Europe Daily News, 16 October 2024

COMPETITION

• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.11630 - COVH / CDC / Sogecap / Mont du Centre / Phoenix Belgium)
• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.11696 - OEP Capital Advisors / Comau)
• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.11650 - RIL / TWDC / BTS1 / SIPL)
• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.10728 - CACF / Stellantis / FCA Bank / F2ML)
• Commission clears acquisition of Serneke Sverige by Mutares (M.11660) - Midday Express
• Commission clears acquisition of France Billet by Fnac Darty and CTS Eventim (M.11279) - Midday Express
• Commission concludes that online social networking service of X should not be designated under the Digital Markets Act - Midday Express
• Bulgaria - CPC sanctioned Total LC Ltd and the consultant S.I.I. for their participation in a bid-rigging cartel for the manipulation of public procurement procedures
• Spain - The CNMC fines the General Council of Court Attorneys (Consejo General de Procuradores de los Tribunales) 2.46 million euros
• Brussels seeks powers to block ‘killer acquisitions’ in Europe and beyond - Reforms would allow EU regulator to intervene on takeover deals where companies try to stymie smaller rivals - Financial Times

STATE AID

• Authorisation for State aid pursuant to Articles 107 and 108 of the TFEU - Cases where the Commission raises no objections – SA.115761, SA.113456, SA.113446 & SA.115760

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Notice of the impending expiry of certain anti-dumping measures (Ferro-silicon - The P.R. of China; Russia - Anti-dumping duty - Regulation (EU) 2020/909 - 02.07.2025)
• Commission Recommendation (EU) 2024/2659 of 11 October 2024 on guidelines on the export of cyber-surveillance items under Article 5 of Regulation (EU) 2021/821 of the European Parliament and of the Council
• Proposal for a Council Decision on the position to be taken on behalf of the Union at the meetings of Participants to the OECD Arrangement on Officially Supported Export Credits in relation to common lines on the minimum down payment requirement
• Report from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament pursuant to Article 14(3) of Regulation (EU) 2019/880 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on the introduction and the import of cultural goods (28 June 2023 - 29 June 2024)
• Joint Minutes of the 5th Meeting of the Committee on Trade and Sustainable Development under the Agreement between the EU and Japan for an Economic Partnership - 28 June 2024
• WTO - DG Okonjo-Iweala: Members need to “continue to be constructive” to achieve outcomes
• WTO - DDG Paugam: Aligning carbon measurement standards key to future of global trade
• EU plans cash help for farmers to overcome French resistance to Mercosur deal - A French diplomat described the proposal as “an interesting option.” - Politico.eu

FINANCE

• ESAs respond to the European Commission’s rejection of the technical standards on registers of information under the Digital Operational Resilience Act and call for swift adoption
• EU markets watchdog pushes for extra cyber defences in new crypto rules - Esma asks for amendment to tighten regulation with demand for external audits of defences against hackers - Financial Times

EMPLOYMENT & SOCIAL POLICY

• EU aid worth €2.7 million to support 365 dismissed retail workers in Belgium
• Asbestos experts wanted – work with us to prepare good practice guidelines

ENERGY

• Main results of the TTE Council (Energy) - 15 October 2024 - Remarks by Commissioner Simson
• Commissioner Simson visits Iceland to strengthen cooperation in the field of energy - Midday Express
• In focus: EU investing in energy infrastructure
• Study - Support for the evaluation of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 on the Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action (03 October 2024)

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• Minutes of the 29th Meeting of the CEG on "Multi-Stakeholder Platform on Protecting and Restoring the World’s Forests" - 24 September 2024
• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) …/... amending Regulation (EU) No 649/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the listing of pesticides and industrial chemicals
• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) …/... amending Regulation (EU) 2015/757 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the rules for the monitoring of greenhouse gas emissions from offshore ships and the zero-rating of sustainable fuels
• Waste treatment – Amendment to the European List of Waste to address waste batteries and wastes from treating them - Delegated decision - Feedback period: 11 October 2024 - 08 November 2024
• EU deforestation law: Council agrees to extend application timeline
• Answer given by Mr Hoekstra to a MEP written question - Overall outcome of climate policy action over two decades
• Answer given by EVP Šefčovič to a MEP written question - Review of the Bathing Water Directive
• EU sticks to 2035 deadline for ban on sale of new petrol-driven cars - Remarks prepared for incoming climate commissioner defend controversial measure - Financial Times
• France pushes for sway on EU car emissions rules - French economy minister tells auto executives at the Paris motor show that flexibility was under discussion with European partners - Financial Times

TRANSPORT & MOBILITY

• Transport MEPs pave the way for final vote on Single European Sky

DATA PRIVACY & CYBERSECURITY

• Agenda for: Horizontal Working Party on Cyber issues - 16 October 2024
• EDPB meets with adequate countries
• EDPB - Guidelines 2/2023 on Technical Scope of Art. 5(3) of ePrivacy Directive

AREA OF FREEDOM, SECURITY & JUSTICE

• Fostering Jewish life and combating antisemitism: Council approves declaration
• Commission provides funding for Member States to support voluntary returns - Midday Express

ECB, EURO & ECONOMY

• Commission disburses the fourth payment of €998.6 million to Greece under the Recovery and Resilience Facility  - Midday Express
• Commission endorses preliminary assessment of Romania's third payment request under the Recovery and Resilience Facility
• ECB - Workshop on the Future of Business-to-Business (B2B) payments - See Presentations by ECB, BDI, ABI, Chain4Travel & SWIFT
• ECB - Consolidated financial statement of the Eurosystem as at 11 October 2024

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• Judgment of the Court of 16 October 2024 in Case T-201/23, Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) Vs. Council of the European Union
  Re: CFSP - Restrictive measures taken in view of the situation in Iran - Freezing of funds - List of persons, entities and bodies to whom the freezing of funds and economic resources applies - Inclusion of the applicant's name on the list - Obligation to state reasons - Rights of the defence - Right to effective judicial protection - Proportionality - Misuse of powers
• Kazakhstan: 21st Cooperation Council with the European Union
• EU/GCC: Press remarks by High Representative Josep Borrell ahead of the ministerial dinner