Europe Daily News, 19 July 2024

COMPETITION

• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.11576 - KKR / Nexeye)
• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.11611 - PAI Partners / HFO Group)
• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.11371 - Eramet / Suez RV / TFIN / JV)
• Summary of Commission Decision of 20 February 2024 declaring a concentration compatible with the internal market and the functioning of the EEA Agreement (Case M.10896 - Orange / Màsmovil / JV)
  - Opinion of the Advisory Committee on mergers
  - Final Report of the Hearing Officer
• Italy - AGCM has launched an investigation against Google for unfair commercial practices
• Italy - AGCM has launched an investigation against Armani and Dior group companies for alleged unfair commercial practices
• UK - The CMA has launched its merger inquiry in the anticipated acquisition by Macquarie Asset Management of Last Mile Infrastructure
• UK - The CMA has cleared the anticipated acquisition by Nationwide Building Society of Virgin Money UK PLC - See the Summary of decision
• UK - The CMA has cleared the proposed acquisition by Roche Diagnostics Limited of certain entities held by LumiraDx Group Ltd and LumiraDx International Ltd

STATE AID

• Communication from the Commission – Approval of the content of a draft for a Commission Regulation declaring certain categories of aid in the rail, inland waterways and multimodal transport sector compatible with the internal market in application of Articles 93, 107 and 108 of the Treaty
• Authorisation for State aid pursuant to Articles 107 and 108 of the TFEU - Cases where the Commission raises no objections – SA.58607; SA.114347; SA.112780 & SA.113265
• Commission approves €160 million State aid in favour of Czech Post for the provision of electronic communication services (SA.109072) - Midday Express
• Commission approves €80 million Greek State aid scheme under the Recovery and Resilience Facility to promote broadband services (SA.112911) - Midday Express
• Commission approves amendment to a Romanian State aid scheme to support tomato and garlic producers in the context of Russia's war against Ukraine (SA.114806) - Midday Express

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Report of 6th meeting of the Outbound Investment Expert Group - 04 July 2024
• Commission Regulation (EU) …/… on the introduction and management of tariff-rate quotas for groats resulting from Regulation (EU) 2024/1392 of the European Parliament and of the Council on temporary trade-liberalisation measures supplementing trade concessions applicable to Ukrainian products under the Association Agreement between the Union and Ukraine
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1959 of 17 July 2024 imposing a provisional anti-dumping duty on imports of erythritol originating in the People’s Republic of China
• Clear determination to maintain "global competition rules" at G7 Trade Ministerial meeting
• WTO - Facilitator, co-convenors update members on dispute settlement reform work

INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

• EU and Serbia sign strategic partnership on sustainable raw materials, battery value chains and electric vehicles - Financial Times
• Business coalition urges ambitious, open trade policy to boost EU competitiveness and prosperity
• Von der Leyen’s re-election: time for pragmatic implementation of Clean Industrial Deal with steel at its core for a stronger Europe, says EUROFER

FINANCE

• ESMA publishes its follow-up report to the Fast Track Peer Review on Wirecard
• The EU market on structured deposits is limited in size concentrated in only a few Member States, and offers products with varying net returns, an EBA Report finds
• System outage hits house sales and payments across UK and Europe - Problem affecting Swift network impacted high-value and time-sensitive transactions - Financial Times

TAXATION

• Harmonising transfer pricing rules within the EU - see EPRS Briefing July 2024
• Intellectual property regimes vary widely within EU, according to Tax Foundation

ENERGY

• Commission Notice on the application of energy labelling requirements in the light of the Court Order of 5 October 2023 in Case C-761/22

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• Commission Notice – Application of Regulation (EU) 2024/1849 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2017/852 on mercury as regards dental amalgam and other mercury-added products subject to export, import and manufacturing restrictions to and in the United Kingdom in respect of Northern Ireland
• Public consultation - Ghana VPA FLEGT Regulation for a FLEGT licensing - Delegated regulation - Feedback period: 17 July 2024 - 14 August 2024
• Sustainable products to become norm for consumers as new law enters into force

AGRICULTURE & FISHERIES

• Opening speech by Mr Janusz Wojciechowski at the first meeting of the EU Agri-Food Chain Observatory
• Grazing is vital for wildfire prevention, reducing fuel loads, modifying vegetation, and aiding ecosystem recovery
• Statement - Copa and Cogeca’s first reaction to the re-election of Ursula von der Leyen and the presentation of her 2029 roadmap

DATA PRIVACY & CYBERSECURITY

• EDPB - Opinion 19/2024 on the EuroPrise criteria of certification regarding their approval by the Board as European Data Protection Seal pursuant to Article 42.5 (GDPR)
• EDPB - Opinion 18/2024 on the draft decision of the Austrian Supervisory Authority regarding DSGVO-zt GmbH certification criteria

ECB, EURO & ECONOMY

• Commission disburses the fifth payment of €821.7 million to Croatia under the Recovery and Resilience Facility - Midday Express
• ECB publishes indicative operational calendars for 2025
• ECB - Euro area monthly balance of payments: May 2024
• Main findings from the ECB’s recent contacts with non-financial companies
• Results of the ECB Survey of Professional Forecasters for the third quarter of 2024
• Speech by Christine Lagarde, Luis de Guindos: Monetary policy statement (with Q&A) - & Monetary policy decisions
• Delivering on EU Support for a Cyprus Settlement: Legacy and Vision

FUTURE OF EUROPE

• Statement by President von der Leyen at the joint press conference with President Metsola following the EP Plenary vote
• Statement at the EP Plenary by President Ursula von der Leyen, candidate for a "second mandate" 2024-2029
  
• Five challenges facing EU chief Ursula von der Leyen in her second term - Financial Times

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• European Political Community: Press remarks by the High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell before the meeting
• Israel/Palestine: Statement by the High Representative on the Knesset resolution opposing the establishment of a Palestinian state
  
• Joint statement following the meeting of the Specialised Committee on the implementation of the Windsor Framework on 18 July 2024
• UK targets more Russian-linked oil tankers with sanctions - Western officials believe the strategy is proving effective in undermining Moscow’s ability to export crude - Financial Times