Latest news with #EUreforms
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
The Irish Times view on the EU summit: leaders must focus on blockages to growth
EU Council meetings no longer have the drama associated with the most acute phase of the euro zone debt crisis over 2011 and 2012, but they are once again assuming a similar level of importance. EU institutional reforms over the past decade have provided it with enough ballast to ensure that the 27-member union will not collapse due to a sudden shock. But there are legitimate concerns about its long-term viability unless further deep-rooted reforms are implemented. Top of the agenda at this week's summit is deepening the single market, the rules which are designed to allow the free movement of goods, services, capital and people. On January 1st, 1993, the White Paper on the Completion of the Single Market was launched. It was a remarkable project and much has been done. But 32 years later, many of the recommendations and objectives in the White Paper remain theoretical concepts. When faced with a choice of breaking down internal barriers to a single market or caving in to national and sectoral interests, member states have too often chosen the latter. Barriers to trade and investment remain buried in national rules and regulations and key parts of the plan for banking union have still to be implemented, damaging investment and disadvantaging consumers. READ MORE Europe has relied heavily on exporting beyond its own shores. But protectionism is on the rise since Donald Trump embarked on his second term as US president. Globalisation has reached an impasse and may be replaced by more regionalisation. This means that the EU can no longer rely to the same extent on export-led growth. It must build its level of self-sufficiency. A crucial starting point is unleashing the potential of the Single Market. A fully functioning European economy is the underpinning of a robust EU and this is important politically as well as economically. There are encouraging signs that EU leaders are cognisant of these challenges. Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, has upended the country's economic orthodoxy by scrapping the national debt brake and pledging hundreds of billions in investment in the domestic economy. There is a general acceptance of the direction of the economic reports drawn up by former Italian prime ministers Mario Draghi and Enrico Letta. The commission has drawn up a strategy plan on the Single Market, which is up for discussion. But the challenge is to take action. EU leaders have a lot on their plate, including urgent political and foreign affairs issues and tariff talks with the US. It is all too easy to get preoccupied with today's issues and Trump's tariff threats. But EU growth has been lacklustre and Europe lags behind in too many areas of innovation and technology. The EU needs to move ahead quickly to improve its own economic foundations.
Forbes
31-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Key Dates To Watch In EU Debate On Sustainability Reporting
European Union flags in front of the blurred European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium The requirements for sustainability reporting in the European Union are on the verge of being reduced as legislators consider sweeping changes to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. The Commission proposed reforms in the Omnibus Simplification Package. Now, those proposals are being debated in the Parliament and Council in anticipation of final approval by the end of 2025. However, with so many moving parts, it is difficult to keep track of when important votes may happen. Reforms to the CSDDD, also known as the CS3D, and the CSRD were proposed by the Commission in February, then sent to the Council and the Parliament for approval. The Council's deliberations are mostly behind closed doors. In the Parliament, the debate is public and working through multiple committees, giving interest parties and MEPs the opportunity to voice their opinions. The Parliament's Committee on Legal Affairs, known as JURI, is the primary committee that will produce the legislation that will be sent to the full Parliament for a vote. However, related committees will draft opinions to be considered during the process. Both the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, known as ECON, and the Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety, known as ENVI, posted amendments proposed by their respective members. ECON received 514 proposed amendments while ENVI received 473. Other committees that will be drafting opinions are Foreign Affairs, known as AFET, International Trade, known as INTA, and Employment and Social Affairs, known as EMPL. While AFET and INTA have not released any documents, EMPL has posted their draft opinion with 49 proposed amendments. Below are important dates to watch in the legislative process. The most important committee to follow will be JURI. June 3 - 5: Committee meetings for JURI, ECON, ENVI, EMPL, and AFET. For now, the Omnibus is not on the agenda for JURI. However, June 4 is the anticipated date for JURI to release the amendments proposed by committee members. EMPL will meet and vote on their draft opinion on June 4. EMPL members have until June 3 to offer amendments. ECON will meet and vote on their proposed amendments on June 4. With 514 proposed amendments, it is unclear how the committee will approach the opinion. The agendas for AFET, ECON, and ENVI do not include the omnibus. June 23 - 26: Committee meetings for JURI, ECON, ENVI, EMPL, AFET, INTA. June 27: Deadline for political groups to offer amendments. Following the deadline for amendments, the Parliament will enter into intergroup negotiations. These are 'informal exchanges' organized by the chairs of the political groups to allow MEPs to discuss proposals. July 14 - 15, September 1, and September 22 - 23: JURI Committee meetings. October 13: This is final regular JURI Committee meeting and the anticipated date that the Parliament will make their final vote on the Omnibus. October - December: Trilogue. Following the vote of the Parliament, designated representatives from the Parliament, Council, and Commission will enter into "trilogue" negotiations. The proposals from each of the three bodies will vary. The trilogue will negotiate the differences to produce a final directive. That directive will be sent to the Council and Parliament for a final vote. October 31: EFRAG will submit revised European Sustainability Reporting Standards to the Commission. These standards will be adopted by the Commission after the final passage of the omnibus. December: Final vote in Council and Parliament. The Commission is pushing hard for the Omnibus Simplification Package to be adopted by the end of 2025. However, there is a possibility it spills over into early 2026.
