With renewables taking up a growing share of energy production, the European Commission wants support for renewables to be carried out more competitively. For this purpose, feed-in tariffs should be largely replaced by feed-in premiums and quota models. Degressive elements of the support system should mean that overcompensation and distortions of competition are avoided. Support for existing installations should not be changed retrospectively.

The EU Commission proposes an extensive overhaul of the digital single market rules. Part 3 of the cepPolicyBrief deals with the rules on roaming and cross-border connections within the EU.

Part 2 of the cepPolicyBrief deals with the notification requirement for telecomms providers, radio frequencies and virtual broadband access.

Part 1 of the cepPolicyBrief concerns net neutrality and the full harmonisation of the rights of end-users.

With the proposal for a Directive on a 2nd Payment Services Directive, the Commission wants to promote the European payments market and encourage transparency, security and innovation in relation to payments.

The Commission wants to restrict the level of interchange fees for card payments and eliminate anti-competitive business rules and practices.

The Commission calls for a Quality Framework for Traineeships (QFT) to improve the working conditions and quality of the content of traineeships as well as to increase the cross-border mobility of trainees.

In order to speed up the arrival of emergency services, in the event of an accident, by 40-50%, the European Commission wants to introduce an EU-wide, standard emergency system for road traffic ("eCall"). An eCall device inside the vehicle will allow an emergency call to be sent, either automatically in the case of a "severe accident" or manually by the occupants of the vehicle, via the mobile telephone network to an emergency response centre. The aim is to reduce the number of fatalities and severe injuries caused by road accidents.

The EU Commission proposes an extensive overhaul of the digital single market rules. Part 2 of the cepPolicyBrief deals with the notification requirement for telecomms providers, radio frequencies and virtual broadband access.

Part 1 of the cepPolicyBrief concerns net neutrality and the full harmonisation of the rights of end-users. The change to the Roaming Regulation and cross-border fixed-network connections within the EU will be considered in Part 3.

In principle, every tax-liable business must submit a VAT return. The Commission wants to introduce an EU-wide mandatory standard VAT return. This consists of a standard form, harmonised tax periods and deadlines for the submission of VAT returns as well as harmonised rules on making corrections to the VAT return.