"We need to put an urgent stop to conflicts of interests in financial advice

The European Commission is currently reviewing capital market rules through its MiFID II/MiFIR proposal, originally presented in 2021. In the midst of a cost of living crisis, there is no time to wait on any further studies"

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" or strategies from the European Commission to address the poor quality of financial advice given to consumers in Europe. Urgent reforms are needed now to ensure European consumers have access to high quality, unbiased investment advice.

Eero Heinäluoma is MEP in the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats.

If adopted, the MiFID II/MiFIR rules will establish a consolidated tape or a ‘price feed’ for stock trades across the EU’s disparate trading venues. Such a tape should increase transparency and empower investors, including ordinary citizens when investing into Europe’s capital markets.

However, much more is needed, especially considering the current cost of living crisis. Today, more than ever, we need to put the ‘heart’ back into financial services as Mairead McGuinness promised when she took on the job of EU Finance Commissioner. For the S&D Group, the ongoing MIFID II/MiFIR review can only be a success if we completely reform the way financial advice is delivered and ensure a fairer deal for consumers in the EU.

Today, the most common way that financial advisers are remunerated for providing their services to clients is through commission payments that they receive from product providers. Life insurers, pension providers and fund managers often pay out commissions, which can vary depending on the product offered to financial advisers for recommending their financial products to clients.

This commission-based model is highly lucrative for financial advisers. According to a Thematic Review by the European insurance watchdog, asset managers paid a whopping €3.7 billion in monetary incentives to insurers in 2015 for recommending their products to clients. Unfortunately, it is a model that also generates clear conflicts of interests and poor quality financial advice for consumers in the EU, with higher-cost investment products routinely recommended to clients by advisers for the higher commission payments they generate.

External studies from the European Commission published in recent years found clear evidence of the conflicts that are at play. A 2022 study found that that financial products sold with inducements were, on average, 35% more expensive than those without such fees. An earlier 2018 study found that low-cost investment products (such as Exchange-Traded Funds or index funds which pay little to no commissions) were hardly offered by financial advisers in Europe.

As a result, European retail investors often pay far too high a price for the products recommended by their advisers. The European Securities and Markets Authority, for instance, estimates that ordinary retail investors pay, on average, 40% mor

"EU’s draft reuse targets for packaging meets barrage of criticism from industry

A leaked draft of the EU’s new packaging law, seen by EURACTIV, has caused uproar among the industry, which says it risks undermining years of efforts and billions of euros worth of investments into recycling.

The over"

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"haul of the packaging and packaging waste directive, due on 30 November, promises to be far-reaching.

A draft of the proposal, seen by EURACTIV, includes mandatory recycled content targets for plastics, new ecodesign criteria to make products more easily recyclable, as well as a renewed push to put in place deposit return schemes for used items.

The most controversial element, though, is the reuse targets.

According to the draft, which could still change, reusable packaging should be used for:

30% of cold and hot beverages by 2030 and 95% by 2040

20% of takeaway ready-prepared food by 2030 and 75% by 2040

20% of alcoholic beverages (excluding wine and spirits) by 2030 and 75% by 2040

20% of non-alcoholic beverages by 2030 and 75% by 2040

90% of large household appliance deliveries by 2030

‘Not realistic’ and ‘counterproductive’

These targets have caused uproar among packaging manufacturers but also among users of packaging in the retail sector.

The proposed targets are “not realistic” and could even “be counterproductive” by undermining existing recycling schemes, which have taken years to put in place, according to a cross-industry alliance, which has written to the European Commission to express their concerns.

According to UNESDA which represents the soft drinks industry, the draft reuse targets pose an “existential threat to beverage industries and effective existing recycling systems”.

“If imposed, these disproportionate and unjustified high targets would have a deep impact on our respective sectors, also forming an existential threat to our many SMEs,” it says.

“They would furthermore lead to the dismantling of a number of highly effective, existing recycling systems,” the group said in a statement.

Manufacturers of paper-based packaging and cardboard are also alarmed.

An industry alliance of 100 players in the fibre-based packaging value chain has called for an exemption of paper and carboard from reuse targets.

