EUROGROUP,COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION update

 

Press material Wednesday 18 October 2023

● Eurogroup   18/10/2023 19:57 | Statements and remarks | Statement by the Eurogroup on the decision of the ECB’s Governing Council to launch the next phase of the digital euro project   The Eurogroup has been regularly engaging in a dialogue with the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Commission regarding the digital euro. We issued a statement in January 2023 summarising the key political dimensions of a digital euro arising from our discussions, thereby supporting the work carried out by the Eurosystem and the Commission, in full respect of the institutional roles and mandates of all actors involved. We continued our regular exchanges on the political dimension of a digital euro throughout this year. Last June, we welcomed the publication of the Commissions’ Single Currency Package which is now being discussed by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union as co-legislators. Today, we reach another milestone as the Eurosystem has concluded its investigation phase. We welcome the decision of the ECB’s Governing Council to proceed to the next phase of the project during which the Eurosystem will further explore and test design aspects and functionalities of a digital euro. This preparation phase does not prejudge a future decision on the possible issuance of a digital euro, which would only come at a later stage and would necessarily depend on the EU legislative developments. In parallel to the legislative deliberations by the EU co-legislators and the continued preparatory work within the Eurosystem, the Eurogroup will continue to play an active role in providing a complementary political strategic anchor to the future work

Press material Thursday 19 October 2023

● Council of the EU   19/10/2023 09:27 | Press release | Council appoints Claudia Buch as head of the ECB supervisory board   The Council today adopted a decision appointing Claudia Buch as chair of the supervisory board of the European Central Bank. She will hold the position for five years, starting from 1 January 2024. Claudia Buch, who is currently vice-president of the Deutsche Bundesbank, will replace Andrea Enria, who was chair from 1 January 2019. The ECB has direct oversight of the most significant banks under the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM). Currently, 109 banks are under the ECB's direct supervision. The banks are either the largest in their home country, or which have assets of more than €30 billion in total assets or have substantial cross-border operations. These banks hold almost 82% of banking assets in these countries. As a supervisor, the ECB works to closely monitor the health and integrity of the European banking system. It has the authority to carry out inspections to check banks' compliance with EU rules, demand banks set aside additional capital to mitigate risks and can even withdraw banking licenses. The ECB's proposal for Claudia Buch's appointment was approved by the European Parliament on 3 October 2023. CV of Claudia Buch Council implementing decision on the appointment of the Chair of the ECB Supervisory Board Meetings Wednesday 18 October 2023   ● Council of the EU   18/10/2023 15:49 | MEETING | Agenda highlights - 20th meeting of the EU - Kazakhstan Cooperation Council, 23 October 2023   The Cooperation Council will discuss the state of play and next steps of the EU-Kazakhstan Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. It will then exchange views on political, economic and trade matters (including internal reforms, rule of law and human rights, efforts to address sanction circumvention, cooperation facility, critical raw materials and sustainable connectivity) and cooperation. The delegations will also touch on regional and international developments and cooperation, Global Gateway Team Europe Initiatives and security.

Meetings Wednesday 18 October 2023

● Council of the EU   18/10/2023 15:40 | MEETING | Agenda highlights - Foreign Affairs Council, 23 October 2023   The Foreign Affairs Council will exchange views on the Russian aggression against Ukraine, the situation in Armenia/Azerbaijan, and the situation in Israel and in the region. Ministers will also be informed about current affairs. The formal Foreign Affairs Council will be followed by the 19th EU-Central Asia ministerial meeting.

Meetings Wednesday 18 October 2023

● Council of the EU   18/10/2023 11:29 | MEETING | Background brief - Justice and Home Affairs Council, 19 and 20 October 2023   Background brief - Justice and Home Affairs Council, 19 and 20 October 2023

Meetings Tuesday 17 October 2023

● Council of the EU   17/10/2023 18:51 | MEETING | Main results - Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council (Energy), 17 October 2023   The Council reached a general approach on a proposal to amend the EU’s electricity market design rules. The proposal aims to make electricity prices less dependent on volatile fossil fuel prices and shield consumers from price spikes, notably by improving the way the long-term electricity market works.

