ABB Ltd

ABB is a global technology leader in electrification and automation, enabling a more sustainable and resource-efficient future through engineering and digitalization expertise.

Lobbying Activity

ABB Urges More Practical EU Taxonomy Screening Rules

5 Dec 2025
Message — ABB requests that the EU Taxonomy balance ambition with technological feasibility and practical usability. They advocate for aligning requirements with existing legislation and simplifying definitions for low-carbon technologies.123
Why — Regulatory simplification would lower administrative burdens and avoid costly independent third-party verifications.45
Impact — Climate advocates lose if strict emission limits for infrastructure projects are removed.6

ABB Urges EU to Focus on Currently Available Decarbonization Tech

8 Jul 2025
Message — ABB urges the EU to prioritize electrification using existing technologies rather than waiting for future innovations. They request financial support for current energy-efficient solutions and a procurement framework based on total ownership costs. The company also warns against local content mandates that could disrupt global supply chains.123
Why — ABB would benefit from increased market demand for its current suite of electrification and automation products.45
Impact — Domestic-only manufacturers lose the competitive advantage that protectionist 'Made in Europe' requirements would have provided.67

Meeting with Sven Gentner (Head of Unit Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union) and Siemens AG and

23 Jun 2025 · CSRD omnibus

Meeting with Felix Fernandez-Shaw (Director Directorate-General for International Partnerships) and Airbus and

12 Jun 2025 · High-level Roundtable on Colombian energy sector with exchange of views between Minister of Mines and Energy, IFIs and EU companies.

Meeting with Elena Arveras (Cabinet of Commissioner Maria Luís Albuquerque) and Siemens AG and Manufacture Française des Pneumatiques Michelin

14 Apr 2025 · Sustainability Omnibus

ABB Urges EU to Align Taxonomy with Chemical Exemptions

26 Mar 2025
Message — ABB requests that Taxonomy criteria strictly respect exemptions provided by existing EU chemicals legislation. They argue that reporting on operational expenditures should become voluntary to reduce administrative burdens. The company also supports a financial materiality threshold for reporting requirements.123
Why — Aligning these rules would allow essential electrical technologies to qualify for sustainable investment benefits.45
Impact — Large companies may struggle to obtain necessary environmental data from smaller suppliers excluded from reporting.67

Meeting with Stéphane Séjourné (Executive Vice-President) and

21 Mar 2025 · - Marché intérieur - Compétitivité - Sécurité économique - Simplification - Relation USA / Europe

ABB urges lifecycle costing and harmonized EU procurement rules

6 Mar 2025
Message — ABB recommends mandatory life-cycle costing to shift away from price-only awards. It seeks harmonized digital procedures and rejects protectionist European preference requirements.123
Why — Focusing on long-term value benefits technology leaders over low-cost bidders.4
Impact — Low-cost manufacturers lose out if tenders stop prioritizing the lowest purchase price.5

Response to Delegated act on primarily used components under the Net-Zero Industry Act

20 Feb 2025

ABB welcomes the opportunity to provide input on the European Commissions draft list of final products and specific components considered to be primarily used for the production of net-zero technologies (Delegated Act). Our submission is attached.
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Meeting with Elisa Roller (Director Secretariat-General)

20 Feb 2025 · Clean Industrial Deal

Meeting with Katri Kulmuni (Member of the European Parliament)

14 Jan 2025 · Marine & Ports

Meeting with Paulina Dejmek Hack (Cabinet of Commissioner Jessika Roswall)

19 Dec 2024 · Clean Industrial Deal

Meeting with Kurt Vandenberghe (Director-General Climate Action)

19 Dec 2024 · Energy transition

Meeting with Sebastian Tynkkynen (Member of the European Parliament) and Kreab Worldwide and Gasgrid Finland Oy

19 Nov 2024 · Suomen Vetyklusteri -tilaisuus

Meeting with Kerstin Jorna (Director-General Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs) and Orange and

