Security of 5G networks: EU Member States complete national risk assessments

Following the Commission Recommendation for a common European approach to the security of 5G networks, 24 EU Member States have now completed the first step and submitted national risk assessments. These assessments will feed into the next phase, a EU-wide risk assessment which will be completed by 1 October. Commissioner for the Security Union, Julian King, and Commissioner for the Digital Economy and Society, Mariya Gabriel, welcomed this important step forward and said:

“We are pleased to see that most Member States have now submitted their risk assessments. Following the support expressed by the European Council on 22 March for a concerted approach, Member States responded promptly to our call for concrete measures to help ensure the cybersecurity of 5G networks across the EU. The national risk assessments are essential to make sure that Member States are adequately prepared for the deployment of the next generation of wireless connectivity that will soon form the backbone of our societies and economies.

We urge Member States to remain committed to the concerted approach and to use this important step to gain momentum for a swift and secure rollout of 5G networks. Close EU-wide cooperation is essential both for achieving strong cybersecurity and for reaping the full benefits, which 5G will have to offer for people and businesses.

The completion of the risk assessments underlines the commitment of Member States not only to set high standards for security but also to make full use of this groundbreaking technology. We hope that the outcomes will be taken into account in the process of 5G spectrum auctions and network deployment, which is taking place across the EU now and in the coming months. Several Member States have already taken steps to reinforce applicable security requirements while others are considering introducing new measures in the near future.

We need all key players, big and small, to accelerate their efforts and join us in building a common framework aimed at ensuring consistently high levels of security. We look forward to continuing our close cooperation with Member States as we begin the work on an EU-wide risk assessment, due to be complete by 1 October, that will help to develop a European approach to protecting the integrity of 5G.”

National risk assessments include an overview of:

·    the main threats and actors affecting 5G networks;

·    the degree of sensitivity of 5G network components and functions as well as other assets; and

·    various types of vulnerabilities, including both technical ones and other types of vulnerabilities, such as those potentially arising from the 5G supply chain.

In addition, the work on national risk assessments involved a range of responsible actors in the Member States, including cybersecurity and telecommunication authorities and security and intelligence services, strengthening their cooperation and coordination.

Next Steps

Based on the information received, Member States, together with the Commission and the EU Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), will prepare a coordinated EU-wide risk assessment by 1 October 2019. In parallel, ENISA is analysing the 5G threat landscape as an additional input. 

By 31 December 2019, the NIS Cooperation Group that leads the cooperation efforts together with the Commission will develop and agree on a toolbox of mitigating measures to address the risks identified in the risk assessments at Member State and EU level.

Following the recent entry into force of the Cybersecurity Act at the end of June, the Commission and the EU Agency for Cybersecurity will set up an EU-wide certification framework. Member States are encouraged to cooperate with the Commission and the EU Agency for Cybersecurity to prioritise a certification scheme covering 5G networks and equipment.

By 1 October 2020, Member States should assess in cooperation with the Commission, the effects of measures taken to determine whether there is a need for further action. This assessment should take into account the coordinated European risk assessment.

Background

Fifth generation (5G) networks will form essential digital infrastructure in the future, connecting billions of objects and systems, including in critical sectors such as energy, transport, banking, and health, as well as industrial control systems carrying sensitive information and supporting safety systems.

The European Commission recommended on 26 March 2019 a set of concrete actions to assess cybersecurity risks of 5G networks and to strengthen preventive measures, following the support from Heads of State or Government for a concerted approach to the security of 5G networks.

The Commission called on Member States to complete national risk assessments and review national measures as well as to work together at EU level on a coordinated risk assessment and a common toolbox of mitigating measures.

Spotlight: How an Italian port illustrates the future of China-Europe ties

(Xinhua) — The port in the small Italian city of Vado Ligure is the latest incarnation of strengthened ties between China and Europe.

With stakes co-held by a Netherlands-headquartered company and two Chinese partners, the Vado Gateway terminal upon completion in December will be able to accommodate the world’s largest container ships, while cutting down on costs and time for cargo entering and leaving the port.

Regarded as an example of cooperation between European and Chinese businesses, the port is expected to bolster the local economy, create more jobs and further open the northwestern Italian region to outside markets.

As the first member of the Group of Seven to join the Belt and Road Initiative, Italy has come to benefit from aligning its plan to develop its northern ports and the InvestItalia program with the China-proposed initiative, which seeks to improve interconnectivity between Asia, Europe, Africa and beyond.