The exemption would be based on life-cycle considerations and “under the condition that recycling ensures a better environmental performance and a high level of consumer protection,” the coalition suggested in a letter to the EU executive.

“The reuse targets for all packaging, regardless of the material used, would negatively impact the environment, disrupt the competitiveness of the internal and global market, and pose a significant threat to the fibre packaging industry,” the group told the European Commission.

Recycling cannot meet 100% of demand for packaging, EU official cautions

While the European Commission aims to encourage the use of recycled materials in its upcoming packaging law, it also recognises tha

"EU heavyweight countries’ last-minute push for ex-ante checks on online marketplaces

A blocking minority of member states want to mandate online marketplaces to carry out random checks before products are launched, according to a non-paper dated 11 November and obtained by EURACTIV.

The non-paper "

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END AD---"

"is an initiative from Spain and gathered the support of France, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Portugal. Together, the six countries can form a blocking minority, as they make up more than half of the EU’s total population.

The member states put forth a ‘legally sound’ text on the product safety obligations for online marketplaces in the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) and how these will interact with the Digital Services Act (DSA). The GPSR is currently being negotiated in trilogue with the European Parliament and Commission.

The DSA is recently adopted EU regulation that introduces horizontal rules for all economic actors in the internet economy, from content moderation to illegal products. These due diligence obligations entail that online marketplaces are bound to undertake reasonable efforts to check if the content or products on their platform is illegal, including via random checks.

As the DSA is horizontal, it allows for sectorial legislation to go further in specific domains. Online marketplaces include e-commerce platforms like Amazon and eBay and peer-to-peer systems like Facebook marketplace.

While the DSA requires these random checks to occur after the products are made available on the market (ex-post), the six countries want these checks to occur before the market launch (ex-ante). The vetting would be carried out automatically against publicly available lists of dangerous products, notably the EU’s rapid alert system Safety Gate.

“Unlike certain other types of illegal content, the identification of offers of dangerous products does not require any substantive analysis nor subjective judgements by providers of online marketplaces, being sufficient the verification that they are not listed in official freely accessible and machine-readable online databases or online interfaces,” the non-paper reads.

Since cross-checking happens automatically, the six countries consider it would be quick and proportionate to the need to tackle the issue of dangerous products disseminated online. They also want the Commission to provide guidelines on the practicalities of such random checks.

However, opponents of the proposal point to the fact it would infringe on the right to do business, as randomly selected vendors’ capacity to join the online marketplace could be put on hold based on a database like Safety Gate that might include flaws.

For instance, if a batch of products was defective and taken out of the market, this ex-ante system could work as an upload filter preventing the commercialisation of a new batch in which the defects have been corrected.

“The obligation to make reasonable efforts to carry out ex-ante ra

"Beverage Cartons have a lower carbon footprint compared to packaging alternatives

https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy-environment/infographic/beverage-cartons-have-a-lower-carbon-footprint-compared-to-packaging-alternatives/?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=9715&pnespid=uehmEnkdaP"

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END AD---"

"Off3pbf_y2mgidcs0k1czpwneekmvu39blmlle3ar22z48t26wrqxj1bym21_QPYQ

"

"Digital citizenship: A new proposal for an inclusive future

This article is part of our special report Empowerment and protection: Building digital citizenship in the EU.

A stakeholder-led initiative is pushing for a rethink of inclusion in the digital transformation, focusing on the idea of digit"

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Smooth Radio Malta is Malta’s number one digital radio station, playing Your Relaxing Favourites - Smooth provides a ‘clutter free’ mix, appealing to a core 35-59 audience offering soft adult contemporary classics. We operate a playlist of popular tracks which is updated on a regular basis. https://smooth.com.mt/listen/

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END AD---"

"al citizenship.

In a non-paper, the EU Digital Citizenship Working Group set out five pillars of digital citizenship, recommending policy actions in areas including technology, social engagement, human rights and democratic participation.

The coalition was formed in late 2020 and finished work on its non-paper, ‘Europeans Fit for the Digital Age’, last year. Its membership spans academia, business and civil society, including organisations such as Facebook’s parent company Meta, the Lisbon Council think tank, the NGO European Youth Forum and the Institute for Media Studies.

