| SSG Standard Solutions Group - the Nordic leader in digital services for a safer and sustainable workplace | | | SSG is an international company with head office in Sweden and with several branches in different markets. Their customers include more than 400 of the largest international industrial companies, more than 50 000 contractors, and it delivers around 500 000 digital safety training programmes every year. Customer segments include manufacturing industries such as forestry, energy, automotive, steel, mining, food and pharmaceuticals. For over 60 years, SSG has been developing services, standards and courses to increase competitiveness and safety for the industrial sites. The idea is to find common standardised solutions to common problems. SSG is taking on the future with high ambitions and great motivation, and they are currently on a journey that will increasingly take them beyond the Nordic borders. We live in a world where our digitised society has made the world smaller, while at the same time we face major common challenges.
| | | 20th of September 08h30-10h00: 'L’Union européenne 2024-2029: quelles perspectives?' | | Lors de cette conférence petit-déjeuner, nous aborderons les priorités de l’UE pour 2024-2029, le nouveau Parlement européen, ses groupes politiques et ce qu’ils signifieront pour le nouveau programme de travail de l’UE, la nouvelle direction de la Commission, qui obtiendra quel portefeuille. | | | Avec Hannalena Ivarsson, Associée, Responsable de la Practice “Sustainability”, Kreab Bruxelles, et Cécile Huck, Directrice, Practice “Sustainability”, Kreab Bruxelles.
| | | 26th of September 08h00-10h30: Comité RH | | | Theme: Managing generation Z and how to support their managers.
Sophie Desmoulins, HR Business Partner, Alfa Laval will take the lead on the topic. | | | | Program: - 8:00-8:30 Breakfast and networking
- 8:30-10:30 Introduction to the topic followed by discussions and exchanges
Location: CCSF, 39 avenue Pierre 1er de Serbie, Paris 8. (If you cannot attend in Paris, there will be a possibility to participate remotely)
Available for Premium members only. | | | 15th of October: French Swedish Innovation Forum, Stockholm | |  | | This high-level event aims to promote French-Swedish business relations, investments, and impact collaborations and further the development of the French-Swedish Innovation Partnership for sustainable, digital and resilient societies .
We want to create meetings across our two countries to further build bridges between impact startups, companies, capital markets, and decision-makers within our bilateral ecosystem. We want to strengthen the links between the French and the Swedish innovation ecosystems and discuss the challenges and opportunities of Europe's competitiveness.
The program focuses on accelerating sustainable business models and technologies, impact management, strategies for scaling and access to capital markets.
This occasion offers an excellent opportunity for networking to develop French-Swedish partnerships, create new businesses and further trade relations between France and Sweden in both directions.
This is an event organized by the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in France in collaboration with Team France and Team Sweden.
Date: 15th of October 2024
Time: 13:30 - 18:30
Venue: Grand Hôtel Stockholm
More information coming soon. | | | 7-8th of November: Le Leadership suédois et le Management franco-suédois | | | Professional training in intercultural management to help optimise your French-Swedish business commuication.
Led by Laurence Romani, Professor at the Stockholm School of Economics, in the department of Management and Organisation, she has over 20 years of experience researching and teaching in the field of cross-cultural differences.
The course will be held in French.
| | | News from the CCSF Community | | | Reception at Sweden Arena in the Olympic Village | | | Photos: Ambassade de Suède en France. | | | On the 27th of July, the Embassy of Sweden in France organised a reception at the Olympic village's Sweden Arena. Ebba Busch, deputy Prime Minister of Sweden and Minister for Energy and the Minister for Business and Industry was present on the occasion, alongside the Swedish Olympic committee, journalists, athletes and industry representatives. The day included a round-table discussion on the theme 'Sports for all - or not?', and sparked exchange between Sweden and France about ways to make sports more accessible for all, and at all levels. Discussions focused on how to make sure elite sport is accessible regardless of socio-economic situation.
The panel included Bernard Lama and Jade Lama from Diambars Association, the handball player Linnea Torstenson, and David Mathiasson from 'Fritidsbanken', a non-profit organisation which seeks to democratise access to sports by lending sports equipment free of charge.
Source: Ambassade de Suède en France. | | | Jessika Roswall has been nominated as Swedish European Commissioner for the 2024-2029 mandate | | | On Monday the 8th of July 2024, the Swedish Government has nominated Minister of EU Affairs Jessika Roswall for the position of Swedish European Commissioner for the mandate period 2024-2029.
If her nonimation is accepted, Jessika Roswall will replace Sweden's current European Commissioner Ylva Johanson, who has held the role since 2019. | | | Source: Brèves Économiques. | | | Paris welcomes the 2024 Olympic Games! | | | On Friday the 26th of July, the 2024 Olympic Games were opened in Paris, making history as the first ever opening ceremony held outside a stadium.
The ceremony included thousands of athletes parading in boats along the Seine, between the Pont d'Austerlitz and the Pont d'Iéna. The evening featured performances by Lady Gaga, Juliette Armanet, Aya Nakamura and Céline Dion, and 2000 dancers represented regional and stylistic variety culimating into one of the most versatile and diverse shows ever seen in an opening ceremony.