Meetings Tuesday 17 October 2023

● Council of the EU   17/10/2023 16:09 | MEETING | Main results - Economic and Financial Affairs Council, 17 October 2023   The Council took stock of progress made on the reform of the economic governance framework. Ministers exchanged views on the economic and financial impact of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. The Council approved conclusions on climate finance and on the revision of the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes. It adopted implementing decisions approving modified recovery and resilience plans. The Council adopted a directive on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation.

Press material Tuesday 17 October 2023

● Council of the EU   17/10/2023 15:21 | Press release | Climate finance: Council approves conclusions ahead of COP 28   Today, the Council approved conclusions on climate finance ahead of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meeting in Dubai, UAE, from 30 November to 12 December 2023 (COP 28). In its conclusions, the Council underlines its strong commitment to deliver on climate finance. The EU and its member states are the world’s largest contributor to international public climate finance, and since 2013 have more than doubled their contribution to climate finance to support developing countries. As in previous years, the conclusions do not yet include the figure of the EU contribution in 2022. It will be made available by the Commission mid-November, to be confirmed by the Council separately, in time before the start of COP 28. The Council will also underline that the EU and its member states are committed to the goal of developed countries to collectively mobilise USD 100 billion per year in climate finance until 2025. They expect this goal to be met in 2023 for the first time. Background The main agenda items of COP 28 are expected to be: the Global Stocktake the Mitigation Work Programme the Global Goal on Adaptation climate finance, including financial arrangements for Loss and Damage Every year, the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meets to determine ambition and responsibilities, and identify and assess climate measures. The EU and its member states are parties to the Convention, which has 198 Parties (197 countries plus the European Union) in total. The rotating presidency of the Council, together with the European Commission, represent the EU at these international climate summits. On 16 October, the Council approved conclusions that set the general mandate for the EU's negotiators at the COP 28 climate conference. The conclusions approved today aim to complement the EU’s general mandate. Council conclusions on international Climate finance, 17 October 2023 COP 28 website Financing the climate transition (background information) COP28: Council sets out EU position for UN climate summit in Dubai (press release, 16 October 2023) Climate change: what the EU is doing (background information) Climate goals and the EUʼs external policy (background information)

Press material Tuesday 17 October 2023

● Council of the EU   17/10/2023 13:52 | Press release | Taxation: Antigua and Barbuda, Belize and Seychelles added to EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes   Today, the Council decided to add Antigua and Barbuda, Belize and Seychelles to the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes. At the same time, three jurisdictions were removed from the list: British Virgin Islands, Costa Rica and Marshall Islands. With these updates, the EU list consists of the following 16 jurisdictions: American Samoa Antigua and Barbuda Anguilla Bahamas Belize Fiji Guam Palau Panama Russia Samoa Seychelles Trinidad and Tobago Turks and Caicos Islands US Virgin Islands Vanuatu The Council regrets that these jurisdictions are not yet cooperative on tax matters and invites them to improve their legal framework in order to resolve the identified issues. Changes to the list This EU list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions (Annex I) includes countries that either have not engaged in a constructive dialogue with the EU on tax governance or have failed to deliver on their commitments to implement the necessary reforms. Those reforms should aim to comply with a set of objective tax good governance criteria, which include tax transparency, fair taxation and implementation of international standards designed to prevent tax base erosion and profit shifting. The code of conduct group (business taxation), the Council body which prepares the updates of the list, is cooperating closely with international bodies such as the OECD Forum on Harmful Tax Practices (FHTP) to promote tax good governance worldwide. In this round of the EU list update, the Council added three jurisdictions to the list: Antigua and Barbuda, Belize and Seychelles. All three jurisdictions were found to be lacking with regard to the exchange of tax information on request (criterion 1.2). British Virgin Islands was removed from the list as it has amended its framework on exchange of information on request (criterion 1.2) and will be reassessed in accordance with the OECD standard. Pending this reassessment this jurisdiction has been included in Annex II. Costa Rica was delisted because it has amended the harmful aspects of its foreign source income exemption regime (criterion 2.1). Marshall Islands was delisted as it has made significant progress in enforcement of economic substance requirements (criterion 2.2). State of play document (Annex II) In addition to the list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions, the Council approved the usual state of play document (Annex II) which reflects the ongoing EU cooperation with its international partners and the commitments of these countries to reform their legislation to adhere to agreed tax good governance standards. Its purpose is to recognise ongoing constructive work in the field of taxation, and to encourage the positive approach taken by cooperative jurisdictions to implement tax good governance principles. Four jurisdictions were removed from the state of play document (Annex II). Jordan and Qatar fulfilled their commitments by amending a harmful tax regime. Montserrat and Thailand fulfilled all their pending commitments related to country-by-country reporting of taxes paid. Background The EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes was established in December 2017. It is part of the EU’s external strategy on taxation and aims to contribute to ongoing efforts to promote tax good governance worldwide. Jurisdictions are assessed on the basis of a set of criteria laid down by the Council. These criteria cover tax transparency, fair taxation and implementation of international standards designed to prevent tax base erosion and profit shifting. The chair of the code of conduct group conducts political and procedural dialogues with relevant international organisations and jurisdictions, where necessary. Work on the list is a dynamic process. Since 2020, the Council updates the list twice a year. The next revision of the list is scheduled for February 2024. The list is set out in Annex I of the Council conclusions on the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes. The conclusions also include a state-of-play document (Annex II) identifying cooperative jurisdictions which have made further improvements to their tax policies or related cooperation. The Council’s decisions are prepared by the Council's code of conduct group which is also responsible for monitoring tax measures in the EU member states. Council conclusions on the revised EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions (background information) Code of Conduct Group (Business Taxation)

