Publications Archive

Tech giants like Google, Amazon, Facebook or Apple dominate the global internet market. Competition law is not enough to prevent abuse of power. The Commission therefore presented a law for digital services, the Digital Markets Act (DMA), last December. The law aims to prevent operators of large online platforms from restricting competition or imposing unfair conditions.

Imports from third countries with low climate protection standards are jeopardising the competitiveness of companies in the EU. The Commission therefore wants to introduce a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) that would make imports from countries with lax standards, such as Russia, more expensive. The amount of the levy is to correspond to the price of EU emissions trading ("notional ETS").

Cyber attacks increasingly threaten the security of companies in the European Union, in particular, energy suppliers, oil pipelines and hospitals. The EU Commission therefore wants to improve the level of cyber security, especially for critical infrastructures, and tighten reporting requirements.

The COVID pandemic has led to shortages of critical medicines and medical devices in the European Union. For this reason, the EU Commission wants to reduce deficits in the exchange between the EU Medicines Agency (EMA) and the Member States as well as companies and to strengthen the EMA's competences. The Centrum für Europäische Politik (cep) has analysed the EU proposal for a reliable crisis preparedness system.

Cyberattacks increasingly threaten financial institutions in the European Union. The EU Commission therefore wants to foster the stability and security of the European financial sector and its financial institutions such as banks, insurance undertakings or trading venues by means of a new Regulation. The Freiburg think tank Centrum für Europäische Politik has examined the Commission's plans in a cepPolicyBrief.

The European Union wants to strengthen consumer rights across borders by 2025. This includes a reform of the Package Travel Directive as part of a new EU consumer agenda. During the corona pandemic, travel providers often compensated customers for cancelled package tours only with vouchers. The Centrum für Europäische Politik has examined the new EU consumer agenda in a policy brief.

The European Union wants to reduce CO₂ emissions to zero by 2050. The transport sector shall also make a greater contribution to this. With its "Sustainable Mobility Strategy", the EU Commission is counting on a further tightening of CO₂ limits for passenger cars, vans and trucks. For the first time, the EU Commission is also considering the use of an emissions trading scheme (ETS) for road transport.

Parallel trade in medicines is causing problems in the EU internal market. Traders from Member States with high price levels buy medicines in low-price Member States in order to sell them cheaper in their country of origin and thus gain market advantages. The Centre for European Policy (cep) has studied these problems and described theoretical solutions.

The EU Commission wants to check companies from third countries more strictly for prohibited state aid. The focus is especially on China. On 05 May 2021 the EU Commission presented a new regulation. The Centre for European Policy calls on Brussels to act uniformly.

Crises and ruptures are increasingly showing the European Union the limits of its own ability to act. The EU Commission is therefore striving for a more self-confident role for Europe in the world with "open strategic autonomy". The Centre for European Policy (cep) has critically analysed this plan.