Daily News 07 / 09 / 2020

Integrating migrants and refugees into the labour market: Commission and social and economic partners relaunch cooperation

Today, the Commission, trade unions, chambers of commerce and employers' organisations are renewing their cooperation to enhance the integration of migrants and refugees into the labour market. In a joint statement issued today, they highlight areas for future focus, and express interest in cooperating further in the area of labour migration under the European Partnership on Integration launched in 2017. The signatories reaffirm the importance of a multi-stakeholder approach for early integration into the labour market benefitting both refugees and the economy and society at large. An event will take place at 16.30 today with the participation of Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit, Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson and representatives from SMEUnited, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), Business Europe, Eurochambers and the European Centre of Employers and Enterprises providing Public Services and Services of general interest (CEEP) to mark the release of the joint statement. Coverage will be available on EbS. A full press release is available online. (For more information: Adalbert Jahnz - Tel.: + 32 229 53156; Marta Wieczorek – Tel.: +32 229 58197)

La Commission lance une consultation publique sur sa vision à long terme des zones rurales

La Commission européenne a lancé aujourd'hui une consultation publique sur sa nouvelle initiative sur une vision à long terme pour les zones rurales. Cette consultation vise à recueillir des points de vue sur les opportunités et les défis actuels dans les zones rurales, les aspirations de ces zones ainsi que les actions nécessaires pour les réaliser. Tout Européen intéressé, y compris les consommateurs, le secteur agroalimentaire, les PME rurales, les États membres, les autorités régionales et locales, les agriculteurs, les organisations de la société civile, les jeunes ruraux, les ONG, les groupes d'action locale, les réseaux ruraux et les universitaires peuvent contribuer à la consultation publique en ligne jusqu'au 27 novembre 2020. La Commission souhaite garantir une large consultation et invite toutes les personnes intéressées par l'avenir des zones rurales et de leurs habitants à partager leurs points de vue. La vice-présidente Šuica, en charge de la démocratie et de la démographie, a déclaré: «Je suis heureuse de lancer cette nouvelle consultation publique aujourd'hui. Les zones rurales sont souvent confrontées à des défis tels que l'éloignement, le manque de connectivité et des services limités. Mais elles regorgent également de potentiel et d'opportunités, avec une qualité de vie unique et un rôle particulier à jouer dans la transition vers une Europe verte, numérique et durable. L'année prochaine, sur la base de cette consultation, nous présenterons une vision à long terme pour les zones rurales afin de les aider à relever ces défis et à rendre ces zones  attrayantes et dynamiques. Nous proposerons des mesures, y compris à court terme, pour concrétiser cette vision sur le long terme. » (Pour plus d'informations: Miriam Garcia Ferrer - Tél: +32 229 99075; Thérèse Lerebours – Tél: +32 229 63303)

State aid: Commission approves €199.45 million Italian support to compensate Alitalia for damages suffered due to coronavirus outbreak

The European Commission has found Italian €199.45 million support in favour of Alitalia to be in line with EU State aid rules. The measure aims at compensating the airline for the damages suffered due to the coronavirus outbreak. Alitalia is a major network airline operating in Italy. With a fleet of over 95 planes, in 2019 the company served hundreds of destinations all over the world, carrying about 20 million passengers from its main hub in Rome and other Italian airports to various international destinations. Since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, Alitalia has suffered a significant reduction of its services, resulting in high operating losses. Italy notified to the Commission an aid measure to compensate Alitalia for the damage suffered from 1 March 2020 to 15 June 2020 resulting from the containment measures and travel restrictions introduced by Italy and other destination countries to limit the spread of the coronavirus. The support will take the form of a €199.45 million direct grant, which corresponds to the estimated damage directly caused to the airline in that period. The Commission assessed the measure under Article 107(2)(b) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which enables the Commission to approve State aid measures granted by Member States to compensate specific companies or sectors for damage directly caused by exceptional occurrences. The Commission considers that the coronavirus outbreak qualifies as such an exceptional occurrence, as it is an extraordinary, unforeseeable event having significant economic impact. As a result, exceptional interventions by the Member State to compensate for the damages linked to the outbreak are justified. The Commission found that the Italian measure will compensate the damage suffered by Alitalia that is directly linked to the coronavirus outbreak. It also found that the measure is proportionate, as the compensation does not exceed what is necessary to make good the damage. On this basis, the Commission concluded that the Italian damage compensation measure is in line with EU State aid rules. Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said: “This measure will enable Italy to compensate Alitalia for the damage directly suffered due to the travel restrictions necessary to limit the spread of the coronavirus. The aviation industry is one of the sectors that has been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus outbreak. We continue working with Member States to find workable solutions to support companies in these difficult times, in line with EU rules. At the same time, our investigations into past support measures to Alitalia are ongoing and we are in contact with Italy on their plans and compliance with EU rules.” The full press release is available online. (For more information: Arianna Podesta – Tel. +32 229 87024; Giulia Astuti – Tel.: +32 229 55344; Maria Tsoni – Tel.: +32 229 90526)

