EUROPEAN COMMISSION
DAILY NEWS
Brussels, 12 September 2023
Cyprus: Commission allocates €31.7 million to the Turkish Cypriot community under the 2023 Aid Programme
Today, the Commission has adopted the 2023 Annual Action Programme for the Turkish Cypriot community, allocating €31.7 million to the community, aiming to facilitate the reunification of Cyprus.
The Programme offers wide-ranging EU support, including tailored measures to help Turkish Cypriots meet the standards under the Halloumi/Hellim package before the end of 2024. In 2021, the Commission registered Halloumi/Hellim as a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and issued a Decision under which Turkish Cypriot producers will be able to sell PDO-compliant Halloumi/Hellim across the Green Line, thus placing it on the EU market, once the relevant EU food safety and animal health standards are met. The EU will continue to support the Turkish Cypriot community in producing PDO-compliant Halloumi/Hellim.
The Programme will also continue to support trade across the Green Line and ensure compliance with EU product and production standards, including in the area of product safety. Specialised testing equipment will be made available for this purpose.
Tailored technical assistance and grants will be offered to local businesses and support to vocational education and training will be provided. This will enhance youth employment and facilitate labour mobility across the Green Line.
To build confidence between the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot communities, the programme will continue to provide substantial financing to the Committee on Missing Persons and the bi-communal Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage. Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot high school students will be offered support to jointly attend the United World Colleges (UWC) as part of the bi-communal scholarship programme. Civil society organisations will receive grants to foster human rights, active citizenship and reconciliation.
Finally, in line with efforts to meet the European Green Deal priorities across the island, the Programme will further promote energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives.
Background
The Aid Programme for the Turkish Cypriot community aims to facilitate the reunification of Cyprus by encouraging the economic development of the Turkish Cypriot community. It also supports reconciliation, confidence-building measures, and civil society, projects to bring the Turkish Cypriot community closer to the Union, and preparation for the implementation of the acquis.
Between 2006 and 2023, €688 million have been allocated for projects under the Aid Programme. The programme is managed by the Commission's Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support (DG REFORM).
For More information
The Annual Action Programme for the Turkish Cypriot Community
EU Aid Programme for Turkish Cypriot community
Structural Reform Support
Quote(s)
This year’s programme will continue to contribute to economic development and societal cohesion in Cyprus, playing an important role in facilitating the reunification of Cyprus. The 2023 programme focuses on supporting the implementation of the Halloumi/Hellim PDO package and Green Line trade, and it will continue to finance well-established confidence-building measures. I am convinced that all of this helps create the conditions for resuming Cyprus reunification talks within the UN framework.
Elisa Ferreira, Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms - 12/09/2023
European Year of Skills: Survey highlights skills shortages in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
A new survey published today confirms that skilled workers are key to the success of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Europe. The results come on the same day as the Commission presents a set of initiatives for SME relief. These initiatives aim to enable a skilled workforce for SMEs to flourish by continuing to support training actions provided by the skills partnerships under the European Pact for Skills and other support initiatives. According to the survey, 95% of all SMEs say that it is very (82%) or moderately (13%) important for their business model to have workers with the right skills.
This situation holds nearly two thirds (63%) of companies back in their general business activities. Nearly half of them (45%) also say it hinders their efforts to adopt or use digital technologies, and four in ten (39%) see difficulties to green their business activities.
SMEs already apply a broad set of measures to find and retain workers. This includes efforts to make better use of talent within the company (e.g. staff mobility or job rotation), more investment in training, or increasing the attractiveness of jobs in terms of (non-) financial benefits.
To make it easier to recruit staff with the required skills, SMEs say they need better collaboration with public employment services (58%), better tools for assessing the skills of applicants (49%), better tools for assessing the company's skills needs (46%), and easier procedures for recognition of foreign qualifications (38%).
The EU supports skills development and lifelong learning with funding and policies. The European Year of Skills puts skills development centre stage and Member States have endorsed the target of at least 60% of adults participating in training every year by 2030. Around €65 billion of EU funds are available to support education, training and skills. The European Skills Agenda and the Pact for Skills have helped companies and workers across Europe in advancing training, benefitting already two million people.
Harnessing Talent in Europe: Commission will offer selected EU regions technical assistance to help them attract and develop talent
The Commission will offer 11 EU regions technical assistance to help them untap their potential to attract, retain and develop talent. To select these regions, the Commission has launched today a call for expression of interest for all EU regions experiencing an accelerated decline of their working age population and low levels of higher education.
