Health Union: HERA secures additional vaccine doses in response to the ongoing monkeypox outbreak
Today, HERA, the Commission’s Health Preparedness and Response Authority, has secured an additional 54,530 doses of the company Bavarian Nordic’s 3rd generation vaccine, now bringing the total number of doses purchased for Member States to respond to the ongoing monkeypox outbreak to 163,620. Deliveries of the EU-funded monkeypox vaccines will continue to be taking place over the coming weeks and months and throughout the remainder of the year to EU Member States, Norway and Iceland. Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides, said: “I am concerned by the increasing number of monkeypox cases in the EU. We now have over 7,000 cases in the EU, an almost 50% increase since a week ago. We have reacted swiftly and ensured a rapid response through the European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) and have already delivered around 25 000 doses to 6 Member States. We have now secured over 160,000 doses of vaccines to respond promptly to the progression of the spread of this virus. This is the European Health Union delivering for our citizens.” The Commission’s Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) has purchased the third-generation vaccine for and on behalf of HERA. Based on the number of cases, deliveries continue for prioritized Member States, which have granted national exemptions for the vaccine.
Executive Vice-President Timmermans attends the Petersberg Climate Dialogue ahead of COP27
Today and tomorrow, 18 and 19 July, Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans is participating in the 13th Petersberg Climate Dialogue, an annual high-level political forum on climate action attended by over 40 ministers from around the world, co-hosted by the German government and the Egyptian COP27 Presidency. During the High-Level Segment at noon today, Federal Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, and the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi will deliver keynote speeches. Those will be live-streamed here. This year’s Petersberg Dialogue will focus on the preparations for the forthcoming UN Climate Conference COP 27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt from 7-18 November. This morning, Executive Vice-President Timmermans spoke about the Road to the next COP at the opening session. This afternoon, he will facilitate discussions on the funding arrangements linked to loss and damage. Next to mitigation, adaptation and climate finance, loss and damage will be one of the key issues at the COP, as was the case last month at the Bonn Climate Change Conference. In the margins of the forum, he will also participate in the High Ambition Coalition Ministerial meeting and meet bilaterally with Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, US Special Presidency Envoy for Climate John Kerry, and the Acting Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC Ibrahim Thiaw. Mr Timmermans’ remarks at the opening session are available here
G20 in Bali : Commission and Indonesian G20 Presidency co-hosted event on financial dimension of climate mitigation policies
On 16 July, in the margins of the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in Bali, Indonesia, the Commission and the Indonesian G20 Presidency co-hosted a high-level policy breakfast on ‘’Climate Mitigation Policies: Where Do We Stand?”. Co-chaired by Commissioner for the Economy Paolo Gentiloni and Indonesia’s Finance Minister Sri Mulyani, the meeting discussed policy experiences with tackling the urgent threat of climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the IMF and the OECD steered the debate, providing participants with a brief overview of their ongoing work on climate mitigation. A panel composed of G20 emerging and advanced economies then discussed the wide range of policy measures undertaken or planned at the national level to address climate change. The high-level breakfast discussion allowed G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors to share best practices and national experiences, including on domestic incentives for sustainable investment and measures in support of a just and affordable transition towards climate-resilient economies. This event provided the link between the G20 Leaders commitments from Rome and the forthcoming COP27, by firmly anchoring climate issues into the G20 finance track agenda, in the pursuit of a more coordinated approach on global climate mitigation.
Forest fires: EU mobilises assistance for Slovenia
The EU Civil Protection Mechanism continues to channel assistance to respond to the severe forest fires breaking out across Europe. Over the weekend, Slovenia activated the mechanism asking for support to battle a forest fire in Nova Gorica, close to the Italian border. Following this request, 1 plane from the rescEU reserve stationed in Croatia was deployed to strengthen the response in the most affected areas, where by now the fires were brought under control. Over the course of the weekend, the Emergency Response Coordination Centre also activated the Copernicus satellite service to support French authorities monitor the situation of forest fires in the southwestern region of the country. This comes on top of the 2 firefighting planes deployed last week from the rescEU fleet to help fight forest fires in France. Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic, said: “Forest fires represent an unpredictable threat lingering on all of us and therefore requires immediate action. Our Civil Protection Mechanism has mobilised aid for Slovenia and is tirelessly monitoring the situation in France and all over Europe. I thank Croatia and all the Member States for their continued support. The EU’s 24/7 Emergency Response Coordination Centre stands ready to coordinate further assistance.” The European Union’s 24/7 Emergency Response Coordination Centre is in regular contact with the relevant national authorities to closely monitor the situation and channel the EU assistance. (Pour plus d’informations: Balazs Ujvari – Tél.: +32 229 54578; Jennifer Sanchez Da Silva – Tél.: +32 229 58316).