Last year, the collapse of the Morandi bridge in the north Italian city of Genoa, not far from Vado Ligure, sent at least 30 cars into the riverbed and train tracks 45 meters (130 feet) below, killing dozens of people.

Such a tragedy underlines the urgency for Italy to upgrade its infrastructure, some of which is in desperate need of repair. In Vado Ligure, locals describe the upgrade as the largest of its kind in years.

Better infrastructure like ports, roads and bridges could help bring countries closer and strengthen ties, undergirding foundations for further cooperation.

“If we are able to update and upgrade our road and rail infrastructure, we can be the Chinese door to Central Europe,” Gian Enzo Duci, professor at the University of Genoa and president of Federagenti, the Italian National Federation of Ship Brokers & Agents, said.

In response to some claims that China’s investment in European infrastructure would somehow pose geopolitical challenges, Duci said such fears are unfounded.

“We still have military presence of the Unites States in our country, why should we be scared of the economic presence of Chinese interest?” one Italian shipping expert said bluntly.

While the resurgence of protectionism and unilateralism has cast a lingering shadow on global commerce, the economic and trade links between China and Europe, two defenders of multilateralism, have continuously expanded over the years.

The European Union (EU) has been China’s largest trading partner for more a decade while the Asian country is the bloc’s second largest trading partner. In 2018, China-EU trade volume hit a record high, exceeding 682 billion U.S. dollars.

With cooperation and exchanges between China and Europe as strong as ever, more European cities – big or small, rich or poor – stand to benefit. Vado Ligure is a case in point.

Digital Single Market: Europeans are aware of rules against unjustified geo-blocking

Seven months after new rules against unjustified geo-blocking began to apply, general consumer awareness of the new rules against restrictions for online shopping and cross-border sales is already high.

A Eurobarometer survey published today shows that just a few months after the new rules on geo-blocking started to apply, 50% of EU citizens are generally aware of EU action to tackle unjustified discrimination by traders. However, more efforts are needed to ensure wider knowledge of the specific digital rights enshrined in EU law, since only 29% of respondents know which rights specifically concern them.

Vice-President for the Digital Single Market Andrus Ansip said: “By banning unjustified geo-blocking last December we made another concrete step for Europe’s people and businesses to get the most and best from the digital age. I am now pleased to see that Europeans are largely enjoying their new digital right, which is part of a total of 35 new digital rights and freedoms that the Digital Single Market has created, as a new legal environment has fallen into place.”

Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, Mariya Gabriel, added: “The new rules ending unjustified geo-blocking benefit consumers and traders alike, offering fairer access to products and services within the EU single market. Companies that continue to restrict access to consumers are quite simply breaking the law. The Commission will continue to monitor the situation to ensure that the rules are complied with.”

Growing interest to access cross-border content

The Eurobarometer survey published today is part of the Commission’s ongoing evaluation of consumer needs and market realities in sectors that are currently not covered or only partially covered by the geo-blocking rules. This evaluation will feed into an initial review of the rules, planned for March 2020, which will look into whether there is need to extend the scope of the Regulation. For example, the survey clearly shows that audio-visual and other electronically supplied copyright-protected content, such as music streaming and downloading, e-books and games, is among the most popular content sought by consumers across borders. This type of content is not covered by the current rules, yet it is likely that it will merit specific attention under EU law in the near future.

In particular, the number of internet users trying to get cross-border access to content has nearly doubled over the last four years (from 8% in 2015 to 15% in 2019). The most popular types of content sought across borders is audio-visual (sought by 9% of respondents) and music (8%). The survey also indicates that this trend is likely to continue, driven by young people in particular; the percentage of 15 to 24 year-old respondents who have tried to access these services across borders is 28%, nearly double the overall figure.

The most common reasons for trying to access such content are lack of availability in the respondents’ own country (44%), followed by the quest for a wider choice (39%). A majority of those who did not try to have access to content meant for users in another EU country would nonetheless still be interested in doing so (in particular audio-visual with 31% and music with 29%, with even higher figures for the younger generations).

Background

The Regulation against unjustified geo-blocking, which entered into force on 3 December 2018, addresses unjustified online sales discrimination based on customers’ nationality, place of residence or place of establishment within the internal market. It does not oblige traders to allow access to their content, nor sell or deliver across the whole EU, but rather prohibits traders from discriminating against customers based on their nationality, place of residence or place of establishment, if the trader already delivers to their particular Member State.

