Europe Daily News, 04 October 2024

COMPETITION

• Competition: the Court upholds the decision of the European Commission prohibiting the proposed merger between thyssenkrupp and Tata Steel (See CPR No.156/2024 - Judgment of the Court in Case C-581/22 P, Thyssenkrupp Vs. Commission)
• Competition: the Court of Justice rules on the cartel on the Italian market for concrete reinforcing bars (See CPR No.157/2024 - Judgment of the Court of Justice in Joined Cases C-29/23 P, C-30/23 P, C-31/23 P, Ferriera Valsabbia and Valsabbia Investimenti Vs. Commission)
• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.11632 - Alten / Worldgrid)
• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.11682 - Utmost Group / Lombard International Assurance Holdings)
• Commission clears acquisition of TBX NewCo Spain and TBX Upstream Seamless Pipes by Tubacex and Mubadala (M.11633) - Midday Express
• Commission clears acquisition of Ze Energy by WIFRA, Ze Way Invest and Marguerite II (M.11681) - Midday Express
• Commission clears acquisition of OnTower Austria by EDF and Vauban (M.11740) - Midday Express
• Commission clears acquisition of HHLA by SAS Lux and HGV (M.11302) - Midday Express
• Commission clears acquisition of Clasquin by MSC Group (M.11563) - Midday Express
• Spain - The CNMC fines Neuro Energía y Gestión 1,081,502 euros for manipulating the continuous intraday market in the sale of electricity across the border with France.

STATE AID

• Opinion of Advocate General Szpunar of 4 October 2024 in Joined Cases C-244/23 P to C-246/23 P European Commission Vs. Carpatair SA (C-244/23 P) and Wizz Air Hungary Légiközlekedési Zrt. (Wizz Air Hungary Zrt.) (C-245/23 P) Societatea Națională ‘Aeroportul Internaţional Timişoara – Traian Vuia’ SA (AITTV) (C-246/23 P) nVs. Carpatair SA, European Commission (C-245/23 P and C-246/23 P)
  Re: Appeal - State aid - Aviation sector - Measures implemented by Romania in favour of Timișoara airport - Measures implemented by Timișoara airport in favour of Wizz Air and airlines using that airport - Decision finding, in part, that there was no State aid in favour of Timișoara airport and airlines using that airport - Advantage - Private operator test
• State aid - Member state - State Aid SA.57153 (2020/NN) (ex 2020/N) - Germany - COVID-19 - Aid to Lufthansa - Invitation to submit comments pursuant to Article 108(2) of the TFEU
• Authorisation for State aid pursuant to Articles 107 and 108 of the TFEU - Cases where the Commission raises no objections – SA.115173 & SA.115440

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Western Sahara: the 2019 EU-Morocco trade agreements regarding fisheries and agricultural products, to which the people of Western Sahara did not consent, were concluded in breach of the principles of self-determination and the relative effect of treaties (See CPR No.170/2024 - Judgment of the Court of Justice in Joined Cases C-778/21 P, C-798/21 P, C-779/21 P, C-799/21 P, Commission Vs. Front Polisario)
• Revised Agenda for: Trade Policy Committee (Full Members) - 10 October 2024
• Notice concerning the provisional application of the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Partnership and Cooperation between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Kingdom of Thailand, of the other part
• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/2634 of 29 July 2024 amending Regulation (EU) 2019/287 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards specific provisions contained in the Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Kenya
• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/2637 of 30 July 2024 amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/760 as regards the rules on the reference quantity for groups of tariff quotas in the poultry sector
• Council Decision (EU) 2024/2606 of 23 September 2024 establishing the position to be taken on behalf of the EU within the Partnership Council established by the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part, as regards modifications to Annex 3 to that Agreement
• Commission proposal to impose tariffs on imports of battery electric vehicles from China obtains necessary support from EU Member States
• Trade defence: Where’s next for the EU’s EV and battery trade policy - See T&E Analysis

INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

• Agenda for: 7th meeting of the COM Expert Group on Machinery - 17 October 2024
• Minutes of the Council of the European Union (Competitiveness (Internal Market, Industry, Research and Space)) - 26 September 2024
  - EUSPA latest activities and achievements for the EU Space Programme - Powerpoint presentation (Space WP meeting 03.10.2024)
• Commission Delegated Directive (EU) .../… amending Directive 2009/43/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the updating of the list of defence-related products in line with the updated Common Military List of the European Union of 19 February

TAXATION

• Combatting tax fraud: national legislation which limits the deduction of interest paid in respect of an intra-group loan is compatible with EU law (See CPR No.161/2024 - Judgment of the Court in Case C-585/22, Staatssecretaris van Financiën (Interest in respect of an intra-group loan)

