Europe Daily News, 09 April 2024

COMPETITION

• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.11453 - Commerzbank Immobilien / ACH / ACI)
• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.11443 - Adnoc / Fertiglobe)
• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.11497 - CIP / Miescor / PHPL / PHC)
• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.11466 - TA Associates / SSCP / Macquarie / Byggfakta Group)
• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.11465 - Silver Lake / Australiansuper / Digitalbridge / Vantage Emea)
• Italy - AGCM has opened an investigation against Novamont for alleged abuse of a dominant position
• UK - The CMA has published an open letter to Nail Technicians regarding their obligations to comply with competition law

STATE AID

• Commission approves €20 million Slovak State aid scheme to support companies in the context of Russia's war against Ukraine (SA.113258) - Midday Express
• Commission approves €476 million Czech State aid scheme under the Recovery and Resilience Facility to facilitate the supply of affordable rental flats (SA.106249) - Midday Express
• Answer given by EVP Vestager to a MEP written question - Unusually lengthy investigation into illegal state aid for the acquisition of land for conservation purposes in the Netherlands

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Agenda for: Meeting of the Working Party on Dual Use Goods - 16 April 2024
• Minutes of the 254th meeting of the Customs Code Committee - Tariff & Statistical Nomenclature (Sub-Section Agriculture / Chemistry) from 11th to 12th March 2024
• Draft report, Report & Recommendation by MEP Tomas Tobé on the conclusion of the Partnership Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Members of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, of the other part
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) …/... imposing a provisional anti-dumping duty on imports of certain alkyl phosphate esters originating in the People's Republic of China
• Notice concerning the date of entry into force of the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and New Zealand
• Notice of initiation of an expiry review of the anti-dumping measures applicable to imports of certain tubes and pipes fittings, originating in the Federation of Russia, the Republic of Korea and Malaysia (CN codes ex 7307 93 11, ex 7307 93 19 and ex 7307 99 80)
• Ukraine: Council backs the renewal of EU’s autonomous trade measures - see the EP Statement &  Letter to the Chair of the EPs INTA Committee 
• Chinese minister says cognac probe unrelated to EU probe on EVs - Reuters
• Brussels tests out perhaps its sharpest anti-China tool - EU’s foreign subsidies regulation has potential radically to restrain Chinese companies - Financial Times
• European ports turned into ‘car parks’ as vehicle imports pile up - Chinese EV makers without sales networks or onward transportation among leading causes of congestion, say executives - Financial Times
• Labour denies it has plans for UK to rejoin EU customs union - Shadow minister says party ‘committed to making Brexit work’ after report from political consultancy on realignment - Financial Times

INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

• Commission seeks views on EU rules for pyrotechnics and civilian use explosives - Midday Express
• Answer given by Mr Breton to a MEP written question - Manufacturing photovoltaic products

AGRICULTURE & FISHERIES

• Agenda for: Meeting of the Expert Group on Organic Production - 16 & 17 April 2024
• Answer given by Mr Wojciechowski to a MEP written question - Farmers’ protests across the EU
• Answer given by Mr Wojciechowski to a MEP written question - Stabilisation of the EU market in agricultural products

EMPLOYMENT & SOCIAL AFFAIRS

• EU job seeker’s aid worth €1.9 million for 390 dismissed workers in Denmark
• EU job seeker’s aid worth €3 million for 835 dismissed steel workers in Germany

ENERGY

• Minutes of the 3rd meeting of the Renewable Energy Projects - 22 February 2024
• 166 key cross-border energy projects published
• Speech by Commissioner Simson at the National Press Club of Australia
• Hydrogen and decarbonised gas market package - see the EP Briefing
• Answer given by Ms Simson to a MEP written question - Suspension of permits for solar panels in Elche
• Geopolitics lurks behind Europe’s gas storage success - Energy dependency turns out not to have been as effective a weapon as Putin thought - Financial Times