This regulation is part of a series of rules on e-commerce aimed at boosting cross-border online sales in the EU, for the benefit of the consumers, who will enjoy more choice and more guarantees, as well as for the online sellers. In particular:

•          the revised Payment Services Directive and new rules on cross-border parcel delivery services, that offer greater payment and price transparency across the EU, are already in force;
•          the revised consumer protection rules, aimed at offering more protection for consumers when buying online, have been recently agreed by the European Parliament and the Council;
•          the new VAT rules for online sales of goods and services, intended for adapting VAT measures to an increasingly digital and globalised economy, will enter into force in January 2021.

Thanks to the Digital Single Market strategy, Europeans can, since April 2018, access their online subscriptions to films, sports events, e-books, video games or music services while travelling to another Member State. In addition, new rules will make it easier for broadcasters to enrich their online output across borders, granting people better choice and access to content across borders and allowing European culture to flourish.

Questions and Answers – EU Cybersecurity

What has the EU done so far to reinforce cybersecurity? 

The EU has now a range of instruments to protect electronic communications networks, including the Directive on Security of Network and Information Systems (NIS Directive), the EU Cybersecurity Act, and the new telecoms rules.

The Directive has introduced new mechanisms for cooperation at EU level, measures to increase national capabilities and obligations for operators of essential services and digital service providers to adopt risk management practices and report significant incidents to the national authorities.

The Cybersecurity Act introduces, for the first time, EU wide rules for the cybersecurity certification of products, processes and services. In addition, the Cybersecurity Act sets a new permanent mandate for the EU Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), as well as more resources allocated to the Agency to enable it to fulfil its goals.

According to the new telecoms rules (Electronic Communications Code), Member States have to ensure that the integrity and security of public communications networks are maintained, with obligations to ensure that operators take technical and organisational measures to appropriately manage any risks to the security of networks and services. It also provides that competent national regulatory authorities have powers, including the power to issue binding instructions and ensure compliance with them. In addition, Member States can attach conditions concerning the security of public networks against unauthorised access to the general authorisations for operators, for the purpose of protecting the confidentiality of communications.

Finally, in May 2019, the Council established a sanctions regime, which allows the EU to impose targeted restrictive measures to deter and respond to cyber-attacks which constitute an external threat to the EU and its Member States. The new sanctions regime is part of the EU’s cyber diplomacy toolbox, a framework for a joint EU diplomatic response to malicious cyber activities that allows the EU to make full use of measures within the Common Foreign and Security Policy, including, statements by the High Representative, diplomatic demarches and, if necessary, restrictive measures, to respond to malicious cyber activities.

What is the EU Cybersecurity Certification Framework and what are its advantages?

A European cybersecurity certification scheme is a comprehensive set of rules, technical requirements, standards and procedures, agreed at European level for the evaluation of the cybersecurity properties of a specific product, service or process.

Cybersecurity certification plays an important role in increasing trust and security in products, services and processes that are crucial for the proper functioning of the Digital Single Market. Given the large diversity and many uses of ICT products, services and processes, the European Cybersecurity Certification framework enables the creation of tailored and risk-based EU certification schemes.

In particular, each European scheme should specify: a) the categories of products and services covered, b) the cybersecurity requirements, for example by reference to standards or technical specifications, c) the type of evaluation (e.g. self-assessment or third party evaluation), and d) the intended level of assurance (e.g. basic, substantial and/or high).

To express the cybersecurity risk, a certificate may refer to three assurance levels (basic, substantial, high) that are commensurate with the level of the risk associated with the intended use of the product, service or process, in terms of the probability and impact of an incident. For example, a high assurance level means that the product that was certified has passed the highest security tests.

The resulting certificate will be recognised in all Member States, making it easier for businesses to trade across borders and for users to understand the security features of the product or service. This allows for beneficial competition between providers across the whole EU market, resulting in better products and higher value for money.

Security by design: The Framework also encourages manufacturers or providers involved in the design and development of products, services or processes to implement measures at the earliest stages of design and development. This will allow protecting the security of thoseproducts, services or processes to the highest possible degree, in such a way that the occurrence of cyberattacks is anticipated and minimised (“security-by-design”).

The European certification framework will rely as much as possible on international standards as a way to avoid creating trade barriers or technical interoperability problems.

Who will benefit from this certification framework and how? 