Meetings Tuesday 17 October 2023

● Council of the EU   17/10/2023 12:47 | MEETING | Agenda highlights - Agriculture and Fisheries Council, 23-24 October 2023   Agriculture and fisheries ministers will meet in Luxembourg to discuss fishing opportunities for 2024 in the Baltic Sea, with the aim of reaching a political agreement. Among other topics, ministers will discuss the market situation in light of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, as well as the food-related aspects of the waste framework directive, and the EU’s position for the upcoming meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).

Press material Tuesday 17 October 2023

● Council of the EU   17/10/2023 11:59 | Press release | Council adopts directive to boost cooperation between national taxation authorities (DAC8)   Today, the Council adopted a directive amending EU rules on administrative cooperation in the area of taxation. The amendments mainly concern the reporting and automatic exchange of information on revenues from transactions in crypto-assets and on advance tax rulings for the wealthiest (high-net-worth) individuals. The aim of the Directive is to strengthen the existing legislative framework by enlarging the scope for registration and reporting obligations and overall administrative cooperation of tax administrations. Additional categories of assets and income, such as crypto-assets, will now be covered. There will be a mandatory automatic exchange between tax authorities of information which will have to be provided by reporting crypto-asset service providers. So far, the decentralised nature of crypto-assets has made it difficult for member states’ tax administrations to ensure tax compliance. The inherent cross-border nature of crypto-assets requires strong international administrative cooperation to ensure effective tax collection. This directive covers a broad scope of crypto-assets, building on the definitions that are set out in the regulation on markets in crypto-assets (MiCA). Also those crypto-assets that have been issued in a decentralised manner, as well as stablecoins, including e-money tokens and certain non-fungible tokens (NFTs), are included in the scope. Background and next steps On 7 December 2021, the Council indicated in its report to the European Council on tax issues that it expects the European Commission to table in 2022 a legislative proposal on further revision of the directive 2011/16/EU on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation (DAC), concerning exchange of information on crypto-assets and tax rulings for wealthy individuals. On 8 December 2022 the Commission presented a proposal for a Council directive amending directive 2011/16/EU on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation (DAC8). The key objectives of this legislative proposal are the following: to extend the scope of automatic exchange of information under DAC to information that will have to be reported by crypto-asset service providers on transactions (transfer or exchange) of crypto-assets and e-money. Expanding administrative cooperation to this new area is aimed at helping member states to address the challenges posed by the digitalisation of the economy. The provisions of DAC8 on due diligence procedures, reporting requirements and other rules applicable to reporting crypto-asset service providers will reflect the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) and a set of amendments to the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), which were prepared by the OECD under the mandate of the G20. The G20 endorsed the CARF and the amendments to CRS, both of which it considers to be integral additions to the global standards for automatic exchange of information to extend the scope of the current rules on exchange of tax-relevant information by including provisions on exchange of advance cross-border rulings concerning high-net-worth individuals, as well as provisions on automatic exchange of information on non-custodial dividends and similar revenues, in order to reduce the risks of tax evasion, tax avoidance and tax fraud, as the current provisions of DAC do not cover this type of income to amend a number of other existing provisions of DAC. In particular, the proposal seeks to improve the rules on reporting and communication of the Tax Identification Number (TIN), in order to facilitate the task of tax authorities of identifying the relevant taxpayers and correctly assessing the related taxes, and to amend DAC provisions on penalties that are to be applied by member states to persons for the failure of compliance with national legislation on reporting requirements adopted pursuant to DAC. On 16 May 2023, the Council reached an agreement on its position regarding amendments to the directive. The European Parliament adopted its opinion on the directive 13 September 2023 under the consultation procedure. The directive was adopted by member states in the Council, by unanimity. It will now be published in the Official Journal and enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication. Council directive amending directive 2011/16/EU on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation (DAC8)

