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Not so green: European Commission directive for greenwashers

Luxembourg events for March 31 to April 2: pet-friendly weekend

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EU leaders had a formal meeting in Brussels on 24 and 24 March of 2023. The main topics covered the main problems that worry the modern world: the war in Ukraine, the European market and economy, the energy crisis that stressed the countries, and migration topic.

The President of the European Commission, 

, highlighted topics that were covered during a meeting. The first and main prospect — is the fight against climate change and the need to accelerate action right now to limit global warming. The European Union is on track to achieve its targets for climate neutrality by 2050, with greenhouse gas emissions decreasing by 2.5% last year.

The second topic was Ukraine and the situation with Ukrainian children. An initiative has been launched to bring back the children that have been abducted by Russia, and the UN Secretary-General has offered the support of the United Nations agencies.

The third topic is economic and industrial competitiveness, with significant steps being taken to maintain the head-start of the European Union. Negotiations are ongoing with the United States about clean-tech subsidies, critical materials, and leased electric vehicles.

Finally, the fourth topic covered by leaders was the success of the solidarity lanes in enabling Ukraine to export large quantities of grains and other agricultural products, and the need to support the farmers in the front-line states.

Luxembourg's Prime Minister, Xavier Bettel, had a speech there too. He has said that the UN is limited in what it can achieve due to the veto power held by permanent members of the Security Council, including Russia and China. Bettel has called for the Chinese and US Presidents to work together on a joint plan to end the war in Ukraine.

While Russia may prefer a proposal backed by China, Bettel thinks a joint plan with the US would carry more weight. Bettel also wants to avoid the emergence of bipolar relations and is clear that nuclear power is «neither sustainable, safe, nor quick to build».

European Comission

Results of the Brussels meeting of leaders: what worries the EU

The European Commission has made some concessions in an attempt to resolve disagreements with European Union states over the law banning cars with internal combustion engines. A special new category will be created for vehicles that will be sold after 2035 when the directive will be adopted.

Following long and intensive negotiations, EU countries and the European Parliament just recently agreed on a law that would prohibit the use of internal combustion engines for the production of new cars in the EU from 2035. This step is an important point toward carbon emission limits, set by the commission in order for humanity to not be totally fried up one summer.

However, a few days before the final decision, the German Ministry of Transport spoke out against it. As we wrote earlier,

 Italian authorities opposed such a reform too, calling it "suicidal"

. And while Italy was planning an alliance with other countries and a boycott, the European Commission worked out a compromise.

The new cars with internal combustion engines would be allowed for sale, as long as such vehicles only run on a carbon-neutral, environmentally friendly fuel.

The European Commission's project proposal, made available by 

 on Tuesday, proposes creating a new category of vehicles. Carbon-neutral vehicles would have to feature technology that would prevent the cars from driving while using fossil fuels, the draft says. For example, a so-called "fuel inducement system", that will prevent the car from starting when running on a fuel that is not environmentally friendly.

Creating such a category would allow automakers to continue selling cars with internal combustion engines after 2035 when a new EU law will limit automobile carbon dioxide emissions.

Reuters

Cars of the future — a compromise by the European Commission

ECB announces an increase in the prime rate

The ECB Governing Council signed a resolution in this regard on Thursday, March 16. From March 22, the three key rates will be higher by 50 basis points.

The prime refinancing operations will have an interest rate of 3.5%, 3.75% for the interest rate on the marginal credit line, and 3% for the deposit line.

The main reason for another raise was the excessively high inflation rate.

 Analysts now expect it to be 5.3% in 2023 and 4.6% even non including energy and food. This is higher than the forecasts made at the end of last year, hence the mechanisms of containment have been activated.

The ECB also notes that the banking sector in the euro area is extremely resilient. The experts assure that financial institutions have sufficient capital and liquidity reserves. This is especially relevant given the recent bank failures in the U.S.

The French opposition, after all, introduced a motion of no confidence towards Macron's government. Shortly before that, the cabinet had taken advantage of a legislative procedure that allows it to pass a bill without a mandatory vote in parliament.

The decision further ignited an already boiling crowd that has been protesting for two months. In March alone, several hundred thousand people participated in demonstrations and strikes.

 to be implemented by Macron in 2019. There were protests then, too, and the law was postponed, though not because of popular discontent, but because of the outbreak of a pandemic.

The matter of raising the retirement age figured in Macron's election campaign for his second term. Nevertheless, the people of France, one would assume, expected a more coherent dialogue with the authorities.