Over the next 2 weeks, the world's best athletes will compete for Olympic titles in 32 categories of sport. This includes urban dance which was added to the Olympics as a new sport in the 2024 Paris Games. | | | Swedish choreographer Alexander Ekman appointed director for the Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony | |  | | Photo: International Paralympic Committee all rights reserved. | | | The Swedish choreographer Alexander Ekman has been selected to direct both staging and choreography for the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympics, taking place on the 28th of August, on Place de la Concorde in Paris. It will be the first ever of its kind performed outside of a stadium. The performance places dance at its core, and will consist of over 150 dancers bringing to life an inventive, musical, and humorous choreography.
Source: Paralympic.org. | | | French Legislative Election 2024 | | | Following the European elections on the 9th of June, in which the far right gained over twice as many votes as the centrist ruling alliance, French President Emmanuel Macron dissolved Parliament and called a legislative election.
The legislative election took place on the 30th of June and 7th of July, in which the French left wing coalition, the New Popular Front, came out leading with 182 seats. Macron’s Ensemble presidential camp secured 168 seats, while the far-right National Rally, which polls had predicted to win, ended up in third place with 143 seats. In other words, neither of the political blocs managed to secure a absolute majority, and a new government is yet to be formed. | | | Parliament Re-elects Ursula Von Der Leyen As Commission President | | On 18 July, Ursula von der Leyen (EPP, Germany) was re-elected as European Commission President, marking the beginning of her second 5-year term. This victory, achieved with 401 votes out of 707 cast, provides her with a stronger mandate compared to her first election in 2019, where she won by a narrow 9-vote margin. Her support came primarily from the “grand coalition”, comprising the centre-right EPP, the liberals of Renew Europe, and the Socialists and Democrats, supplemented by around 45 votes from the Greens and some from the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) hard-right, despite defections from the German liberal FDP and French right-wing Les Républicains. Earlier this week, Roberta Metsola (EPP, Malta) was also re-elected as President of the European Parliament for the coming 2.5 years, with a wide majority of 562 votes.
Ahead of the vote, Ursula Von der Leyen presented her vision for the new mandate, the so-called political guidelines of the Commission 2024-2029, which are based on 7 priorities: (i) sustainable prosperity and competitiveness, (ii) defence and security, (iii) EU social model, (iv) EU quality of life – food security, water and nature, (v) protecting the EU democracy and values, (vi) leveraging the EU power and partnerships, and (vii) preparing for the future – reinforced budget and closer partnership with the European Parliament.
Next steps - 23 July: European Parliament Committees to elect their Chairs and Vice-Chairs.
- By early August (tbc): Member States to submit their commissioner-designate candidates.
- By mid-end August (tbc): Von der Leyen to interview commissioners' nominees, and to decide portfolio allocation and structure of College of Commissioners. Council to adopt Commissioners list and transmit to European Parliament.
- Late September-Early October (tbc): Commissioner-designate hearings in the European Parliament.
- Late October: Presentation of new College of Commissioners and European Parliament vote.
- 1 November (earliest possible date, tbc): New Commission to take office.
- 1 January 2025: New Commission to issue first legislative proposals
| | | Two New Far-right Groups In The European Parliament | | On 8 July, a new far-right group called Patriots for Europe was formed, replacing the former Identity and Democracy (ID), and becoming the European Parliament’s third-largest group with 84 seats. The formation of the group has been led by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Marine Le Pen from the French National Rally and includes the Italy's League, and the Austrian Freedom Party. Jordan Bardella, President of the National Rally, has been elected Chair of the group. The new group is placed ahead of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR, 78 seats) and of the liberals from Renew Europe (77 seats). The formation of Patriots for Europe marks a significant shift in the political composition of the European Parliament, reflecting changing alliances and strategies among nationalist and populist parties across Europe.
Last Wednesday, yet another far-right group, Europe of Sovereign Nations (ENS), was founded. The group is led by Germany’s far-right political party Alternative for Germany (AfD), which recently faced exclusion from the ID group following scandals related to potential connections with Russia and China, and Poland’s Confederation. ENS comprises 25 MEPs from 8 different Member States, including Bulgaria’s Revival, France’s Reconquête, Slovakia’s Republic Movement, Hungary’s Our Homeland Movement, Lithuania’s People and Justice Union, and the Czech Republic’s Freedom and Direct Democracy. Christine Anderson from AfD has been chosen as the group’s Chair, while René Aust (AfD) and Stanisław Tyszka (Confederation) serve as co-chairs.
The emergence of these two new groups widens the far-right spectrum within the European Parliament and could lead to unpredictable voting patterns. Patriots for Europe, with a substantial number of seats, is likely to intend to exert influence on key policy areas like immigration controls and national sovereignty. The rise of the far-right groups might also affect public perception of the EU, leading to increased polarization and debates over its future direction.
