Europe Daily News, 26 March 2024

COMPETITION

• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.11397 - OJI / Walki)
• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.11450 - Worxinvest / GIMV)
• Commission clears creation of joint venture by AGCO and Trimble (M.11382) - Midday Express
• Commission clears acquisition of Byggfakta by TA Associates, SSCP and MEIHL (M.11466) - Midday Express
• Commission clears acquisition of Vantage EMEA by Silver Lake, AustralianSuper and DigitalBridge (M.11465) - Midday Express
• Commission opens investigation into possible anticompetitive conduct by Zoetis over novel pain medicine for dogs (AT.40734) - IP/24/1687
• Cyprus - Notification of concentration regarding the acquisition of the share capital of Steliau International SAS by Astorg VIII, SCSp, through Saturn Bidco SAS
• France - Aeronautics sector: the Autorité clears the takeover of Cobham Aerospace by Thales
• Spain - The CNMC terminates the infringement proceedings against Naviera Armas after payment of the fine and the company's admission of liability
• UK - CMA: Suspected anti-competitive behaviour relating to freelance and employed labour in the production, creation and/or broadcasting of television content, excluding sport
• UK - The CMA has cleared the anticipated acquisition by Venus Topco Ltd. of Atlanta Investment Holdings 3 Ltd, and the acquisition by Tara TopCo Ltd., via Ardonagh Rocket Investments Holdings Ltd., of an interest in Venus Topco Ltd. and Saturn Holdings Ltd.

STATE AID

• Authorisation for State aid pursuant to Articles 107 and 108 of the TFEU - Cases where the Commission raises no objections - SA.112196 & SA.110568
• Commission approves amendment of Germany's commitments in recapitalisation of energy company SEFE (SA.112489) - Midday Express
• Commission approves €600 million Italian State aid scheme to foster cooperation between operators in the fisheries and aquaculture sector (SA.109663) - Midday Express
• Commission approves €180 million Polish State aid scheme under the Recovery and Resilience Facility to support development of intermodal transport (SA.109124) - Midday Express

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Agenda for: Meeting of the Customs Business Group on EU CSW-CERTEX - 10 & 11 April 2024
• Minutes & Working Documents of the Economic Tariff Questions Group (Suspensions & Quotas) - 18 & 19 January 2024
• Minutes of the 123rd meeting of the General Customs Legislation Section of the Customs Code Committee - 21 March 2024
• Notice concerning the date of entry into force of the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and New Zealand
• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/950 of 15 January 2024 amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/1602 as regards the date of application and the cases where customs authorities are required to deduct the quantities stated in the customs declaration from the total allowed quantity declared in the Common Health Entry Document (CHED)
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/904 of 25 March 2024 amending Council Regulation (EC) No 32/2000 as regards the extension of the Union’s tariff quotas for jute and coconut-fibre products
• EU trade policy serves Ukraine an unappetising menu Premium content - Restrictions on food imports foreshadow tricky time for Kyiv negotiating entry to bloc - Financial Times

INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

• Agenda for: 6th meeting of the Commission Expert Group on Machinery - 12 April 2024
• Working Documents - Meeting of the Working group on Good Laboratory Practice - 05 March 2024
  
• Council Decision (EU, Euratom) 2024/995 of 12 March 2024 authorising the opening of negotiations with the Swiss Confederation on institutional provisions in agreements between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation related to the internal market, on an agreement on the Swiss Confederation’s participation in Union programmes and on an agreement that forms the basis for the Swiss Confederation’s permanent contribution to the Union’s cohesion
• Data protection in the interconnection between ICSMS and national customs systems via EU CSW-CERTEX - Implementing regulation - Feedback period: 25 March 2024 - 22 April 2024

AGRICULTURE & FISHERIES

• Council adopts law to strengthen protection for geographical indications for foods and drinks
• Support for farmers: Council endorses targeted review of the common agricultural policy
• Speech by President von der Leyen at the Annual Conference of the Forum for the Future of Agriculture

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

• Commission Recommendation (EU) 2024/915 of 19 March 2024 on measures to combat counterfeiting and enhance the enforcement of intellectual property rights
• 47th Session of the WIPO Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT) (Geneva, 18-20 March 2024) - Final EU/Member States statements

FINANCE

• ESMA consults on rules for External Reviewers of EU Green Bonds
• ESMA finalises first rules on crypto-asset service providers
• ESMA launches the third consultation under MiCA

