Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. 28TH REGIME FOR WORKERS OR FOR COMPANIES? It was a busy week for the 28th regime, the new European company law statute that the Commission plans to propose next year. Intended primarily for “startups and scaleups”, some pressure groups want it to apply to all companies to create an “EU Inc” while trade unions and NGOs warn it’s a Trojan Horse that could become our version of the Delaware company. Parliament rapporteur René Repasi seemed to be aligned with this view in this week’s debate, where he said that without strong safeguards the regime could allow businesses to circumvent national labour laws and erode workers’ rights. In good German social-democrat tradition, he underlined the need for codetermination, social protections and anti-abuse…

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. EPP USES FAR-RIGHT FLIRT TO WEAKEN SUSTAINABILITY RULES Following months of negotiations, a compromise position on the corporate sustainability regulations in the Omnibus 1 file is in sight, with a clear win for the European People’s Party who are more than happy to prioritise corporate interests over climate and human rights. This week, the Socialists and Democrats in the EP were essentially blackmailed into a deal: either they would sign for relatively modest deregulation on the dotted line, or the EPP would adopt an even more “ambitious” deregulation package with the far-right, which had already been conveniently submitted as the default option for the vote next week. While EPP leaders framed the move as protecting the competitiveness of European businesses, insiders…

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. CLICK HERE FOR FINANCIAL ADVICE We have an internal market in financial services, we have consumers, and we have a lot of EU firms and projects that need financing. And financial education is the silver bullet to let the money roll. Sounds familiar? Yes, it's been tried before, but unfortunately teaching high school students about compound interest and about mortgage loans hasn't really clicked. So, this time the Commission is going to do the clicking themselves, creating a network of financial literacy ambassadors. Think of the finfluencers that you have seen on Instagram or TikTok, but without the sales pitch. All joking aside, the fact that this package is not a new law but only a recommendation for Member States, shows…