The ability to understand whether a product, system or service meets specific requirements lies at the heart of being able to trust the digital systems we rely on. The Framework will be therefore useful for:

• Citizens and end-users (e.g. operators of essential services), who will be able to make more informed purchase decisions related to products and services they rely on a daily basis.For example a citizen, who is considering purchasing a Smart TV and is aware of the cybersecurity risks involved when connecting smart objects to the Internet, will be able to consult the European Cybersecurity Certification website of the EU Agency for Cybersecurity. They will be able to find a model that has been certified with the appropriate cybersecurity requirements, guidance from the vendor on how to setup, configure and operate the TV in a secure way and for how long the vendor commits to provide cybersecurity patches if new vulnerabilities are found.
• Vendors and providers of products and services (including Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and new businesses), who will enjoy cost and time savings as they will undergo a single process for obtaining a European certificate which is valid, and therefore allows them to compete effectively, in all Member States.Besides, vendors of ICT products and services will be keen to make buyers aware possibly by using a specific label linked to the certificate.
• Governments, who, like all individual and commercial buyers, will be better equipped to make informed purchase decisions.

To add further value to cybersecurity certification, manufacturers or providers of certified products, services or processes, including those for which an EU statement of conformity has been issued, shall provide specific supplementary cybersecurity information (e.g. guidance and recommendations to assist end users with secure configuration, installation, deployment, operation and maintenance of the products or services, etc.).

What will the added value of the Framework be for SMEs and start-ups, in particular?

SMEs and new businesses traditionally face more difficulties in expanding into new markets with different requirements. The Framework will help reduce such market-entry barriers for SMEs and new businesses because companies will have to undergo the certification process of their products only once and the corresponding certificate will be valid across the EU. Furthermore, as the demand for more secure solutions is expected to rise worldwide, companies, including SMEs, whose products are certified, will enjoy a competitive advantage to satisfy such a need. Moreover, the possibility for companies to self-attest conformity with security requirements for products, processes and services that present low risk makes the Framework even more attractive for SMEs and new businesses.

Take the example of an SME that develops and sells ICT applications to larger companies that require certain assurances that the applications are appropriately secure and that they have been developed following best practices when it comes to secure coding. Using a European Cybersecurity Certificate, that SME can demonstrate both the security of its products as well as its secure development practices, hence meeting the requirements of its clients not only in one Member State, as is often the case today, but also across the entire EU.

Will cybersecurity certification become mandatory?

Schemes established under the Framework are voluntary, i.e. vendors can decide themselves whether they would like their products to be certified under them. However, the Cybersecurity Act foresees that the Commission shall assess the efficiency and use of the adopted European cybersecurity certification schemes. In particular, it will assess whether a specific European cybersecurity certification scheme should become mandatory through relevant EU legislation to ensure an adequate level of cybersecurity of ICT products, services and processes and improve the functioning of the internal market. Moreover, other legislation at national or EU level could make use of existing schemes as a simple way to describe future obligations on products or systems.

How is the EU Agency for Cybersecurity being reinforced?

Until now the EU Agency for Cybersecurity had a temporary mandate, which was renewed last time in 2013 and was set to expire in 2020. The Cybersecurity Act gave the Agency a permanent mandate, thus putting it on a stable footing for the future.

The current tasks of the EU Agency for Cybersecurity, such as supporting policy development and implementation as well as cyber capacity building, have been strengthened and refocused. New tasks have been added, most prominently regarding cybersecurity certification.

The new mandate incorporates additional important tasks already entrusted to the EU Agency for Cybersecurity by the NIS Directive, which was agreed in 2016, such as the role of the secretariat of the Computer Security Incident Response Teams (CSIRTs) Network that brings together national CSIRTs of EU Member States. In order to fulfil these increased responsibilities the Agency’s staff can grow by 50% and the financial resources are doubled, increasing from 11 to 23 million EUR over a period of 5 years.

What are the main tasks of the EU Agency for Cybersecurity under the new mandate?

• Support to policy implementation in the area of cybersecurity, especially the NIS Directive, as well as to other policy initiatives with cybersecurity elements in different sectors (e.g. energy, transport, finance). The EU Agency for Cybersecurity will also assist Member States in the implementation of specific cybersecurity aspects of Union policy and law relating to data protection and privacy.
• Cybersecurity capacity building, for example with trainings to help improve EU and national public authorities’ capabilities and expertise, including on incident response and on the supervision of cybersecurity related regulatory measures.
• Market related tasks (standardisation, cybersecurity certification), such as analysis of relevant trends in the cybersecurity market to better match demand and supply and support the EU policy development in the areas of ICT standardisation and ICT cybersecurity certification.
• Operational cooperation and crisis management aimed at strengthening the existing preventive operational capabilities and supporting operational cooperation as secretariat of the CSIRTs Network. The EU Agency for Cybersecurity will also provide assistance to Member States who request it in order to handle incidents and will play a role in the EU coordinated response to large-scale cross-border cybersecurity incidents and crises.
• Coordinated vulnerability disclosure: The EU Agency for Cybersecurity will assist Member States and Union institutions, agencies and bodies in establishing and implementing vulnerability disclosure policies on a voluntary basis. It will also help improve the cooperation between the organisations, manufacturers or providers of vulnerable products and services, and members of the cybersecurity research community who identify such vulnerabilities.

