Benefits of health tech cooperation – EUbusiness Week newsletter 833 – EUbusiness.com

EUbusiness Week 833 top stories: Finance ministers agree lower VAT for e-publications; Progress on VAT reform and fight against fraud; Parliament raises CO2 emissions targets for cars; MEPs vote for 30 pct European content for on-demand TV; Brussels okays Slovakia state aid to Jaguar Land Rover; Ministers give backing to European supercomputer project

Publisher’s Note

Better cooperation by EU member states on assessing new health technologies, such as new medicines and new devices, would benefit Europeans’ health, say MEPs, who this week approved new rules to foster innovation and help innovative health tools reach patients faster. There is evidence, says Spanish MEP Soledad Cabezon Ruiz, that some drugs approved for cancer treatments have not led to improvements in survival rates – despite often high prices. Europe-level evaluation would improve the quality of the available evidence as well as the evaluation itself, she says. Being better able to quickly determine the true contribution of new medical products will improve the sustainability of European health care.
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Regards,

Nick Prag
Publisher, EUbusiness

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1. Finance ministers agree lower VAT for e-publications

Ministers have agreed to allow EU states to apply reduced, ‘super-reduced’ or zero VAT rates to electronic publications, thereby allowing alignment of VAT rules for electronic and physical publications.
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2. Progress on VAT reform and fight against fraud

The Ecofin Council also agreed new rules to exchange more information and boost cooperation on criminal VAT fraud, as well as measures to cut VAT compliance burdens for companies.
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3. Parliament raises CO2 emissions targets for cars

Market uptake of electric and low- emission cars would accelerate following a vote Wednesday by the EU Parliament to lower CO2 emissions by 20% by 2025, and 40% by 2030.
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4. MEPs vote for 30 pct European content for on-demand TV

The Parliament has voted updated rules on audiovisual media services, protecting children better, with stricter rules on advertising, and 30% European content in video-on-demand.
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5. Brussels okays Slovakia state aid to Jaguar Land Rover

The Commission gave its approval Thursday to Slovakia’s EUR 125 million investment aid to Jaguar Land Rover, saying it is in line with EU State aid rules, and will not unduly distort competition.
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6. Ministers give backing to European supercomputer project

Research ministers have given their backing to the setting up of a new European joint undertaking with the aim of overseeing the pooling of resources into high-performance computing.
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EUROPEAN LAW

ECB bonds purchase: the decision of the European Central Bank to establish a programme for the purchase of government bonds on secondary markets is valid, in the Opinion of the top EU Court’s Advocate-General.
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Latest news from the European Court of Justice
EU law firms
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Inside the EU Institutions

Council Watch

Russian cyber attacks – VAT fraud: generalised, temporary reversal of liability, short-term fixes, administrative cooperation – Controls on cash entering and leaving EU – reduced VAT rates for e-books
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Commission Watch

Jaguar Land Rover state aid – European Court of Auditors signs off EU accounts – humanitarian support to Afghanistan – Major EU investments in Greece infrastructure – VAT reform – emergency aid for victims of Indonesian earthquake
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Parliament Watch

Quicker freezing and confiscation of criminal assets to fight organised crime – Eurojust to become more effective with new rules – Human Rights breaches in China, Belarus and United Arab Emirates – Free flow of non-personal data: Parliament approves EU’s fifth freedom – cleaner cars on EU roads by 2030 – joint assessment of medicines – Green light for VAT overhaul to simplify system and cut fraud – New rules for audiovisual media services approved by Parliament – Brexit and migration dominate debate on EU summit
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EU diary

8 Oct: Security of personal data processing event
8-11 Oct: European Week of Regions and Cities
8-11 Oct: European Parliament Committee Meetings
9-11 Oct: Policy Forum on Development
9 Oct: Environment Council
10-11 Oct: River engineering symposium 2018
11-12 Oct: October days for sustainable development
11 Oct: EU school fruit and vegetables scheme: taking stock
11 Oct: Cybersecurity in the energy sector
11-12 Oct: Justice and Home Affairs Council
11 Oct: Employment, Social, Health, Consumer Council
11-12 Oct: Gender equality and YOU
12 Oct: EU budget for the future: The road ahead
The Week Ahead
Long-term diary