Europe Daily News, 06 March 2025

COMPETITION

• Commission clears acquisition of Novolex and Pactiv by Apollo and CPP Investments (M.11849) - Midday Express
  
• Commission launches consultations on guidelines under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation - See the Communication - Feedback period: 05 March 2025 - 02 April 2025 
• Austria - Unfair trading practices: BWB filed an application with the Cartel Court for the imposition of fines for violations in 20 cases against DM
• Germany - Bundeskartellamt examines significant malfunctioning of competition in the wholesale of fuels – first proceeding based on new competition tool
• UK - The CMA has cleared the anticipated acquisition by Bidvest Group (UK) Plc (phs Group) of Citron Hygiene LP.
• UK - The CMA served an interim order under section 81 of the Enterprise Act 2002 on Spreadex.Com Ltd., Spreadex Ltd. and Sporting Index Ltd.
• UK - The CMA has decided that Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI does not qualify for investigation under the merger provisions of the Enterprise Act 2002
• Visa and Mastercard face regulatory action over lack of competition - UK payments regulator says card duopoly’s sharp fee increases are costing businesses £170mn extra a year - Financial Times

STATE AID

• Answer given by EVP Ribera to a MEP written question - Approval of State aid for Solar Package I

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Opinion of Advocate General Norkus of 06 March 2025 in Case C‑206/24, YX, Logística i Gestió Caves Andorranes i Vidal SA Vs. Ministre de l’Économie, des Finances et de la Relance, Directeur général des douanes et droits indirects
  Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Customs union - Repayment or remission of import or export duties - Regulation (EEC) No 1430/79 - Union Customs Code - Regulation (EU) No 952/ 2013 - Conditions for repayment on own initiative - Time limit of three years from the date of notification of the customs debt - Knowledge by the customs authorities of the identity of the operators concerned and the amount to be repaid to each of them, without it being necessary to carry out extensive research - Right to good administration
  
• Agenda for: Meeting of the Trade Policy Committee (Full Members) - 13 March 2025
• Agenda for: Meeting of the Trade Policy Committee (Services & Investment) - 12 March 2025
• Agenda for: Meeting of the Specialised Committee on the implementation of the Windsor Framework - 06 March 2024
• Agenda for: 267th meeting of the Customs Code Committee - Tariff and Statistical Nomenclature Section (Sub-section Agriculture & Chemistry) - 25 to 26 March 2025
• Minutes of the 4th EU-UK Trade Specialised Committee on Customs Cooperation and Rules of Origin under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement - 17 October 2024
• Overview of economic partnership agreements: "Free Trade Agreements and Other Trade Negotiations" - as of 06 March 2025
• Overview of economic partnership agreements: "Current status & Next Step" - as of 06 March 2025
• Proposal for a Council Decision on the position to be taken on behalf of the EU within the Trade Specialised Committee on Administrative Cooperation in VAT and Recovery of Taxes and Duties 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
• Public consultation: EU Anti-Torture Regulation – amendment to Annexes II and III - Delegated regulation - Feedback period: 05 March 2025 - 02 April 2025
• WTO - China files revised dispute consultations request with United States on tariff measures
• Canada initiates WTO dispute complaint regarding US tariff measures

INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

• European Commission and EIB group lay foundations for a new pan-European investment platform for affordable and sustainable housing
• Remarks by Commissioner Tzitzikostas at the press conference of the Industrial Action Plan for the European automotive sector and Decarbonise Corporate Fleets
• The EU law that’s threatening to up-end the antiquities market - New rules designed to combat terrorism risk consigning artefacts to legal purgatory - Financial Times

CHEMICAL

• Public consultation: ECHA – inflation adjustment of fees for services related to biocidal products - Implementing regulation - Feedback period: 06 March 2025 - 03 April 2025
• List of authorisation decisions adopted on the basis of Article 64(8) of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (REACH)
• ECHA Board of Appeal to transition to new model - ECHA/NR/25/08

TAXATION

• Opinion of Advocate General Kokott of 06 March 2025 in Case C‑808/23, Högkullen AB Vs. Skatteverket
  Re: Request for a preliminary ruling - Tax law - Common system of VAT - Directive 2006 /112/EC - Article 72 - Open market value - Article 80 - Revaluation of the taxable amount - Holding company whose sole activity consists of supplying taxable services to its subsidiaries - Determination of the open market value - Prevention of tax evasion or avoidance
• Opinion of Advocate General Kokott of 06 March 2025 in Case C‑125/24 [Palmstråle], AA Vs. Allmänna ombudet hos Tullverket
  Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Tax law - VAT -Directive 2006/112/EC - Reimportation of goods - Exemption from VAT - Article 143(1)(e) - Need to comply with customs legislation - Customs union - Customs Code - Relief from customs duty on importation of returned goods - Article 203 - Article 86(6) - Relationship between customs legislation and VAT legislation
  

EMPLOYMENT & SOCIAL POLICY

• Commission and social partners sign a joint Pact to strengthen social dialogue in Europe - See the Press statement by President von der Leyen
• Press remarks by Executive Vice-President Mînzatu on the Union of Skills

