Europe Daily News, 22 March 2024

COMPETITION

• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.11474 - HPS / Berlin Brands Group)
• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.11373 - IP / EV Asset Holding / Iplanet JV)
• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.10988 - Brookfield / Cameco / Westinghouse)
• Summary of Commission Decision of 17 January 2024 relating to a proceeding under Article 102 of the TFEU (Case AT.40735 – Online rail ticket distribution in Spain)
  - Opinion of the Advisory Committee on restrictive practices and dominant positions
  - Final Report of the Hearing Officer
• Commission clears creation of joint venture by DWS, Galaxy and Flow Traders (M.11439) - Midday Express
• Commission clears acquisition of Argal by SFH and existing shareholders (M.11378) - Midday Express
• EU clearance decision of DCC-Progas LPG deal published - see Case M.11360
• Belgium - Notification CONC-CC-24/0002: SA Van den Broeck / SA Pautric Invest
• Ireland - CCPC blocks daa purchase of car park near Dublin Airport
• Italy - Competition Authority: investigation opened for alleged abuse of dominant position by Booking
• UK - CMA plans full probe into Vodafone-Three deal - CMA gives companies days to resolve concerns that merger will reduce choice - Financial Times
• Apple is going to war’: US lawsuit adds to iPhone maker’s antitrust woes - Regulators in Washington and the EU have tech giant in their crosshairs at particularly challenging time - Financial Times
• EU wrong to block Illumina’s $8bn takeover of Grail, says court adviser - Advocate general of bloc’s top court says decision against world’s biggest gene sequencing group should be annulled - Financial Times

STATE AID

• Opinion of Advocate General Capeta of 21 March 2024 in Case C‑224/23 P, Penya Barça Lyon: Plus que des supporters (PBL), Issam Abdelmouine Vs. European Commission
  Re: Appeal - State aid - Alleged aid in favour of Paris Saint-Germain FC - Regulation (EU) 2015/1589 - Article 1(h) - Article 24(2) - Concept of ‘interested party’ - Scope of the meaning of ‘interest’ of a person, undertaking or association of undertakings - Need for a causal link between the interests of those parties and the granting of the aid
• State aid – France – State aid SA.101557 (2024/C) (ex 2023/NN) - France - Maritime services to Corsica (2023-2030) - Invitation to submit comments pursuant to Article 108(2) of the TFEU

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• DG Trade organisational chart as of 19 March 2024
• Minutes of the fifth meeting of the Customs Programme Committee - 14 March 2023
• Agenda for: 6th Meeting of the CETA Regulatory Cooperation Forum - 24 & 25 April 2024
• Draft - Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) …/... concerning the classification of certain goods in the Combined Nomenclature - CN 6307 90 98;  CN 6404 19 90 & CN 9102 12 00
• Council Decision on the accession of Tonga to the Interim Partnership Agreement between the European Community, of the one part, and the Pacific States, of the other part
• Council Decision on the accession of Niue to the Interim Partnership Agreement between the European Community, of the one part, and the Pacific States, of the other part
• Commission proposes increased tariffs on Russian and Belarusian grain products - IP/24/1652, QaA & Implementing Regulation, see also Politico.eu & Financial Times
• TTC5: EU and US take stock of trade and technology cooperation - 30 January 2024
• EU – Vietnam FTA: update to Harmonised System 2022
• French senators reject EU-Canada trade deal amid farmer unrest - Left- and right-wing opposition parties team up to deliver rebuke to Emmanuel Macron - Politico.eu
• Stormont’s honeymoon ends as Brexit pulls parties apart Premium content - Plus, Northern Ireland trade with UK declines but grows with the EU - Financial Times

INTERNAL MARTKET & INDUSTRY

• Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on type-approval of motor vehicles and engines and of systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles, with respect to their emissions and battery durability (Euro 7) and repealing Regulations (EC) No 715/2007 and (EC) No 595/2009 - Outcome of the European Parliament's first reading (Strasbourg, 11 to 14 March 2024)
• EU and Norway sign strategic partnership on sustainable land-based raw materials and battery value chains - IP/24/1654