What is the European Commission’s recommendation for a common EU approach to the security of 5G networks?

Fifth Generation (5G) networks will form the future backbone of our societies and economies,including in many critical sectors such as energy, transport, banking, and health, highlighting the need to address any vulnerabilities with regard to security and trust. In March 2019 the European Commission recommended a set of operational steps and measures to ensure a high level of cybersecurity of 5G networks across the EU. In particular, it recommended to Member States to complete an EU-wide risk assessment by October 2019 and to identify a set of possible mitigating measures, by December 2019. For more information about the Recommendation, including next steps, see this press release and these Questions and Answers.

What are the next steps?

The European Commission has proposed to significantly boost investment in cybersecurity and advanced digital technologies in the EU in the next EU budget period, notably through its proposal for a Digital Europe Programme. It has also proposed a new European Cybersecurity Competence Centre and network to pool resources and coordinate on priorities with Member States and to implement relevant projects in the area of cybersecurity. The proposal also aims at creating a Network of National Coordination Centres and a Cybersecurity Competence Community in order to ensure better cooperation and synergies among the existing experts and specialist structures in the Member States. This goes hand-in-hand with the key objective to increase the competitiveness of the EU’s cybersecurity industry and to turn cybersecurity into a competitive advantage for other European industries.

Fujitsu: Co-Creation for Success

This year, Fujitsu World Tour 2018, which stopped in Brussels on June 7, highlighted the “Co-Creation for Success“.

6 start-ups from the Hive Brussels network presented their innovations to more than 300 of Fujitsu’s most important customers and partners. As part of the “Labs Battle”, each start-up had 5 minutes to convince the public and the jury of the potential of their innovation. The laureate was n-Auth specialized on security of sensitive data.

We interviewed Mr. Yves de Beauregard, Managing Director Fujitsu Benelux who explained: “Today, digital co-creation is moving to a new phase, from concept to the creation of new opportunities. Our unique capabilities in advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things, combined with know-how, achieve this goal, delivering true innovation and business value.

The complexity of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is more then a usage.  As example we have used AI in Order to develop a non destructive testing that’s the example of Siemens Gamesa using AI to analyse images and data in order to ensure that the wings of the windmills are produced with the highest quality possible because it is very expensive for those companies that have the necessity to dismantled in order to change the wings. For so far this is done by human beings that they are really checking and also using the experience in order to look after the quality of those wings . This is a typical example where the AI has actually got to learn what humans are looking after and ones the AI has learned, it can apply very easily to a massive data informations, in order to really detect what is not in line with the expectations.”

 What are the other applications of AI?

“Another example AI applications is in the medical industry. We have been using AI together with San Carlo hospital in Madrid, supporting doctors in case of psychiatric treatment and at first when they go to analysing which sickness has the patient. In the psychiatric treatment there is a number of interviews that are needed to really understand what is the behaviour and what are the symptoms to define the actual sickness. For this reason, psychiatry is not that digital. We developed together with S. Carlo Hospital a system based on AI that really try to measure the behaviour, the comportment, the answers of the questions submitted to the patients and therefore that are able to support doctors in making a diagnosis on what is the actual sickness that the patient is suffering . Therefore, this application help patient to get treated quicker and helps doctors, who have to do less interviews in order to define the proper sickness and, of course, it also helps public money because it really support the entire chain to do better, quicker and less expensive.”

The second topic is Cyber security.   

“Fujitsu has been recently nominated as one of the top leader in cybersecurity. We see the recent attack from malware. I am proud to say that none of the Fujitsu customer, have been drastically impacted. We are effecting protecting our customer proactively and reactively. The business of Fujitsu in cyber security significantly improving and growing. Number of new customers, new logos and new companies come and ask us to support them with regard to cyber security.”

With the Blockchain centre recently inaugurated in Brussels which development you can see?

