Leipzig will host the world's most important cycling congress "Velo-City" in May 2023. This was announced by the European Cyclists' Federation ECF in Brussels.

After Munich, Leipzig will be the first German host city since 2007. The four-day "World Cycling Summit" will take place from 9 to 12 May 2023 at the Congress Center of the New Trade Fair Centre. The world cycling summit, is where advocates, cities, decision- and policy makers, researchers and industry leaders meet to shape the future of cycling. As the annual flagship event of the European Cyclists’ Federation, Velo-city plays a valuable part in promoting cycling as a sustainable and healthy means of transport for all. Innovations and trends around the topic of cycling will be presented.

But concerts and bicycle tours are also part of the programme. The organisers expect around 1400 participants from more than 60 countries. Read more about it...

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Older road users are potentially disadvantaged when it comes to road safety, says Adina Valean, European Commissioner for Transport. Speaking at the presentation of the 2021 DEKRA Road Safety Report entitled “Old-Age Mobility” in Brussels, the Commissioner pointed out: “Advances in technology and regulation are designed to keep road users safe and save lives. But we need to acknowledge that older people tend to drive older cars, which will not be equipped with the latest tools. And when driving a vehicle fitted with innovative assistance systems, some drivers including those from older generations may find it more difficult to use them. Sadly, older road users are also overrepresented among vulnerable road users’ fatalities.” One in two pedestrians or cyclists killed in a road traffic crash on EU roads is 65 or older. Overall, more than one in four of those killed in road traffic accidents is in that age group. Read more about it...

Today, the Commission presented an Action Plan for the development of organic production. Its overall aim is to boost the production and consumption of organic products, to reach 25% of agricultural land under organic farming by 2030, as well as to increase organic aquaculture significantly.

Organic production comes with a number of important benefits: organic fields have around 30% more biodiversity, organically farmed animals enjoy a higher degree of animal welfare and take less antibiotics, organic farmers have higher incomes and are more resilient, and consumers know exactly what they are getting thanks to the EU organic logo. The Action Plan is in line with the European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity Strategies.

The Action Plan is designed to provide the already fast growing organic sector the right tools to achieve the 25% target. It puts forward 23 actions structured around 3 axes – boosting consumption, increasing production, and further improving the sustainability of the sector – to ensure a balanced growth of the sector. Read more about it...

The Commission's Fit for Future Platform has now selected 15 initiatives with the aim of helping to simplify EU law, cut red tape for citizens and businesses, and ensure that EU policies respond to new and emerging challenges. These efforts will be part of the Platform's first annual work programme to be adopted this month.

The Platform will issue opinions on the 15 selected topics, covering a broad range of sectors from competition, finance, health, environment, statistics and transport, to customs and internal market. These opinions will enrich the analysis by the Commission, and inform its evaluations and impact assessments. Read more about it...

Legal Affairs Committee MEPs pave the way for a new EU law that requires companies to comply with human rights and environmental standards within their value chains.

The draft legislative initiative calls on the Commission to urgently present a law that ensures companies are held accountable and liable when they harm - or contribute to harming - human rights, the environment and good governance. It must also guarantee access to legal remedies for victims.

Binding EU due diligence rules would oblige companies to identify, address and remedy aspects of their value chain (all operation, direct or indirect business relations, investment chains) that could or do infringe on human rights (including social, trade union and labour rights), the environment (including contributing to climate change) and good governance.

All companies that want to access the EU internal market, including those established outside the EU, would have to prove that they comply with environmental and human rights due diligence obligations.  Read more about it...

The EU Commission presented today its ‘Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy' together with an Action Plan of 82 initiatives that will guide our work for the next four years. This strategy lays the foundation for how the EU transport system can achieve its green and digital transformation and become more resilient to future crises. As outlined in the European Green Deal, the result will be a 90% cut in emissions by 2050, delivered by a smart, competitive, safe, accessible and affordable transport system.

Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal, said: “To reach our climate targets, emissions from the transport sector must get on a clear downward trend. Today's strategy will shift the way people and goods move across Europe and make it easy to combine different modes of transport in a single journey. We've set ambitious targets for the entire transport system to ensure a sustainable, smart, and resilient return from the COVID-19 crisis.”

Read more about it...

On Wednesday, the EU Commission adopted a recommendation on the use of rapid antigen tests for the diagnosis of COVID-19. It builds on the guidance developed with Member States input and expert advice from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

The recommendation provides guidance on how to select rapid antigen tests, when they are appropriate and who should perform them. It also calls for validation and mutual recognition of tests and their results. 

The Commission has also signed an agreement with the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies  (IFRC) contributing €35.5 million, financed by the Emergency Support Instrument (ESI), to scale up COVID-19 testing capacity in the EU. The funding will be used to support training of staff for sampling collection and analysis and performance of tests, especially via mobile equipment. Read more about it...

Today, the European Commission approved a fourth contract with pharmaceutical companies BioNTech and Pfizer, which provides for the initial purchase of 200 million doses on behalf of all EU Member States, plus an option to request up to a further 100 million doses, to be supplied once a vaccine has proven to be safe and effective against COVID-19. Member States can decide to donate the vaccine to lower and middle-income countries or to re-direct it to other European countries.

Today's contract with the BioNTech-Pfizer alliance builds upon the broad portfolio of vaccines to be produced in Europe, including the already signed a contracts with AstraZeneca, Sanofi-GSK and Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, and the concluded successful exploratory talks with CureVac and Moderna. This diversified vaccines portfolio will ensure Europe is well prepared for vaccination, once the vaccines have been proven to be safe and effective. Read more about it.

The European Commission has published today its Renovation Wave Strategy to improve the energy performance of buildings. The Commission aims to at least double renovation rates in the next ten years and make sure renovations lead to higher energy and resource efficiency. This will enhance the quality of life for people living in and using the buildings, reduce Europe's greenhouse gas emissions, foster digitalisation and improve the reuse and recycling of materials.

By 2030, 35 million buildings could be renovated and up to 160,000 additional green jobs created in the construction sector.

Buildings are responsible for about 40% of the EU's energy consumption, and 36% of greenhouse gas emissions. But only 1% of buildings undergo energy efficient renovation every year, so effective action is crucial to making Europe climate-neutral by 2050. Read more about it.

On Wednesday, EU Parliament adopted its negotiating mandate on the EU climate law. The new law aims to transform political promises that the EU will become climate neutral by 2050 into a binding obligation and to give European citizens and businesses the legal certainty and predictability they need to plan for the transformation.

MEPs insist that both the EU and all member states individually must become climate-neutral by 2050 and that thereafter the EU shall achieve “negative emissions”. They also call for sufficient financing to achieve this.

The EU’s current emissions reductions target for 2030 is 40% compared to 1990. The Commission recently proposed to increase this target to “at least 55%” in the amended proposal for an EU climate law. MEPs today raised the bar even further, calling for a reduction of 60% in 2030, adding that national targets shall be increased in a cost-efficient and fair way. Read more about it.

Today, the EU Regulation on the approval and market surveillance of motor vehicles will start to apply. Adopted in May 2018, the new Regulation significantly overhauls and tightens the previous type approval and market surveillance system. It improves the quality and independence of vehicle type-approval and testing, increases checks of cars already on the EU market and strengthens the overall system with greater European oversight.

The key elements of the new EU rules are:

• Independence and quality of testing before a car is placed on the market: 
• Checks on cars already on the market: 
• European oversight: In addition, the Commission is now able to carry out compliance and conformity checks on vehicles in laboratories or on the road. In cases where manufacturers are in breach of type-approval legislation, the Commission can order EU-wide recalls and impose sanctions on those manufacturers of up to € 30 000 per car. 

Read more about it.

Today, the European Commission has confirmed its interest to participate in the COVAX Facility for equitable access to affordable COVID-19 vaccines everywhere, for everyone who needs them. As part of a Team Europe effort, the Commission is today also announcing a contribution of €400 million in guarantees to support COVAX and its objectives in the context of the Coronavirus Global Response.

