European Council of Shopping Places (ECSP)’s Post

Scientific Board of VDV warns about the danger for Public Transport in Germany caused by Government´s budget proposal: https://lnkd.in/eyiMf3wV Public transport is more than a "nice to have". It is one of the cornerstones of a modern, free and prosperous society. Reducing investments in mobility and infrastructure during times of austerity means to neglect the anticyclical effects of public investments. If you don´t do it now, you won´t be able to catch up for a long time.

ABC economics is happy to announce that the commentary on the obligation to negotiate (Verhandlungsgebot) as foreseen by the German Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) in the upcoming mobile spectrum allocation in 2025 by Prof. Dr. Frank Maier-Rigaud titled “On the foundations of a negotiation requirement” (Zur Fundierung eines Verhandlungsgebots) appeared in the July/August edition of Wirtschaft und Wettbewerb, (WuW, 7-8/2024). The commentary can be accessed below or here: https://lnkd.in/dKuGUPUR The commentary critically reviews the draft decision of the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) concerning the modalities of the upcoming spectrum allocation in 2025 (BK1-22/001) on the absence of wholesale access obligation for service providers (Dienstanbieterverpflichtung). More background information on this topic can be found here: https://lnkd.in/dZqSQygt #BNetzA #dienstanbieterverpflichtung #verhandlungsgebot #wuw #mobilfunk #frequenzvergabe #wettbewerbsrecht #Verhandlungsgebot

Below my two cents on the upcoming German mobile frequency allocation. Many (unfortunately negative) things can be said on the plans of the German Federal Regulator BNetzA, but I focus here on a particularly strange hope, namely that private autonomous negotiations between service providers and network operators will, as if led by an invisible hand, result in non-discriminatory wholesale access as long as network operators are nudged into negotiations by an obligation to negotiate (Verhandlungsgebot). Of course this is absurd, but leave me your thoughts below… A more extensive treatment on the dynamics in mobile markets can be found here: https://lnkd.in/dkW4-z6i #mobile #auction #competition

In today's newsletter from Tagesspiegel Background, Amelia Andersdotter and I writes about the need to do better public procurement to avoid lock-in effects in the public sector. Public call for tenders seldom respect technical neutrality or maximise utility for the tax payers whose resources are called upon to realise public information infrastructures. We propose focussing on competent procurement, enabling the formulation of requirements, products and services that enable local and European level information infrastructures that are secure, flexible and purposeful. https://lnkd.in/dr2kQZMu

Our Brussels team has prepared this organigramme to provide an accessible and clear breakdown of the #vonderLeyenII Commission college. Two points worth noting: - the far right (represented by the ECR and Patriots for Europe) has only secured two portfolios, despite being much better-represented in the European Parliament (holding more than 20% of seats). This could lead to challenges by ECR and PfE MEPs during the confirmation hearings; - the high degree of overlap between several portfolios suggests we may witness inter-portfolio turf wars reminiscent of the Breton-Vestager disputes over digital and industrial policy. Helena Walsh Alexandros Nikolaidis

😯 An Austrian court just held that the Representative Actions Directive was directly applicable and admitted a representative action, despite the directive not yet having been transposed in Austria. 📖 Just like Belgium, Austria has missed the deadline to transpose the Representative Actions Directive. However, the Austrian consumer rights organisation VSV brought an action on that basis anyway, which the court in Klagenfurt decided to admit (but then appears to have dismissed on the merits). ❓ It is settled CJEU case law that when an EU Member State has not transposed a directive in time, that directive may have direct effect against the state, but not against other private individuals. Klagenfurt Energie GmbH, the defendant in this matter, is a public entity (fully owned by the Landeshauptstadt Klagenfurt am Wörthersee) and so is subject to that direct effect. ⏭ While an interesting application of the principle of direct effect, this decision should likely not concern privately-held companies, as the scope appears to be limited to the application of the Representative Actions Directive against public entities. #representativeactions #collectiveredress #classactions #EUlaw

“Goodbye safe haven Germany? 👋” – will we hear this from real estate investors soon… ❓   Transactions on the German real estate market are declining noticeably - declining volumes were noted for almost all market segments in 2023 and H1 2024 📉 At the same time, interest among managers and institutional investors is increasingly shifting abroad. Is the safe haven of Germany a thing of the past? Where are investors going instead?   🎤 These questions will be discussed in a top-class panel at EXPO REAL (Messe München) – with our CEO Pepijn Morshuis, André Zücker (Co-CEO, KGAL GmbH & Co. KG (KGAL), Martin J. Brühl FRICS (CIO, Union Investment Real Estate GmbH) and Martina Averbeck (Spokesperson for the Management, HANSAINVEST Real Assets GmbH), moderated by Peter Lenz (Auditor & Partner, YPSILON GROUP). ➡ When? Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m ➡ Where? Discussion & Networking Forum B1.440   ❗ Please note that the Panel Discussion will be held in German ❗

How can the German state operate more efficiently? 🏛 To answer this question, Julia Jaekel, Andreas Voßkuhle, Thomas de Maizière, and Peer Steinbrück have launched the "Initiative for an Effective State" with Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier as the initiative's patron. ⚡ Key Highlights: 🔺 Objectives: Enhance public administration efficiency and address trust deficits in governance through actionable reform proposals. 🔺 Collaboration: Over 50 experts and students, alongside four foundations, collaborate across seven working groups. 🔺 Focus Areas: Digital transformation, federalism, business competitiveness, climate, education, and societal change. 🔺 Timeline: Interim report in 2025; final recommendations post-federal election. Further information about the initiative and the experts can be found below or on the following website 👉 https://lnkd.in/e_d-5Xmc #PublicAdministration #DigitalGovernance #StateReform Gemeinnützige Hertie-Stiftung Fritz Thyssen Stiftung Stiftung Mercator GmbH ZEIT STIFTUNG BUCERIUS Cornelia Woll Gerhard Hammerschmid Martin Klingst Bucerius Law School Bundespräsidialamt

Breaking News – Will Germany stop the CS3D in the Council of the European Union? Today, the two ministers Lindner (Finance) and Buschmann (Justice), in a joint letter, declared that they cannot support the outcome of the trilogue negotiations as the CS3D creates too much bureaucracy for too many (small) companies in these difficult times. The question is if the two ministers can stop the project or if Chancellor Scholz uses his power (“Richtlinienkompetenz”) and makes the final call in favour of the CS3D. Another option could be that the German Government starts or has already started horsetrading behind the scenes. #CS3D #duediligence #humanrights #lksg #Lieferkettengesetz #lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz #eu #eulaw

Germany may be set to derail a years-in-the-making law which would help to stop all sorts of #HumanRights violations and environmental crimes. The EU's #DueDiligence law is a once in a generation opportunity to create a fairer and more sustainable future. Join us in calling on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to stand up to this attempted sabotage by the FDP and vote YES to the #CSDDD 👉 https://lnkd.in/e6DcXzc3 Or, learn more 👇