Europe Daily News, 03 April 2025

COMPETITION

• Opinion of Advocate General Medina of 03 April 2025 in Case C-21/24; CP Vs. Nissan Iberia, S.A.
  Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Competition - Principle of effectiveness - Compensation for harm caused by a practice prohibited under Article 101(1) TFEU - Directive 2014/104/EU - Private enforcement - Late transposition of the directive - Temporal application - Article 10 - Limitation period – Detailed rules for the dies a quo - Knowledge of the information necessary for bringing an action for damages - Judgment in Case C-605/21, Heureka Group (Online price comparison services) - Publication of the decision of a National Competition Authority (NCA) on its website - Binding effect of an NCA decision that is not yet final - Suspension or interruption of the limitation period until the date on which that decision becomes final
  
• Commission clears acquisition of HPS by BlackRock (M.11839) - Midday Express
• Belgium - Notification MEDE.CCS.25/0010 : Ecclesia - Concordia / ICV
• France - Umberto Berkani appointed General Rapporteur of the Autorité de la concurrence
• The Netherlands - ACM conditionally clears acquisition of Dutch oil company Oliehandel Klaas de Boer by rival FincoEnergies
• Trump’s antitrust agency chief blasts EU digital rules as ‘taxes on American firms’ - The EU is set to fine Apple and Meta for rule breaches in the coming days - Politico.eu

STATE AID

• Authorisation for State aid pursuant to Articles 107 and 108 of the TFEU - Cases where the Commission raises no objections – SA.113721; SA.117799; SA.117248 & SA.114306

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Agenda for: Working Party on the United Kingdom - 04 April 2025
• Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2018/196 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 February 2018 on additional customs duties on imports of certain products originating in the United States of America - Letter to the Chair of the European Parliament Committee on International trade (INTA)
• Notice of initiation of an expiry review of the anti-dumping measures applicable to imports of certain woven and/or stitched glass fibre fabrics originating in the People’s Republic of China and Egypt (CN codes ex 7019 61 00, ex 7019 62 10, ex 7019 62 90, ex 7019 63 00, ex 7019 64 00, ex 7019 65 00, ex 7019 66 00, ex 7019 69 10, ex 7019 69 90 and ex 7019 90 00)
• Answer given by Mr Hansen to a MEP written question - Update of the EU entry price system: protecting the citrus sector against unfair competition
• Answer given by Mr Šefčovič to a MEP written question - Unfair trade practices of Türkiye at the expense of Cyprus and the EU single market
• Answer given by Mr Šefčovič to a MEP written question - Negotiations on the EU-Mercosur free trade agreement
• Parliament endorses new fisheries protocol with Guinea-Bissau for the next five years - See the EP Resolution
• Latest OECD global overcapacity data show ever-worsening trend confirming the urgent need for strong EU steel post-safeguard measures, says EUROFER

EU/US TRADE RELATIONS

• Statement by President von der Leyen on the "announcement of universal tariffs" by the US
• EP Trade Committee Chair Bernd LANGE (S&D, DE) on US tariffs: “Unjustified, illegal and disproportionate”
• EU ‘prepared’ to retaliate against Trump’s 20 percent tariffs - Politico.eu & Financial Times
• Europe slams ‘illegal’ Trump tariffs, vows unified response - Politico.eu
• Apple and other US tech groups hit as Donald Trump targets suppliers - Financial Times
• Acea Statement - Swift resolution of EU-US trade dispute essential to protect jobs and automotive investments

INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

• Agenda for: Meeting of the Antici Group (Simplification - Due diligence) - 04 April 2025
• Sustainability and due diligence: MEPs agree to delay application of new rules
• EFTA social partners highlight importance of EEA cooperation amidst geopolitical turbulence

FINANCE

• Call for applications: Chair of the Sustainability Reporting Board of the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG)
• ESMA consults on simplified insider list formats under the Listing Act
• ESMA consults on transparency requirements for derivatives under MiFIR Review

TAXATION

• Judgment of the Court of 03 April 2025 in Case C-228/24; “Nordcurrent group” UAB v Valstybinė mokesčių inspekcija prie Lietuvos Respublikos finansų ministerijos
  Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Taxation - Directive 2011/96/EU - Common system of taxation applicable to parent companies and subsidiaries of different Member States - Exemption from corporation tax in respect of dividends distributed by a non-resident subsidiary to a resident parent company - Article 1, (2) and (3) - Anti-abuse provision - Classification of the subsidiary as a non-genuine arrangement - Stages of an arrangement - Tax advantage"
• Judgment of the Court of 03 April 2025 in Case C-213/24 [Grzera] (i), E. T. Vs.Vs. Dyrektor Izby Administracji Skarbowej we Wrocławiu
  Re: ‘Reference for a preliminary ruling - Common system of VAT - Directive 2006/112/EC - Article 9(1) - Concepts of “taxable person’ and ‘economic activity’ - Sale of agricultural land for residential development - Preparation for sale by an agent acting as a professional trader - Legal community of property between owner spouses
• Judgment of the Court of 03 April 2025 in Case C-164/24, “Cityland” EOOD Vs Direktor na Direktsia “Obzhalvane i danachno-osiguritelna praktika” - Veliko Tarnovo
  Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Common system of value added tax - Directive 2006/112/EC - Systematic failure to comply with tax obligations - Removal of the taxable person from the identification register for the purposes of value added tax (VAT) - Principle of proportionality
• Opinion of Advocate General Jean Richard de la Tour of 03 April 2025 Case C-726/23, SC Arcomet Towercranes SRL VS. Direcţia Generală Regională a Finanţelor Publice Bucureşti, Administrația Fiscală pentru Contribuabili Mijlocii București
  Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Common system of VAT - Directive 2006/112/EC - Right to deduct VAT - Intra-Community transactions between related companies - Transfer pricing - Acquisition of management services supplied intra-group - Services regarded as not being used for the purposes of the taxed transactions - Supporting documents - Refusal of the right to deduct