In the present context of increasing territorial disparities and a growing urban-rural divide, several EU regions are severely affected by the decrease of the working-age population with the loss of 3.5 million people between 2015 and 2020 in the EU, and another 35 million people expected by 2050. Some of these regions also face a low share of university and higher-education graduates and a negative mobility of their population aged 15-39, finding themselves in the so-called ‘talent development trap'.
46 regions across 11 Member States (Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Romania) will have the opportunity to submit applications for today's call for interest. The deadline for applications is 20 October 2023.
The call is a concrete follow-up of the Communication on Harnessing talent in Europe's Regions. In this Communication, the Commission presented the causes and effects of regional disparities stemming from demographic challenges and introduced the Talent Booster Mechanism. This Mechanism supports EU regions affected by the accelerated decline of their working age population to train, retain and attract the people, the skills and the competences needed to address the impact of the demographic transition. This is an important initiative in the context of the European Year of Skills.
More information and online application for the interested regions are available on the Harnessing Talent Platform.
Taxation: new proposals to simplify tax rules and reduce compliance costs for cross-border businesses
Today, the European Commission adopted a key package of initiatives to reduce tax compliance costs for large, cross-border businesses in the European Union.
Today's proposal, called “Business in Europe: Framework for Income Taxation” (BEFIT), will make life easier for both businesses and tax authorities by introducing a new, single set of rules to determine the tax base of groups of companies. This will reduce compliance costs for large businesses who operate in more than one Member State and make it easier for national tax authorities to determine which taxes are rightly due. The new, simpler rules could reduce tax compliance costs for businesses operating in the EU by up to 65%.
BEFIT will mean that:
Dealing with 27 different national tax systems, each with its specific rules, makes it costly for companies when it comes to tax compliance. This discourages cross-border investment in the EU, putting European businesses at a competitive disadvantage compared to companies elsewhere in the world.
In more detail
The proposal builds on the OECD/G20 international tax agreement on a global minimum level of taxation, and the Pillar Two Directive adopted at the end of 2022. It replaces the Commission's CCTB (common corporate tax base) and CCCTB (common consolidated corporate tax base) proposals, which are withdrawn[1]. The new rules will be mandatory for groups operating in the EU with an annual combined revenue of at least €750 million, and where the ultimate parent entity holds at least 75% of the ownership rights or of the rights giving entitlement to profit.
The rules will be discretionary for smaller groups, which may choose to opt in as long as they prepare consolidated financial statements. This might be of particular interest to SMEs.
Transfer pricing
Today's package also includes a proposal aiming at harmonising transfer pricing rules within the EU and ensuring a common approach to transfer pricing.
The proposal will increase tax certainty and mitigate the risk of litigation and double taxation. The Directive will also further reduce the opportunities for companies to use transfer pricing for aggressive tax planning purposes.
Next steps
Once adopted by the Council, the proposals should come into force on 1 July 2028 (for BEFIT) and as of 1 January 2026 (for the transfer pricing proposal).
For more information
Questions and Answers on BEFIT and transfer pricing
BEFIT legal proposal
Transfer Pricing
BEFIT Factsheet
[1] COM(2016) 685 final and COM(2016) 683 final.
Today, the Commission is taking another step towards simplifying the EU’s tax laws and making them fairer for companies active in more than one Member State. SMEs will be able to use one set of rules for filing their tax returns, instead of dealing with 27 different national regimes. This will save them in compliance costs and stimulate more cross-border investment and competitiveness. In corporate taxation, today’s proposals build on work done by the OECD/G20 to establish a common set of rules to determine the tax base of companies and to address problems related to transfer pricing – such as profit shifting, tax avoidance and double taxation – so as to improve tax certainty while reducing opportunities for aggressive tax planning.
Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President for an Economy that Works for People - 12/09/2023
Today’s proposals aim to make it easier for businesses large and small to operate in the EU, reducing tax compliance costs and freeing up resources for them to invest and create jobs. Our proposals will also facilitate tax authorities’ efforts to ensure that companies pay what is rightly due. After the adoption of the EU Directive ensuring a minimum effective tax rate for large multinational groups, today we take another key step towards simpler, clearer and more cost-effective tax systems in the EU.
Paolo Gentiloni, Commissioner for Economy - 12/09/2023
Championing Europe's SMEs: Commission provides new relief to boost the competitiveness and resilience of SMEs
Today, the Commission is presenting a series of initiatives to address the needs of Europe's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the current economic environment. Representing 99% of Europe's businesses, SMEs are essential drivers of Europe's green and digital transitions, but continue to face unpredictability and volatility as a result of a number of crises in recent years.
