(1)

The European Commission, based on the draft implementing technical standards submitted by the European Banking Authority (EBA), recently adopted Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/451 (3), which repeals and replaces Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 680/2014 (4).

(2)

As Regulation (EU) 2015/534 of the European Central Bank (ECB/2015/13) (5) (the ‘ECB FINREP Regulation’) provides for the use, for its purposes, of templates developed by the EBA and enacted in Implementing Regulation (EU) No 680/2014, references to Implementing Regulation (EU) No 680/2014 in the ECB FINREP Regulation need to be updated accordingly. It is also necessary to take account of other changes that require updates to cross references to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/451 to ensure that the ECB FINREP Regulation remains consistent with the applicable Commission Implementing Regulation. Those changes include certain changes in the naming and structure of certain templates in the Annexes to the ECB FINREP Regulation so as to align with the naming and structure of the templates in the Annexes to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/451.

(3)

On 20 May 2019, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union adopted Regulation (EU) 2019/876 (6), which amends Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (7). References to Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 in the ECB FINREP Regulation should be updated accordingly.

(4)

In order to ensure legal certainty, it is necessary to ensure that the changes in references apply from the same date as the repeal of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 680/2014. This Regulation should therefore apply from the date of application of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/451, on 28 June 2021.

(5)

Therefore, Regulation (EU) 2015/534 (ECB/2015/13) should be amended accordingly,

(1)

Article 1 is amended as follows:

(2)

Article 4 is replaced by the following:

(3)

Article 5 is replaced by the following:

(4)

Article 6 is amended as follows:

(5)

Article 7 is amended as follows:

(6)

in points (a) and (b) of Article 8(4), the reference to ‘Implementing Regulation (EU) No 680/2014’ is replaced by a reference to ‘Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/451’;

(7)

Article 9(1) is amended as follows:

(8)

in Article 10(2), the reference to ‘Implementing Regulation (EU) No 680/2014’ is replaced by a reference to ‘Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/451’;

(9)

Article 11 is amended as follows:

(10)

in points (a) and (b) of Article 12(4), the reference to ‘Implementing Regulation (EU) No 680/2014’ is replaced by a reference to ‘Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/451’;

(11)

Article 13 is amended as follows:

(12)

Article 14 is amended as follows:

(13)

in points (a) and (b) of Article 15(4), the reference to ‘Implementing Regulation (EU) No 680/2014’ is replaced by a reference to ‘Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/451’;

(14)

the Annexes to Regulation (EU) 2015/534 (ECB/2015/13) are amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation.

(1)

Regulation (EU) 2020/1042 lays down temporary measures in relation to the European citizens’ initiative to address the challenges that organisers of citizens’ initiatives, national administrations and the Union institutions were faced with after the World Health Organization announced in March 2020 that the COVID-19 outbreak had become a worldwide pandemic. In the months following that announcement, Member States adopted restrictive measures to combat the public health crisis. As a result, public life came to a standstill in almost all Member States. Regulation (EU) 2020/1042 therefore extended certain time limits laid down in Regulation (EU) 2019/788.

(2)

Regulation (EU) 2020/1042 empowers the Commission to further extend the collection periods by 3 months in certain circumstances. The conditions for any further extension are similar to those that led to the initial extension after the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020, namely that at least a quarter of Member States or a number of Member States representing more than 35 % of the Union population apply measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which substantially hamper the ability of organisers to collect statements of support in paper form and to inform the public of their ongoing initiatives.

(3)

Since the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2020/1042 in July 2020, the Commission has been closely monitoring the situation in the Member States.

(4)

On 17 December 2020 (3), and again on 19 February 2021 (4), the Commission granted further 3-month extensions to initiatives that were in the process of collecting statements of support, following its assessment, that the conditions for granting such an extension under Regulation (EU) 2020/1042 were fulfilled. Proportionate extensions were granted to initiatives that started their collection period in the course of periods of extension.