ENERGY

• Opinion of Advocate General Rantos of 03 April 2025 in Case C‑87/24, AS „Gaso”, AS „Conexus Baltic Grid” Vs. Sabiedrisko pakalpojumu regulēšanas komisija
  Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Approximation of laws - Energy - Directive 2009/73/EC - Common rules for the internal market in natural gas - Article 41(8) - Concept of ‘appropriate incentive’- Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 - Access to natural gas transmission networks - Article 13(1) - Concept of ‘appropriate return on investments’ - Tariffs for access to networks - Methodology established by the national regulatory authority - Rate of return on capital for the purpose of calculating tariffs - Criteria to be taken into account in fixing those tariffs
  
• Commission supports key energy infrastructure projects with new €600 million funding call - Midday Express
• Commissioner Jørgensen in Azerbaijan to reinforce energy cooperation - Midday Express

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• Answer given by Ms Roswall to a MEP written question - Unknown chemical status
• EEA Report -  EU waste prevention checkup: more effective measures needed to tackle food waste

HEALTH, FOOD & PRODUCT SAFETY

SCCS - SCHEER

• SCCS - Preliminary Opinion open for comments on Hydroxyapatite (nano) - Submission IV (deadline for comments: 30 May 2025)
• SCCS - Request for a scientific Advice on the hair dye ‘Basic blue 99 (C059)’ (CAS No. 68123-13-7, EC No. 268-544-3)
• SCCS - Minutes of the Working Group meeting on Nanomaterials in Cosmetic Products of 21 March 2025
• SCHEER - Minutes of the Working Group meeting on Emerging Risks of 24 March 2025
• SCCS - Final Opinion on Benzophenone - 1 (CAS No. 131-56-6, EC No. 205-029-4)

EFSA

• Scientific Opinion - Pacran®, a powder obtained from cranberries, and defence against bacterial pathogens in the lower urinary tract: Evaluation of a health claim pursuant to Article 13(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006
• Scientific Opinion - Safety and efficacy of a feed additive consisting of l‐tryptophan produced with Corynebacterium glutamicum KCCM 80346 for all animal species (CJ Europe GmbH)
• Scientific Opinion - Safety and efficacy of a feed additive consisting of l‐valine produced with Corynebacterium glutamicum KCCM 80365 for all animal species (CJ Europe GmbH)
• Technical Report - Outcome of the Pesticide Peer Review Meeting on general issues for microorganisms (Fate‐Ecotoxicology joint session)
• Scientific Opinion - Commodity risk assessment of Prunus spp. plants from United Kingdom

ECDC

• How to stop the next pandemic: ECDC publishes guidance to strengthen public health preparedness in the EU/EEA
• Monthly measles and rubella monitoring report - March 2025

DIGITAL, DATA PRIVACY & INFORMATION SOCIETY

• Judgment of the Court of 03 April 2025 in Case C-710/23, L.H. Vs. Ministerstvo zdravotnictví
  Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data - Regulation (EU) 2016/679 - Article 4 - Definitions - Article 6 - Lawfulness of processing - Article 86 - Public access to official documents - Data concerning the representative of a legal person - Caselaw of a national court imposing an obligation to inform and consult the data subject prior to disclosure of official documents containing such data
• Agenda for: Horizontal Working Party on Cyber Issues - 07 April 2025
• Agenda for: Working Party on Telecommunications & Information Society - 08 April 2025
• According to Advocate General Rantos, Hungary infringed EU law by refusing to renew Klubrádió’s contract for the use of the 92.9 MHz frequency and by excluding it from the call for tenders relating to that frequency (See CPR No.42/2025 - Opinion of the Advocate General in the Case C-92/23; Commission Vs. Hungary - Approximation of laws)
• Europe’s GDPR privacy law is headed for red tape bonfire within ‘weeks’ - Long seen as untouchable in Brussels, the GDPR is next on the list of the EU’s crusade against overregulation - Politico.eu

AREA OF FREEDOM, SECURITY & JUSTICE

• EU Closing Statement on the occasion of the 68th Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (Vienna, 10-14 March 2025)
  - Agenda item 3: General debate
  - Agenda item 5(c): International Narcotics Control Board (INCB)
  - Agenda item 7: Inter-agency cooperation and coordination of efforts in addressing and countering the world drug problem
  - Agenda item 5(d): International cooperation to ensure the availability of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances for medical and scientific purposes while preventing their diversion
• Advocate General Richard de la Tour: EU law requires a Member State to recognise the marriage between persons of the same sex concluded in another Member State and does not require the transcription of the marriage certificate in a civil register (See CPR No.43/2025 - Opinion of the Advocate General in the Case C-713/23; Wojewoda Mazowiecki - Citizenship of the Union)
• Arrest warrants issued by the United Kingdom: a hardening of the conditions for release on licence does not, in principle, preclude the surrender of the requested person (See CPR No.41/2025 - Judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-743/24, Alchaster II)
• The EU must keep on defending universal democratic values and principles - See the Annual Report 2024

ECB, EURO & ECONOMY

• MEPs adopted their priorities for the 2026 EU budget on Wednesday, emphasising defence, prosperity and sustainability.

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• The EU must defend its interests on the global stage
• Informal Foreign Affairs Council Defence: remarks by High Representative Kaja Kallas upon arrival 

EU/RUSSIA/UKRAINE

• Italy’s Meloni strains to hold her coalition together over Ukraine and EU rearmament - Politico.eu