8 Oct 2024 · General discussion on Taxonomy and CSRD deployment.

Meeting with Mairead McGuinness (Commissioner) and Orange and

26 Jun 2024 · Sustainability policies, in particular CSRD, Taxonomy

Response to Update of format of F-gas labels

4 Jun 2024

ABB is a global technology leader in electrification and automation, enabling a more sustainable and resource-efficient future. We welcome the opportunity to comment on the European Commissions draft Implementing Regulation laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) 2024/573 as regards the format of the labels for certain products and equipment containing fluorinated greenhouse gas. We suggest amending the proposed text under Article 1 (10) as follows: Where the size of a product referred to in Article 12(1) of Regulation (EU) 2024/573 does not allow for the legibility of the full information referred to in Article 12(3) in accordance with Article 12(4), second subparagraph, of that Regulation, the text Contains fluorinated greenhouse gases' in the languages already used on the product and the information referred to in Article 12(3), points (b) and (c), of Regulation (EU) 2024/573 may be complemented by a digitally read-able link to the information referred to in Article 12(4), second subparagraph, of that Regulation. In the current version of Article 1(10), the requirement to indicate that a product or equipment contains fluorinated greenhouse gases, along with the quantity, CO2 equivalent, and global warming potential (GWP), has moved from the physical label to a digital link. Under this approach, each individual gas container would need a unique digital link. Over time, this could result in a significant number of links, potentially reaching hundreds of thousands. Rather than using a QR code, our proposed amendment maintains essential safety-related information on the physical label. This information maintains details such as whether the product or equipment contains fluorinated greenhouse gases, the quantity, CO2 equivalent, and global warming potential (GWP) on the physical label. Meanwhile, the various EU languages appear under the digital link - one link instead of hundreds. This approach ensures that the critical safety information remains visible, independent of the digital link. A QR code, on the other hand, conceals this vital safety information and cannot fully replace a physical label. The safest, simplest, and most practical approach is to use a universal label. This label would always include the chemical name and weight, making it easily understandable. Moreover, this approach is safer than hiding essential information in a QR code. Please refer to the attached document for a sample label.
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Meeting with Gabriele Bischoff (Member of the European Parliament)

28 Mar 2024 · Austausch und Besuch Ausbildungszentrum

Meeting with Henna Virkkunen (Member of the European Parliament)

3 May 2023 · EU Maritime Industry

Meeting with Diederik Samsom (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans) and ExxonMobil Petroleum Chemical and

25 Apr 2023 · Energy, environmental and digital challenges of our time

Meeting with Morten Petersen (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur)

25 Apr 2023 · Energy Market Directive

Meeting with Mairead McGuinness (Commissioner) and

10 Jan 2023 · Taxonomy, ESG ratings, CSRD

Meeting with Filip Alexandru Negreanu Arboreanu (Cabinet of Commissioner Adina Vălean)

28 Sept 2022 · transport

Meeting with Anouk Faber (Cabinet of Commissioner Nicolas Schmit), Christoph Nerlich (Cabinet of Commissioner Nicolas Schmit)

23 Sept 2022 · Meeting on Digital Skills.

ABB backs SF6 phase-out but seeks clearer market rules

29 Jun 2022
Message — ABB supports phasing out SF6 gas but seeks better definitions for contract delivery dates. They also request specific warming thresholds for high-voltage switchgear to ensure product variety.123
Why — This would protect existing contracts and boost demand for ABB's green switchgear technology.45
Impact — Competitors lacking low-warming gas alternatives could face significant market exclusion risks.6

