Europe Daily News, 22 April 2024

COMPETITION

• Request for a preliminary ruling from the Juzgado de lo Mercantil n.o 1 de Zaragoza (Spain) lodged on 12 January 2024 - CP Vs. Nissan Iberia S.A. (Case C-21/24)
  Re: action for damages; decision of the competition authority; judicial authority;
• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.11387 - Volvo / Westport / JV)
• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.11505 - CVC / Emma / Mailstep)
• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.11498 - Britannic Strategies / Getec Energie)
• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.11450 - Worxinvest / GIMV)
• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.11477 - Quattror / Massimo Zanetti Beverage Group)
• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.11501 - CD&R / Stone Point / Truist Insurance Holdings)
• Communication from the Commission published pursuant to Article 27(4) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 in Case AT.40577 - VIFOR (IV iron products)
• Commission clears creation of joint venture by EVOG and Commerzbank (M.11462) - Midday Express
• Commission clears acquisition of PNGTS by MSI and BAM (M.11509) - Midday Express

STATE AID

• Action brought on 29 February 2024 - Germany Vs. Commission (Case T-132/24)
  Re: annulment of the Decision of the European Commission of 19 December 2023 concerning State Aid SA.103196 (2023/N) - Germany - Amendment to aid schemes SA.42393 (2016/C) -Reduced CHP surcharge for energy intensive users und State Aid SA.49416 (2017/N) - Reduced offshore surcharge for electro-intensive undertakings, in so far as it finds that the reduction
• Appeal brought on 14 February 2024 by Asociación Profesional de Empresas de Reparto y Manipulado de Correspondencia (Asempre) against the judgment of the General Court of 29 November 2023 in Case T-513/20, Asempre Vs. Commission (Case C-124/24 P)
  Re: State aid case SA.50872 (2020/NN) – Spain – USO compensation to Correos, 2011-2020
• Appeal brought on 14 February 2024 by UNO, Organización Empresarial de Logística y Transporte, against the judgment of the General Court of 29 November 2023 in Case T-514/20, UNO Vs. Commission (Case C-126/24 P)
  Re: State aid case SA.50872 (2020/NN) – Spain – USO compensation to Correos, 2011-2020
• Authorisation for State aid pursuant to Articles 107 and 108 of the TFEU - Cases where the Commission raises no objections - SA.111374 & SA.109766

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Agenda for: Working Party on Customs Union - 24 April 2024
• Minutes - Customs Programme - 26th CLEN Plenary Meeting - 13 February 2024
• Minutes - Customs Programme - CLEN Action 2 - CLEN Ring Test on Starch and Sugars in Pet Food - 25 March 2024
• Proposal for a Council Decision on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the International Sugar Council's Accessions Committee concerning the conditions of accession for Kuwait to become a member of the International Sugar Agreement, 1992
  
• EU-Japan: Council endorses the conclusion of the strategic partnership agreement
• Overview of Economic Partnership Agreements - as of 22 April 2024
• Overview of Free Trade Agreements and Other Trade Negotiations - as of 22 April 2024
• Answer given by HR/VP Borrell to a MEP written question - Cooperation agreement with Argentina

INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

• Agenda for: Working Party on Company Law - 25 April 2024
• Summary notice concerning the initiation of an in-depth investigation in Case FSP. 100151 and in Case FSP. 100154, pursuant to Articles 10(3)(d) of Regulation (EU) 2022/2560
• Council Decision authorising the opening of negotiations, on behalf of the European Union, in the context of the World Intellectual Property Organization for an international legal instrument relating to intellectual property, genetic resources and traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources - Adoption
• Speech by President von der Leyen on the occasion of the opening ceremony of the Hannover Messe 2024

CHEMICAL

• Agenda for: 13th Meeting of the Committee for Risk Assessment Working Group on Harmonised Classification and Labelling (RAC-69 CLH WG) - 23 to 25 April 2024
• Commission defines principles on limiting most harmful chemicals to essential uses - IP/24/2151, QaA & Communication