The retirement age in France remains one of the lowest in Europe. At present (before the adoption of the amendments) the French take a well-deserved retirement at the age of 62. The state spends 14% of its GDP on pensions. Only Greece and Italy have a higher figure.

Obviously, such high costs have a negative impact on the country's economy, however, the libertine French do not seem ready to make amends.

By the way, this is not the first increase in retirement age. The previous one occurred in 2010 and added 2 years to the last figure. The former government also did not make concessions to society, which, with a high degree of probability, prevented Sarkozy's re-election in 2012.

Macron may be a little more liberal in this respect since his presidential term is, in any case, his last. Consequently, he no longer needs to fear the victory of his opponents in the election race, which means that he can still introduce even the most controversial changes.

World news of the week – March 13-19

Perhaps the biggest and most alarming event of the last week. SVB has been working extensively with start-ups not only in California but also in Britain and northern Europe. European startups are now missing out on around £30 billion that had been held at a US bank. 

The Bank of England is now trying to compensate companies at least partially to prevent an avalanche of bankruptcies.

Numerous clients are trying to withdraw their savings not only from SVB but also from other financial institutions. This could easily trigger a banking panic, thereby further aggravating this stressful situation.

For the moment it is difficult to evaluate all the potential outcomes because the banks are closed. All that remains is to wait for Monday. Experts hold that view.

However, the first estimates are already in sight: in addition to SVB, 25 US banks may suffer potential losses of a similar magnitude. Meanwhile, more than 200 UK companies will be unable to pay their employees. 

The bank collapse will impact between 30% and 40% of startups

Over the past week, European governments have been seriously taking on the Chinese multimedia platform. After some scandalous allegations of personal data leaks and data collection at the service's headquarters in China, things seemed to calm down for some time.

But after the US drafted a bill to ban the app, Europe has also taken some big steps towards its own security.

In late February, the EU required executive officials to remove the app from all devices that may contain enterprise software. The

 deadline for compliance with the new rules just ran out on Wednesday

Nevertheless, the service has reacted to the decision quickly and promised to set up at least two new secured data centers in Europe by the end of 2023, where the accounts of EU users will be relocated.

takes its time in making radical decisions

: referring to EU instructions it is also questioning the assumptions of a complete ban of Tiktok in Europe. The Grand Duchy's neighbors, on the other hand, appear to be more determined. Belgium, for example, has openly 

banned civil servants from installing the world-famous app

Highlights of the week March 6-12

Eurostat has published a new report on fertility in the European Union. After analyzing data for 20 years, from 2001 to 2021, the statistical organization came to disappointing conclusions.

In 2021, 4.09 million children were born in the European Union. This is a very small increase compared to the previous year: 4.07 million children have been born in 2020. While there was an increase in the early 2000s, the number of babies in families in Europe has continued to decline since 2008.

A new study examined fertility coefficients. There were three peaks in total during this twenty-year period: in 2008, 2010, and 2016, and the maximum fertility figure was 1.57. In subsequent years, the value varies between 1.51 and 1.57, reaching just 1.53 in the last year of the collected statistics, 2021.

In 2021, the highest total fertility rate in the EU belonged to neighboring France, with 1.84 births per woman. Next comes the Czech Republic (1.83), Romania (1.81) and Ireland (1.78). Finally, the lowest rates were found in Italy (1.25) and Spain (1.19).

Luxembourg is not exactly succeeding here either. In 2021, the total fertility rate in the Grand Duchy was only 1.38. Almost half, namely 46% of the children born in the European Union in 2021 were first-born, and in Luxembourg, this percentage was even higher than the average — 53.3%.

statistics showing a significant increase in Luxembourg's population

, it might seem that there is no real problem here. But what makes the Grand Duchy unique is its multi-ethnic expat population. In fact, it contributes to reducing the overall aging of the population as well, because expats are, on average, much younger than the native population, according to Statec.

As for women, the average age of women in Luxembourg is 42.4 years (compared to the average age of expat women of 38.1 years). The aging of the female population is not the only problem when it comes to childbirth in Europe. Lack of measures to support and stimulate demographic growth, gender 

, and economic and social crises have not helped the situation at all.

Eurostat

4 million children per year: the fertility rate keeps falling in Europe

Trade unions officially started the 6th day of a national strike against Emmanuel Macron's pension reform today. The bill implies an increase in the retirement age by two years — up to 64 years, and a lot of people are unhappy about it.

Protests in France related to the pension reform have been going on 

, if not years. The situation in a nutshell: Macron's reform is designed to balance the retirement fund, and create a solid system as people's life expectancy increases. He wants to do this by making French work longer.

