Commission

Press release - Greenwashing: how EU firms can validate their green claims

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 14, 2024

The so-called green claims directive complements the already-approved EU ban on greenwashing.

Key Points: 
  • The so-called green claims directive complements the already-approved EU ban on greenwashing.
  • Verification system and penalties
    MEPs agreed with the Commission that companies should submit any future environmental marketing claims for approval before using them.
  • Carbon offsetting and comparative claims
    MEPs confirmed the recent EU ban on green claims based solely on the so-called carbon offsetting schemes.
  • Our agreement on this text ends the proliferation of deceitful green claims which have tricked consumers for far too long.

Prime Minister announces the appointment of a senator

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 13, 2024

"Ms. Oudar is an accomplished administrator, and her experience in a variety of fields will bring an important perspective to the Senate.

Key Points: 
  • "Ms. Oudar is an accomplished administrator, and her experience in a variety of fields will bring an important perspective to the Senate.
  • Candidate submissions are reviewed by the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments, which provides recommendations to the Prime Minister.
  • With today's announcement, there have been 81 independent appointments to the Senate made on the advice of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
  • By convention, senators are appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister.

Press release - MEPs back stricter rules to ensure children’s toys are safe

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Ban on harmful chemicals

Key Points: 
  • Ban on harmful chemicals
    To improve child health protection, the regulation continues to prohibit carcinogenic and mutagenic substances or substances toxic for reproduction (CRM).
  • The adopted text additionally bans chemicals harmful to the endocrine or the respiratory system, and toxic to specific organs.
  • Strengthening checks
    The draft rules provide for manufacturers to create digital product passports for each toy, which detail how it complies with the relevant rules.
  • Background
    Despite the EU market being among the safest in the world, dangerous toys still find their way into consumers’ hands.

Piero Cipollone: The euro at 25: what next for Economic and Monetary Union?

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 13, 2024

We document how gas price fluctuations have a heterogeneous pass-through to euro area prices depending on the underlying shock driving them.

Key Points: 
  • We document how gas price fluctuations have a heterogeneous pass-through to euro area prices depending on the underlying shock driving them.
  • Supply shocks, moreover, are found to pass through to all components of euro area inflation – producer prices, wages and core inflation, which has implications for monetary policy.

Buchanan Obtains Preliminary Win with International Trade Commission's Affirmative Determination in Trade Cases on Wine Bottles from Chile, China, and Mexico

Retrieved on: 
Monday, February 12, 2024

The Commission's unanimous affirmative vote comes in response to petitions filed December 29, 2023, by the U.S. Glass Producers Coalition.

Key Points: 
  • The Commission's unanimous affirmative vote comes in response to petitions filed December 29, 2023, by the U.S. Glass Producers Coalition.
  • The petitions allege that unfairly dumped and subsidized wine bottles are injuring the domestic industry.
  • The Commission's affirmative preliminary injury determination paves the way for the Department of Commerce to move forward with its investigations.
  • Commerce is expected to issue its preliminary CVD determination in March 2024 and its preliminary AD determinations in June 2024.

HeartSciences Expands its Scientific Advisory Board

Retrieved on: 
Monday, February 12, 2024

Southlake, TX, Feb. 12, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Heart Test Laboratories, Inc. d/b/a HeartSciences (Nasdaq: HSCS; HSCSW) ("HeartSciences" or the "Company"), an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered medical technology company focused on transforming ECGs/EKGs to save lives through earlier detection of heart disease, today announced the appointment of Jordan B. Strom M.D., M.Sc., to its Scientific Advisory Board.

Key Points: 
  • Southlake, TX, Feb. 12, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Heart Test Laboratories, Inc. d/b/a HeartSciences (Nasdaq: HSCS; HSCSW) ("HeartSciences" or the "Company"), an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered medical technology company focused on transforming ECGs/EKGs to save lives through earlier detection of heart disease, today announced the appointment of Jordan B. Strom M.D., M.Sc., to its Scientific Advisory Board.
  • Strom has been assisting us in recent interactions with the FDA and we are delighted to welcome him to our Scientific Advisory Board as we prepare for FDA submission of our MyoVista device and cloud platform, in addition to algorithms licensed from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York.
  • Dr. Strom has expertise in AI-based medical devices and is a consultant to GE Healthcare, Phillips Healthcare, and Edwards Life Sciences.
  • HeartSciences is an innovator in this field, and I look forward to helping them unleash the potential power of AI-powered ECGs to help clinicians deliver timely and optimal care.

New Study Identifies Increased Fracture Risk for Older Pickleball Players

Retrieved on: 
Monday, February 12, 2024

The Sports and Fitness Industry Association identified an 11.5% average annual growth rate of pickleball players over the past five years, with approximately 1.4 million "core" players (those who play more than eight times per year) in 2020.

Key Points: 
  • The Sports and Fitness Industry Association identified an 11.5% average annual growth rate of pickleball players over the past five years, with approximately 1.4 million "core" players (those who play more than eight times per year) in 2020.
  • A highlight of findings from the study include:
    Throughout the study, there was a 90-fold increase in fractures, with a noticeable surge from 2020 onward where fractures doubled.
  • Despite the female predominance in fractures, men were 2.3 times more likely to be admitted for a fracture.
  • "It's important to understand your risk profile of injury and to speak with your physician to see how you can lower your risk.