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• Agenda for: Meeting of the EU Ecolabelling Board - 18 April 2024
• Minutes of the CEG on The implementation of the regulation concerning batteries and waste batteries, Article 71
• Draft Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on industrial emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control) and Council Directive 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste (first reading) - Adoption of the legislative act & Statement
• Public consultation - Ship recycling – European list of ship recycling facilities (13th edition) - Implementing decision - Feedback period: 08 April 2024 - 06 May 2024
• Policy paper on the synergies between the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting (CSRD) published
• Urban wastewater treatment: Updating EU rules - see the EP Briefing
• EU certification framework for carbon removals - see the EP Briefing
• Europe needs €800bn to meet 2030 climate targets, says industry - Governments need massive private and public investments to expand power grids and energy storage facilities - Financial Times

HEALTH, FOOD & PRODUCT SAFETY

• ESFA: Scientific Opinion - Safety and efficacy of a feed additive consisting of a tincture derived from the roots of Panax ginseng C.A.Mey. (ginseng tincture) for horses, dogs and cats (FEFANA asbl)
• ESFA: Scientific Opinion - Safety for the user of the feed additive consisting of ferric tyrosine chelate (TYFER™) for chickens, turkeys and minor poultry species for fattening or reared for laying/breeding (Akeso Biomedical, Inc)
• ESFA: Scientific Opinion - Safety evaluation of the food enzyme preparation D‐psicose 3‐epimerase from the non‐genetically modified Microbacterium foliorum strain SYG27B
• ESFA: Scientific Opinion - Safety evaluation of the food enzyme bacillolysin from the non‐genetically modified Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain AE‐NP
• ECDC - Interim analysis of COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness against hospitalisation due to COVID-19 and death using electronic health records in eight European countries: first update
• ECDC - Systematic review update on the efficacy, effectiveness and safety of newer and enhanced seasonal influenza vaccines for the prevention of laboratory confirmed influenza in individuals aged 18 years and over

DIGITAL & INFORMATION SOCIETY

• Minutes of the 1st Meeting of the Virtual Worlds Steering Group (VWSG) - 07 March 2024
  
• Minutes of 4th Meeting of the Sub-group to the Digital Decade Board on the monitoring of the Digital Decade Policy Programme and the Digital Europe Programme - 20 March 2024
• Answer given by Mr Breton to a MEP written question - Digital Services Act and national legislation on online wildlife trade

DATA PRIVACY & CYBERSECURITY

• EDPS Annual Report: adaptability in a changing world - see the Press Release
• New procedural rules to strengthen GDPR enforcement in cross-border cases - see the EP Briefing
• A visual presentation of the newly proposed rules to strengthen GDPR enforcement in cross-border cases - see the EP Briefing

AREA OF FREEDOM, SECURITY & JUSTICE

• Vice-President Jourová hosts signing ceremony of the Code of Conduct for the 2024 European Parliament Elections - IP/24/1867
  
• Draft opinion by MEP Tomas Tobé on the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing an EU Talent Pool - Compromise Amendments 1- 12
• New rules on "political advertising" come into force - Midday Express

ECB, EURO & ECONOMY

• More than €10 million in Cohesion Funds to revamp metro and kick-start the first ‘circular economy' project in Athens - Midday Express
• EU-Western Balkans relations: Macroeconomic situation and EU financial support - see the EP Briefing
• ECB - Euro area quarterly balance of payments and international investment position: fourth quarter of 2023
• ECB - Households and non-financial corporations in the euro area: fourth quarter of 2023
• ECB - April 2024 euro area bank lending survey

FUTURE OF EUROPE

• Agenda for: Meeting of the Coreper (Part.1 & Part.2) - 10 April 2024
• Final draft agenda for the EP sittings of 10 - 11 April 2024
• Draft agenda for the EP sittings of 22 to 25 April 2024

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• Statement by the High Representative on behalf of the EU on the alignment of certain countries concerning restrictive measures against serious human rights violations and abuses
• Statement by the High Representative on behalf of the EU on the alignment of certain countries concerning restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine
• EU sends emergency aid to Ukraine after further attacks on energy infrastructure - Midday Express
• Wider war in Europe ‘no longer a fantasy’, warns EU’s top diplomat - Josep Borrell says Russia threatens the continent beyond the conflict in Ukraine - Financial Times