Europe Daily News, 13 December 2024

COMPETITION

• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.11794 - Sagax / Swiss Life / JV)
• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.11653 - ADNOC / Navig8 Limited / Navig8 Group)
• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.11697 - Forfarmers / DLG / Forfarmers Team Agrar JV)
• Commission clears acquisition of joint control of SRK by STRABAG and HFPS (M.11643) - Midday Express
• Commission clears acquisition of HU Holding by Apollo, Clessidra, and Human Company (M.11679) - Midday Express

STATE AID

• Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/3118 of 10 December 2024 amending Regulation (EU) No 1408/2013 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the TFEU to de minimis aid in the agriculture sector
• Commission approves €52 million Slovenian State aid measure to support Lek Pharmaceuticals' production of biological drug substances (SA.112940)
• Commission approves €400 million Finnish State aid scheme to foster the transition to a net-zero economy (SA.113721) - Midday Express
• Commission approves prolongation of market conform asset protection scheme for banks in Greece (SA.116229) - Midday Express
• ESA greenlights amendments to Norwegian CO2 compensation scheme
• ESA greenlights prolongation of Norwegian tax incentives for electric cars
• ESA approves Icelandic scheme to support subtitling and dubbing of children’s content

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Explanatory notes to the Combined Nomenclature of the European Union (8483 & 848350)
• Council Decision (EU) 2024/3112 of 5 December 2024 on the position to be adopted on behalf of the European Union within the Joint Committee established by the Regional Convention on pan-Euro-Mediterranean preferential rules of origin as regards the amendment of Decision No 1/2023 of that Joint Committee to include transitional provisions in the amendments of that Convention applicable as of 1 January 2025
• Council Decision (EU) 2024/3123 of 5 December 2024 on the position to be adopted on behalf of the European Union within the Joint Committee established by the Regional Convention on pan-Euro-Mediterranean preferential rules of origin as regards the amendment of Decision No 1/2023 of that Joint Committee with respect to the use of movement certificates issued electronically in the framework of that Convention applicable as of 1 January 2025
• Council Decision (EU) 2024/3125 of 5 December 2024 on the position to be adopted on behalf of the European Union within the Joint Committee set up by the Agreement between the European Coal and Steel Community and the Republic of Turkey on trade in products covered by the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community as regards the amendment of that Agreement by replacing Protocol 1 thereto concerning the definition of the concept of ‘originating products’ and methods of administrative cooperation
• Provisional list of National Competent Authorities (NCAs) for the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism as of 10 December 2024

INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

• Commission seeks views on public procurement directives - Feedback and consultation period: 13 December 2024 - 07 March 2025

FINANCE

• Council and Parliament reach deal on financial benchmarks
• Commission welcomes political agreement on revamped rules for benchmarks - Midday Express
• EBA - Competent authorities have made significant progress in their approaches to tackling money laundering and terrorist financing, the EBA Report finds
• The EBA assesses potential benefits and challenges of tokenised deposits
• ESMA consults on open-ended loan originating alternative investment funds

TAXATION

• Judgment of the Court of 12 December 2024 in Case C‑331/23, Dranken Van Eetvelde NV Vs. Belgische Staat,
  Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Taxation - Common system of VAT - Directive 2006/112/EC - Article 205 - Joint and several liability for tax debts owed by a third party – Conditions and scope of liability - Fight against VAT fraud - Joint and several liability for the payment of VAT which does not allow an assessment to be made on the basis of the contribution of each taxable person in the tax evasion - Principle of proportionality - Article 50 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union - Principle non bis in idem - Criteria for application - Facts relating to different tax years against which administrative or criminal proceedings are brought - Continuing offence with unity of purpose - Facts not identical
• Electronic VAT exemption certificate: political agreement on the new directive

AGRICULTURE & FISHERIES

• Minutes & Working Documents of the Meeting of the Expert Group Milk Market Observatory - 04 December 2024
  
• Commission allocates €132 million to promote sustainable and high-quality agri-food products in the EU and worldwide - see the Decision on Work programme for 2025

HEALTH, FOOD & PRODUCT SAFETY

• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/3173 of 27 August 2024 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2023/988 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2023/988 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to rules on access to and operation of the Safety Gate Rapid Alert System, information to be entered in that System, notification requirements and the criteria for assessment of the level of risk
• Public consultation: EU rules on medical devices and in vitro diagnostics – targeted evaluation - Evaluation - Feedback period: 12 December 2024 - 21 March 2025
• Public consultation: Measures related to the containment of specific plant pests - Grapevine flavescence dorée - Implementing regulation - Feedback period: 12 December 2024 - 09 January 2025

EMPLOYMENT & SOCIAL POLICY

• Council Decision (EU) 2024/3134 of 2 December 2024 on guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States
• Labour market statistics on businesses: Council and Parliament reach agreement
• ESA asks Iceland to comply with EFTA Court judgment in maternity benefits case

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• Meeting of the Council (Environment) on 17 December 2024
  - 5th session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) to Develop an International Legally Binding Instrument on Plastic Pollution (INC-5) (Busan, Republic of Korea, 25 November-1 December 2024) - Information from the Presidency and the Commission
  - 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (Baku, Azerbaijan, 11-22 November 2024) - Information from the Presidency and the Commission
  - Note from the General Secretariat of the Council: Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) (Cali, Colombia, 21 October-1 November 2024) – COP 16 to the CBD – COP-MOP 11 serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety – COP-MOP 4 serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing
• Council Decision (EU) 2024/3124 of 5 December 2024 authorising the Commission to negotiate, on behalf of the European Union, the revision of the 1999 Protocol to the 1979 Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication and Ground-Level Ozone
• Public consultation: EU emissions trading system (ETS) update of Activity Level Changes Regulation - Implementing regulation - Feedback period: 12 December 2024 - 09 January 2025

TRANSPORT & MOBILITY

• Commission updates EU Air Safety List and adds Air Tanzania to the airlines banned within the European Union - Q&A
• Public consultation: Rail infrastructure - amendment of technical specifications for interoperability of rolling stock - Implementing regulation - Feedback period: 12 December 2024 - 09 January 2025

AREA OF FREEDOM, SECURITY & JUSTICE

• Main results - Justice & Home Affairs Council (Home Affairs), 12 December 2024
  - Migrant smuggling: Member States reach agreement on criminal law 
  - Fighting terrorism: Council approves conclusions on future priorities for countering terrorism
  - Passenger information: EU adopts regulations to improve border security and fight terrorism
  - EU Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO): Council appoints European prosecutors for Poland and Sweden
  - The Council amends the visa regulation and removes Vanuatu from the list of countries that are exempt from the visa obligation

ECB, EURO & ECONOMY

• Commission receives Malta' third payment request for €48.7 million under the Recovery and Resilience Facility - Midday Express
• Commissioner Dombrovskis participates in an Annual Economics Conference in Vilnius to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Euro - Midday Express
• ECB lowers rates to 3% and paves way for more cuts - Speech by Christine Lagarde, Luis de Guindos: Monetary policy statement (with Q&A) & decisions
• ECB - Eurosystem staff macroeconomic projections for the euro area, December 2024
• The evolution of the supervisory reporting framework for the EU banking sector - ECB Occasional Paper Series No.363

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• Readout of the meeting between UK Prime Minister Starmer and European Council President Costa
• EU launches Humanitarian Air Bridge operation for Syria to deliver emergency supplies and boosts humanitarian funding