“For many people, words like ‘digital citizenship’ and ‘digital inclusion are just buzzwords,” said Mark Boris Andrijanič, Slovenia’s former digital minister, at an event held in Brussels earlier this month which gathered the working group’s steering committee. However, action is needed to address the fact that increasingly digitalised societies are not equally advantageous for all groups, he urged.

No digital transformation without digital inclusion, MEP says

Europe’s digital transformation cannot move forward without digital inclusion, MEP Franc Bogovič told the Huawei Connect 2022 conference in Paris on Monday (17 October).

The working group similarly emphasises the differential impacts of the digital transition, which also outlines several critical challenges within the EU regarding digital citizenship.

Aside from inequalities, they also include low quality of citizenship education, the limited reach of technological solutions, too great a dichotomy between on and offline aspects of digital citizenship and slow regulatory movement.

To address these and others, the group devised five pillars on which a revitalised vision of digital citizenship should stand: digital foundations, digital well-being; digital engagement and media literacy; digital empowerment; and digital opportunities.

Its digital citizenship concept focuses on minimising the possible harms of using these technologies and maximising their potential benefits.

Through the digital empowerment pillar, the working group promotes the idea that digital citizenship should include using the digital space for activism and political engagement, with an understanding of how digitalisation might shape democratic processes.

A focus on digital well-being is also at the core of the non-paper, with the group backing increased attention to ensuring that users are resilient and can build healthy and constructive online relationships with each other, an area in which they argue the EU is already “ahead of the curve” when it comes to policy focus.

In terms of digital foundations, the group argues that EU citiz

"Empowerment and protection: Building digital citizenship in the EU

As digital technologies become an integral part of everyday life, from the home to public services, organisations from across society are looking for ways to promote positive citizenship fit for this new context.

In a recently-pub"

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END AD---"

"lished non-paper, a working group gathering researchers, civil society organisations, think tanks and tech companies, including the Lisbon Council, Meta and the European Youth Forum, came together to devise five pillars on which a new concept of digital citizenship could rest.

Spanning well-being, media literacy, digital empowerment and opportunities, the pillars offer starting points for digital policymaking to both equip people with the capabilities to protect themselves in the online world and ensure that its benefits are equally distributed across society.

Digital citizenship: A new proposal for an inclusive future

News | Technology Nov 17, 2022

A stakeholder-led initiative is pushing for a rethink of inclusion in the digital transformation, focusing on the idea of digital citizenship.

Expanded education central to digital wellbeing, says practitioner

Interview | Technology Nov 18, 2022

Digital education must be broader than hard digital skills and break free of the online-offline divide, those working in digital wellbeing have said.

https://www.euractiv.com/section/digital/special_report/empowerment-and-protection-building-digital-citizenship-in-the-eu/?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=9715&pnespid=qKdgCDteb6RF2vzE_y_pSs2DvAm3UcV6KLS10_dttg9mHUswupToy3uOOwgEgAmhQOZTdoKW6w

"

"Member states start scrutinising EU’s emergency instrument SMEI

Welcome to EURACTIV’s weekly Economy Brief. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.

Many, mainly small to mid-sized EU countries, are sceptical of the Single Market Emergency Instrument (SMEI) meant to help the bloc secure essential"

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END AD---"

" supply chains in times of crises.

The instrument was proposed in September, so many member states have yet to formulate a definite position. However, multiple EU sources confirmed to EURACTIV that up to 20 member states were sceptical of the European Commission’s proposal.

Already at the end of September, a lot of EU member state ministers had voiced concerns in their initial reactions, worrying that the Commission may have overreached in its ambition and that a crisis was difficult to define.

A recent position paper by Luxembourg, seen by EURACTIV, harshly criticised the Commission’s proposal, putting into question its relevance, its added value, and even the legal basis for the regulation.

“The provisions of the proposal seem to explicitly authorise – and even invite – the member states to introduce Single Market barriers during times of crisis,” the Luxembourgish position paper said.

“Its provisions would flaw the fundamental freedoms of the [EU] Treaty by adding additional derogations,” the paper added.

This casts doubt on the Commission’s central argument, which claimed that the purpose of the regulation was exactly the opposite, namely to ensure a functioning Single Market even during emergencies.