Response to Sustainable Products Initiative

22 Jun 2022

ABB welcomes the European Commission’s proposal for the draft Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) launched as part of the broader Sustainable Product Initiative on 30 March 2022. Building on the success of the existing EU Ecodesign framework, the proposal has the potential to substantially boost new circular business models across the EU, support further development of sustainable products and empower all actors across the value chain with the information necessary to take sustainability-driven decisions. As a market leader committed to having at least 80 percent of our products and solutions covered by our circularity approach by 2030, ABB would like to share its views and comments on the draft legislation. More specifically, ABB supports the core elements of the draft ESPR proposal, notably: - Efforts to harmonize EU rules and reduce market fragmentation; - Product-by-product approach for setting sustainability requirements for products; - Economic incentives for circular markets, such as increased transparency, focus on green public procurement, etc.; - Digital Product Passport as a tool to increase transparency across the value chain and ensure easier access to data and information for all stakeholders, empowering them to take sustainability-driven decisions; In addition to the points above, ABB would also like to draw the Commission’s attention to several issues that require further clarification, notably: - Further clarity on regulation of Substances of Concern, especially the ESPR relationship with REACH, RoHS and other chemicals legislation; - The governance, role and process of the Ecodesign Forum as a primary venue for consultations with external stakeholders; - Alignment with harmonised industry standards; - Third-party verification requirement; - The protection of IPRs and other business information in the context of DPP, as well as further clarity on the DPP roles and responsibilities for market operators across the value chain. Our input and recommendations are further elaborated in the attached document.
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Meeting with Daniel Mes (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans) and Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft and

7 Apr 2022 · Meeting with CEO Alliance on Digitising Energy Action Plan

Meeting with Adina-Ioana Vălean (Commissioner) and

27 Oct 2021 · Automobiles

Meeting with Joan Canton (Cabinet of Commissioner Thierry Breton)

4 Oct 2021 · Decarbonisation of industry, hydrogen

Response to Requirements for Artificial Intelligence

6 Aug 2021

ABB welcomes the opportunity to comment on the European Commission proposal for a Regulation laying down harmonised rules on Artificial Intelligence (“AI Act”). The AI Act is an important step towards the ambitious goal to promote and facilitate the uptake of trustworthy AI in Europe. We believe the debate should equally balance a discussion on potential risks with a focus on the significant opportunities linked to the uptake of AI in industrial sectors. Europe’s AI regulation can only aspire to become a global blueprint if it can equally address risks, facilitate innovation and promote AI's development and application across businesses in Europe. You will find attached our input on specific Articles of the Regulation and our proposals to improve the current text. We remain at your disposal for further information and feedback throughout the legislative process.
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Meeting with Frans Timmermans (Executive Vice-President) and Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft and

18 Mar 2021 · European Green Deal as a growth strategy

Meeting with Frans Timmermans (Executive Vice-President) and Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft and

1 Oct 2020 · Discussion on Green Recovery

Response to Review of EU rules on fluorinated greenhouse gases

7 Sept 2020

ABB feedback on the review of EU rules on the F-Gas regulation EU 517/2014 addressing SF6 in gas-insulated switchgear – ABB welcomes the opportunity to provide its input to the update of the F-Gas regulation EU 517/2014 regarding SF6 in gas-insulated switchgear. – We look back on intensive research and development on alternative solutions to medium voltage (MV) gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) for more than 10 years and have developed technical solutions for primary and secondary distribution that launched its first products in 2016. Those solutions use AirPlus - a mixture of a minimum of 85% air and a fluoroketone -. – Numerous pilot installations have been operating for several years in the electrical network in standard operations serving major networks, e.g. an important part of the Zurich city network, and received positive feedback from the customers. – However, market demand is very limited, as most customers appear to be only interested in trial installations. Currently, there are no larger orders or transition from SF6 to alternatives, as the markets seem to prefer to use SF6 as long as it is permitted. – Consequently, a market for sustainable alternatives can only develop if traditional SF6 GIS become less attractive or are banned altogether. That said, manufacturers need a clear regulatory framework to embark on the considerable development investments required to be prepared for an SF6 phase-out. – ABB's technical solutions cover the full range of Medium Voltage (MV) applications from 12 to 40,5 kV after the investment is taken to complete the portfolio. ABB’s system has the advantage of being as flexible as SF6 GIS, as our solution is based on a platform design using the same gas pressure over the voltage levels with minor differences. Therefore, to prevent international markets from the need for entirely different platforms, SF6 GIS can still use the same platform. – Looking at the current state of SF6-free products, their cost, and availability, we recommend the definition of clear cutoff dates to provide certainty, whilst also allowing customers time to adapt: • Primary and Secondary distribution SF6 GIS 12/24 kV can be banned from 2025 (covering the majority of GIS applications); • Primary and Secondary distribution SF6 GIS >24 kV can be banned from 2030. – We look forward to providing you with additional feedback and input and remain at your disposal for queries regarding our response.
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Response to Intellectual Property Action Plan