In response, labor unions argue that it would be better for Macron to raise taxes on the rich than to attack a cherished retirement right and unjustly burden the hardworking laborers. Indeed, as a lot of "non-white collars" workers start early and have worse working conditions, it often leads to shorter lifespans.

This is not the first attempt in the Macron presidency to change the pension system: the last time things ended the same way, with protests. 

This time, however, the sixth strike is structured a little differently — it is open-ended. At the end of the day, Unions collect information on who is ready to continue to oppose the reform, so that the demonstration will last as long as possible.

Even earlier than the stated date, nuclear power plant workers went on strike, causing power generation to be drastically reduced as early as last Saturday. We wrote earlier that 

the amount of generated energy in France decreased because of the demonstration

. Now other professionals have joined the full-scale action.

Currently, most trains have stopped running in the country, and industrial and oil plants have been blocked. It is also reported that the strikes affected educational institutions as well: many schools are closed today.

The coming days will be especially difficult for tourists and travelers because of the possibility of blocked roads. Transport problems have already been felt by cross-border workers due to yet further disruptions of 

Particular attention on the eve of International Women's Day is focused on the women protesting in the streets of Paris and France in general. The negative consequences of pension reform are known to affect them the most: during their careers, women are more likely than men to face the choice between family and profession. They are more likely to devote the time they could have worked to their families, and therefore they receive full retirement rights later than men. The fact that women receive a pension of 40% less is the result of this choice as well.

Chronicle

The 6th national strike day in France

An agreement was signed at the UN headquarters in New York and will last until 2030. According to this treaty, 30% of the seas and oceans will become protected areas. The treaty provides water territory protection laws for the restoration of marine life.

This agreement was called historical for a reason

. It was negotiated for more than 10 years. The main disagreements arose over fishing rights and financial issues.

The most recent instrument for sea protection was signed in 1982 — the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, also known as UNCLOS. But despite the agreement's significance, which some 160 countries have joined, about 10% of marine species have become endangered.

It was obvious that the rules and regulations needed revision, and now the participating countries were able to find a compromise.

The activists, led by Greta Tunberg, blocked the Ministry of Energy

. Their action aims to draw attention to the wind farms located in the Fosen region in central Norway. The activists demand the removal of more than 150 turbines because they frighten the animals that the Saami, an indigenous ethnic group, have been grazing here for centuries.

French people continue to strike against Macron's pension reform. This Friday, a few days ahead of the deadline announced by the unions, nuclear power plant workers announced a protest.

As early as Saturday, the amount of power generated was down by 2.1 GW

. This is almost equal to the capacity of the two reactors.

Thousands of farm tractors paralyzed traffic in Brussels.

 Farmers are protesting against new rules and regulations on nitrogen emissions. According to the unions, the reform will force many to reduce their livestock, and some will simply go bankrupt.

A similar problem is observed in the Netherlands. These two countries are quite dependent on livestock farming, and nitrogen concentrations in soil and water here usually exceed EU limits.

A passenger train with 350 people on board collided with a freight train on Tuesday

. Both trains happened to be on the same tracks, and the accident resulted in several cars carrying people catching fire.

Over 60 people are currently known to have died. The responsibility has already been claimed by the station chief in Larissa and the Minister of Transportation, Kostas Karamanlis, who immediately resigned.

The dissatisfaction with the state of the railroads and their handling, which had accumulated over many years, exploded into the open. The railroad workers went on strike the day after the disaster. Their demands are simple: pay attention to the condition of the entire transport system, which has been hardly financed for the last few years.

At the same time, people are waiting for justice and decisive action from the government. National mourning is declared in Greece.

Highlights of the week of February 27 to March 5

The process of leasing housing for short periods, such as through Airbnb, will have to become more transparent so that governments could control it better.

Now, due to the difference in the requirements of online platforms, it is rather problematic to resist scammers and protect the interests of citizens and their rights. Now the EU countries have decided to reform the operation mode of housing aggregators.

Each apartment, house, or even room that is rented out for a certain number of days 

will soon be required to have a unique registration number

. So the competent authorities will be able to find out more about the owner of the accommodation, in case it is needed. Online platforms themselves will have to carry out periodic random checks to monitor the legitimacy of the ads and timely detect violations.

The unified procedure for collecting and processing personal data will also help to reduce paperwork and balance the market by minimizing the number of fraudulent offers.

European Council

Short-term rent under the new rules

Luxembourg was one of the first countries to respond to Turkey's call for help. In just four weeks since the disaster, the Grand Duchy is sending a new batch of humanitarian help to the region.

 4,000 sleeping bags, 2,000 hygiene kits, and 12 power generators. Additionally, 50 boxes of medicines and blood transfusion equipment will be sent to Turkey.