Υλικό τύπου Τρίτη 17 Οκτωβρίου 2023

● Συμβούλιο της Ε.Ε   17/10/2023 11:59 | Δελτίο τύπου | Το Συμβούλιο εκδίδει οδηγία για την ενίσχυση της συνεργασίας μεταξύ των εθνικών φορολογικών αρχών (DAC8)   Σήμερα, το Συμβούλιο εξέδωσε οδηγία για την τροποποίηση των κανόνων της ΕΕ για τη διοικητική συνεργασία στον τομέα της φορολογίας. Οι τροποποιήσεις αφορούν κυρίως την υποβολή αναφορών και την αυτόματη ανταλλαγή πληροφοριών σχετικά με τα έσοδα από συναλλαγές σε κρυπτογραφικά περιουσιακά στοιχεία και τις προκαταβολικές φορολογικές αποφάσεις για τα πλουσιότερα άτομα (υψηλής καθαρής αξίας) . Στόχος της Οδηγίας είναι να ενισχύσει το υφιστάμενο νομοθετικό πλαίσιο διευρύνοντας το πεδίο των υποχρεώσεων εγγραφής και υποβολής εκθέσεων και τη συνολική διοικητική συνεργασία των φορολογικών διοικήσεων. Θα καλύπτονται πλέον πρόσθετες κατηγορίες περιουσιακών στοιχείων και εισοδημάτων, όπως τα κρυπτοστοιχεία. Θα υπάρχει υποχρεωτική αυτόματη ανταλλαγή πληροφοριών μεταξύ των φορολογικών αρχών, οι οποίες θα πρέπει να παρέχονται από τους παρόχους υπηρεσιών κρυπτογράφησης στοιχείων ενεργητικού. Μέχρι στιγμής, η αποκεντρωμένη φύση των κρυπτογραφικών περιουσιακών στοιχείων έχει καταστήσει δύσκολο για τις φορολογικές διοικήσεις των κρατών μελών να διασφαλίσουν τη φορολογική συμμόρφωση. Η εγγενής διασυνοριακή φύση των κρυπτο-περιουσιακών στοιχείων απαιτεί ισχυρή διεθνή διοικητική συνεργασία για να διασφαλιστεί η αποτελεσματική είσπραξη φόρων. Η παρούσα οδηγία καλύπτει ένα ευρύ φάσμα κρυπτογραφικών περιουσιακών στοιχείων, βασιζόμενη στους ορισμούς που ορίζονται στον κανονισμό για τις αγορές κρυπτονομισμάτων (MiCA). Επίσης, εκείνα τα κρυπτοστοιχεία που έχουν εκδοθεί με αποκεντρωμένο τρόπο, καθώς και τα σταθερά νομίσματα , συμπεριλαμβανομένων των μάρκων ηλεκτρονικού χρήματος και ορισμένων μη ανταλλάξιμων μάρκες (NFTs), περιλαμβάνονται στο πεδίο εφαρμογής. Ιστορικό και επόμενα βήματα Στις 7 Δεκεμβρίου 2021, το Συμβούλιο ανέφερε στην έκθεσή του προς το Ευρωπαϊκό Συμβούλιο για φορολογικά θέματα ότι αναμένει από την Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή να υποβάλει το 2022 νομοθετική πρόταση για περαιτέρω αναθεώρηση της οδηγίας 2011/16/ΕΕ για τη διοικητική συνεργασία στον τομέα της φορολογίας (DAC), σχετικά με την ανταλλαγή πληροφοριών για τα κρυπτογραφικά περιουσιακά στοιχεία και τις φορολογικές αποφάσεις για πλούσια άτομα. Στις 8 Δεκεμβρίου 2022 η Επιτροπή υπέβαλε πρόταση οδηγίας του Συμβουλίου που τροποποιεί την οδηγία 2011/16/ΕΕ σχετικά με τη διοικητική συνεργασία στον τομέα της φορολογίας ( DAC8 ). Οι βασικοί στόχοι της παρούσας νομοθετικής πρότασης είναι οι εξής: να επεκτείνει το