ENERGY

• Judgment of the Court of 06 March 2025 in Case C-48/23; Alajärven Sähkö Oy and Others, Elenia Verkko Oyj Vs. Energiavirasto
  Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Internal market in electricity - Directive (EU) 2019/944 - Article 57(4) and (5) - Independence of the national regulatory authority in the performance of its duties and the exercise of its powers - Guidelines issued by a Member State - Legislative amendment aimed at reducing electricity distribution tariffs - Decision concerning the methods of monitoring tariffs for the operation of the electricity network taken by the regulatory authority concerned following that amendment - Account taken of the preparatory work of the law which made that amendment
• Accelerating the phase-out of Russian gas and other Russian energy commodities in the EU - See the EP Briefing (March 2025)
• EU delays its exit strategy from Russian energy amid geopolitical turmoil - The bloc will miss a self-imposed deadline to unveil its plan to end reliance on Moscow - Politico.eu

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• The Court imposes financial penalties on Croatia for failing to manage, in an appropriate manner, waste deposited in a landfill and posing a danger to human health and the environment (See CPR No.30/2025 - Judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-315/23, Commission Vs. Croatia)
• Stakeholder consultation - Towards a Water Resilience Strategy for the EU
• Evaluation of Directive 2006/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 February 2006 concerning the management of bathing water quality and repealing Directive 76/160/EEC - See the Executive summary
• Evaluation of Directive 2008/56/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 establishing a framework for community action in the field of marine environmental policy (Marine Strategy Framework Directive) - See the Executive summary
• Public consultation: Waste shipments – interoperability of systems for electronic submission and exchange of information and documents - Implementing regulation - Feedback period: 05 March 2025 - 02 April 2025

HEALTH, FOOD & PRODUCT SAFETY

• Agenda for: Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food & Feed
  - Section: "Phytopharmaceuticals - Legislation" - 11 & 12 March 2025
• Agenda for: Standing Committee on Biocidal Products - 19 March 2025
• ECHA’s Biocidal Products Committee (BPC) adopted two opinions on active substances and six on Union authorisations - ECHA/NR/25/07 

ECDC

• Widespread salmonella outbreak in the EU/EEA linked to sprouted seeds
• The European Union summary report on antimicrobial resistance in zoonotic and indicator bacteria from humans, animals and food in 2022–2023

TRANSPORT & MOBILITY

• Agenda for: Working Party on Aviation - 13 March 2025
• Air passenger rights: a boarding pass may be sufficient to prove a confirmed reservation on a flight (See CPR No.27/2025 - Judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-20/24, Cymdek)
• Public consultation: Connecting Europe Facility 2021-2027 – interim evaluation - Report - Feedback period: 05 March 2025 - 28 May 2025

DIGITAL & INFORMATION SOCIETY

• Answer given by EVP Virkkunen to a MEP written question - Cybersecurity scandal in the Spanish Tax Agency
• Answer given by EVP Virkkunen to a MEP written question - Protection of European authors’ rights against possible fraud by Meta
• Answer given by EVP Virkkunen to a MEP written question - Enforcement of the Digital Services Act (DSA) vis-à-vis large social network platforms in the light of recent allegations of algorithmic bias and foreign interference
• Answer given by EVP Virkkunen to a MEP written question - Actual or foreseeable negative effects of Elon Musk’s statements on civic discourse, electoral processes and freedom and pluralism of the media under the DSA
• Informal meeting of the EU Ministers for Telecommunication on 4-5 March 2025 - "Warsaw Call on cybersecurity challenges"

AREA OF FREEDOM, SECURITY & JUSTICE

• Failure to fulfil obligations: Five Member States are ordered to pay financial penalties for failing to transpose the Whistleblowers directive (See CPR No.29/2025 - Judgments of the Court of Justice in Cases C-149/23, C-150/23, C-152/23, C-154/23, 155/23, Commission Vs. Germany - Approximation of laws)
• Independence of judges: the decision to withdraw cases from a judge must be based on objective and precise criteria (See CPR No.28/2025 - Judgment of the Court of Justice in Joined Cases C-647/21, C-648/21, D. K. Law governing the institutions)

ECB, EURO & ECONOMY

• ECB - Euro area bank interest rate statistics: January 2025
• Germany seeks ‘long-term’ EU exemption for defence spending - Friedrich Merz leads German pivot in Europe’s ‘rearmament’ race - Financial Times
• Germany’s ‘whatever it takes’ spending push to end years of stagnation - Europe’s largest economy could return to pre-pandemic growth trend - Financial Times

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• Jordan: Council adopts its negotiating position for further EU assistance of €500 million in loans
• Europe has no choice but to seize frozen Russian assets - Doing so is the only effective means of saving Ukraine - Financial Times
• Macron seeks talks on how French nuclear weapons could protect Europe - France’s president proposes discussions with European allies amid fears about US pullback and the threat from Russia - Financial Times