Christmas news

Dear Readers,

Christmas is nearly upon us and 2023 is slowly drawing to a close. Now is an appropriate moment for us to look back together. 

The year got off to a festive start with the 30th anniversary of the European Single Market and Sweden's Council Presidency. Back in the spring, the European Commission (EC) gave the go-ahead for many initiatives and legislative projects. An exciting and work-intensive time began.

It included the pharmaceutical strategy, on which we took a clear position. We were also able to contribute to the EU's initiative on mental health and the initiative to protect workers from the dangers of asbestos.

In March, we reviewed the draft regulation covering the European Health Data Space (EHDS) and came to the following conclusions: The draft report contained many proposals that went in the right direction, whereas others needed to be improved.

The EC published its revision of the basic EU pharmaceutical regulations after several delays. The five main objectives: Access to and the affordability of medicines, promoting innovation, securing supplies, strengthening environmental sustainability and combating antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

The first issue of our ed* magazine for 2023 was published in June, with its focus on the "challenges of climate change for social insurance". The focus was on the European Green Deal.

A special highlight this year was our 30th anniversary, which we celebrated with a ceremony entitled "140 years of social insurance - 30 years of the single market. Bismarck on the move: Get digital. Go green". High-ranking politicians spoke with our German Social Insurance (DSV) Board in two panel discussions about digitisation and climate change issues and their impact on social systems.

On 1 July, Spain took over the Council Presidency for the fifth time and the trialogue about the proposed directives for improving the working conditions of platform workers began.

In the second half of the year, we focussed more on the issue of an interoperable Europe, the proposed legislation covering late payments in commercial transactions and the EU's pharmaceutical reform. We also welcomed the reduction of the lead limit values used in the workplace and the introduction of limit values for diisocyanates.

On the occasion of DSV's 30th anniversary, we published the second issue of our ed* magazine, in which you could get a deeper insight into our anniversary event themes.

We will continue to keep you up to date with the latest developments from Europe in the coming year. This is because one or two legislative initiatives have not yet been finalised. They include the proposed directive to harmonise specific insolvency law issues. What else can you expect? An exciting European election year 2024.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest and we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

If you need some reading over the holidays, you can find all the 2023 news here.

Your team at the European representative office of German Social Insurance.