πεδίο της αυτόματης ανταλλαγής πληροφοριών στο πλαίσιο της DAC σε πληροφορίες που θα πρέπει να αναφέρουν οι πάροχοι υπηρεσιών κρυπτονομισμάτων για συναλλαγές (μεταφορά ή ανταλλαγή) κρυπτονομικών περιουσιακών στοιχείων και ηλεκτρονικού χρήματος. Η επέκταση της διοικητικής συνεργασίας σε αυτόν τον νέο τομέα έχει ως στόχο να βοηθήσει τα κράτη μέλη να αντιμετωπίσουν τις προκλήσεις που θέτει η ψηφιοποίηση της οικονομίας. Οι διατάξεις του DAC8 σχετικά με τις διαδικασίες δέουσας επιμέλειας, τις απαιτήσεις αναφοράς και άλλους κανόνες που ισχύουν για τους παρόχους υπηρεσιών κρυπτογράφησης στοιχείων ενεργητικού θα αντικατοπτρίζουν το Πλαίσιο Αναφοράς Κρυπτογραφικών Περιουσιακών Στοιχείων (CARF) και ένα σύνολο τροποποιήσεων στο Κοινό Πρότυπο Αναφοράς (CRS) , που καταρτίστηκαν από τον ΟΟΣΑ υπό την εντολή της G20 . Η G20 ενέκρινε το CARF και τις τροποποιήσεις στο CRS, τις οποίες θεωρεί ότι αποτελούν αναπόσπαστες προσθήκες στα παγκόσμια πρότυπα για την αυτόματη ανταλλαγή πληροφοριών να επεκταθεί το πεδίο εφαρμογής των ισχυόντων κανόνων σχετικά με την ανταλλαγή φορολογικών πληροφοριών με τη συμπερίληψη διατάξεων για την ανταλλαγή προκαταβολικών διασυνοριακών αποφάσεων σχετικά με άτομα υψηλής καθαρής αξίας , καθώς και διατάξεις για την αυτόματη ανταλλαγή πληροφοριών σχετικά με μερίσματα μη θεματοφυλακής και παρόμοια εσόδων , προκειμένου να μειωθούν οι κίνδυνοι φοροδιαφυγής, φοροαποφυγής και φορολογικής απάτης, καθώς οι ισχύουσες διατάξεις της ΕΑΒ δεν καλύπτουν αυτό το είδος εισοδήματος για την τροποποίηση σειράς άλλων υφιστάμενων διατάξεων της ΕΑΒ. Ειδικότερα, η πρόταση επιδιώκει να βελτιώσει τους κανόνες για την αναφορά και την κοινοποίηση του Αριθμού Φορολογικού Μητρώου (ΑΦΜ) , προκειμένου να διευκολυνθεί το έργο των φορολογικών αρχών να εντοπίζουν τους σχετικούς φορολογούμενους και να υπολογίζουν σωστά τους σχετικούς φόρους, και να τροποποιήσει τις διατάξεις της ΕΑΒ για κυρώσεις που πρέπει να επιβάλλονται από τα κράτη μέλη σε πρόσωπα για μη συμμόρφωση με την εθνική νομοθεσία σχετικά με τις απαιτήσεις αναφοράς που έχουν εγκριθεί σύμφωνα με την DAC. Στις 16 Μαΐου 2023, το Συμβούλιο κατέληξε σε συμφωνία σχετικά με τη θέση του σχετικά με τις τροποποιήσεις της οδηγίας. Το Ευρωπαϊκό Κοινοβούλιο εξέδωσε τη γνώμη του για την οδηγία στις 13 Σεπτεμβρίου 2023 στο πλαίσιο της διαδικασίας διαβούλευσης. Η οδηγία εγκρίθηκε από τα κράτη μέλη στο Συμβούλιο, ομόφωνα. Θα δημοσιευθεί πλέον στην Επίσημη Εφημερίδα και θα τεθεί σε ισχύ την εικοστή ημέρα από τη δημοσίευσή του. Οδηγία του Συμβουλίου για την τροποποίηση της οδηγίας 2011/16/ΕΕ για τη διοικητική συνεργασία στον τομέα της φορολογίας (DAC8)