14 Aug 2020

ABB welcomes the opportunity to provide its input to the Intellectual Property Action Plan to attract your attention to the increasing business-relevance of intellectual property for the Operational Technology (OT) industry. We use IP to protect core operational technologies contributing to industrial quality and footprint, such as energy-efficient electric drives, energy-autonomous sensors, production control, minimizing waste or environmental footprint. The implementation of Industry 4.0 challenges the current understanding and use of IP protection, justifying the development of new approaches better suited to the rapidly changing, highly integrated business networks. As a result of the implementation of interconnected communications and the utilization of application programming interfaces (APIs) to more collaborative inter-company models, businesses must carefully consider how to protect their IP, while at the same time facilitating the interoperability of connected activities. The EU’s IP action plan should seek a fair balance between players whose business activity is mostly or solely linked with the monetization of IP and industries where IP is needed to advance the technological development of industries in terms of productivity, sustainability and connectivity. The revised IP framework should aim primarily to tackle uncertainty and litigation that emerged in sectors such as software and telecoms. If left unchecked, these factors may substantially brake the adoption of critical digital technologies such as AI, cloud, or 5G because of the underlying business risks. We agree with the roadmap’s assessment of issues related to Standard-Essential Patents (SEPs): “For instance, the licensing of standard-essential patents remains a risky and costly exercise for patent holders and implementers”. This is true even when these technologies are used just as enablers or for added convenience in non-telecommunications industries, such as car manufacturing or factory automation. The same holds for the use of IP by market-dominating IT companies or hardware vendors where the number of market players is limited. While we appreciate the European Commission’s long-held position on interoperability, we encourage a more proactive policy framework on interoperability as an opportunity to prevent litigation and more retroactive fining. As regards the “lack of intra-market fair play” including and beyond SEPs, we see a problem with non-market-participating parties, in particular with the licensing of communications patents, e.g. WI-FI, 4G and 5G. We look forward to providing you with additional feedback and input on the EU’s IP framework in the future and remain at your disposal for queries regarding our response.
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Response to Evaluation of the Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive

20 Feb 2020

ABB Motion welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on the roadmap for an evaluation of the EMC Directive. For ABB Motion as a manufacturer of electric drive technology equipment the EMC directive is one of the major regulatory tools against which to assess the conformity of our products. ABB Motion considers the directive still fit for purpose. It is considered effective, efficient and coherent and its scope provides added value for manufacturers and users alike. We understand the EMCD as it is not a “safety directive”, meaning that the Directive is not supposed to deal with the safety of equipment. This proven principle has to be maintained. From a horizontal perspective it is properly aligned with the NLF since its last revision in 2014 as part of the NLF alignment package. As a matter of principle, ABB Motion favors NLF-aligned directives even they feature a substantial amount of redundancy originating from the ref-erence clauses laid down in decision 2008/768/EC. ABB Motion is clearly favoring this modularity and do not see a necessity to merge any product laws. Especially a clear separation from the RED is necessary. The RED is fo-cused on "radio communication and determination" and not the coexist-ence of electronic equipment as the EMCD. As for the sector specific aspects we are aware of the discussions in the EMC Working Party about cables (more specifically ‘ready-made connect-ing devices’ or RMCD). Cables (except for the special case of active ca-bles) are inherently benign. Therefore, the statement in Article 2(2)(d) in-dicating that such equipment is outside the scope of the EMCD should remain in the directive. Imposing legal EMC requirements on cables itself would be counterproductive. ABB Motion is opposing any changes to the scope of the Directive, it is our firm believe that any unclarities can be addressed in guidance documents without revising the EMC-Directive. ABB Motion will be happy to make additional contributions to the ongoing evaluation process and stand ready for further discussions.
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Meeting with Ditte Juul-Joergensen (Director-General Energy) and Roundtable for Europe's Energy Future