AGRICULTURE & FISHERIES

• Labelling of organic products: a foodstuff imported from a third country may bear the organic production logo of the European Union only if that foodstuff complies with all the requirements of EU law (See CPR No.160/2024 - Judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-240/23, Herbaria Kräuterparadies II)
• Consumer information: the labelling of melons and tomatoes harvested in Western Sahara must refer to that territory, and not Morocco, as the country of origin (See CPR No.169/2024 - Judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-399/22, Confédération paysanne)

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• Agenda for: Working Party on International Environment Issues (UNECE TEIA) - 11 October 2024
• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/2620 of 30 July 2024 supplementing Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the requirements for considering that greenhouse gases have become permanently chemically bound in a product

TRANSPORT & MOBILITY

• The Court broadly confirms the validity of the Mobility Package (See CPR No.173/2024 - Judgment of the Court of Justice in Joined Cases C-541/20 to C-555/20, Lithuania Vs. Parliament and Council
• Minutes of: Meeting of the European ITS Committee of 26 September 2024

DATA PRIVACY & CYBERSECURITY

• Judgment of the Court of 04 October 2024 in Case C-621/22, Koninklijke Nederlandse Lawn Tennisbond Vs. Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens
  Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data - Regulation (EU) 2016/679 - Article 5(1)(a) - Lawfulness of processing - Point (f) of the first subparagraph of Article 6(1) - Necessity of processing for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the controller or by a third party - Concept of ‘legitimate interests’ - Commercial interest - Sports federation - Disclosure, for consideration, of the personal data of the members of a sports federation to sponsors without the consent of those members
• Access by the police to data contained in a mobile telephone is not necessarily limited to the fight against serious crime (See CPR No.171/2024 - Judgment of the Court in Case C-548/21, Bezirkshauptmannschaft Landeck (Attempt to access personal data stored on a mobile telephone)
• An online social network such as Facebook cannot use all of the personal data obtained for the purposes of targeted advertising, without restriction as to time and without distinction as to type of data (See CPR No.166/2024 - Judgment of the Court in Case C-446/21, Schrems (Communication of data to the general public))
• GDPR: Member States may make provision for competitors of the person allegedly responsible for an infringement of the laws protecting personal data to challenge that infringement in court as a prohibited unfair commercial practice (See CPR No.159/2024 - Judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-21/23, Lindenapotheke Principles of Community law)
• European Commission and Canada sign agreement on transfer of passenger name records data - Midday Express

CONSUMER PROTECTION

• Commission evaluation shows the benefits and limitations of online consumer protection laws - see the Digital Fairness Fitness Check Report & QaA and the Study to support the Fitness Check and report on Modernisation Directive
• According to Advocate General Rantos, a contractual term requiring a young sportsman to transfer part of his income if he becomes a professional athlete may potentially be unfair, provided that it is shown that that term creates a significant imbalance in the rights and obligations arising under the contract (See CPR No.163/2024 - Opinion of the Advocate General in the case C-365/23, Arce)

AREA OF FREEDOM, SECURITY & JUSTICE

• The Commission has failed to prove that EU rules on citizenship (Article 20 TFEU) require that a ‘genuine link’ or ‘prior genuine link’ between a Member State and an individual must exist in order for it to grant citizenship (See CPR No.165/2024 - Opinion of the Advocate General in the Case C-181/23, Commission Vs. Malta Citizenship of the Union)
• Discriminatory measures adopted in respect of women by the Taliban regime constitute acts of persecution (See CPR No.167/2024 - Judgment of the Court of Justice in Joined Cases C-608/22, C-609/22, Bundesamt für Fremdenwesen und Asyl and Others)
  
• The refusal of a Member State to recognise the change of first name and gender lawfully acquired in another Member State is contrary to the rights of EU citizens (See CPR No.158/2024 - Judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-4/23, Mirin)
• Asylum policy: the designation of a third country as a safe country of origin must cover its entire territory (See CPR No.162/2024 - Judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-406/22, Ministerstvo vnitra České republiky, Odbor azylové a migrační politiky)
• Football: some FIFA rules on international transfers of professional footballers are contrary to EU law - Those rules hinder the free movement of players and competition between clubs (See CPR No.172/2024 - Judgment of the Court in Case C-650/22, FIFA)

FUTURE OF EUROPE

• Agenda for: Meeting of the Coreper (Part.2) - 07 October 2024

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• G7 Leaders’ Statement on recent developments in the Middle East