Press material Tuesday 17 October 2023

● Council of the EU   17/10/2023 13:02 | Press release | Recovery fund: Council greenlights updated national plans for Czechia, Spain, Netherlands, Portugal and Slovenia   The Council today adopted implementing decisions approving the amended recovery and resilience plans of Czechia, Spain, Netherlands, Portugal and Slovenia. The amended recovery and resilience plans now include a new REPowerEU chapter. This will contribute to accelerating the countries’ transition towards clean energy, diversifying their energy supplies and improving their energy efficiency. To finance the increased ambition of their plans, the countries have requested to transfer to the plans their share of the Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR), in line with the REPowerEU Regulation. According to the analysis of the Commission, the modifications put forward by the member states do not affect the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and coherence of their recovery and resilience plans. Czechia On 30 June 2023, Czechia submitted its amended recovery and resilience plan, which includes a new REPowerEU chapter. The plan is now worth €9.2 billion (€8.4 in grants and €818 million in loans) and covers 58 reforms and 105 investments. The modified plan has a strong focus on the green transition, devoting 42.9% (up from 42.4% in the original plan) of the available funds to measures that support climate objectives. Czechia's revised plan's digital ambition has increased, thanks to more investments in the cybersecurity of digital public administration systems. The plan now devotes 22.8% (up from the previous 21.4%) of its total allocation to support the country's digital transition. The modified plan's social dimension remains very ambitious. Spain On 6 June 2023, Spain submitted a modified national plan, including a REPowerEU Chapter. The modified plan has a strong focus on the green transition, allocating 40% of available funds to measures that support climate objectives. The Spanish plan's digital ambition and social dimension have also increased. The plan is now worth €163 billion (€83 billion in loans and €80 billion in grants) and covers 111 reforms and 142 investments. Netherlands On 6 July 2023, the Netherlands submitted a modified recovery and resilience plan, including a new REPowerEU chapter. The modified plan has a considerably stronger focus on the green transition, allocating 55% (up from 48% in the original plan) of the available funds to measures that support climate objectives. The level of ambition of the original plan remains unchanged in other areas. The plan is now worth €5.4 billion in grants and covers 22 reforms and 28 investments. Portugal On 26 May 2023, Portugal submitted a modified national recovery and resilience plan, including a REPowerEU chapter. The plan is now worth €22.2 billion in grants and loans and covers 44 reforms and 117 investments. The modified plan has a stronger focus on the green transition, devoting 41.2% (up from 37.9% in the original plan) of the available funds to measures that support climate objectives. Portugal's plan remains ambitious in the digital sphere. It devotes 21.1% of its total allocation to support the digital transition. The modified plan's social dimension remains very ambitious. Slovenia On 14 July 2023, Slovenia submitted its request to amend its recovery and resilience plan, which includes a new REPowerEU chapter. The modified plan has a stronger focus on the green transition, devoting 48.9% (up from 42.5% in the original plan) of the available funds to measures that support climate objectives. Slovenia's plan continues to significantly contribute to the digital transition and its social dimension remains very ambitious. The plan is now worth almost €2.7 billion and covers 34 reforms and 49 investments. Background The recovery and resilience facility (RRF) is the EU’s programme of large-scale financial support in response to the challenges the pandemic has posed to the European economy. It is the centrepiece of NextGenerationEU, a temporary recovery instrument that allows the Commission to raise funds to help repair the immediate economic and social damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. To benefit from the facility’s €724 billion (in current prices), member states submit recovery and resilience plans (RRPs) to the Commission, setting out the reforms and investments they intend to implement by the end of 2026. To date, all RRPs have been approved, 39 payment requests have been received from 22 member states, and €174.7 billion have been disbursed. Regulation 2023/241 as regards REPowerEU chapters, in force since 1 March 2023, increases the RRF financial envelope by €20 billion in new grants. In addition, member states are able to voluntarily transfer up to €5.4 billion from the Brexit Adjustment Reserve to the RRF to finance REPowerEU measures. This comes on top of the existing transfer possibilities of 5% from the cohesion policy funds (up to €17.9 billion). During 2023, it is expected that gradually each of the 27 member states will submit amendments to their national recovery and resilience plans at least once, to access the new REPowerEU grants, to request available loans, or to take into account the updated RRF allocation. Council implementing decision amending the recovery and resilience plan for Czechia Council implementing decision amending the recovery and resilience plan for Spain Council implementing decision amending the recovery and resilience plan for the Netherlands Council implementing decision amending the recovery and resilience plan for Portugal Council implementing decision amending the recovery and resilience plan for Slovenia A recovery plan for Europe (background information) REPowerEU: energy policy in EU countries’ recovery and resilience plans (background information)