The COVAX Facility, co-led by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and WHO, aims to accelerate the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines and to guarantee fair and equitable access for every country in the world.

On 4 May, the Commission also proposed a cooperation framework to align global efforts and accelerate progress in developing coronavirus vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics and strengthening health systems: the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT)-Accelerator.

Three partnerships, based on the three priorities of the Coronavirus Global Response, are at its core. They gather industry, research, foundations, regulators and international organisations to work together on all steps needed to deliver new tools and solutions, from research to manufacturing and deployment.

COVAX is the vaccines pillar of the ACT-Accelerator, a global collaboration to accelerate the development, production, and equitable access for all countries across the world to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines. For further information, click here.

One of the aims of the European Green Deal is to increase the EU's climate ambition so that greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced by at least 50% and towards 55% in a responsible way by 2030. This was a key pledge from President von der Leyen when she was confirmed in office by the European Parliament.

The European Green Deal communication has identified a series of climate, energy and environmental legislation that needs to be reviewed and if necessary revised in order to achieve such increased ambition. Both the Renewable Energy Directive (2018/2001/EU) and the Energy Efficiency Directive (2012/27/EU and 2018/2002/EU) are among the instruments that are assessed.

As the first step in this process, the Commission has today published a roadmap for the review of both directives in order to inform stakeholders and citizens of what the goals of this initiative are and which policy options are being considered, and opened a four-week period for public feedback on the concept. This will feed in to the Commission’s further preparatory work for these reviews. Read more about it...

EU leaders have agreed to a comprehensive package of €1 824.3 billion which combines the multiannual financial framework (MFF) and an extraordinary recovery effort under the Next Generation EU (NGEU) instrument.

The new MFF will cover seven years between 2021 and 2027. The MFF, reinforced by Next Generation EU, will also be the main instrument for implementing the recovery package to tackle the socio-economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The size of the MFF - €1 074.3 billion - will allow the EU to fulfill its long-term objectives and preserve the full capacity of the recovery plan.

NGEU will provide the Union with the necessary means to address the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the agreement the Commission will be able to borrow up to €750 billion on the markets. These funds may be used for back-to-back loans and for expenditure channelled through the MFF programmes. Capital raised on the financial markets will be repaid by 2058.

€390 billion from the package will be distributed in the form of grants to member states and €360 billion in loans. Read more about it...

The priorities of Germany's presidency are driven by its motto: "Together for Europe’s recovery". The presidency programme focuses on six main areas: 

• overcoming the consequences of the coronavirus crisis for the long-term as well as economic and social recovery
• a stronger and more innovative Europe
• a fair Europe
• a sustainable Europe
• a Europe of security and common values
• a strong Europe in the world

The German presidency of the Council of the EU will focus directly on overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic. Fighting the spread of the virus, supporting the European economy to recover and reinforcing social cohesion in Europe. In order to achieve this, Germany is committed to joint approved action, European solidarity and common values. Read more about it.

Today, the European Commission has put forward its proposal for a major recovery plan. To ensure the recovery is sustainable, even, inclusive and fair for all Member States, the European Commission is proposing to create a new recovery instrument, Next Generation EU, embedded within a powerful, modern and revamped long-term EU budget. The Commission has also unveiled its adjusted Work Programme for 2020, which will prioritise the actions needed to propel Europe's recovery and resilience.

The coronavirus has shaken Europe and the world to its core, testing healthcare and welfare systems, our societies and economies and our way of living and working together. To protect lives and livelihoods, repair the Single Market, as well as to build a lasting and prosperous recovery, the European Commission is proposing to harness the full potential of the EU budget.