The SME Relief Communication put forward today proposes new measures that will provide short-term relief, boost SMEs' long-term competitiveness, and strengthen fairness in the business environment across the Single Market. As part of these measures, the Commission is today also publishing new proposals for a Regulation on late payments in commercial transactions and a Directive establishing a Head Office Tax System for SMEs. Additional initiatives aim at further boosting SMEs' access to finance, improving the business environment and supporting SMEs' growth into mid-caps to unleash their full economic potential.
In particular, the new Regulation on combatting late payments in commercial transactions tackles payment delays, an unfair practice that compromises the cash flow of SMEs and hampers the competitiveness and resilience of supply chains. The new rules will repeal the 2011 Directive on late payments and will replace it with a Regulation. The proposal introduces a stricter maximum payment limit of 30 days, eliminates ambiguities and addresses the legal gaps in the current Directive. The proposed text also ensures an automatic payment of accrued interest and compensation fees and introduces new enforcement and redress measures to protect companies against bad payers.
The Head Office Tax System for SMEs will give SMEs operating cross-border through permanent establishments the option to interact with only one tax administration – that of the Head Office – instead of having to comply with multiple tax systems. This proposal will increase tax certainty and fairness, reduce compliance costs and distortions in the market that influence business decisions, while minimising the risk of double and over taxation and tax disputes. The expected decrease in compliance costs should, in particular, foster investment and cross-border expansion in the EU. SMEs operating in different Member States will be able to fully maximise the freedom of establishment and the free movement of capital without being hindered by unnecessary tax related obstacles.
In addition, the Commission's SME Relief Communication proposes several non-legislative measures to support SMEs and ensure their full economic potential is harnessed:
Europe's 24 million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) represent 99% of all businesses and two thirds of private sector jobs in the EU. They are central to Europe's economic and social fabric, drive Europe's green and digital transitions and support our long-term prosperity.
SMEs have been disproportionately affected by the sequence of crises over the past years: from COVID, Russia's war against Ukraine, the energy crisis and the rise in inflation. SMEs still face volatility and unpredictability, as well as supply constraints, labour shortages and, often, unfair competition and an unequal level playing field when doing business in Europe. Payment delays in commercial transactions prevent investments and growth and contribute to uncertainty and mistrust in the business environment. The recent SME performance report shows that SME value added for 2023 is still forecast to remain at 3.6% (against 1.8% for large enterprises) below its 2019 level, while SME employment has barely recovered to pre-crisis levels.
To unleash the power of the EU's SMEs in the Single Market and beyond, the Commission put forward a comprehensive set of actions under its 2020 SME strategy for a sustainable and digital Europe. Most of these actions have been completed or are ongoing. In addition, SMEs play a crucial role in the co-creation and implementation of transition pathways, which aim to support the green and digital transition across industrial ecosystems. SME-friendly provisions form part of all key EU legislative initiatives, while further support measures for SMEs are being rolled out by the Enterprise Europe Network, the Cluster Collaboration Platform and other partners.
In terms of funding, the Commission expects to make more than €200 billion available to SMEs under its various funding programmes running until 2027. This includes substantial amounts under the EU's Cohesion Funds (€€65 billion) and the Recovery and Resilience Facility (€45.2 billion) dedicated to direct and indirect measures in support of SMEs, helping them become more resilient, sustainable and digital.
For More Information
Questions and Answers on SME relief package
Factsheet on SME relief package
Questions and Answers on late payments regulation
Factsheet on late payments regulation
Questions and Answers on the Head Office Tax System for SMEs
Factsheet on the Head Office Tax System for SMEs
Communication on SME relief measures
Regulation on late payments in commercial transactions
Directive on tax simplification for SMEs
Implementation report on the Platform-to-business regulation
Implementation report on the Single Digital Gateway regulation
Life has been tough for small companies over the past years, with the pandemic and Russia’s war against Ukraine. We need to step up our support for SMEs. We want to make things easier for them, bring more oxygen to help them survive and thrive. Today we come with rules to ensure small businesses are paid in due time, to cut paperwork and to simplify taxes. Access to talent and finance will also help those companies to get more digital and greener.
Vice-President Věra Jourová - 12/09/2023
Because SMEs operating cross-border have to pay tax in all Member States where they have permanent establishments, they must follow multiple different sets of rules. The cost of complying with these rules amounts to 2.5% of their turnover – money they cannot spend on investing or hiring new staff. So today we are proposing to enable SMEs with permanent establishments in other Member States to interact with just one tax administration – that of their Head Office. The resulting savings and simplification will encourage more SMEs to expand across national borders, creating more jobs for Europeans.
