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Free trade agreement New Zealand-EU approved by European Parliament
On 22 November 2023 the European Parliament approved the free trade agreement between the EU and New Zealand. Now, before entering into force, this agreement should be approved by all the Member states parliaments. As declared: “…“Today is a good day for the EU and global rule-based trade. Our vote is a very clear signal of our commitment to negotiating new EU free trade agreements, of which we have seen too few in this parliamentary term. While we live at different ends of the world, the EU and New Zealand are close, trusted, reliable and like-minded partners. Together, we are driving global rules-based trade forward against the backdrop of a…
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EU, Kenya negotiations for a free trade agreement
According to a press release of EU Parliament: On 19 June 2023, the EU and Kenya concluded negotiations on an economic partnership agreement (EPA); The text of the EPA or FTA (free trade agreement-preferential origin) includes binding provisions on trade and sustainable development; This text must be: a) gone through legal revision; b) submitted for signature and conclusion to the Council; c) signed by EU and Kenya; d) accepted by the EU Parliament; e) ratified by Kenya and the EU Member states. Futhermore, after the consent by the European Parliament, the parties may decide to provisionally apply parts of the agreement
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EU Commission answers to ECA report on AEO: target 2025
The EU Commission prublished the “Replies of the European Commission to the European Court of Auditors special report” about the AEO. The first point underlined by ECA and taken into consideration by the European Commision is that “…ECA concludes that the regulatory framework for the EU AEO programme is generally robust, but it also suggests that more adequate provisions might be needed as regards serious and repeated infringements, consultations between the national customs authorities, the benefit of priority treatment of AEO companies as well as the performance measurement of the AEO programme…”. The Commissions’s answers are: commitment to elaborate further guidance to the national customs authorities on priority treatment…
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Over compensation and aid of State
The State of aid measure has to cover only the proved costs. The measure: should establish in advance in an objective and trasparent way the parameters; has to require a proper account separation for the costs; should consider the difficulty in making the correct calculation lies not only in identifying true costs but also in taking into account the reaction of beneficiaries. The aid of State should be released for the services and business which are not provided or satisfactorily provided by the market. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out a market survey or analysis to establish what the market fails to supply or offer at the required level…
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Guidelines on State aid, hydrogen, synthetic fuels and biofuels
The business relationships in the EU must be compliant with article 107 of Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union which lays down that: “….any aid granted by a Member State…in any form whatsoever which distorts or threatens to distort competition by favouring certain undertakings or the production of certain goods shall, in so far as it affects trade between Member States, be incompatible with the internal market…” and again “…(b) aid to promote the execution of an important project of common European interest or to remedy a serious disturbance in the economy of a Member State; (c) aid to facilitate the development of certain economic activities or of…