“We are actually very amazed by the number of projects and request coming after the inauguration of the Blockchain centre in Brussels. We were definitely too shy in our plans. We are very intrigue by the number of companies that are actually embracing Blockchain technologies, in order to help them because is not easy to understand what is the value that such technologies could bring to your business. We have developed a kind of support that really help those companies to understand what means Blockchain for their business model, for their customers. In the same time we are moving  ahead with our research for Blockchain for smart cities and new projects keep on having a leading position on that market.”

Why do you think is an asset choose Brussels for the Blockchain centre?

“Three most important reason. The first reason is that in Belgium there is a culture of settlement. There is a number of company working on functional settlement located in Brussels. So the culture of working as a chain or being in the middle of a chain, support people from the business to stream line, the processes, they are able to work better together is something that is strongly in Belgium. The second reason is obviously, because Brussels is located in the centre of Europe. The proximity with European institutions and finally also the language skills that is present in Belgium.”

How do you collaborate with Japan?

“On Artificial Intelligence, cyber security and Blockchain there is a very strong collaboration with Japan. There is actually a very strong relationship. We can benefit in Europe also from the technology advancement that our colleagues have in Japan. Fujitsu is indeed a market leader in Japan and the biggest part of R&D done by Fujitsu is still predominantly in Japan. If we want to benefit from those R&D as quick as we can, we need to have those strong relationships with Japan.”

How was important for you to collaborate for 0 Plastic Rivers initiative?

“I truly believe that a company in whatever the business is operating is a social body. That means we also have the responsibility to the society, to the next generation and to the environment. One of the stakeholders we need to be very careful is our environment and we believe that this initiative is very interesting. In 0 Plastic Rivers initiative I believe that sensor technologies and Artificial intelligence technologies, could really help in managing plastic waste issue by detecting plastics in the water. It is an important topic that matter to us and on which we believe. We can have an added value.”

Henry Borzi

Europe’s Urban Energy-Mobility Transition Demonstration

Europe’s Urban Energy-Mobility Transition Demonstration, upscaling & uptake in city-planning, how to achieve adequate policy measures and large-scale implementation.

European cities are moving massively into electric mobility, especially electric vehicles, but also buses, freight, water transport bikes mopeds etc. This is one way to create a healthier city, besides that renewable energy in the city is also growing rapidly, as this is the most viable clean source of energy in the city area.

This session is about the combination of Electric Mobility and renewables, facilitated by ICT. The 4 participating projects are all involved in various initiatives at European level, demonstrating how these two sectors can enforce instead of blocking each other.

Both of these technologies are reaching a market matureness, although we see governments struggling with the charging infrastructure development, organisation and financing.

The largest challenge observed in the last 5 years is how to arrange their integration at a larger scale in the city. Growth in solar renewable energy in the city creates an energy production peak between 10 and 16 hours, the overall energy demand peaks of a city are between 7-9 in the morning and 17-20 in the afternoon/evening.

Now we already observe the impact of these mismatches in different cities, not being able to electrify their bus fleet or limiting the EV charging area or intensity. Also the electricity grid faces problems in not so-well connected areas, having to be shut down during peak periods due to grid capacity constraints. On top of this we observe a rapid growth in electricity instead of gas or other fossil fuel in (North West) Europe. These problems will aggravate rapidly if we do not act now and invest in our future, especially zero emission mobility, clean energy, smart storage (in EVs and 2nd life batteries) flexible energy usage. Europe cannot afford it to dimension our electricity grids on peak moments that are occurring a couple of hours during the day during a couple of months….

I. European activities on different policy moments

Technology experiences Resourcefully demonstrated in a home-experiment how you can more than double the energy autonomy by smart energy storage in electric vehicles. This approach and philosophy is now further put into practice in the Smart clean Energy and Electric Vehicles 4 the City (SEEV4-City) project with 6 pilots all about the co-operation between renewables and electric mobility through different experiments. Varying from a single home with solar energy, EV mobility and a small storage unit to larger organisations, both public and private, it includes Europe’s largest EV charging garage (100 EVs) in Oslo and the innovative energy services for the clean balancing of the national grid with 2nd life batteries in the Amsterdam Johan Cruijff ArenA.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Towards upscaling and replication, the CleanMobilEnergy project demonstrates the upscaling to neighbourhoods and more complex situations, with multiple energy sources storage and consumption, steered by one (to be developed transnationally) energy management system.

Planning: The next step in the policy cycle demonstrates the need for proper embedding into municipality planning, this is realised in the Simpla project and in this sequence the next phase in the cycle addresses how good policies and experiences at different levels are required.

EV ENERGY is about finding adequate policies and good experiences, now still too fragmented, in The Netherlands charging infrastructure is booming, while Norway has the best EV incentives and policy on local renewables vary

strong among the EU states.

