Europe Daily News, 03 October 2024

COMPETITION

• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.11668 - PSG Equity/ Rivean Capital/ Corilus)
• Commission clears acquisition of AquaGreen by Marubeni, NAP and FMG (M.11691) - Midday Express
  
• Belgium - Notification MEDE-CC-24/0020 - IK Investment Partners / BMACON BV
• Belgium - The Competition Authority approves the acquisition of Constellation Cold Logistics by EQT
• Belgium - The Competition Authority approves the acquisition of Scheerders van Kerchove's Verenigde Fabrieken by Beerens Groep and Aertssen Group
• France - Potentially infectious medical waste in the French overseas territories: the General Rapporteur announces that an objection concerning an anticompetitive agreement has been notified

STATE AID

• Authorisation for State aid pursuant to Articles 107 and 108 of the TFEU - Cases where the Commission raises no objections – SA.64641, SA.64636, SA.64654, SA.64623, SA.64670, SA.64645, SA.64650, SA.64631, SA.64627, SA.64754, SA.64634, SA.64628, SA.64652 & SA.109581
• Commission authorises a €120 million French aid scheme to support winegrowers in the context of Russia's war against Ukraine (SA.115943) - Midday Express
• Commission approves €234 million Polish State aid scheme to support development of intermodal transport (SA.114260) - Midday Express

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Agenda for: Meeting of the Trade Policy Committee (Full Members) - 10 October 2024
• Agenda for: Working Party on European Free Trade Association (EFTA) - 08 October 2024
• Agenda for: Meeting of the Commission Expert Group on Trade and Sustainable Development - 27 September 2024
• Notice of the impending expiry of certain anti-subsidy measures (Continuous filament glass fibre products - Egypt - Countervailing duty - Regulation (EU) 2020/870 - 26.06.2025)
• Communication in accordance with Article 34 (7)(a)(iii) of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council, on decisions relating to binding information issued by the customs authorities of the Member States concerning the classification of goods in the customs nomenclature
• Proposal for a Council Decision on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union within the Association Council established by the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the State of Israel, of the other part, as regards the amendment of Protocol 4 to that Agreement concerning the definition of the concept of 'originating products' and methods of administrative cooperation
• Proposal for a Council Decision on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union within the Association Council established by the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the State of Israel, of the other part, establishing the general requirements on proofs of origin issued electronically according to Article 17(4) of Appendix A to Protocol 4 to that Agreement
• Public consultation - EU customs code – simplifications for musical instrument accessories - Delegated regulation - Feedback period: 02 October 2024 - 30 October 2024
• Enforcement of trade policy delivers prosperity and growth for EU companies - see the Key facts, The Report and the Staff Working Document & Brochure on the report
• Customs Laboratories European Network (CLEN) celebrates 25th anniversary
• DDG Ellard spotlights role of the WTO, current priorities
• Why the US can’t impose its will over global trade in electric cars - The American market is too small to give Washington leverage over Chinese software in EVs - Financial Times

INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

• October infringements package: key decisions

CHEMICAL

• RAC/SEAC Opinions on a Review Report by BRENNTAG for:
  - CT-SD-PD-SC Formulation of mixtures with soluble Cr(VI) compounds for use in aerospace and defence industry and its supply chains for surface treatments
  - Chromium trioxide; sodium dichromate Inorganic finish stripping using chromium trioxide or sodium dichromate in aerospace and defence industry and its supply chains
  - CT-SD-PD Passivation of (non-Al) metallic coatings using chromium trioxide or sodium dichromate or potassium dichromate in aerospace and defence industry and its supply chains

• Latest ECHA Weekly Letter published

• ECHA - Report on exchange of information under the Prior Informed Consent Regulation in 2022-2023

• ECHA - Poison centre notifications must be in harmonised format as of 1 January 2025

• ECHA - Highlights from September RAC and SEAC meetings, 26 Sept 2024

• ECHA - Current status of the scientific evaluation of proposal to restrict PFAS - as of September 2024