Press material Tuesday 17 October 2023

● European Council   17/10/2023 12:52 | Media advisory | REVISED: Press briefing before the US-EU summit of 20 October 2023   The press briefing ahead of the US-EU summit of 20 October 2023 will take place today Tuesday 17 October 2023 at 15.00 (CET). This briefing will be "off the record". The press briefing will take place in virtual format only, via Zoom. To attend the event remotely, please use this link to register and have the possibility to ask questions. EU accredited journalists who already registered for previous high level press events in 2022 and 2023 do not need to do it again. • Deadline for registration: Tuesday 17 October 2023 at 14.00. Further instructions will be sent to all registered participants shortly after the deadline.

Press material Tuesday 17 October 2023

● European Council   17/10/2023 17:47 | Media advisory | Press conference of the extraordinary European Council meeting held by video conference   Indicative programme 17.30 Extraordinary European Council meeting, held by video conference TTBC Press conference by President Michel and President von der Leyen in live streaming Arrangements for the press conference This press conference will take place in a hybrid format: - EU accredited journalists will be able to participate and ask questions either in person at the Justus Lipsius building press room or remotely. - To attend the event remotely, please use this form to register and have the possibility to ask questions. EU accredited journalists who already registered for previous high level press events in 2022 and 2023 do not need to do it again. Deadline: Tuesday 17 October 2023, 18.30 Further instructions will be sent to all registered participants approximately half an hour before the briefing.