TAXATION

• Draft position on behalf of the European Union and its Member States valid for the first substantial session of the Ad Hoc Committee to draft terms of reference for a United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation (New York, 26 April - 8 May 2024) - Approval & Statement by Malta
• Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee - Proposal for a Council Directive on Faster and Safer Relief of Excess Withholding Taxes COM(2023) 324 final – 2023/0187 (CNS)

AGRICULTURE & FISHERIES

• Council meeting ("Agriculture and Fisheries") on 29 April 2024
  - The bioeconomy must stand out at the core of the next European Commission’s work programme - Information from the Finnish delegation, on behalf of the Austrian, Finnish, Slovenian and Swedish delegations, and supported by the Bulgarian, Czech, Estonian, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Portuguese, Romanian and Slovak delegations
• Agenda for: Commission Expert Group on Forest and Forestry Stakeholder Platform - 23 April 2024

ENERGY

• Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EU) 2019/943 and (EU) 2019/942 as well as Directives (EU) 2018/2001 and (EU) 2019/944 to improve the Union’s electricity market design - Outcome of the European Parliament's first reading (Brussels, 10-11 April 2024)
• Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EU) 2019/943 and (EU) 2019/942 as well as Directives (EU) 2018/2001 and (EU) 2019/944 to improve the Union’s electricity market design - Outcome of the European Parliament's first reading (Brussels, 10-11 April 2024)
• ACER assesses the tariff methodology proposed for the Czech gas transmission system

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• Action brought on 9 February 2024 - Pollinis France Vs. Commission (Case T-75/24)
  Re: annulment of the Commission’s decision rejecting the applicant’s request for internal review, filed under Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, regarding Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/918 (‘the contested decision’), insofar as it extends the approval period of the active substance boscalid
• 2023 European State of the Climate Report confirms alarming trend of climate change impacts on our continent - Midday Express
• Answer given by Mr Sinkevičius to a MEP written question - Mass PFAS pollution in Salindres caused by a Belgian company that makes fluorinated products
• Answer given by Mr Sinkevičius to a MEP written question - Fires during the lithium battery recycling process
• Answer given by Mr Sinkevičius to a MEP written question - Recycling of milk glass

TRANSPORT & MOBILITY

• Agenda for: Working Party on Land Transport - 25 April 2024
• Agenda for: Working Party on Transport - Intermodal Questions & Networks - 26 April 2024
• Lithuania to get new electric trains under EIB-NIB-LTG Link deal
• IRU, ETF call for EU action on third-country driver rights and conditions

EDUCATION & CULTURE

• Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council meeting of 13 - 14 May 2024
  - Future-proofing the cultural and creative sectors in the age of Artificial Intelligence - Policy debate
  - Artificial intelligence in education and training: combining technological innovation with quality education for all - Policy debate

ECB, EURO & ECONOMY

• Commission disburses the second payment of €422 million to Denmark under the Recovery and Resilience Facility - Midday Express
• Statement by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at the forty-ninth meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee
• Nowcasting consumer price inflation using high-frequency scanner data: evidence from Germany - ECB Working Paper Series No.2930
• Decomposing systemic risk: the roles of contagion and common exposures - ECB Working Paper Series No.2929
• How big is the household housing burden? Evidence from the ECB Consumer Expectations Survey - Economic Bulletin Issue 3, 2024
• Housing investment and the user cost of housing in the euro area - Economic Bulletin Issue 3, 2024
• EIB and Ukraine Government sign MoU to accelerate deployment of financial support and project execution on the ground

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• Maritime Security: EU to become an observer of the Djibouti Code of Conduct/Jeddah Amendment
• Extremist settlers in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem: Council sanctions four individuals and two entities over serious human rights abuses against Palestinians - see Council Decision (CFSP) 2024/1175 & Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1172
• Joint statement by the European Commission, the WHO Regional Office for Europe, and the United Nations Children's Fund, on immunization, celebrating the work done in protecting the health of multiple generations
• Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe calls for more sanctions against Russia and release of frozen assets