Not all member states were as harsh as Luxembourg in their evaluation, however. Some governments agree with the idea behind the SMEI but worry about the administrative burden it could impose on businesses.

“We absolutely support the direction of the concept,” the Irish minister of state for trade promotion, Dara Calleary, said in a meeting with journalists last week.

“But as in any negotiation at the EU level, we will have input into that discussion reflecting the interests of an open economy and small country like ourselves,” he added.

More specifically, the Irish department of enterprise, trade and employment told EURACTIV: “While seeking to ensure the Single Market functions well during a crisis, we must be wary of unintended consequences that may damage the competitiveness of the Market.”

Discussions among member states are still at the very beginning. Over the coming months, the instrument that many see as a brainchild of large member states like France, can expect a lot of criticism from small EU countries, afraid of new trade barriers.

Next week, member state negotiators will sit down to discuss the legal basis of the regulation.

Chart of the Week

How much does the EU value education? Around 5%, apparently. On average, one-twentieth of the EU’s economic output is invested in education. And this figure has been remarkably steady over time. In 1995, the EU average was at 4.9% of GDP and since then, the figure moved between 4

"Berlin to create dedicated electricity price subsidy for heat pumps

To meet the German target of six million heat pumps by 2030, upcoming government support for consumer gas and electricity bills will include a special provision for heat pumps so as not to upset those who already invested in them.

"

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END AD---"

"

Heat pumps are a key clean heating technology and use electricity to concentrate ambient heat. The German government wants 500,000 a year installed between 2024 and 2030, resulting in a total of six million- bold numbers that require additional consideration to nurture the budding market/

“In the electricity price brake, we will create a special allowance for heat pumps that were installed in 2022,” explained Germany’s Robert Habeck, the green minister of economy and climate action, on 16 November following a heat pump summit in Berlin.

Faced with record energy prices, the German government is planning to ease the burden on households – which threatens to disadvantage the 230,000 heat pumps already installed.

While the exact details are subject to last-minute deliberations in Berlin, a block tariff of €0.4 per kilowatt-hour of electricity from January and €0.12 per kWh of fossil gas from spring applying to 80% of consumption in the previous year appears guaranteed – the entire consumer support scheme has a price tag of approximately €66 billion.

Households that switched to a heat pump would miss out on the gas government support, despite their greater efficiency, while consuming more electricity than in previous years.

“If you installed a heat pump, saving and consuming correspondingly more electricity, then, according to the logic, you would be punished for what is actually politically intended behaviour,” Habeck explains.

The finer details of when the government energy bill support should come into effect are not yet known due to ministerial disagreements, but the exception appears to be guaranteed.

“For those people, that is for the [new] 230,000 heat pump owners, for them there will be a special provision in the Act that takes that into account,” Habeck stressed.

One figure making the rounds in Berlin is a €0.27 tariff per kWh, adding to the favourable conditions the government created to foster the nascent heat pump industry.

Germany is already the country with the “most favourable” subsidy landscape in Europe, Jan Brockmann, of heating industry association BDH, noted, speaking alongside Habeck.

Boost for Germany’s heat pump makers as industrial policy meets climate action

The heat pump industry, the new darling of the German government, must grow rapidly to achieve the 2024 target of beginning the installation of 500,000 pumps a year, which Berlin is happy to assist in.

[Edited by Alice Taylor]

https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy-environment/news/berlin-to-create-dedicated-electricity-price-subsidy-for-heat-pumps/?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=9715&pnespid=r7duDXUeMb1LwaPM_GzsH8uJrRivXZ5zKuKm3vQ4qBlmxV

"Tackling the issue of marine litter in the Mediterranean

This article is part of our special report Climate change in the Mediterranean.

The Mediterranean basin is home to a great diversity of flora and fauna, and is recognised as a ‘biodiversity hotspot‘ by conservation groups, who warn 19% of sp"

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"ecies are now threatened with extinction because of pressure exerted by human activity.

The Mediterranean region is home to 15,000 to 25,000 varieties of flora, 60% of which are unique to this area, while a third of its fauna is endemic.

However, the over-exploitation of resources, invasive alien species, human disturbance and pollution are posing a major risk to the richness and diversity of its ecosystem.