Irish Times
23-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Ireland U-turns to oppose EU pharma reforms after intense lobbying
Ireland has pivoted to oppose contentious European Union reforms aimed at broadening access to new drugs and medicines, following a blitz of lobbying from big pharmaceutical companies over recent months. The proposed reforms would cut back a current eight-year window pharma companies have to exclusively sell new drugs they produce, before cheaper generic competitors enter the market. Taoiseach Micheál Martin , Ministers and senior civil servants have all been on the receiving end of a significant push from the pharma sector, to get Ireland to adopt a pro-industry position in the EU debate. Irish health officials had been keen on the reforms improving access to new drugs. Allowing generic drugmakers into the market earlier would potentially result in cheaper prices for the Health Service Executive when buying medicines for public patients. READ MORE Speaking on Thursday, Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke confirmed the Government had shifted its stance. It now 'accepted' companies should retain the current eight years of market dominance over new drugs they developed, he said. This means Ireland has joined Denmark, Germany, Italy, Sweden and several other EU countries who support the pharma industry's position, heading into a vote in Brussels in the coming weeks. A compromise that would encourage companies to conduct more clinical trials in EU states, to earn back one lost year of protection from generic rivals, is the other option on the table in the vote. The original idea was to allow companies win back extra years of 'protection' over their research and data from clinical trials if they rolled out new drugs across the EU more quickly. [ US tariffs on pharmaceuticals risk shortages of lower-cost generic drugs Opens in new window ] Pharmaceutical firms staunchly oppose the proposals, which they claimed would make companies less likely to develop new medicines in Europe. Several pharma giants based in Ireland, such as Pfizer , Eli Lilly , Novo Nordisk and Johnson & Johnson (J&J), stepped up pressure on the Government to back the industry line, new logs of lobbying disclosures show. Much of the lobbying focused on getting the ear of Mr Martin and Department of the Taoiseach secretary general John Callinan. Oliver O'Connor, head of the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (IPHA), argued that there were alternative ways to improve access to new medicines, in recent correspondence to several departments. The industry group chief wrote to Mr Martin directly, calling for the Government to take account of the major role the pharma sector played in Europe's economy, lobbying disclosures show. A lobbyist from J&J raised the matter with Robert Watt , Department of Health secretary general, on the margins of a think tank event in Dublin earlier this year. The pharma firm followed up in writing afterwards, making the case for 'protecting' the existing system. When the new Government was formed both Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and Mr Burke got letters of congratulations from the head of J&J's Irish operations, Michaela Hagenhofer. The US pharma company asked that support for companies' intellectual property rights 'be reflected' in Ireland's position at the European level, according to filings disclosing the lobbying. Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk , which makes the blockbuster weight-loss drug Ozempic , also made representations. The head of Novo Nordisk's Irish operation, Nina Therese Hovland, lobbied Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe at a dinner hosted by consulting firm EY . United States president Donald Trump 's threat of coming trade tariffs on pharmaceutical imports has put pressure on the Government to signal it supports the sector, which is a major employer and corporate tax contributor. Mr Martin met a delegation representing the Irish and European pharma industry in Government Buildings in mid-April. Lobbying logs show the meeting discussed trade tariffs and the EU reforms.
Irish Times
22-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Government pivots to back pharma industry position in proposed EU reforms
The Government has changed position and decided to row in behind the pharmaceutical industry to oppose contentious reforms of the sector being debated at European Union level, following intense lobbying from pharma companies. Proposed EU reforms would cut a minimum eight-year window companies have to exclusively sell new drugs they produce before cheaper generic competitors can enter the market. Pharmaceutical companies have fiercely opposed any reduction in the minimum eight-year window, where they have 'protection' over their research and data from clinical trials. Ireland had previously sat in a middle camp which supported attaching some conditions to the length of this period in a bid to improve access to new medicines in smaller and poorer EU states. READ MORE Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke said the Government now supports the position pushed by the pharmaceutical industry that there should be no change. 'We are prepared to accept eight years,' he said in Brussels on Thursday. The industry has waged a large lobbying campaign over recent years , to oppose the attempt to change the current system. Other countries with big pharma sectors, such as Germany, Denmark and Italy, have also backed the industry position. Industry executives had argued the proposed changes would discourage companies from investing in research to develop new products, as they would have less certainty about making their money back afterwards. Mr Burke said the Government recognised there was a need to strike a balance between improving access to medicines and supporting companies, to ensure a strong 'pipeline' of new drugs being produced. There needed to be 'certainty' for the sector, he said. [ US tariff escalation on EU pharma imports during talks would show 'extraordinarily bad faith' - Harris Opens in new window ] Pharma firms had stepped up pressure on the Government in recent months to back up the industry in the EU debate. Industry giants such as Pfizer, MSD, Eli Lilly and Johnson & Johnson all have large manufacturing bases in the Republic, making the sector a big employer and corporate tax contributor. Diplomats from the EU's 27 states debated the proposed reforms at a meeting on Wednesday, which broke up without agreement. A compromise had been tabled that would give companies seven years of protection over their drug research, with the ability to win back an extra year if the medicines addressed some unmet need, or they carried out their clinical trials in at least two EU countries. EU states will vote on whether to support this compromise or leave the number of years companies can exclusively sell new drugs untouched. The European Commission, the EU executive body that proposes laws, first proposed cutting the minimum window of protection from eight to six years, with the option to win back time by rolling out the new drugs in all 27 states. The fact Ireland has switched positions will be a big boost to the group of pro-industry countries, who oppose any change to the existing system of regulatory protection. 'It is clear which way the scale is tipping. If Europe wants to be attractive for companies, we need to create the right conditions. The question is how far should we go,' one EU official involved in the negotiations said. The dispute is one element of a much wider overhaul of regulations on the pharma sector, set out in proposed new EU legislation that runs to 700 pages. Fears about looming trade tariffs US president Donald Trump has threatened to introduce on pharmaceutical imports put extra pressure on the Government, to back the industry in the EU negotiations. Pharmaceutical products account for about four fifths of the Republic's €73 billion in annual exports to the US, meaning 25 per cent tariffs on such trade would have big economic consequences for the State.