FINANCE

• ESMA launches new consultations under the MiFIR Review
• EBA - 11th Joint ESA’s Consumer Protection Day
• EU policymakers lash out at Berlin’s Commerzbank ‘hypocrisy’ - Financial Times

TAXATION

• The Commission decides to refer Spain, Cyprus, Poland and Portugal to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to notify measures transposing into national law the Council Directive (EU) 2022/2523 (Pillar 2 Directive)
• VAT: EU and Norway strengthen administrative cooperation, combating fraud and recovery of claims
• The European Fiscal Board (EFB) published its eigth annual report

EMPLOYMENT & SOCIAL AFFAIRS

• Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on improving working conditions in platform work
• Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers following an application from Belgium (EGF/2024/001 BE/Match-Smatch) - Approval
• The Commission decides to refer Italy to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to end the abusive use of fixed-term contracts and discriminatory employment conditions (Council Directive 1999/70/EC)

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• Agenda for: Working Party on International Environment Issues (Biodiversity) - 08 October 2024
• Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe (recast)
• Commission strengthens support for EU Deforestation Regulation implementation and proposes extra 12 months of phasing-in time, responding to calls by global partners - see the Proposal and the Communication & its Annex
• The Commission decides to refer Portugal to the Court of Justice of the European Union to improve its rules on pollution arising from industrial activities (INFR(2022)2085 - Directive 2010/75/EU)
• Balancing act fair housing and sustainability in Europes transition - See EEB Report

HEALTH, FOOD & PRODUCT SAFETY

• Public consultation - Health technology assessment – Joint scientific consultations on medicinal products for human use - regulation - Feedback period: 01 October 2024 - 29 October 2024
• ECDC - Assessing the risks of tick-borne encephalitis virus transmission through substances of human origin
• EMA - Minutes of the meeting Committee for medicinal products for human use (CHMP) - 15 July 2024
• EMA - Improving efficiency of approval process for new medicines in the EU

DIGITAL INFORMATION SOCIETY

• European Commission has published reports on the ten-year achievements of the "Human Brain Project and the Graphene Flagship European initiatives"
• ENISA - 7th Cybersecurity Forum: Power grids cybersecurity ascending to prominence

TRANSPORT & MOBILITY

• Agenda for: 3rd meeting of the Commission Expert Group on Sustainable Aviation - 06 November 2024
• The Commission decides to refer Denmark and Spain to the Court of Justice of the European Union for not transposing rules on inland navigation qualifications and third-country certificate recognition (Directive (EU) 2017/2397)
• Commissioner Urpilainen visits Turkmenistan to launch the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor Coordination Platform and strengthen the EU-Central Asia partnership - Midday Express
• Italy is all smoke and no roast on CO2 car emissions review - Rome claims to have the support of member countries for an earlier review of the policy, but EU diplomats tell a different story - Politico.eu
• Hungarian investors accuse Spain of breaking EU law over rail deal veto - Madrid blocked sale of Spanish trainmaker Talgo for political reasons, says Ganz-MáVag chief - Financial times

AREA OF FREEDOM, SECURITY & JUSTICE

• Agenda for: AH Working Party on Frozen and Immobilised Assets - 04 October 2024
• Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council  amending Directive 2013/11/EU on alternative dispute resolution for consumer disputes, as well as Directives (EU) 2015/2302, (EU) 2019/2161 and (EU) 2020/1828 (Text with EEA relevance) - 4-column table
• The Commission decides to refer Hungary to the Court of Justice of the European Union considering its national law on the Defence of Sovereignty to be in breach of EU law
• The Commission decides to refer Estonia to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to provide effective judicial remedy against a visa refusal
• Call for Evidence - Firearms trafficking Directive - Proposal for a directive - Feedback period: 01 October 2024 - 24 December 2024
• Study to support the fitness check of EU consumer law on digital fairness and report on the application of the Modernisation Directive

INSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

• Court of Justice of the European Union: member states’ representatives appoint nine judges and an advocate-general

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• EU boosts humanitarian aid to Lebanon by €30 million, bringing total to over €100 million for 2024
• UK and EU pledge to hold regular leaders’ summits from 2025 - Financial Times