Mergers: Commission clears the acquisition of IFS by EQT and TA

The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of joint control over IGT Holding I Sweden AB and IGT Holding II AB (together “IFS”) of Sweden by EQT Fund Management S.a.r.l. (“EQT”) of Luxembourg and TA Associates (“TA”) of the US. IFS supplies enterprise resource planning, enterprise asset management and field service management software to customers in a range of industry sectors located in the European Economic Area and globally. EQT is a private equity investment fund. TA is a private equity firm investing in portfolio companies active in selected industries, including business services, consumer, financial services, healthcare and technology. The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns, given the companies' moderate combined market positions and limited increment resulting from the proposed transaction. The transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure. More information is available on the Commission's competition website, in the public case register under the case number M.9920. (For more information: Arianna Podesta – Tel. +32 229 87024; Maria Tsoni – Tel.: +32 229 90526)

Mergers: Commission clears acquisition of joint control of Axel Springer by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and KKR

The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of joint control of Axel Springer SE of Germany by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board of Canada (“CCPIB”) of Canada and KKR & Co. Inc. (“KKR”) of the US.  Axel Springer is a media company active in more than 40 countries worldwide. CCPIB is an in investment firm acting for the Canada Pension Plan Fund. KKR provides asset management services and capital market solutions. The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns because of the moderate combined market position in the areas where the companies' activities overlap. The transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure. More information is available on the Commission's competition website, in the public case register under the case number M.9864.  (For more information: Arianna Podesta – Tel. +32 229 87024; Maria Tsoni – Tel.: +32 229 90526)

Mergers: Commission clears acquisition of Envision by GHO and Mubadala

The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of joint control of Envision Group Limited (“Envision”) of the UK by GHO Capital Fund II LP (“GHO”) of the Cayman Islands and Mubadala Investiment Company PJSC (“Mubadala”) of the United Arab Emirates. Envision is a medical consultancy and software company. GHO is a private equity firm with a focus on the healthcare industry. Mubadala is an investment company. The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns because the activities of the companies do not overlap. The transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure. More information is available on the Commission's competition website, in the public case register under the case number M.9922.  (For more information: Arianna Podesta – Tel. +32 229 87024; Maria Tsoni – Tel.: +32 229 90526)

Announcements

Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis and Commissioner Gentiloni speak at the digital edition of the Brussels Economic Forum on 8 September

Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis and Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni will take part in the 20^th anniversary digital edition of the Brussels Economic Forum tomorrow, 8 September 2020. The Forum is the flagship annual economic event of the European Commission and celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. In the exceptional economic circumstances caused by the coronavirus pandemic, and in order to ensure the health and safety of the audience, speakers and staff, the Forum has been transformed into a digital event. The Forum will focus on how best to restart the European economy. The topics under discussion will include fiscal and monetary policy, the Recovery Plan and the EU 2021-2027 budget, the green and the digital transitions and many more. This year the opening address will be delivered by Nadia Calviño, Third Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation of Spain. Other distinguished European and international speakers include: Charles Michel, President of the European Council; Alexander Stubb, Director of the School of Transnational Governance at the European University Institute; Maja Göpel, Secretary-General of the German Advisory Council on Global Change; Sharan Burrow, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation; Martin Sandbu, European economics commentator at the Financial Times. The conference will be live-streamed on the website and participants will have the opportunity to submit their questions to speakers through a Q&A on Sli.do. Further details and the programme are available here. (For more information: Marta Wieczorek – Tel.: +32 229 58197; Enda McNamara – Tel.: +32 229 64976)

Eurostat: communiqués de presse