II. Next steps to make this work at large

In order to reach a more visible impact and integration with the mobility sector as a whole, large demonstration is required, where all mobility practitioners participate, including large distance mobility assets, such as trains metro, busses for the intercity connections between the urban hubs, participating in Europe’s mobility-energy exchange transition..

Bottom line, technically & organisationally we are perfect able to create a transition path in Europe, but this requires large scale visible, well-functioning demonstrations, now here we need involvement of all actors, the market, good regulations, brave politicians at local and regional level, and financial support. The possibility for such a scaled-up experiment in Europe would really be a market changer.

This will not emerge automatically, the mobility sector has taken up the challenge and requires limited support in this process, but the grid operators (DSO’s), the relevant build-environment actors (housing companies, real estate agencies etc.) the integrators (between mobility – energy – storage), working on:

1.Detailed forecast 2.Good real-time monitoring 3. Well determined smart interventions and the renewable sector in the city do need this.

On 5th June, in the framework of the Sustainable Energy Week will be host the event Demonstration, upscaling & uptake in city-planning, how to achieve adequate policy measures and large-scale implementation Moderator: Hugo Niesing, as you can see in the below Agenda.

 

 

THE ENERGY TRANSITION: NEW DIALOGUES BETWEEN THE CITY OF ROME & LOCAL STAKEHOLDERS

 

The City of Rome is strongly involving stakeholders in shaping the city’s future, particularly, regarding the energy transition.

In fact, stakeholders and organisations will be very soon involved in key strategic decision-making to help the City administration of Rome to install infrastructures for charging electric vehicles.

On the other side, it will be easier for the local stakeholders wishing to install electric infrastructures in Rome. This because the City of Rome will renounce to request them the taxes regarding the “occupation of public land” as well as the building permit.

In addition, The City Administration decided to increase the possibility of commercial surface inside the areas of electric charging distributors. This opportunity will repay the investment of the stakeholders on the electric charging points.

But there’s more: an App will be also created in which citizens can propose to the Local Authority the areas of the city where to install electric infrastructures. Then, the City Administration will check the availability of the areas to be equipped with electric charging stations.

The City Assembly Resolution 92/2017 containing the Rome’s Plan of Electric Mobility 2017-2020 was in fact approved last 19 of April 2018.

The Resolution regards the “Regulations for the construction and management of public access systems to be used exclusively for the recharging of vehicles powered by electricity”.

The Rome’s City Councilor for Mobility, Linda Meleo, explained during the City Assembly that the Plan is an important act, because it introduces the first Electric Mobility Plan which defines addresses on what and how electric mobility must be implemented. In addition, it defines the new horizontal and vertical signage linked to the stalls for charging electric vehicles and introduces a framework of rules for the installation of electric infrastructures in the city.

The Plan aims to a minimum target that is to provide the capital city with at least 700 electric charging points, distributed in a capillary way also in the most peripheral areas, by 2020. Through this Plan, Rome intends to achieve more ambitious objectives in order to become an attractive pole of electric mobility. Six macro areas have been identified, going from the city centre to the peri-urban areas, in order to ensure the installation of more electric charging points: from the service stations of the “GRA”, the Rome’s ring road, to the ancient Aurelian Walls, in order to meet the needs of citizens, so as to allow citizens to recharge their own vehicle wherever they are.

The regulations for the implementation of the electric infrastructures in Rome establish, as follows:

• Subjects entitled to submit an application for the implementation of charging electric points

• Technical constraints for the applications

• Technical documentation and building permit procedures

• Duration of the building permit and guarantees

• Technical characteristics of the electric infrastructures

• Stall signaling

• Management, information and integration constraints; monitoring and penalties

• Exemption from building permit charges

• Transitional rules for the managers of the charging stations activated before the entry into force of the Regulation

This Regulation fits perfectly with the actions undertaken by EV ENERGY project, such as the meetings with stakeholders carried out during 2017-2018.

Claudio Bordi

European Seafood 2018 in Brussels

Exhibit Space at the World’s Largest Seafood Trade Event Continues to Grow

 

The 26th edition of Seafood Expo Global and 20th edition of Seafood Processing Global, produced by Diversified Communications, will take place in Brussels, Belgium, Tuesday 24 April through Thursday 26 April.  This global annual event attracts seafood buyers and suppliers from around the world and hosts the prestigious Seafood Excellence Awards.