(5)

Since 1 February 2021, the pandemic situation caused by COVID-19 in several Member States has not significantly changed. By the end of April 2021, a substantial number of Member States still had measures in place restricting the free circulation of citizens within their territory in order to stop or slow down the transmission of COVID-19. 7 Member States reported on 19 April that they were applying national confinement measures, which prohibit or substantially restrict the freedom of citizens to move around freely within their territory, while 12 Member States reported that they were applying local confinement measures. Those confinement measures have been combined with additional measures with similar restrictive effects on public life in their territory or at least substantial parts of it, including restrictions on the accessibility of public spaces, the closure or limited opening of shops, restaurants and pubs, severe capacity restrictions on public and private gatherings and meetings and the imposition of curfews. The combination of those measures substantially affects organisers’ ability to gather statements of support in paper form and to inform the public about their ongoing initiatives. Based on the information currently available, those measures, or measures with a similar effect, are likely to remain in place for a period of at least 3 months.

(6)

The Member States concerned represent at least one quarter of Member States, and more than 35 % of the Union population.

(7)

For those reasons, it can be concluded that the conditions for granting an extension of the collection periods are fulfilled in respect of 5 initiatives for which the collection period was ongoing on 1 May 2021. Those collection periods should therefore be extended by 3 months.

(8)

On 19 February 2021, the Commission granted an extension to 14 initiatives. For 9 initiatives it is not possible to benefit from a further extension, as these have already benefited from the maximum extension of 12 months.

(9)

For initiatives for which the collection period started between 1 May 2021 and the date of adoption of this Decision, the collection period should be extended until 1 August 2022.

—

the initiative entitled ‘VOTERS WITHOUT BORDERS, Full Political Rights for EU Citizens’: 11 June 2022;

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the initiative entitled ‘Start Unconditional Basic Incomes (UBI) throughout the EU’: 25 June 2022;

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the initiative entitled ‘Libertà di condividere’: 1 August 2022;

—

the initiative entitled ‘Right to Cure’: 1 August 2022;

—

the initiative entitled ‘Civil society initiative for a ban on biometric mass surveillance practices’: 1 August 2022;

—

the initiative entitled ‘Green Garden Roof Tops’: 1 August 2022.

—

the group of organisers of the initiative entitled ‘VOTERS WITHOUT BORDERS, Full Political Rights for EU Citizens’;

—

the group of organisers of the initiative entitled ‘Start Unconditional Basic Incomes (UBI) throughout the EU’;

—

the group of organisers of the initiative entitled ‘Libertà di condividere’;

—

the group of organisers of the initiative entitled ‘Right to Cure’;

—

the group of organisers of the initiative entitled ‘Civil society initiative for a ban on biometric mass surveillance practices’;

—

the group of organisers of the initiative entitled ‘Green Garden Roof Tops’.

(1)

In accordance with Article 45(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, the Romanian authorities notified to the Commission on 18 November 2019 a national draft order regarding the requirement for economic operators to ensure that consumers are informed about the freshness of fish (‘the draft order’).

(2)

Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 establishes the general principles, requirements and responsibilities governing food information, and in particular food labelling. In this regard, Article 9(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 list the particulars that are to be provided on foods, in accordance with Articles 10 to 35 and subject to the exceptions contained therein.

(3)

Article 39(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 provides that in addition to the mandatory particulars referred to in Article 9(1) and in Article 10, Member States may, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 45, adopt measures requiring additional mandatory particulars for specific types or categories of food, justified on one of the grounds of the protection of public health, the protection of consumers, the prevention of fraud or the protection of industrial and commercial property rights, indications of provenance, registered designations of origin and the prevention of unfair competition.

(4)

By laying down national measures requiring to inform the consumers about the freshness of fish, the draft order establishes additional mandatory particulars for specific categories of foods within the meaning of Article 39(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011. Therefore, it is necessary to examine its compatibility with the above mentioned requirements of that Regulation and the provisions of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

(5)

Article 2 of the notified draft order provides that economic operators shall display immediately next to the wild or farmed, non-prepacked, whole, fresh fish, one of the following four indications: (a) this fish was caught 0-2 days ago, (b) this fish was caught 2-3 days ago, (c) this fish was caught 3-4 days ago, or (d) this fish was caught more than 5 days ago.