13 Nov 2019 · Priorities in the context of the clean energy transition

Response to Revision of the Machinery Directive

11 Feb 2019

ABB’s two global Business Units, Business Unit Motors and Generators and Business Unit Drives welcome opportunity to take up aspects that are identified non-productive in otherwise well working directive. These two Business Units produce electrical motors, generators and drives that are intended for industrial use. While preferring option 1 in the Inception Impact Assessment, we would combine this option with digital documentation. Digital documentation is the default value in industrial environment. Paper copy requirement does not provide any addition-al value for customers safety but costs throughout entire value chain. Therefore we warmly welcome initiative to allow digital documentation in MD context. Based on the experience BU Motors and Generators together with Business Unit Drives have gained, we would also ask clarifications in following: 1. Scope definitions a. in some cases interpretation whether some motor or drive is under scope as such, as ”partly completed machinery” or not at all is difficult to make. Clear instructions / definitions in this are important to avoid confusions. b. Together with increasing material efficiency requirements upgrading and repairing activities are becoming more frequent. Interpretation when a machinery is considered as a new machinery after upgrades / repairs should be instructed. c. in some cases interpretation whether a motor or a drive is under MD scope as such, as ”partly completed machinery” or not at all is difficult to make. 2. Interaction with other Directives: Electric products might be under the scope of many directives. While being partly overlapping, it is challenging to identify dominant directive. One solution would be to let the manufacturers be responsible in evaluating which directive(s) are applicable regarding different features or aspects of the product. 3. Language requirements MD requires translation into the official language of the member state where the product is sold to. This requirement is understandable for consumer goods. But its gains might be dubious in case of investment goods, especially where installation and use require experts. In these cases a reduced set of languages could be beneficial without jeopard-izing MDs ultimate goals.
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Meeting with Sebastien Paquot (Cabinet of Vice-President Karmenu Vella)

23 Jan 2019 · Food Waste and Circular Economy

Meeting with Rolf Carsten Bermig (Cabinet of Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska)

23 Jan 2019 · Food Waste Framework Directive

Meeting with Henrik Hololei (Director-General Mobility and Transport)