Cargolux company undertook all transportation issues. It will help deliver special charter flights with the equipment on board.

Le Quotidien

Luxembourg sends second batch of equipment and humanitarian aid to Turkey

The EU's initiative, which is scheduled to last until 2035, implies a complete phase-out of engines that run on fossil fuels. However, before this task can be accomplished, there are several intermediate stages, including the adoption of new emission standards.

The Italian authorities have already expressed their strong objection to such a reform. 

The Italian Minister of Transport even called it "suicide"

. Italy is also concerned about two other regulations: switching to the new Euro-7 standard and further limiting emissions from trucks and buses. Now the country plans to form an alliance with Germany and France in order to slow down the implementation of the bill.

Official sources have already announced that if the EU doesn't listen, Italy will start boycotting and blocking the adoption of these laws until 2024.

Italy roots against the ban on internal combustion engine vehicles

From January 21 to February 21, less than 1 mm of rain fell on the French land. Such low figures have not been registered since 1959.

A winter drought in a mild climate is as dangerous as a summer drought

. Lack of rain and snow leads to the drying up of water reservoirs and the deterioration of soil. It also triggers forest fires, as has already happened in the Eastern Pyrenees, where 60 hectares of foliage were burned in early February.

A little rain is expected this Wednesday, but the forecast can change at any time. The climate situation is similar in Italy. In 2022 the country has already suffered from drought, but history repeats itself. In Venice, for example, several canals have already run dry.

Meteo France

The worst drought in France since 1959

Borrell urged to accelerate weapons deliveries to Ukraine

the first anniversary of the war in Eastern Europe

. But on the eve of the anniversary, at the EU Security Council in Munich, Jaurep Borrell called on the alliance countries 

to accelerate the supply of ammunition and weapons

At the moment there is almost no action on the Ukrainian front. However, this relative calm is highly fragile. According to Borrell, Ukraine can go on the offensive as soon as the snow melts and the troops have a chance to advance quickly. The scale of this offensive depends directly on the equipment of the army.

The former Spanish minister of foreign affairs has also named the war in Ukraine a threat to security throughout Europe. That argument was the main one in the urge to speed up the delivery of weapons, which, according to experts, may take several months. Some of the agreements are designed for the fall of 2023.

"Fresh" initiatives from across the ocean. The Biden administration is working on a regulation that would 

ban granting asylum and even entry over the Mexican border to third-country nationals

There is, however, a necessary clarification: only if these citizens have not previously applied for asylum in other countries.

Another interesting fact about the initiative is this has already happened before in recent U.S. history. Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump, tried to legalize an identical bill back in 2019. Back then, a federal appeals court rejected the document. It is very likely that this time too, the new administration will face legal obstacles.

It is worth noting that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) also announced its intention to oppose the bill.

Last year the United Kingdom launched a six-month experiment with a 4-day workweek. At the end of that project, employers rated their employee satisfaction at 7.5 on a 10-point scale.

Of course, the experiment was not nationwide

. A total of about 3,000 people from 61 companies took part. The scope ranged from the banking sector to fast-food restaurants.

As a result, the majority of employers decided to stay with the new model, as employee turnover and the number of absenteeism has decreased dramatically. However, it is worth clarifying that all the innovations mostly impacted small and medium-sized businesses. Large companies, as always, are stiff and do not like radical changes.

Highlights of the week of February 20 to 26

It has been a year since the war in Ukraine began. We have repeatedly reported on Luxembourg's actions in helping refugees and supplying arms and equipment. Here we gather a retrospective of key events.

After February 24 of 2022, Europe faced a great flood of people fleeing their homes and countries in an attempt to escape doom and destruction.

The Grand Duchy promptly set up temporary housing facilities and launched an integration program for new arrivals. By mid-March, the number of Ukrainians arriving in Luxembourg had already exceeded 2,500. This number continued to grow, exceeding 5,000 by the end of the year. Obviously, the first wave of newcomers and refugees came in the early spring, then the flow weakened, but new people continued to arrive.

The Luxembourg activists, besides accommodation, also organized special language courses, 

, and even published a special Ukrainian-Luxembourg dictionary.

Ukrainkrich was also selected as the word of the year.

Eventually, the aid didn't stop at just helping the newcomers. The humanitarian element is just as important as 

The Luxembourg Red Cross has raised a record amount of donations in the first months. In five weeks alone, more than 2 million euros were collected. By the end of the year, the number of Ukrainians who received aid exceeded the population of Luxembourg itself.