With its SME instruments and more than 200 billion euro of EU funding dedicated to SMEs until 2027, the Commission has been supporting small business across all industrial ecosystems, from tourism to aerospace. Today we present a comprehensive set of measures to support SMEs. We are simplifying taxation rules, reducing regulatory burden and boosting skills. Our ambitious revision of the late payment rules will create a fairer business environment for SMEs across the entire Single Market. This will make small businesses more resilient and help them weather challenging times.
Thierry Breton, Commissioner for Internal Market - 12/09/2023
Simplifying EU rules for citizens and business: findings from the 2022 Annual Burden Survey
Today, the European Commission has published the 2022 Annual Burden Survey, which presents the Commission's action to simplify and modernise EU rules. It lays out the progress and concrete examples of what the Commission has achieved in the first year of fully applying the ‘one in, one out' approach, as well as with its Regulatory Fitness and Performance (REFIT) programme and its follow-up to the recommendations of the Fit for Future Platform high-level expert group. This work is reinforced by additional efforts, as outlined in the SME Relief Package.
First year results of implementing the ‘one in, one out' approach
The ‘one in, one out' represents a kind of ‘cost brake', which means that all new compliance costs, including administrative costs, for citizens and businesses are quantified and offset with a reduction of existing burden or compensated to the greatest extent possible. The Commission applied the approach to 52 legislative proposals in 2022. The adopted proposals are expected to reduce the overall administrative burden by EUR 7.3 billion. Digitalisation and interoperable solutions often help achieve cost savings.
Achievements of the Commission's simplification and burden reduction work - REFIT
In 2022, the Commission finalised evaluations, fitness checks and tabled revisions of EU legislation with the potential of bringing significant burden reduction and simplification benefits for citizens, businesses and public authorities. The initiatives cover a wide range of policy areas from climate action and competition, justice and migration, mobility and transport to the single market. The Survey contains detailed examples of these achievements.
The Commission's follow-up to the work of the Fit for Future platform
The Fit for Future Platform adopted 10 opinions in its annual work programme, covering a wide range of initiatives that include, amongst others, enterprise friendly VAT, the governance of the energy union and climate action, access of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to capital, food waste and donations, and the REACH Regulation on chemicals. The Survey reports on the Platform's recommendations and the Commission's follow-up to all of the opinions.
The Commission is welcoming further suggestions on simplifying EU policies through the Have Your Say: Simplify! portal from all European citizens, businesses, organisations, and institutions.
The Annual Burden Survey is part of the Better Regulation Agenda and the Regulatory Fitness and Performance Programme (REFIT), the Commission's regulatory approach for evidence-based and transparent policymaking. The 2021 Better Regulation Communication proposed concrete improvements in the EU law-making process to foster Europe's recovery and to ensure that EU laws remain future-proof, including the introduction of the ‘one in, one-out' approach. The Fit for Future Platform, a high-level expert group of national, regional and local authorities, civil society organisations, businesses and members of the RegHub network of the Committee of the Regions, was set up in 2020 to complement the Commission's regulatory simplification work.
Political Priorities of the von der Leyen Commission
The Better Regulation agenda
The 2021 Better Regulation Communication
The 2019 Stocktaking exercise
REFIT – making EU law simpler, less costly and future proof
REFIT - scoreboard
The law-making process in the EU
The Have Your Say portal
The Have Your Say: Simplify! portal
Fit for Future Platform
"Today more than ever, we need to strengthen the long-term competitiveness of the EU and an effective and efficient regulatory framework is crucial in this regard. As we keep on advancing our green and digital transitions, we want to bring concrete benefits to citizens, businesses and public authorities at minimum costs. This annual overview shows that we are delivering on our simplification and burden reduction efforts, guaranteeing that EU laws and initiatives do not create unnecessary burdens for citizens and businesses.”
Maroš Šefčovič, Executive Vice-President for European Green deal, Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight - 12/09/2023
Statement by President von der Leyen with Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis
Prime Minister, dear Kyriakos,
Thank you very much for coming here, to Strasbourg. I am simply appalled by the recent disasters that struck Greece and its people. You have shown me the pictures. It is unspeakable. For the first time, we see that your country faced the most dramatic wildfires that the EU has ever seen. Never before has such a vast area been destroyed by the wildfires. Then, floods have devastated large regions of Greece. For example, the plains of Thessaly. The pictures from Larissa are heartbreaking. Let me assure you that our thoughts are with all women, men and children who are courageously withstanding these disasters. And we mourn the lives lost.
