Europe Daily News, 16 December 2024

COMPETITION

• Commission clears acquisition of I.D.C. by Valeo Foods (M.11725) - Midday Express
• France - The Autorité de la concurrence clears, subject to the divestiture of 2 stores, the acquisition by the Carrefour group of 25 food retail stores formerly operated under the Casino group banner

STATE AID

• Request for a preliminary ruling from the Corte suprema di cassazione (Italy) lodged on 20 September 2024 – Ambito territoriale di caccia Ancona 2 v Azienda Agricola Camarzano di RK - Case C-615/24, Ambito territoriale di caccia Ancona 2
  Re: Article 3 and Article 6(1) and (2)] of Regulation No 1408/2013 - Articles 107 and 108 of the TFEU - ‘de minimis’ aid in the agriculture sector
• Commission approves €81 million Spanish State aid measure to support Diamond Foundry Europe's production of semiconductor-grade synthetic diamonds (SA.106799)
• Commission approves €167 million Italian State aid scheme to support the primary agricultural sector in the context of Russia's war against Ukraine (SA.116929) - Midday Express

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Agenda for: Meeting of the “Economic Tariff Questions Group” (Tariff suspensions for chemical, agricultural products; microelectronic products; Tariff quotas) - 23 & 24 January 2025
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/3014 of 13 December 2024 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty and definitively collecting the provisional duty imposed on imports of optical fibre cables originating in India
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/3126 of 9 December 2024 repealing Implementing Regulation (EU) No 385/2013 concerning the classification of certain goods in the Combined Nomenclature (CN: 3304 99 00)
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/3133 of 9 December 2024 concerning the classification of certain goods in the Combined Nomenclature (CN: 6307 90 98)
• WTO - Proposed agenda for: Meeting of the Dispute Settlement Body - 18 December 2024
• WTO - Proposed agenda for: Meeting of the General Council - 16 & 17 December 2024
• WTO - MC14 host Cameroon formally accepts Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies
• WTO - Merchandise trade continues to expand in third quarter of 2024

INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

• December infringements package: key decisions
• Non-road machinery regulation: Council gives its final approval
• Commission takes next step to deploy the IRIS² secure satellite system
• Commission decides to refer Spain to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to correctly transpose the Public Procurement Directives
• Commission decides to refer Bulgaria and Cyprus to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to correctly transpose the Proportionality Test Directive

ENERGY

• Geothermal energy: Council calls for faster deployment

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• Meeting of the Council (Environment) on 17 December 2024
  - On-line marketplaces - non-compliance with EPR obligations and how to address it - Information from Czechia, Denmark, France and Slovakia
• Sustainable packaging: Council signs off on new rules for less waste and more re-use in the EU
• Answer given by Ms Roswall to a MEP written question - Regulating the destruction of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances
• Answer given by Ms Roswall to a MEP written question - Question about farmers’ responsibility for water pollution through the use of glyphosate
• 29th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Climate Change (COP29) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (Baku, 11 - 23 November 2024)  -EU statements
• Ninth session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context, resumed, and Fifth session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment, resumed (Geneva, 10 December 2024) - Statements by the EU and its Member States
• Commission decides to refer Slovakia to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to adequately treat urban waste water

TRANSPORT & MOBILITY

• Directive (EU) 2024/3101 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2024 amending Directive 2005/35/EC as regards ship-source pollution and on the introduction of administrative penalties for infringements
• Directive (EU) 2024/3100 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2024 amending Directive 2009/21/EC on compliance with flag State requirements
• Directive (EU) 2024/3099 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2024 amending Directive 2009/16/EC on port State control
• Commission updates EU Air Safety List and adds Air Tanzania to the airlines banned within the EU - QaA, see Regulation (EU) 2024/3137
• Road safety: Council adopts new law for better cooperation on road-safety-related traffic offences across Europe
• Commission welcomes the agreement on new rules for better cross-border enforcement of traffic laws - Midday Express

DIGITAL & INFORMATION SOCIETY

• Council adopts the directive upgrading company law for the digital era
• Very large online platforms (VLOPs) – non-compliance with extended producer responsibility and how to address it ‒ Information from Austria
• EU-funded AI innovation powers a new era in cooperative smart city development
• Project DataPorts - A Data Platform for the cognitive ports of the future
• Commission hosts high-level roundtable on advancing science with AI

AREA OF FREEDOM, SECURITY & JUSTICE

• Main results - Justice & Home Affairs Council (Justice), 13 December 2024
• Council adopts new rules to ensure safer firearms trade

ECB, EURO & ECONOMY

• Commission receives the Netherlands' second payment request for €1.18 billion under the Recovery and Resilience Facility - Midday Express
• Speech by ECB's Christine Lagarde: "Monetary policy in the euro area"
• Why do we need to strengthen climate adaptations? Scenarios and financial lines of defence - ECB Working Paper Series No.3005
• Nowcasting Made Easier: a toolbox for economists - ECB Working Paper Series No.3004
• The evolution of the supervisory reporting framework for the EU banking sector - ECB Occasional Paper No.363
• The ECB Survey of Monetary Analysts (SMA), December 2024, Aggregated Results
• A look back at 25 years of the ECB SPF - ECB Occasional Paper No.364
• The “doom loop” and default incentives - Research Bulletin No.126

FUTURE OF EUROPE

• Agenda for: Meeting of the General Affairs Council, 17 December 2024
• Agenda for: Meeting of the Coreper (Part.1 & Part.2) - 18 & 20 December 2024

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• Agenda for: Meeting of the ACP Working Party - 17 December 2024
• Council conclusions on stepping up Team Europe’s support to global food security and nutrition
• Fight against terrorism and violent extremism: Council approves conclusions on reinforcing external-internal links
• Horn of Africa and Somalia: Operation ATALANTA, EUTM and EUCAP Somalia’s mandates extended for two years - See Decision (CFSP) 2024/3197

RUSSIAN INVASION OF UKRAINE

• Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine: EU adopts 15th package of restrictive measures
• EU adopts 15th sanctions package against Russia for its continued illegal war against Ukraine
• Political and Security Committee Decision (CFSP) 2024/3178 of 28 November 2024 on the appointment of the Special Training Commander for the European Union Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine (EUMAM Ukraine) and repealing Decision (CFSP) 2022/2097 (EUMAM Ukraine/1/2024)

OTHER RESTRICTIVE MEASURES

• Guatemala: Council renews EU restrictive measures for a year
• Haiti: EU sanctions three individuals in relation to the escalating gang violence in the country - See Regulation (EU) 2024/3138
• Council Decision (CFSP) 2024/3151 of 16 December 2024 amending Decision (CFSP) 2016/849 concerning restrictive measures against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
• Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/3152 of 16 December 2024 implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1509 concerning restrictive measures against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
  
  EU/UK RELATIONS

• Agenda for: Working Party on the United Kingdom - 17 December 2024
• Commission decides to refer the United Kingdom to the Court of Justice of the European Union for its implementation of EU law on free movement impacting the Withdrawal Agreement
• Commission decides to refer the United Kingdom to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failure to terminate its Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) with six EU Member States