FINANCE

• Agenda for: Att. & Exp. Financial Services and Banking Union (Financial Services) (Retail Investment Package) - 08 April 2024
• Agenda for: Att. & Exp. Financial Services and Banking Union (Financial Services) (Payment Services) - 11 April 2024
• ESMA - T+1 feedback report shows mixed impacts of shortening the settlement cycle in the EU
• ESMA fines Scope EUR 2,197,500 for breaches of conflict of interest obligations
• ESMA - Transition to the revised MiFIR rulebook

AGRICULTURE & FISHERIES

• Agenda for: Council of the European Union (Agriculture & Fisheries) - 26 March 2024
  - The importance of providing the agrifood sector with new plant breeding strategies, based on genome editing techniques, to strengthen its sustainability, resilience, and profitability - Information from the Spanish delegation, supported by the Czech, Danish, Estonian, Finnish, Netherlands, Portuguese and Swedish delegations
  - Considering the socio-economic pillar in fisheries management in light of the judgment in court case C-330/22 - Information from the Spanish delegation, supported by the Bulgarian, Polish and Portuguese delegations

ENERGY

• ACER analyses challenges ahead for wholesale electricity and gas markets in two monitoring reports - see 2024 Key developments in European gas markets and in European electricity markets

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• Agenda for: Working Party on the Environment - 26 March 2024
• Agenda for: 38th Meeting of the Expert Group on Reporting under the Nature Directives - 23 April 2024
• Sixth meeting of the Open-ended Committee of Permanent Representatives (OECPR-6) Nairobi, Kenya, 19 February – 23 February 2024 Sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6) Nairobi, Kenya, 26 February – 1 March 2024 - Statements by the European Union and its Member States
• Draft Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on nature restoration and amending Regulation (EU) 2022/869 (first reading) - Adoption of the legislative act - Statements by Germany, Estonia, the Netherlands, Slovakia and the European Commission
• Commission Delegated Regulation(EU) …/... amending Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards hexabromocyclododecane
• Commissioners Sinkevičius and Hoekstra will be present at the Environment Council to discuss the subject of waste and plastic granules and to present the recommendation for a target to reduce emissions by 2040 - Midday Express

HEALTH, FOOD & PRODUCT SAFETY

• Minutes of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed
  - Section "Genetically Modified Food and Feed" - 28 February 2024
  - Section "Phytopharmaceuticals & Pesticide residues" - 05 March 2023
• EFSA - Technical and scientific assistance on the internal review under Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/2660 renewing the approval of the active substance glyphosate in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009
• EFSA - Multi-country outbreak of Salmonella Mbandaka ST413 linked to consumption of chicken meat products in the EU/EEA and the UK – first update & ECDC Statement
• EFSA - Assessment of GM maize DP202216 for food and feed uses, under Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 (application EFSA‐GMO‐NL‐2019‐159)
• EFSA - Plant Health Newsletter on Horizon Scanning - March 2024

AREA OF FREEDOM, SECURITY & JUSTICE

• Formal sitting Solemn undertaking before the Court of Justice of the European Union by three new Members of the European Court of Auditors (see CPR Nº 57/2024)
• Information The European Parliament and the Court of Justice of the European Union meet for their first annual dialogue (see CPR Nº 58/2024)
  

FUTURE OF EUROPE

• European Council conclusions on Ukraine, security and defence, Middle East, enlargement and reforms, migration, preparedness and crisis response, and European Semester.
  - Remarks by President Charles Michel after the European Council meeting of 21 March 2024
  - Opening remarks by President von der Leyen
• European Council President Charles Michel and UN Secretary-General António Guterres addressed the press before the UNSG's exchange of views with EU leaders

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• EU and Ukraine continue strengthening Solidarity Lanes and cooperation on connectivity, safety and sustainability of transport - Midday Express
• EU will have to seize Russian assets eventually if it wants Ukraine to win, bank chief says - Confiscation is risky, but the euro’s reputation won’t escape unscathed if Europe lets Putin win, Latvian central bank governor warns - Politico.eu
• Russia doubles down on Ukraine war while EU leaders are divided on how to finance weapons - ‘Let’s be honest: nothing real is decided on financing defense,’ said one EU official - Politico.eu
• EU looks to bypass treaty ban on buying arms to support Ukraine - Brussels proposes ‘legal task force’ to explore ways to use the common budget for defence - Financial Times