Non-profit organizations also got involved. The largest and best known, 

LUkraine has purchased and sent 10 ambulances to Ukraine

. You can read more about LUkraine's activities in our article. The organizations created by Russians are not left out, either. For example, RUHelp organization that we covered in one of our interviews.

Another 14,000 euros was raised at a charity event. The entire amount went to support entrepreneurs who were forced to leave Ukraine.

The European Union and Luxembourg in particular have worked out several financial aid packages over the past year. One of the largest, for 9 billion euros, has been negotiated this summer.

The EU, on the other hand, regularly expands economic sanctions against Russia. For example, Luxembourg has arrested 4.3 billion euros linked to Russian businesses and individuals.

European sanctions have limited exports and imports from Russia and cut off the country from the SWIFT system. Now the 10th package is being prepared, which will restrict the supply of dual-use goods to the country.

Despite the sanctions, Luxembourg also did not stop providing visas to Russians.

Luxembourg's position on military issues has been clear since the first days of the war: the Grand Duchy will not send its own troops. However, together with the EU, it has been regularly sending weapons and equipment to Ukraine.

Luxembourg sent several Humvees to the war zone on its own initiative as well.

A Tough Year. How Luxembourg helped Ukraine after February 24

The European Union has released a new resolution prohibiting government officials from using the app on devices connected to internal networks.

Back in November 2022, TikTok acknowledged that some user data could become available at the company's headquarters in China. The European Union wants to limit the spreading of the app to protect information and is concerned about potential surveillance. 

The regulation should be implemented by March 15

. If it is not done in time, corporate applications will become unavailable.

However, the restrictions will affect not only corporate devices. Employees are also instructed to remove TikTok from any device that has work apps. Thus, the requirements could extend to personal smartphones, PCs, and tablets.

Europe bans TikTok on corporate devices

Significant price growth is recorded in France and Spain. For example, the ingredients to cook a traditional French stew coq au vin is now 14.7% more expensive. The cost of all ingredients for the dish has set a record, reaching 18.7 euros. Meanwhile, inflation in France is at 6%.

. Prices of rice for paella soared by 20% and olive oil by 30.5%. This is way higher than consumer inflation, which was just 8% in January. As a result, preparing a seafood dish costs 15.6% more.

Data compiled and cited by Bloomberg was based on a comparison of the cost of ingredients for traditional dishes in January 2022 and January 2023.

Bloomberg

Europe's essential groceries prices are up

The 10th package of sanctions against Russia is being actively discussed at a meeting of foreign affairs ministers in Brussels. China, which has been called "the main speculator in the war," was also mentioned there.

Such a characteristic was given by the foreign minister of Luxembourg, Jean Asselborn

. In an interview with German journalists, he noted that China is not supplying weapons to Russia now. Otherwise, the EU would have to develop sanctions against China as well. "I hope it stays that way," the politician added.

According to European representatives, the purpose of sanctions is not to "bring the Russians to their knees," but to deprive Russia of the means to continue the war and push the politicians to the negotiating table.

Jean Asselborn commented on China's position on the conflict in Ukraine

An accident on a railroad in the United States occurred at the beginning of February. On the 3rd of February, several dozen cars went off the rails. As a result, tons of vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, ethyl hexyl acrylate, and mono butyl ethylene glycol leaked onto the ground.

All of these substances are highly toxic. 

Residents of nearby settlements were evacuated in compliance with applicable regulations

. Afterward, the specialists who arrived on the scene put the spilled reagents on fire to utilize it.

The monitored burning was caught on video. It was accompanied by a powerful column of flame and thick black smoke. Many political forces in both the U.S. and Europe call what happened a human-made technogenic disaster, but the U.S. government assures that there is no danger.

People were now allowed to return to their homes. However, in recent days, pictures of dead animals and birds began to appear on the Internet, and residents complained of a deterioration in their well-being.

Turkey continues to recover from earthquakes

. The latest figures put the death toll at 40,000. The national disaster united many other countries in a common effort to help the victims. A video thanking all nations that responded to the tragedy is being broadcast at Istanbul's main airport.

A cyclone in New Zealand has reportedly killed 11 people

 The disaster struck the northern region of the country. Now thousands of homes are cut off from electricity, and there is an extreme shortage of drinking water.

U.S. investigates Raiffeisen operations in Russia

The U.S. sanctions department has raised charges against the international bank for its operations in the Russian economic space.

Raiffeisen noted that it willingly cooperates with the investigation and provides all the necessary information. Representatives of the financial company said that they have a full set of tools to monitor, control and comply with the sanctions. At the same time, the bank fulfills all orders of regional regulators.