Insurance
Commission’s bond-backed product gets lukewarm reception
Financial representatives poured cold water on Thursday (24 May) on the European Commission’s proposal to create sovereign bond-backed securities (SBBS), insisting that not all the elements exist yet for a successful market for the product.
Tech industry and consumer watchdogs at odds over robot liability
Tech industry groups and consumer watchdogs are at odds over whether the European Commission should overhaul the bloc’s legislation on product liability to cover robots and artificial intelligence.
Automated cars: Too much, too soon
Sunday’s fatal collision between an Uber autonomous car and a pedestrian in Arizona shows that the regulatory environment in the US, as well as in Europe, is not ready for fully autonomous vehicles, writes Antonio Avenoso.
Extreme weather events on the rise, European scientists warn
Extreme weather events are on the rise due to man-made climate change, according to a consensus report by Europe's scientific academies, which called for urgent action to make sure infrastructure and society itself is ready to adapt to the new climate.
Commission to introduce rules to clarify ‘green’ investment in May
Following the action plan on sustainable finance to be published early next month, the European Commission will present legislation in May to define what represents 'green' investment, EURACTIV has learned.
Ministers sign off on fast-track EU data flow deal
The EU took a step towards finalising a key piece of digital single market law on Wednesday (20 December) after EU diplomats agreed to scrap rules that require data to be stored only in a certain country.
Zurich boss: ‘We need to look at protection, savings and retirement together’
Amid growing social inequalities and the digital transformation of the economy, Zurich’s Gary Shaughnessy believes public officials, employers and insurers should all cooperate to provide protection to the most vulnerable groups.
Commission wants bigger role for regulators in sustainable finance development
The European Commission has proposed giving the European Supervisory Authorities broader powers to determine what represents environmental, social and governance investment and to monitor banks’ activities in this field.
MEPs demand EU strategy to protect gig economy workers
The European Parliament is expected to adopt a draft report on Thursday (15 June) calling on EU and national authorities to ensure “fair working conditions and adequate legal and social protection for all workers” in the collaborative economy.
Commission struggles with tax exemptions in EU-wide pension proposal
European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis admitted on Thursday (8 June) that full harmonisation across Europe, for the tax regime applied to the upcoming EU-wide personal pension insurance, was "unlikely".
EU cybersecurity agency seeks funds and power to police attacks
The EU cybersecurity agency ENISA will get a makeover in September when the European Commission renews its mandate and presents a batch of new cybersecurity measures. The director of the Athens-based agency has been asking for a bigger budget to deal with the rise in attacks on internet-connected devices.
Fifteen countries ask for EU legislation on data flows
Ministers from 15 EU countries have asked the European Commission to focus on removing barriers to digital trade one week before the executive presents a mid-term review of its flagship Digital Single Market policies.
Uber, France spar over whether company is a transport service
US ride-hailing app Uber told Europe's top court on Monday (24 April) that it was a digital service, not a transport service, and that a French law clearly targeted online taxi services, in its latest European legal battle with the taxi industry.
Brussels eyes EU-wide licence for FinTech startups
The European Commission wants to create a special regime to attract FinTech companies in Europe and help the old continent compete globally on this promising new market, EU sources told EURACTIV.com.
Parliament plenary rejects universal basic income
The European Parliament's plenary session voted today (16 February) against a universal basic income to compensate for the impact of robots on the labour market.
In a self-driving future we can’t let carmakers decide who lives and who dies
The EU needs independent oversight of self-driving technologies, argues Antonio Avenoso. The risk is of a kind of lawless Wild West for the early years of automated cars, not unlike the early years of motoring itself – before speed limits, traffic lights and driver license tests started to set the rules of the road.
Law professor: ‘Autonomous weapons’ notably absent from EU motion on robotics, AI
The European Parliament is voting today (16 February) on a landmark resolution on civil law, robotics and artificial intelligence. Ahead of the vote, Euractiv.com explored the ethical and legal implications of robotisation with a professor of international and European law.
MEPs want ‘free cash’ to address job-killer robots threat
EU legislators today (12 January) called for a universal basic income to combat the looming risk of job loss by the onward march of robots, as well as concerns about European welfare systems.
Companies face new data access rules under controversial Commission plans
Car manufacturers and other firms that increasingly rely on consumer data to make money could be subject to new EU rules that would force them to share that data with other firms, according to a leaked draft of the plans obtained by EURACTIV.com.
Uber gains key support ahead of EU Court hearing
A majority of EU governments are expected tomorrow (29 November) to back – at least partly – the ride-hailing firm’s claim of being a digital platform, opening the way for a lighter regulatory oversight of the American-based company than if it was considered like a normal transport firm.
Bulgaria has the EU’s deadliest roads
Bulgaria, Romania and Latvia had the most road deaths per capita in the EU in 2015, tarnishing the EU's record on vehicle safety in a year when the number of people killed by vehicle crashes rose for the first time in almost twenty years.
European Commission paralysed over data flows in TiSA trade deal
European Commission officials have struck a deal that could put a clause guaranteeing international data flows into a trade agreement with 22 countries outside the bloc, including the United States and Australia.
‘Robots are leaving the cage’, dazzling EU lawyers and regulators
How should autonomous and self-learning robots be considered from a legal viewpoint? Under plans currently under discussion, they can be regarded as pets or even as “robot persons” in their own right, EURACTIV.com has learned.