17 Jan 2019 · Electromobility

Response to Ecodesign requirements for (other) electric motors

21 Nov 2018

ABB VIEW ON ECODESIGN REGULATION DRAFT RELATED TO VARIABLE SPEED DRIVES ABB WELCOMES THE DRAFT EUROPEAN COMMISSION REGULATION LAYING DOWN ECODESIGN REQUIREMENTS FOR ELECTRIC MOTORS AND VARIABLE SPEED DRIVES PURSUANT TO DIRECTIVE 2009/125/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIA-MENT AND OF THE COUNCIL AND REPEALING COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) NO 640/2009. HOWEVER, ABB HAS MAJOR CONCERNS ON THE PROPOSED REGULATION RELATED TO REQUIREMENTS ON ENERGY EFFI-CIENCY OF VARIABLE SPEED DRIVES. 1. REQUIREMENTS DILUTE THE INTENTION OF THE REGULATION AND PENALIZE TOTAL EFFICIENCY ABB WELCOMES THE RECOGNITION THAT ADDING VARIABLE SPEED OPERATION TO ELECTRICAL MOTORS LEADS TO MAJOR ENERGY SAVINGS IN MANY APPLICATIONS (30 .. 50%). IT IS ALSO WELCOME THAT THE REGULATION SET REQUIREMENTS FOR THE EFFICIENCY OF VARIABLE SPEED OPERATION AS IT ALSO ADD SOME EXTRA LOSSES (2 .. 4%) INTO THE SYSTEM. THOSE LOSSES ADDED BY THE VARIABLE SPEED DRIVE SYSTEM ARE SPLIT INTO 3 MAJOR AREAS: • ADDITIONAL LOSSES IN THE MOTOR RELATED TO VARIABLE SPEED OPERATION • LOSSES WITHIN THE DRIVE MODULE (CONVERSION OF FIX FREQUENCY TO VARIABLE FREQUENCY) • LOSSES CREATED BY HARMONICS FEED TO THE NETWORK OR LOSSES CREATED BY HARMONIC MITIGATION METHODS THE 3 AREAS ARE VERY CLOSELY LINKED TOGETHER AND THE INDIVIDUAL LOSSES CANNOT BE OPTIMIZED INDEPEND-ENT. AS THE PROPOSED REGULATION FOCUS ONLY ON COMPONENT LEVEL, IT NEGLECTS THE LOSSES CAUSED BY THE DRIVE MODULES RELATED TO LINE HARMONICS AND IT TRIES TO NORMALIZE EXTRA LOSSES WITHIN THE MOTOR THROUGH THE REGULATION OF A TECHNOLOGY DIFFERENTIATING PARAMETER (SWITCHING FREQUENCY). THIS APPROACH WILL THEREFORE LEAD TO THE FOLLOWING CONSEQUENCES: (1) NEGLECTING THE LOSSES CAUSED BY LINE HARMONICS LEADS MANUFACTURERS TO MINIMIZE THE HARMONIC MITI-GATION WITHIN THE COMPONENT (DRIVE MODULE) AND MOVE IT TO LOWER EFFICIENT EXTERNAL SOLUTIONS, NOT COV-ERED BY THE IE CLASS SPECIFIED BY THE REGULATION DRAFT. THIS APPROACH REMOVES THE INCENTIVES TO MANU-FACTURERS TO DEVELOP AND DEPLOY SUPERIOR TECHNOLOGIES TOWARDS CLEAN AND HIGH EFFICIENT POWER CONVER-SION. PRACTICAL EXAMPLES ARE: • LOW HARMONIC DRIVES AND REGENERATIVE DRIVES WITH ACTIVE RECTIFIER BRIDGES THAT PROVIDE SUPERIOR SYSTEM EFFICIENCY WILL MOST LIKELY BE FORBIDDEN TO BE DEPLOY IN EUROPEAN UNION. FOR HARMONIC MITIGATIONS OLD METHODS WILL NEED TO BE REAPPLIED, SUCH AS EXTRA EXTERNAL FILTERS AND RESISTOR BRAKING UNITS INCREASING THE TOTAL SYSTEM LOSSES SIGNIFICANTLY. • CONSUMERS WILL BE MISLED BY THE ENERGY LABEL. ESPECIALLY HIGHER EFFICIENCY CLASSES (IE3 AND ABOVE) WOULD BE REACHED BY DRIVE MODULES WITH VERY POOR HARMONIC MITIGATION, WHICH REQUIRES IN MANY CASES EXTERNAL MITIGATIONS THAT WILL DECREASE OVERALL EFFICIENCY. (2) ABB UNDERSTANDS THAT NORMALIZING THE SWITCHING FREQUENCY OF THE DRIVE MODULE HAS THE INTENTION TO NORMALIZE THE LOSSES IN THE MOTOR. HOWEVER, THE SWITCHING FREQUENCY OPTIMIZATION IS A MANUFACTURER AND TECHNOLOGY SPECIFIC OPTIMIZATION PARAMETER. MANUFACTURERS AND UNIVERSITIES HAVE INVESTED AND ARE INVESTING INTO RESEARCH OF ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES TO OPTIMIZE THE DRIVE SYSTEM PERFORMANCE AND EFFI-CIENCY, WHICH WOULD NOT ANYMORE MAKE SENSE AND WILL SLOW DOWN THE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTS OF EU-ROPEAN COMPANIES. SUCH AREAS INCLUDE: • USE OF NEW SEMICONDUCTOR TECHNOLOGIES, LIKE SIC WHICH ALLOW MUCH HIGHER SWITCHING FREQUEN-CIES TO LOWER THE OVERALL SYSTEM LOSSES SIGNIFICANTLY. • USE OF ADVANCED AND PREDICTIVE CONTROL ALGORITHMS WHICH ALLOW TO KEEP PERFORMANCE OF THE DRIVE SYSTEM AT REDUCED SWITCHING FREQUENCY, WHERE THE SWITCHING LOSSES OF THE DRIVE MODULE ARE REDUCED. ABB UNDERSTANDS THE INTENTION OF THE REGULATION TO APPLY ENERGY EFFICIENCY ON COMPONENT LEVEL IN ORDER TO PROVIDE A SIMPLE AND PRACTICAL APPROACH FOR ENFORCEMENT. HOWEVER AS OUTLINED ABOVE, THIS WILL SIGNIF-ICANT DILUTE THE INTENTION OF THE REGULATION TO IMPROVE ENERGY EFFICIENCY. FURTHERMORE, EUROPEAN STANDARDS HAVE BEEN CREATED OVER THE PAST YEARS (EN 50598-1, -2 / 2014 AND EN 61800-9-1, -2
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Meeting with Andrus Ansip (Vice-President) and