Last year’s event set another record-breaking edition with more than 28,500 seafood professionals attending the exposition—making it the largest edition in the event’s history.  The expo drew visitors from 150 countries and 1,859 exhibiting companies displayed their products during the three-day event.According to event organizers, next month’s event will feature more exhibit space than last year’s edition and is on track to maximize the entire footprint available for the event.“It’s so exciting to see companies’ growing interest in participating in the event,” says Wynter Courmont, Event Director for Diversified Communications. “Records are meant to be broken. At this time, we are still receiving requests to exhibit in this year’s edition and the event has surpassed last year’s numbers in terms of exhibit space by more than 1000 m2.”Seafood Expo Global and Seafood Processing Global combined will feature exhibiting suppliers from 79 countries from every sector of the seafood industry. More than 70 national and regional pavilions will be showcasing their seafood products and equipment with new pavilions participating this year from Colombia (ProColombia) and France (Business France and Lorient Bretagne Sud).

Seafood Expo Global will highlight companies of fresh, frozen and value-added fish and seafood as well as processed and packaged fish and seafood in halls 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, the Patio and part of hall 8.  Halls 4 and 8 will host Seafood Processing Global representing every aspect of seafood processing, including: processing and packaging materials and equipment, refrigeration/freezing equipment and supplies, primary and secondary processing equipment, hygiene control/sanitation and seafood industry services.

Exhibiting companies will present their products to global buyers, including restaurants, supermarkets, hotels, catering services, importers, distributors, wholesalers, seafood markets and other retail and foodservice companies.

Seafood Excellence Global Awards
On the evening of Tuesday 24 April, Diversified Communications will host the Seafood Excellence Global awards reception, where the winners of the Best Retail Product and the Best Hotel/Restaurant/Catering (HORECA) Product will be announced. The awards recognize the best seafood products represented at the exposition. Special awards will also be presented for Innovation, Convenience, Health and Nutrition, Retail Packaging and Seafood Product Line. All participant entries and winning entries will be on display at the Seafood Excellence Global stand in the Patio at the expo.

Probably the best seafood fair in the world number 1

 

Universal Press

Patrick Grignard – Noelle Gosset

Source from Diversified Communications

EU to modernised trade defence rules

“With today’s approval by the Council, we are very close to having the necessary tools to tackle unfair trading practices even more effectively. The EU stands for open and rules-based trade, but we must also ensure that others do not take advantage of our openness. I now look forward to the adoption of the new rules by the European Parliament to allow for their swift entry into force.” Said trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström.

The Council gave a formal approval to the political agreement reached between the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament on 5 December 2017 to modernise the EU’s trade defense instruments.The changes to the EU’s anti-dumping and anti-subsidy regulations will make the EU’s trade defence instruments more adapted to the challenges of the global economy: they’ll become more effective, transparent and easier to use for companies. In some cases they will also enable the EU to impose higher duties on dumped products. The new rules will shorten the current investigation period and make the system more transparent. The companies will benefit from an early warning system that will help them adapt to the new situation in case duties are imposed. Smaller companies will also get assistance from a help desk, to make it easier for them to trigger and participate in trade defence proceedings. Also, in some cases, the EU will adapt its ‘lesser duty rule’ and may impose higher duties. This will apply to cases targeting imports of unfairly subsidised or dumped products from countries where raw materials and energy prices are distorted.

EU action reduces pollution from shipping in European coastlines

“Environmental rules deliver and protect our citizens’ quality of life when all sides involved work together to correctly apply them. The shared commitment by Member States, industry, and the maritime community as a whole is paying off. People living around protected sea areas can breathe cleaner and healthier air. And we have preserved the level playing field for industry.“Said Karmenu Vella, Commissioner for the Environment, Fisheries and Maritime Affairs.

Air pollution from sulphur oxides (SOx) emitted from ships has substantially dropped over the past years, a new compliance report shows. This positive trend is the result of joint efforts by Member States and the maritime industry to implement EU rules under the Sulphur Directive and opt for cleaner fuel. EU mechanisms to technically and financially support Member states to reduce emissions were an important factor in compliance. Since 2015, stricter limits in the designated ‘Sulphur Oxides Emissions Control Areas’ of the North and Baltic Seas have more than halved emissions, while the overall economic impact on the sector remained minimal. The report comes days after a landmark agreement at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) on a strategy to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from international shipping by at least 50% by 2050. Both illustrate the commitment of the Commission to the goals of the Paris Agreement and to a Europe that protects with cleaner air for all. Exhaust gases from ships are indeed a significant source of emission and impact on citizens’ health and the environment.