutics, the Commission has published today the COVID-19 Therapeutics Innovation Booster, a report prepared by independent scientific experts. It facilitates the identification of promising research projects and technologies and provides guidance to researchers and innovators to best focus efforts and accelerate innovation. The guidance provided in this Booster is based on independent scientific advice, and focuses on facilitating the development of COVID-19 treatments that address the needs of patients as these evolve during the pandemic. It therefore supports efforts to bring safe and effective treatments to patients across the EU as fast as possible, as this remains a high priority in the transition towards the next phase of COVID-19. Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, said: “The European Union has been taking decisive action with its researchers and innovators to develop vaccines and treatments to protect our citizens. The Therapeutic Innovation Booster supports our continuous search for new therapies by scanning the research landscape and decreasing the gap between early-stage research and clinical use.” Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, said: “Therapeutics is an important part of our response to COVID-19. They save lives, they limit the need for hospitalisation, speed up recovery times and reduce overall symptoms. With our Therapeutics Strategy, we are building a portfolio of safe and effective COVID-19 treatments addressing all stages of the disease, including the development of medicines focusing on long COVID. Research and innovation is crucial to close the knowledge gap and develop treatments that deliver for our citizens and the Therapeutics Innovation Booster, working closely with HERA, will be key for this.” As announced in the Therapeutics Strategy, the Therapeutic Innovation Booster will feed into the activities of the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) that will set up an interactive mapping platform for promising therapeutics. A call for tender to design the platform was launched and the results are expected to be published in the next months. More information is available here.

Capital Markets Union: Commission publishes its report on the European Supervisory Authorities

The European Commission has today published a report on the activities of the three European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) that make up the European System of Financial Supervision: the European Banking Authority (EBA), the European Securities and Markets Authority(ESMA), and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA). These three authorities play an important role in supervising European financial markets, and ultimately protecting financial stability. Today’s report – which relies on findings from broad stakeholder outreach – concludes that the ESAs have continued to perform their tasks efficiently and effectively since the last review in 2019, including during the recent challenging circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Commission takes this as a clear indication that the overall architecture of the European System of Financial Supervision is largely adequate. The report identifies some areas where improvements could be implemented with no need for legislative changes. The Commission will work together with the ESAs to assess whether and in which areas non-legislative measures are warranted. The report also suggests a targeted way forward towards an enhanced single rule book. Commissioner for Financial services, financial stability and Capital Markets Union Mairead McGuinness said: “The European Supervisory Authorities play a crucial role in supporting the Commission and ensuring supervisory convergence among national competent authorities. Our findings confirm that overall the European System of Financial Supervision is robust, in particular maintaining financial stability and ensuring that the financial system operates in the best interest of citizens and the wider economy. There is always room for improvement and we work together on those areas so that the system functions even better. Overall, this report makes a significant contribution to our financial framework, not least to the Capital Markets Union.”The report is available here.

State aid: Commission approves €890,000 Cypriot scheme to support cheesemakers in the context of the coronavirus pandemic

The European Commission has approved a €890,000 Cypriot scheme to support cheesemakers in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. The scheme was approved under the State Aid Temporary Framework. Under the scheme, the public support will take the form of direct grants up to €200,000 per beneficiary. The measure aims at mitigating the liquidity shortages that the beneficiaries are facing and at addressing part of the losses they incurred due to the coronavirus pandemic and the restrictive measures that the Cypriot authorities had to implement to limit the spread of the virus, in particular those applied in the catering sector. The scheme will be open to all companies active in the Halloumi cheese production and storage. The Commission found that the Cypriot scheme is in line with the conditions of the Temporary Framework. In particular, the aid (i) will not exceed €2.3 million per beneficiary; and (ii) will be granted no later than 30 June 2022. The Commission concluded that the measure is necessary, appropriate and proportionate to remedy a serious disturbance in the economy of a Member State, in line with Article 107(3)(b) TFEU and the conditions set out in the Temporary Framework. On this basis, the Commission approved the scheme under EU State aid rules. More information on the Temporary Framework and other actions taken by the Commission to address the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic can be found here. The non-confidential version of the decision will be made available under the case number SA.102885 in the State aid register on the Commission’s competition website once any confidentiality issues have been resolved.

Source: Cyprus News Agency