4 Sept 2018 · Data protection, free flow of data, research programmes

Meeting with Michel Barnier (Head of Task Force Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom)

23 Apr 2018 · Meeting with the Task Force for the Preparation and Conduct of the Negotiations with the United Kingdom under Article 50 TEU

Meeting with Miguel Arias Cañete (Commissioner) and Amazon Europe Core SARL and

23 Mar 2018 · Energy sector

Response to Recast of Regulation (EC) 1371/2007 on rail passengers' rights and obligations

21 Nov 2017

In the European Union, UITP brings together more than 400 urban, suburban and regional public transport operators and authorities from all member states. It represents the perspectives of short distance passenger transport services by all modes: bus, regional and suburban rail, metro, light rail and tram and waterborne. Passengers are at the centre of public transport operations. Defining appropriate, easy to understand and reasonable rights will guarantee a successful implementation of this regulation, while ensuring a continuity of reliable, frequent and good quality services. Experience demonstrates that a legal text does not make it all; dialogue with passengers and their representatives at local, regional, national levels remains essential to understand their needs and enhance their satisfaction. In the same vein, local passenger right’s policies go sometimes beyond the requirements of the EU regulation. The revised PRR regulation should not hinder, but promote and encourage such local initiatives. Railway undertakings generally approve the application of the regulation to through-tickets. However it should be made clear that through tickets are meant when the passenger buys their tickets from one single selling point, and when operators involved in one journey are aware of the connections, and have put in place the necessary resources to provide adequate assistance and compensation. This is the spirit of other EU legislation, such as the Parliament’s first reading position on the revised reg. 261/2004, and the Package Travel Directive. The idea of reintroducing force majeure as an exoneration clause for compensation is in line with passenger rights’ regulation in other modes of transport, and brings a better level playing field. However, the proposal is too restrictive as it does not reflect either the reality faced by the railway operators, or the legal concept of extraordinary circumstances. As such, it would trigger still undue financial burden to rail operators for events beyond their control. The Chapter V related to passengers with reduced mobility would apply to all services. The Commission’s impact assessment estimates that extending the scope of the regulation, incl. Chapter V on all services, would represent a cost of 5Mio€: considering tthat here are about 30,000 railway stations in the EU (excluding suburban and urban stations), this gives about 167€ / station. This looks rather underestimated, and the costs of adding PRM trained staff in all urban and suburban trains, often running without personnel on board, is not even taken into account. Therefore it is important to ensure reasonable rights, which can be implemented by all rail services in the EU, including urban, suburban and regional. Otherwise, a distinction should be made for those services. The scope and the functional requirements of the European Accessibility Act are not fixed yet, neither is the necessity of avoiding the Act to overlap with existing legislation dealing with accessibility. Therefore, for legal security, all references to the future legislation should be deleted.
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Meeting with Lowri Evans (Director-General Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs)

22 Oct 2015 · energy efficiency

Meeting with Dominique Ristori (Director-General Energy)

21 Oct 2015 · European energy policy

Meeting with Maria Asenius (Cabinet of Vice-President Cecilia Malmström), Nele Eichhorn (Cabinet of Vice-President Cecilia Malmström) and Mannheimer Swartling Advokatbyrå

18 Sept 2015 · Anti-dumping on steel

Meeting with Edward Bannerman (Cabinet of Vice-President Jyrki Katainen)

24 Mar 2015 · Trade

Meeting with Maria Asenius (Cabinet of Vice-President Cecilia Malmström), Nele Eichhorn (Cabinet of Vice-President Cecilia Malmström) and Mannheimer Swartling Advokatbyrå

28 Jan 2015 · Anti-dumping investigation

Meeting with Věra Jourová (Commissioner) and Microsoft Corporation and

16 Jan 2015 · Round Table on Gender Diversity