Europe stands at the side of the Greek people. And I want Greece and the Greek people to know that we are with them. Our Union is a Union of solidarity. It was therefore very important for us to be able to meet here today – Kyriakos, many thanks for coming – and to discuss this solidarity together with your Ministers and our Commissioners. We spoke about the best ways to help the Greek people. A lot of investment will be necessary to rebuild. But right now a lot of immediate support and help is also necessary to restore the livelihoods. My main message is that the Commission will be inventive, quick and flexible: We will mobilise all EU resources that can be deployed. Let me focus on five important funding streams that could be mobilised.
First, we should use unspent cohesion money from the last period, which would otherwise be lost – so this is fresh money –, and frontload parts of the current cohesion funds. Second, the same goes for the European Social Fund+, that could be mobilised. Here too, these funds would be lost and can be disbursed this year. So, part of the money that can immediately go to Greek citizens to support will also be European money. The third element is the Common Agricultural Policy that can play an important role. Here are two unused funds from the previous Greek rural development programme, but we also look into funds under the current Greek CAP strategic plan. And we will examine the agricultural reserve for next year. If we look at those funds, they could, for example, help restore forests or farming infrastructure. A lot needs to be done. Altogether, this could allow Greece to mobilise up to EUR 2.25 billion.
In addition, the Commission stands ready to assess a Greek request for support under the Solidarity Fund. Here it is important that the Member States agree on our proposal to top up the Solidarity Fund. If this happens, next year, we could make available up to EUR 400 million.
Finally, Greece could consider using some of the resources of NextGenerationEU. Of course, in NextGenerationEU, we all have to show utmost flexibility because the revision was just submitted. So, we will work with it.
My services will work closely on all these options with the Greek authorities. We have decided to form a Task Force that will start its work immediately, today. Together we will find the best possible ways to help the Greek people. The Greek people can count on Europe for fast support, maximal flexibility. And we stand by your side not only in this acute moment but also to rebuild and reconstruct.
European Health Union: Commission sets up advisory committee on public health emergencies
The Commission is today establishing a new expert group to provide advice on serious cross-border threats to public health. This group helps fill a major gap noted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Advisory Committee on Public Health Emergencies will help the Commission and Member States to determine when a public health emergency formally exists. It will also provide advice on what measures to take in response to the outbreak and when to lift them. This is an important step in our work to strengthen the response to cross-border health threats, as part of a strong European Health Union.
This new independent committee will be made up of 51 experts from different disciplines and sectors. It will provide advice on public health, biomedical, behavioral, social, economic, cultural and international issues in the event of a health crisis. The committee was decided within the framework of the regulation on serious cross-border threats to health, which entered into force in December 2022.
Representatives of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, the European Medicines Agency and the World Health Organization will be admitted as permanent observers, while ad-hoc experts (from, e.g. , places where the epidemic outbreak appeared) may be invited to share their conclusions with the committee if necessary.
A call for expert applications will be launched in the coming weeks and the committee is expected to begin its work in spring 2024.
COLLEGE MEETING: The European Commission appoints a new Director at the Directorate-General for Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations
The European Commission has decided today to appoint Mihaela Zupancic Magovac as Director for ‘General Affairs' at the Commission's Directorate-General for Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO). This Commission department is responsible for humanitarian assistance and civil protection, the two main instruments at the EU's disposal to ensure rapid and effective delivery of EU relief assistance to people faced with the immediate consequences of disasters. The date of effect is to be determined at a later stage.
Throughout her nearly 20 years of experience in the Commission, she has refined her skills in a variety of areas including coordination, international and multilateral cooperation, inter-institutional relations, programming and budgetary support. In addition to being equipped with robust management experience, Ms Zupancic Magovac will also draw on her deep knowledge of communication and advocacy strategies together with her demonstrated capacity of devising and implementing crisis communications in a crisis context.
Mihaela Zupancic Magovac, a Slovenian national, is currently holding the position of Acting Director at the General Affairs Directorate at DG ECHO. Previously, she was Head of Unit responsible for ‘Communication' and ‘International and Inter-Institutional Relations, Legal Framework' at the same DG.
Ms Zupancic Magovac joined the Commission in 2005 as Head of Representation in Slovenia and holds a Master´s Degree in International Politics from Université libre de Bruxelles.
(For more information: Balazs Ujvari - Tel.: +32 2 295 45 78; Veronica Favalli – Tel.: +32 2 298 72 69)
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Athanasios ATHANASIOU
Press Officer / Political Reporter
European Commission
Representation in Cyprus
EU House, 30 Vyronos Avenue, 1096 Nicosia
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