(6)

The Romanian authorities explain that the draft order is intended to ensure that consumers in Romania are better informed regarding how fresh are products, in this case fish, marketed to them as well as concerning the fact that the products offered to them do not affect their lives or their health. The Romanian authorities explain that inspections by the National Authority for Consumer Protection (ANPC) have revealed that food products are being marketed in the fresh fish range that are not in fact fresh, thereby endangering the health of consumers using them.

(7)

Following a request for clarification from the Commission, the Romanian authorities clarified by letter of 25 June 2020 the scope of application of the draft order, as well as the information that would be required to be provided to consumers, and reiterated the justifications for its adoption.

(8)

Article 1(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 provides that the Regulation applies without prejudice to labelling requirements provided for in specific Union provisions applicable to particular foods.

(9)

Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2) of the European Parliament and the Council of 11 December 2013 on the common organisation of the markets in fishery and aquaculture products sets out common marketing standards for fish, including specific provisions on consumer information. Amongst others, it provides rules for the mandatory and voluntary consumer information that need to be indicated on fishery and aquaculture products that are marketed within the Union, irrespective of their origin or of their marketing method.

(10)

Article 35(1)(a to e) of Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013 lays down the five mandatory indications that apply specifically to fishery and aquaculture products. According to Article 39(1)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013, the date of catch of fishery products or the date of harvest of aquaculture products constitutes information that may be provided on a voluntary basis, provided it is clear and unambiguous.

(11)

The information required by the draft order, even though expressed differently, is tantamount to providing information on the date of catch or the date of harvest. The indications of Article 2 of the draft order enable the consumer to calculate the date of catch or the date of harvest. They also serve the same purpose as the indication of the date of catch or the date of harvest, namely to inform the consumers about the freshness of the fish.

(12)

As the provision of information on the date of catch or the date of harvest is harmonised at EU level as a voluntary indication, Member States may not require any indications concerning the date of catch or the date of harvest as an additional mandatory particular. Such national measure would be in conflict with provisions of EU law.

(13)

In addition, the protection of health and the provision of information to consumers, which are the reasons for the adoption of the draft national measure according to the Romanian Authorities, constitute objectives served by Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013. This is evidenced by recitals 20 and 21 and Articles 7(1)(c) and 35(1)(e) of that Regulation.

(14)

EU legislation provides the means to the competent national authorities to protect human health and safety, and to ensure that consumers are not mislead about the characteristics of fishery products placed on the market in their territories.

(15)

According to Article 14(1) of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3), food shall not be placed on the market if it is unsafe.

(16)

Article 17(2) of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 establishes a general duty for the competent Authorities in the Member States to monitor and control that food law requirements have comprehensively and effectively been enforced at all stages of the food chain.

(17)

Article 17(1) of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 imposes an obligation on food business operators to actively participate in implementing food law requirements by verifying that such requirements are met. Food business operators hold primary legal responsibility in ensuring compliance with food law, and in particular food safety.

(18)

Article 7(1)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 requires that food information shall not be misleading as to the characteristics of the food and, in particular, as to its nature, identity, properties, composition, quantity, durability, country of origin or place of provenance, method of manufacture or production.

(19)

As the EU legislation provides the means to the competent national authorities to protect human health and safety, and to ensure that consumers are not mislead about the characteristics of fishery products placed on the market in their territories, the national measure cannot be justified on those grounds.

(20)

In view of the abovementioned elements, the provisions of the draft order regarding the requirement for economic operators to ensure that consumers are informed about the freshness of fish would be contrary to Article 39(1)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013.

(21)

In light of these observations, the Commission has delivered a negative opinion on the draft order, on 22 September 2020, pursuant to Article 45(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011. The Commission notified the negative opinion to Romanian authorities on 23 September 2020.

(22)

The Romanian authorities should accordingly be requested not to adopt the notified order.

(23)

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,

(1)

In just one year, the COVID-19 pandemic has radically changed the role and relevance of digitalisation in our societies and economies, and accelerated its pace. In a response to the increased digitalisation of services, the demand by users and business for means to identify and authenticate online, as well as to digitally exchange information related to identity, attributes or qualifications, in a secure way and with a high level of data protection, has increased radically.