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• Main results of Environment Council, 25 March 2024
• Environmental crime: Council clears new EU law with tougher sanctions and extended list of offences
• Commission takes steps to ensure full and timely transposition of EU environmental directives - Midday Express
• How the EU’s flagship nature law became an electoral punching bag - A landmark bill to rehabilitate degraded ecosystems risks rejection at the final hurdle - Politico.eu
• US and EU differ over the future of fossil fuel subsidies in OECD talks - Second round of discussions ends without significant progress on export credit policies - Financial Times

HEALTH, FOOD & PRODUCT SAFETY

• SCHEER - Minutes of the 7th plenary meeting, Luxembourg, 12 March 2024
• SCCS - Draft Agenda of the 7th plenary meeting, Luxembourg, 27 March 2024
• Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2024/888 of 22 March 2024 on the non-approval of certain active substances for use in biocidal products in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 528/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council
• Commission Recommendation (EU) 2024/907 of 22 March 2024 on the monitoring of nickel in food

EMPLOYMENT & SOCIAL AFFAIRS

• Combatting violence and harassment in the workplace: Council invites EU countries to ratify ILO convention
• Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on a Quality Framework for Traineeships - Proposal for a directive - Feedback period: 25 March 2024 - 21 May 2024
• Joint EU employers’ statement on the revision of the European Works Councils Directive ahead of the vote in European Parliament’s EMPL Committee on 3 April 2024
• An economically and socially strong Europe to play its role in the world - Tripartite Social Summit, 20 March 2024 - Address by BusinessEurope President Fredrik Persson
  

TRANSPORT & MOBILITY

• Aviation – EU-wide performance targets for 2025-2029 (Single European Sky) - Implementing decision - Feedback period: 22 March 2024 - 19 April 2024

DIGITAL & INFORMATION SOCIETY

• Commission publishes guidelines under the DSA for the mitigation of systemic risks online for elections - IP/24/1707 & Guidelines
• Online platforms put special focus on elections in the third batch of reports under the Code of Practice on Disinformation - Midday Express
• Vice-President Jourová in the United States to discuss transatlantic cooperation on disinformation and information integrity - Midday Express

DATA PRIVACY & CYBERSECURITY

• Commissioner Breton visits Lille to open the Cyber Security Forum - Midday Express
• Data Flow and Economic Value EU Framework: Modelling Update and Data Collection - see the Final Study Report
• Comparative Assessment of the DHS Harmonization of Cyber Incident Reporting to the Federal Government Report and the Rules on Incident Reporting in the NIS 2 Directive

AREA OF FREEDOM, SECURITY & JUSTICE

• Agenda for: Working Party on Civil Law Matters - Protection of Adults on 05 April 2024 and Parenthood on 04 April 2024
• European Media Freedom Act: Council adopts new rules to protect journalists and media providers
• European digital identity (eID): Council adopts legal framework on a secure and trustworthy digital wallet for all Europeans
• Answer given by Mr Reynders to a MEP written question - Effect on proceedings before a national court of submitting a reference for a preliminary ruling to the CJEU
• The New Pact on Migration and Asylum: Necessary progress, but not a magic bullet - see EPC Commentary

ECB, EURO & ECONOMY

• Commission endorses positive preliminary assessment of Malta's second payment request for €58.9 million under the Recovery and Resilience Facility - IP/24/1710
• Commission supports 170 new projects to help Member States translate their reform agenda into concrete actions on the ground - IP/24/1614, QaA & TSI: Financing Decisions and Annual Work Programmes
• Letter from ECB's Piero Cipollone to Ms Irene Tinagli, ECON Chair, on technical considerations on the provision of multiple digital euro accounts to individual end users
• ECB Survey of Monetary Analysts (SMA), April 2024
  

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• Bosnia and Herzegovina: Council extends framework for restrictive measures until March 2026 - see Council Decision (CFSP) 2024/95
• UK: Statement by the HR/VP Borrell Spokesperson on recent malicious cyber activities
  
• ISIL(Da'esh) and Al-Qaeda: Council adds a person and an entity to its autonomous list of sanctions
• Answer given by HR/VP Borrell to a MEP written question - Member States’ defence investment policies
• The European Council greenlights opening accession talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina - see EPC Analysis

ISRAEL/GAZA

• Israel/Palestine: Statement by the Spokesperson on the announcement to confiscate occupied land
• Answer given by HR/VP Borrell to a MEP written question - Sexualised violence in the context of Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023
• Answer given by HR/VP Borrell to a MEP written question -Detention, torture and execution of Palestinian civilians by Israel in Gaza and ‘Sde Teman’
• Answer given by HR/VP Borrell to a MEP written question - EU firms doing business with Israeli companies operating in the occupied Palestinian territories