Europe Daily News, 12 March 2024

COMPETITION

• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.11420 - Blackstone / Vista / Adapt2)
• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.11411 - BPIFrance / Meridiam / Exoes)
• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.11125 - Netceed (Formerly ETC Group) / Amadys)
• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.11308 - Vodafone UK / Three UK / Vodafone UK Holdings)
• Commission clears creation of joint venture by Mitsui, Osaka Gas and RWE KK (M.11475) - Midday Express
• Commission clears acquisition of Fassi Holding by Investindustrial (M.11471) - Midday Express
• Commission clears acquisition de BCC Vita par BNPP Cardif (M.11402) - Midday Express
• Germany - Acquisition of MorphoSys AG by Novartis AG approved by the Bundeskartellamt
• Slovakia - The Council of the PMU decided in the case of cartel in public procurement in the field of energy
• UK - The CMA has today published its main concerns following an initial review into the veterinary sector
• Dealmakers beware: US antitrust enforcers wade into workers’ rights - For regulators, the labour market is fair game in mergers and acquisitions - Financial Times 

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Agenda for: 3rd Meeting of the Ports Alliance Customs - 15 March 2024
• Investigation concerning possible circumvention of the antidumping measures imposed by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1930 on imports of birch plywood originating in Russia, by imports of birch plywood consigned from Türkiye and Kazakhstan
• Anti-circumvention investigation concerning the anti-dumping and countervailing measures on imports of certain cold rolled stainless steel sheets and coils originating in Indonesia via, inter alia, Türkiye - R797 – R798
• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) …/... amending Annex IV to Regulation (EU) No 978/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council in order to remove Bhutan from the list of beneficiary countries of the special arrangement for the least-developed countries
• Proposal for a Council Decision on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the International Grains Council concerning the accession of Senegal to the Grains Trade Convention, 1995
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/842 of 11 March 2024 re-imposing safeguard measures with regard to imports of Indica rice originating in Cambodia and Myanmar/Burma
• Decision No 2/2024 of the Trade Committee of 16 January 2024 amending Annex II to Protocol 1, concerning the definition of the concept of originating products and methods of administrative cooperation
• Answer given by EVP Dombrovskis to a MEP written question - Anti-dumping measures imposed on slings from China
• A new release of the Customs Decisions System will be deployed to implement GUM 1
• WTO - The United States launches safeguard investigation on fine denier polyester staple fiber
• Mercedes-Benz boss calls for Brussels to cut tariffs on Chinese EVs - Ola Källenius believes increased competition will help Europe’s car industry produce better vehicles - Financial Times

INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

• Agenda for: 6th meeting of the Programme Committee for the implementation of the Regulation on Supporting Ammunition Production - 13 March 2024
• EU fertilising products – Aligning biodegradability criteria for polymers to the REACH restriction on microplastics - Feedback period: 08 March 2024 - 05 April 2024
• European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) launches a UK Hub to bridge EU and UK innovation sectors - Midday Express

FINANCE

• Financial independence and gender equality: joining the dots between income, wealth and power - EIGE report
• Brussels aims to fast-track up to €3bn for Ukraine from frozen Russian assets - First tranche of profits from Euroclear could be available as soon as July, if EU capitals approve - Financial Times

EMPLOYMENT & SOCIAL POLICY

• Platform workers: Council confirms agreement on new rules to improve their working conditions
• EU ministers approve ‘status quo’ rules for gig economy workers - Directive aims to ‘determine employment status’ of about 28mn riders and drivers, but bloc regulation remains fragmented - Financial Times 

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• Agenda for: Standing Committee on Biocidal Products - 13 March 2024
• Commission launches public consultation on protecting sharks and related ecosystems - Midday Express
• Answer given by Mr Sinkevičius to a MEP written question - Follow-up to question E-002879/2023 on Annexes II and IV to the Habitats Directive

HEALTH, FOOD & PRODUCT SAFETY

• Agenda for: Working Party on Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices - Attachés meeting - 18 & 19 March 2024
• Answer given by Mr Breton to a MEP written question - Directive on asbestos screening, registering and monitoring
• EFSA - Scientific Opinion - Safety and efficacy of a feed additive consisting of 6‐phytase produced by Aspergillus oryzae DSM 33737 (HiPhorius™) for all poultry, all Suidae and all fin fish (DSM Nutritional Products Ltd)
• EFSA - Scientific Opinion - Safety and efficacy of a feed additive consisting of sodium bisulphate for all animal species except aquatic animals (Grillo Werke AG & Jones‐Hamilton Co.)
• EFSA - Scientific Opinion - Safety of ashitaba sap as a Novel food pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2015/2283
• EFSA -  Scientific Colloquium 27: Cell Culture‐derived Foods and Food Ingredients

DIGITAL & INFORMATION SOCIETY

• Agenda for: 11th Meeting of the Digital Europe Programme Coordination Committee - 19 March 2024
• Agenda for: 4th Meeting of the subgroup to the Digital Decade Board - 20 March 2024
• Agenda for: 5th Meeting of Digital Markets Advisory Committee - 01 February 2024

DATA PRIVACY & CYBERSECURITY

• Agenda for: Horizontal Working Party on Cyber Issues - 13 March 2024
• Agenda for: 91st Meeting of the EDPB plenary session - 14 March 2024
• New Cybersecurity compendium on how to protect integrity of elections published

EURO, ECB & ECONOMY

• Main Results of the Eurogroup - 11 March 2024
  - Remarks by Eurogroup President Paschal Donohoe
  - Eurogroup statement on the fiscal policy orientation for 2025
  - Statement of the Eurogroup in inclusive format on the future of Capital Markets Union
• Commission endorses positive preliminary assessment of Estonia's second payment request for €122.3 million under the Recovery and Resilience Facility - IP/24/1400
  
• Letter to the ECOFIN Ministers on the outcomes of meetings of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors on 28-29 February 2024 in São Paulo, Brazil
• Consumers' payment preferences and banking digitalisation in the euro area - ECB Working Paper Series - No.2915
• ECB Banking Supervision to move to Gallileo building in Frankfurt by the end of 2025

FUTURE OF EUROPE

• EU introduces new rules on transparency and targeting of political advertising
• Speech by President von der Leyen at the European Parliament Plenary on the preparation of the European Council meeting of 21-22 March 2024
• Macron furious after French commissioner blasts von der Leyen - EC bureaucrats have also taken a dim view of Thierry Breton’s social media swipe - Politico.eu

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• Costa Rica: European Union and Costa Rica conclude their seventh round of bilateral consultations
• Human Rights: The European Union and the United States release joint guidance for online platforms on protecting Human Rights Defenders
• Bosnia should start EU membership talks, Commission will announce - Politico.eu
• The EU and UK need a new security deal fit for a more dangerous world - Years of free riding have left European countries dependent on the US - for greater autonomy, they need Britain’s help - Financial Times