(2)

The objective of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1) (the ‘eIDAS Regulation’) is to enable the cross-border recognition of government electronic identification (‘eIDs’) to access public services, and to establish a Union market for trust services recognised across borders with the same legal status as the traditional equivalent paper-based processes.

(3)

In its conclusions of 1-2 October 2020, the European Council called on the Commission to make a proposal for the development of an EU-wide framework for secure public electronic identification, including interoperable digital signatures, to provide people with control over their online identity and data as well as to enable access to public, private and cross-border digital services.

(4)

The Commission Communication ‘2030 Digital Compass: the European way for the Digital Decade’ (2) sets the objective that, by 2030, the Union and its citizens should benefit from a wide deployment of a trusted, user-controlled identity, allowing each user to control their own online interactions and presence.

(5)

The Commission adopted a proposal to amend the eIDAS Regulation (3). It proposes a European Digital Identity framework to offer users self-determined personal digital wallets that would allow for a secure and easy access to different services, both public and private, under the users full control. In addition, it creates a new qualified trust service for attestation of attributes concerning information related to identity, such as addresses, age, gender, civil status, family composition, nationality, educational and professional qualifications and titles, licenses, other permits and payment data, that can be offered, shared and exchanged across borders, in full security, data protection and with legal effect across borders.

(6)

Given the acceleration of digitisation, Member States have deployed or are developing national electronic identity systems including digital wallets and national trust frameworks for the integration of attributes and credentials. Other solutions are being prepared or in the process of being deployed by private sector operators.

(7)

The development of divergent national solutions creates fragmentation and deprives people and businesses from the benefits of the Single Market, as they cannot use secure, convenient and uniform identification systems across the Union to access both public and private services.

(8)

To support the competitiveness of European businesses, online service providers should be able to rely on digital identity solutions recognised across the Union, irrespective of the Member State in which they have been issued, thus benefiting from a harmonised European approach to trust, security and interoperability. Users and service providers alike should be able to benefit from the same legal value provided to electronic attestations of attributes valid across the Union.

(9)

In order to avoid fragmentation and barriers due to diverging standards, and to ensure a coordinated process to impede endangering the implementation of the future European Digital Identity framework, there needs to be a process for close and structured cooperation between the Commission, the Member States and the private sector.

(10)

To accelerate the path towards achieving this objective, Member States should increase their cooperation and identify a Toolbox for a European Digital Identity framework. The toolbox should lead to a technical architecture and reference framework, a set of common standards and technical references as well as best practices and guidelines as a basis for the implementation of the European Digital Identity framework. To ensure a harmonised approach for electronic identity in line with the expectations of citizens and businesses, including of persons with disabilities, cooperation should start immediately in parallel and in full respect of the legislative process and in alignment with its outcome.

(11)

This Recommendation sets up a structured process of cooperation between Member States, the Commission and, where relevant, private sector operators to develop the Toolbox.

(12)

The Toolbox should cover four cross-cutting dimensions, namely the provision and exchange of identity attributes, functionality and security of the European Digital Identity Wallets, reliance on the European Digital Identity Wallet including identity matching, and governance. The Toolbox should meet the requirements laid out in the proposal for a European Digital Identity framework. It should be updated as necessary following the outcome of the legislative process.

(13)

Collaboration between Member States is necessary for the exchange of best practices and the development of guidelines in areas where harmonisation is not required, but an alignment of practices would support implementation of the European Digital Identity framework by Member State.

(14)

The eIDAS expert group shall be tasked as main interlocutor for the purposes of implementing this Recommendation.

(15)

Catalogues of attributes and schemes for the attestation of attributes have already been established in other areas, such as for the Once Only Technical System of the Single Digital Gateway Regulation or other data exchange initiatives at European level. Alignment and reuse of that work should be considered to ensure interoperability considering also the principles of the European Interoperability framework.

(16)

Existing international and European standards and technical specifications should be re-used where appropriate and reference pilots and test implementations of the European Identity Digital Wallet framework and related components should be carried out to facilitate deployment, up-take and interoperability.