Press material Tuesday 17 October 2023

● Council of the EU   17/10/2023 18:06 | Press release | Reform of electricity market design: Council reaches agreement   Today the Council reached an agreement (general approach) on a proposal to amend the EU’s electricity market design (EMD). This will allow the Council presidency to start negotiations with the European Parliament to reach a final agreement. "I am proud to say that today we have taken a strategic step forward for the future of the EU. We have achieved an agreement that would have seen unimaginable only a couple of years ago. Thanks to this agreement, consumers across the EU will be able to benefit from much more stable prices of energy, less dependency on the price of fossil fuels and better protection from future crises. We will also accelerate the deployment of renewables, a cheaper and cleaner source of energy for our citizens." Teresa Ribera Rodríguez, acting Spanish third vice-president of the government and minister for the ecological transition and the demographic challenge The reform aims to make electricity prices less dependent on volatile fossil fuel prices, shield consumers from price spikes, accelerate the deployment of renewable energies and improve consumer protection. The proposal is part of a wider reform of the EU’s electricity market design which also includes a regulation focused on improving the Union’s protection against market manipulation through better monitoring and transparency (REMIT). A general approach on REMIT was agreed during the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council (energy) on 19 June 2023. Long-term electricity markets The reform aims to steady long-term electricity markets by boosting the market for power purchase agreements (PPAs) generalising two-way contracts for difference (CfDs) and improving the liquidity of the forward market. The Council agreed that member states would promote uptake of power purchase agreements, by removing unjustified barriers and disproportionate or discriminatory procedures or charges. Measures may include among other things, state-backed guarantee schemes at market prices, private guarantees, or facilities pooling demand for PPAs. The Council agreed that two-way contracts for difference (long-term contracts concluded by public entities to support investments, which top up the market price when it is low and ask the generator to pay back an amount when the market price is higher than a certain limit, in order to prevent excessive windfall profits) would be the mandatory model used when public funding is involved in long term contracts, with some exceptions. Two-way contracts for difference would apply to investments in new power-generating facilities based on wind energy, solar energy, geothermal energy, hydropower without reservoir and nuclear energy. This would provide predictability and certainty. The rules for two-way CfDs would only apply after a transition period of three years (five years for offshore hybrid asset projects connected to two or more bidding zones) after the entry into force of the regulation, in order to maintain legal certainty for ongoing projects. The Council added flexibility as to how revenues generated by the state through two-way CfDs would be redistributed. Revenues would be redistributed to final customers and they may also be used to finance the costs of the direct price support schemes or investments to reduce electricity costs for final customers. Capacity mechanism Capacity mechanisms are support measures that member states can introduce to remunerate power plants in order to guarantee medium and long-term security of electricity supply. The Council agreed remove the temporary nature of such measures. The Council introduced a derogation from existing requirements regarding CO2 emission limits for generators to receive support from capacity mechanisms, under strict conditions and until 31 December 2028. Member states also concurred that the approval procedures for capacity mechanisms need to be simplified. The Council proposed changes focussing on streamlining the procedure in the current capacity mechanism framework. It also asked the Commission to submit a detailed report assessing further possible ways to simplify the process of applying capacity mechanisms. The report would be followed by proposals for simplifying the process three months after the entry into force of the regulation. Consumer protection The Council introduced clarifications to the provisions on customer protection. It agreed to strengthen consumer protection by establishing a free choice of a supplier and the possibility of accessing dynamic electricity prices, fixed-term, and fixed-price contracts, unless suppliers do not offer fixed contracts and provided that this does not reduce the overall availability of fixed contracts. The Council agreed to stricter rules than previously for suppliers in their price-hedging strategies to shield customers from variations on wholesale markets. It agreed to protect vulnerable customers from disconnections by putting in place ‘supplier of last resort’ systems to ensure the continuity of supply at least for household customers, if such systems do not already exist. It was also agreed that all customers would have the right to energy sharing schemes (using, sharing and storing self-generated energy) and that all consumer rights would be extended to final customers involved in energy-sharing schemes. Affordable energy prices during a crisis Under the current rules, member states can apply regulated prices for energy poor and vulnerable households, and as a transitional measure for households and micro-enterprises whether or not there is an electricity price crisis. The reform adds a temporary option to apply regulated prices, even below cost, to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in times of crisis. Member states strengthened the role of the Council in declaring a temporary regional or Union-wide electricity price crisis. They also amended the conditions for declaring an electricity price crisis so that a crisis may be declared when very high average wholesale electricity prices are expected to last at least for six months, and sharp increases in electricity retail prices are expected to continue for at least three months. The Council agreed that member states may apply a cap on the excessive market revenues from electricity produced from generators with lower marginal costs such as renewables, nuclear and lignite (‘inframarginal generators’) until 30 June 2024, subject to the same conditions as the emergency measure on inframarginal revenues adopted on 6 October 2022.