Marine litter, especially plastic, plays an important role in this. According to UN estimates, 730 tonnes of plastic waste are dumped in the Mediterranean every day. Plastics – in particular single-use plastics – account for 95-100% of total floating litter, and more than 50% of seabed litter.

“The threat of climate change is closely interlinked with a marine litter one,” explained Thomais Vlachogianni, an environmental chemist and ecotoxicologist who spoke on Wednesday (16 November) during a conference hosted at the COP27’s Mediterranean pavilion.

According to Vlachogianni, extreme weather such as floods and storms will lead to increased inputs of litter into the marine environment. Rising temperatures also enhance the breakdown of litter in microplastics and encourages the spread of invasive alien species, he added.

“Invasive alien species are one of the most important pressures to biodiversity in the Mediterranean,” Vlachogianni pointed out. Indeed, plastics persist for a very long time and therefore have a much greater potential of carrying organisms across seas and oceans compared to driftwood and natural materials, he remarked.

And while new technologies are being tested to prevent waste or help with clean-up operations, social innovations are “the answer to the problem,” especially in marine protected areas, the scientist said.

“We’re talking about actions on the ground,” she explained, saying these “are less resource intensive” than technological solutions that may require infrastructure and extensive studies before they can be deployed.

The scientist, who works at the Mediterranean information office for environment, culture and sustainable development (MIO-ECSDE), provided examples of social innovation that have been successfully implemented by her organisation.

In the tourism sector for instance, business networks have been created to phase out single-use plastics. MIO-ECSDE also worked with the fisheries and aquaculture sector in order to improve disposal of fishing gear and nets.

“This was one solution tested and it seems to work really well,” she said. “And it seems to be very well received by fishermen and act actually as a way also to raise their awareness on the broader topic of marine litter, and how this impac

"EU, G20 countries to help finance Indonesia’s coal phase-out

The EU and several G20 governments pledged $20 billion to help Indonesia phase out coal, its main energy source, according to a joint declaration signed on the sidelines of the G20 summit Tuesday (15 November).

Indonesia, together with t"

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"he EU and the International Partners Group (IPG), co-led by the US and Japan, and including Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, and the UK, launched the Just Transition Partnership to help Indonesia phase out coal amid the G20 summit on Tuesday.

“This is the first time that the G20 has taken such a clear position on the exit from coal,” French President Emmanuel Macron told G20 leaders on Wednesday.

The non-binding deal was struck at the same time as state representatives attended climate talks at COP27 in Egypt, which is set to end on Friday.

In 2021, an $8.5 billion deal was announced at last year’s COP26 to help South Africa drop its reliance on coal.

Macron calls to 'pressure' rich non-European states at COP27

French President Emmanuel Macron wants to put pressure on China and the US to help poor countries that suffer the greatest consequences of climate change, the president said at the start of the COP27 summit in Sharm-el-Sheikh on Sunday.

EU backing

Indonesia currently relies most heavily on coal for its energy consumption (37%), with its coal production growing by 105% over the past decade.

However, under the Just Transition Partnership, Indonesia intends to reduce its dependence on coal resources earlier than previously announced.

According to the deal, it has pledged to bring forth carbon neutrality for its power sector by 10 years. The same goes for the year it pledged to achieve peak emissions for the sector, winding back its goal to 2030 – seven years earlier than previously announced.

At the same time, the deal states that Indonesia will reduce peak emission levels for its electricity sector by 19%, from 357 million tonnes of CO2 to 290 million tonnes emitted over the year – requiring the government to reduce subsidies for coal supply, or even reserve them for the development of low-carbon energy.

To show Indonesia’s commitment, President Joko Widodo is expected to issue a decree in the next few days that aims to double the rate of renewable deployment to at least 34% of the electricity mix by 2030.

“They will be the ones reaping the benefits of the transformation of their economy, as Indonesia becomes a renewables hub,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen following the announcement.

The EU is investing €4 billion in renewable energy worldwide as part of the Global Gateway to develop new infrastructure in developing countries, the Commission chief said on Twitter.

Italy’s Meloni calls for global energy market reform at G20

The world’s energy sector needs to be reformed to prevent countries from using energy as a weapon, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said at the G20 summit i