Centrist and left-wing political groups are expected to impose a so-called “cordon sanitaire” on both new groups, blocking their members from influential positions. ENS will be the smallest grouping, with limited ability to influence legislation, though one leader will attend the Conference of Presidents meetings. - EPP – 188 Seats
- S&D – 136 Seats
- Patriots for Europe – 84 Seats
- ECR – 78 Seats
- Renew Europe – 77 Seats
- Greens/EFA – 53 Seats
- The Left – 46 Seats
- ESN – 25 Seats
- NI – 33 Seats
Next steps
The coming months will be crucial in determining how these new groups position themselves within the broader political landscape and their ability to shape EU policies. | | | Hungary Takes Over First Council Presidency Following The Eu Elections | | | Hungarian Minister for European Affairs, János Bóka, has outlined Hungary's ambitious programme and priorities for their Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which began on 1 July and runs until 31 December 2024. During its term, Hungary aims to ensure the continuity of work within the Council, in close cooperation with the new Commission and Parliament, while launching the implementation of the Strategic Agenda 2024-2029.
Competitiveness
Hungary's Presidency puts the EU's competitiveness at the core of its priorities by strengthening the EU’s Single Market. The Hungarian Presidency is committed to promoting industrial development, growth, and innovation in the EU. A New European Competitiveness Deal will seek to bolster the EU’s industrial base and ensure to remain competitive among other strong global economies such as China and the US, in the pursuit of resource independence (Critical Raw Materials), and in respect of a technology-neutral approach.
Furthermore, the Hungarian Presidency will strive to develop a common industrial strategy with extensive industry involvement. This strategy will explore the need for targeted European-level interventions to enhance business competitiveness. Additionally, reinforcing the European manufacturing ecosystem of net-zero energy technologies—such as renewables, carbon capture and utilization storage (CCUS), nuclear energy, and green hydrogen—will be a priority. This will be achieved by stimulating investment, facilitating market access, and implementing skills and innovation programs, in line with the recently adopted Net Zero Industry Act.
Energy
Energy security is a key priority s for the Hungarian Presidency. Hungary plans to promote access to EU funding for natural gas infrastructure projects diversifying sources and routes, thus enhancing energy security. Another focal point will be the development of the electricity grid to ensure security of supply, accompanied by related policy debates.
Nuclear energy is a significant priority, viewed as a pillar of the green transition. The Hungarian Presidency supports initiatives in this area and plans to organize events on nuclear energy waste management and skills development. Geothermal energy will also be highlighted, with Council Conclusions on promoting geothermal energy and reducing related financing risks expected to be adopted. These efforts aim to enhance energy autonomy, security, and contribute to meeting climate goals.
Additionally, discussions will take place on implementing energy policy objectives in Member States' National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) and the "Fit for 55" package. These discussions will emphasize decarbonization, energy security, renewable energy, energy efficiency, competitiveness, and research and development. The Presidency also plans to organize a conference on carbon capture and storage (CCUS), underscoring its importance in the EU’s energy strategy.
Environment
Setting realistic yet ambitious climate goals is another priority for Hungary's Presidency. Hungary aims to establish a 2040 climate target that is both achievable and maintains the EU's competitiveness and energy security. This goal will ensure that no citizen or Member State is left behind in the transition towards a greener economy.
Next steps
The Hungarian Council Presidency is running until 31 December 2024. Poland will take over on 1 January 2025. | | | Eu Notifies Exit From Energy Charter Treaty | | The EU took a decisive step last week to exit the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), a multilateral trade and investment agreement applicable to the energy sector, as it conflicts with the EU's climate goals under the European Green Deal and the Paris Agreement. Formal notifications were sent by the Council and the Commission to the Government of Portugal, the official depositary of the Treaty, notifying respectively the withdrawal of the European Union and Euratom. The withdrawals will take effect in one year. The EU’s move follows the EU Energy Ministers' agreement on the Commission's proposals to pursue the withdrawal and Treaty modernisation.
The ECT, established in 1998, has been criticised for obstructing climate change efforts due to its protection of fossil fuel investments. The Treaty allows energy companies to sue governments over policies that harm their investments and has increasingly been used to challenge fossil fuel phase-out measures.
The European Commission proposed on Friday that EU countries jointly quit the Treaty. "I proposed that the EU withdraws from the Energy Charter Treaty, because in its current, unmodernised version it is no longer in line with the EU's energy and climate goals," said EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson. The Commission highlighted that the Treaty had become "increasingly outdated," with its fossil fuel protections undermining the EU's transition to cleaner energy sources.
Brussels has faced pressure to lead an EU exit, following announcements from Member States like Denmark, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Poland, Spain, and the Netherlands to quit, primarily over climate concerns. Italy left the Treaty in 2016.
Some countries, including Cyprus, Hungary, and Slovakia, prefer staying in an updated version of the accord. However, reforms agreed last year aimed at addressing climate concerns appear unlikely to come into force due to insufficient support from EU countries. A partial exit was considered but dismissed over legal concerns.
Next steps
Withdrawing from the Treaty leaves the EU subject to a 20-year sunset clause, protecting existing investments, including those in fossil fuels, in EU countries by investors from non-EU signatories like Japan and Turkey.
The EU's exit from the ECT marks a significant step in its commitment to climate neutrality by 2050, underscoring the urgency of aligning international agreements with contemporary environmental goals. | | | | |