New Pact for Skills partnership to boost digital skills
Today, with the support of the Commission, EU associations, companies, organisations, trade unions, universities, training providers and national federations set up a new partnership for skills in the digital ecosystem. This new partnership will enable the upskilling and reskilling of workers and attract more people to the digital industry. The partnership will help people and businesses acquire necessary digital skills, which will contribute to the objectives of the digital and green transitions of Europe’s economy. It will focus first on improving the skills of the workforce of the partners of the digital sector. Partners will then develop common targets, for instance on the number of people to be reskilled and monitor future developments on upskilling and reskilling. Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, said: “Digital skills are a cornerstone of the digital and green transition. They are also key to success for businesses of all sizes. The Digital Ecosystem’s Skills Partnership under the Pact for Skills will take a leading role in making the EU economy fit for the challenges of the future. It will also inspire others – whether in the Digital Ecosystem or any other industrial ecosystem – to turn digital opportunities into successful business models that benefit citizens and businesses alike.” Commissioner for Jobs and Social rights, Nicolas Schmit, said: “Digital skills are fundamental for all businesses of Europe’s economy. This partnership will strengthen the digital skills of European workers which enables them to navigate today’s ever-changing labour market. I am pleased to see that yet another partnership for skills under the Pact for Skills is concluded which will contribute to Europe’s competitiveness and social cohesion.” Following commitments in other industrial ecosystems, this new partnership is part of the Pact for Skills, one of the flagship initiatives under the European Skills Agenda. The new partnership will work closely with other existing partnerships in other sectors, where digital skills play a crucial role. It will seek synergies and collaboration with other existing initiatives (such as Digital Skills & Jobs Coalition or the network of European Digital Innovation Hubs) to use existing best practices and guidance as an inspiration for the partnership. The Pact for Skills contributes to one of the three EU social targets set out in the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan of having at least 60% of all adults participate in training every year by 2030.
State Aid: Commission approves up to €5.4 billion of public support by fifteen Member States for an Important Project of Common European Interest in the hydrogen technology value chain
The Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, an Important Project of Common European Interest (‘IPCEI’) to support research and innovation and first industrial deployment in the hydrogen technology value chain. The project, called ‘IPCEI Hy2Tech’ was jointly prepared and notified by fifteen Member States: Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and Spain. The Member States will provide up to €5.4 billion in public funding, which is expected to unlock additional €8.8 billion in private investments. As part of this IPCEI, 35 companies with activities in one or more Member States, including 8 small and medium-sized enterprises (‘SMEs’) and start-ups, will participate in 41 projects. The IPCEI will cover a wide part of the hydrogen technology value chain, including (i) the generation of hydrogen, (ii) fuel cells, (iii) storage, transportation and distribution of hydrogen, and (iv) end-users applications, in particular in the mobility sector. It is expected to contribute to the development of important technological breakthroughs, including new highly efficient electrode materials, more performant fuel cells, innovative transport technologies, among which first time roll out hydrogen mobility ones. The Commission assessed the proposed project under EU State aid rules, more specifically its Communication on Important Projects of Common European Interest. Where private initiatives supporting breakthrough innovation fail to materialise because of the significant risks such projects entail, IPCEI enable Member States to jointly fill the gap to overcome these market failures. At the same time, they ensure that the EU economy at large benefits from the investments and limit potential distortions to competition. The Commission has found that the IPCEI Hy2Tech fulfils the required conditions set out in its Communication. On this basis, the Commission concluded that the project is in line with EU State aid rules. A press release is available online.
Source: Cyprus News Agency