Next Generation EU of €750 billion as well as targeted reinforcements to the long-term EU budget for 2021-2027 will bring the total financial firepower of the EU budget to €1.85 trillion. Read more about it

At the 11th Petersberg Climate Dialogue, Chancellor Angela Merkel called for climate protection to be kept in mind as part of economic stimulus programs. She stressed the international responsibility to implement the Paris climate agreement and welcomed an increase in the EU climate target by 2030 from currently 40% to 50-55% greenhouse gas emissions.

The European Union is showing the right way with the Green Deal. Europe is to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050.

Merkel further said that investments in a climate-friendly infrastructure, as well as an appropriate CO2 pricing, are necessary. This is the most efficient way to reduce emissions. "It would be very desirable that as many countries on this earth as possible rely on it," said Merkel. Germany will introduce a CO2 price for the transport and heating sectors from next year. This increases the incentives for companies and private households to invest in climate-friendly alternatives in order to save CO2 costs and emissions.

The Chancellor also emphasized that it is important for the global success of climate protection that all parts of the global community make their contribution - by turning away from fossil fuels and turning to renewable energy sources and more energy efficiency. Germany will push ahead with the expansion of renewable energy sources. By 2030, their share of the energy mix should be 65 percent. 

A few weeks ago, hardly any of us could have imagined that our everyday life would change in such a short time. The corona virus has surprised us all and it is having a dramatic impact on our business. Planned events are canceled, consulting contracts are postponed indefinitely and there is general uncertainty about how to proceed. It is the same with us and we would be lying, if we claimed to have no problems.

But there are also the bright spots and the many beautiful moments. In our society, which is characterized by egoism and elbows, you suddenly feel more compassion. People respect the desire and need for physical distance, but this seems to create a desire for more social closeness. We are now realizing that we are all vulnerable in the same way. This unites us and makes living together more worthwhile. Seeing that people treat each other so helpfully and respectfully, gives us the chance to look with great confidence at the time after the crisis. There is a chance that we as a society, at least for a period, will stick together.

For further exchange on this or more classic topics, we are available (in our home office ;-)). Call us or if you want to see us, you can also reach us via Skype (andrejkrocker).

The Commission presents a new Strategy to help Europe's industry lead the twin transitions towards climate neutrality and digital leadership. The Strategy aims to drive Europe's competitiveness and its strategic autonomy at a time of moving geopolitical plates and increasing global competition.

The package of initiatives outlines a new approach to European industrial policy that is firmly rooted in European values and social market traditions. It sets out a range of actions to support all players of European industry, including big and small companies, innovative start-ups, research centres, service providers, suppliers and social partners.

A dedicated Strategy for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) aims to reduce red tape and help Europe's numerous SMEs to do business across the single market and beyond, access financing and help lead the way on the digital and green transitions. Today's initiatives also include concrete steps to address barriers to a well-functioning single market, Europe's strongest asset to allow all our businesses to grow and compete in Europe and beyond. Click here for further information

Becoming the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050 is the greatest challenge and opportunity of our times. To achieve this, the European Commission presented the European Green Deal, the most ambitious package of measures that should enable European citizens and businesses to benefit from sustainable green transition.

Measures accompanied with an initial roadmap of key policies range from ambitiously cutting emissions, to investing in cutting-edge research and innovation, to preserving Europe’s natural environment.

Supported by investments in green technologies, sustainable solutions and new businesses, the Green Deal can be a new EU growth strategy. Involvement and commitment of the public and of all stakeholders is crucial to its success.

Above all, the European Green Deal sets a path for a transition that is just and socially fair. It is designed in such a way as to leave no individual or region behind in the great transformation ahead. Read more about it

A connoisseur of the scene makes itself independent. It was only a matter of time that Andrej Kocker would become self-employed. After four exciting and busy years in Brussels, the realization grew that there are still many interesting topics besides energy issues. As the desire for multi-faceted work in the bigger was, nothing was closer than to start their own business.

True to the motto, "if not slim itself, then at least lean structures", I go to the start and offer my customers fair conditions. If necessary, I have access to specialists from various industries. With me you do not pay for my name, with me you pay only for my solid work. I look forward to meeting you and your company!