Press release - Deal on EU economic governance reform

Retrieved on: 
Sunday, February 11, 2024

EU co-legislators on Saturday provisionally agreed a revamp of EU economic governance making it clearer, investment friendly, more tailored to each country’s situation, and more flexible.Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

Key Points: 


EU co-legislators on Saturday provisionally agreed a revamp of EU economic governance making it clearer, investment friendly, more tailored to each country’s situation, and more flexible.Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

Press release - EU Disability and Parking cards: Parliament and Council reach provisional deal

Retrieved on: 
Saturday, February 10, 2024

- Equal rights and conditions for EU Disability Card or Parking Card holders when travelling or visiting other EU countries

Key Points: 
  • - Equal rights and conditions for EU Disability Card or Parking Card holders when travelling or visiting other EU countries
    - EU Disability Card issued and renewed free of charge
    - Those moving to another member state for mobility programmes also covered by the directive
    Negotiators from Parliament and Council reached a provisional agreement on the EU Disability Card and the EU Parking Card for persons with disabilities.
  • European Disability Card
    The European Disability Card will be issued in physical format and, when available, in digital format, and will be issued and renewed free of charge.
  • European Parking Card
    The European Parking Card for persons with disabilities will be issued in physical form.
  • Websites
    The directive demands EU countries and the Commission raise citizens’ awareness about the European Disability Card and the European Parking Card, including by setting up a central European website.

The macroeconomic effects of global supply chain reorientation

Retrieved on: 
Saturday, February 10, 2024
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We analyse the macroeconomic

Key Points: 
    • We analyse the macroeconomic
      effects of supply chain reorientation through localisation policies, using a global dynamic
      general equilibrium model.
    • While arguments about comparative advantage, the potential forgone benefits of international specialisation and industry- and product-specific disruptions are familiar, there is less
      analysis on the macroeconomic effects of supply chain changes resulting from localisation policies.
    • The large sensitivity of the global economy to the recent supply chain shocks suggests that
      the international trade reconfiguration implied by localisation policies could also have sizable
      impacts on key macroeconomic variables such as output, employment and inflation.
    • Thus, localisation focuses on the
      goods in our model most closely related to global supply chains.
    • Retaliation also attenuates any positive effects from
      reshoring on output and implies a reduction in the volume of overall international trade.
    • This finding calls for limiting the scope of reshoring, such as by focusing on vital goods that are
      most susceptible to supply chain disruptions.
    • Either that, or the economic costs are considered a worthwhile trade-off for an increase
      in security of supply, for example.
    • While arguments about comparative advantage, the potential forgone benefits of international specialisation and industry- and product-specific disruptions are familiar, there is less
      analysis on the macroeconomic effects of supply chain changes resulting from localisation policies.
    • Recent supply chain shocks have had large effects, with disruptions in 2021 estimated
      to have reduced euro area GDP by around two percent and doubled the rate of manufacturing producer inflation (Celasun et al., 2022).
    • To analyse this issue, we simulate a (partial) reshoring of production back to Europe in
      a global dynamic general equilibrium framework.
    • Thus,
      localisation focuses on the goods in our model most closely related to global supply chains.3 We
      model reshoring through a direct change to the export goods? production-function parameters.
    • Since reshoring
      effectively shortens the supply chain, the sum of markups along the chain falls.
    • This means that imports that are at the end of the supply chain (i.e.
    • In particular, our work relates to papers examining the potential for countries to reduce
      their exposure to global supply chains.
    • (2021) demonstrate that reduced reliance on foreign inputs does not mitigate pandemicinduced contractions in labour supply.
    • (2021) find no evidence of a relationship
      between global value chain integration and macroeconomic volatility.
    • This dynamic, along with factors such as natural disasters, climate-change
      induced volatility and terrorism mean that supply chain disruptions could be a new normal
      (Grossman et al., 2021).
    • Our work contributes to the literature providing dynamic general equilibrium analyses of
      protectionist policies, in particular those using global macroeconomic models to quantify trade
      policy changes.
    • (2008) analyse the effect of a rise in protectionism in response
      to rising global trade imbalances.
    • Linde? and Pescatori (2019) find that although the macroeconomic costs of a
      trade war are substantial, a fully symmetric retaliation is the best response.
    • (2020) consider a rich input-output structure and demonstrate that closer integration amplifies
      the adverse effects of protectionist trade policies.
    • Several recent studies have also examined the economic effects of a global trade fragmentation.
    • First, we modify a dynamic general
      equilibrium model of the global economy in order to analyse the transmission of localisation
      policies.
    • This allows for a comprehensive treatment of cross-border macroeconomic interdependences and spillovers between the different regions.
    • 4

      There is, however, substantial cross-country heterogeneity in terms of impact, with small open economies
      (SOEs) reliant on global supply chains more affected.

    • ECB Working Paper Series No 2903

      7

      Second, we are able to assess both long-run effects and the transition dynamics of localisation
      policies.

    • Our model contains a detailed monetary block and captures inflation dynamics, which is a key
      concern for supply chain reorientation.
    • Overall, our paper contains a careful analysis of the key aspects of the localisation debate,
      including effects of localisation on domestic competition and efficiency.
    • Section 2 provides a brief overview of the model, the modifications to examine
      global supply chain reorientation, some key details on the calibration and a brief discussion of
      the nature of our exercise.
    • (2020) for discussions of the relative strengths and weaknesses of
      trade and macroeconomic models in assessing large economic shocks.
    • 2.1

      Supply chain reorientation

      Our analysis focuses on imported inputs used to produce goods for export, as the introduction
      of localisation policies is in response to recent disruptions to global supply chains.

    • Since reshoring
      effectively shortens the supply chain, the sum of markups along the chain falls.
    • Further to
      these effects, engagement with global firms provides an opportunity for knowledge spillovers to
      local firms (Criscuolo et al., 2017).
    • This finding calls for limiting the scope of reshoring, such as by focusing on vital goods that are
      most susceptible to supply chain disruptions.
    • (B12)

      Adjusting the share of local inputs in export goods, of course, affects prices and quantities all
      along the supply chain.