Europe Daily News, 04 February 2025

COMPETITION

• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.11675 - Carlsberg / Britvic)
• Commission clears acquisition of Buderus by Mutares (M.11801) - Midday Express
• Commission clears acquisition of Rehau Automotive by Atlas (M.11797) - Midday Express
• Commission clears creation of joint venture by Koncar and Sehbv (M.11804) - Midday Express
• Commission clears the acquisition of joint control of Rolls-Royce SMR by Rolls-Royce and CEZ (M.11809) - Midday Express
• Estonia - The Competition Authority commenced supervisory proceedings concerning the activities of Elektrilevi OÜ
• Romania - The Competition Council assesses the transaction through which Rombeer Crîngașu SRL intends to take over Ade Gas Company SRL
• Slovakia - United Classifieds has been fined 675,200 euros (around $700,000) for abusing its market power in the supply of online real-estate advertising services

STATE AID

• Authorisation for State aid pursuant to Articles 107 and 108 of the TFEU - Cases where the Commission raises no objections – SA.116725; SA.115848 & SA.115385
• Commission approves Czech compensation of up to €59 million for Czech Post's universal service obligation (SA.104103) - Midday Express

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Agenda for: Working Party on Customs Union - 10 February 2025
• Agenda for: 265th meeting of the Customs Code Committee Tariff and Statistical Nomenclature Section (Sub-section Mechanical/Miscellaneous/Textile) - From 17 to 19 February 2025
• Explanatory notes to the Combined Nomenclature of the European Union (4401 49 10 & 4401 49 90)
• Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2018/196 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 February 2018 on additional customs duties on imports of certain products originating in the United States of America
• Answer given by Šefčovič to a MEP written question - Recent developments regarding methane emissions possibly not complying with EU-New Zealand free trade agreement
  
• EU Import Control System 2 (ICS2) extends to rail and road transportation from April 2025
• EU-Egypt: cooperation on customs continues (9th EU-Egypt Subcommittee on Customs Cooperation)
  
• WTO - Services trade growth hits new highs in third quarter of 2024
• WTO - South Africa launches safeguard investigation on corrosion-resistant steel coil (see notification G/SG/N/6/ZAF/11)
• WCO launches the Global Forum on Origin Interconnectivity to enhance Trade Digitalization
• EU-WCO HS and Origin Africa Programmes release Annual Reports for 2024
  - Annual Report 2024 - Implementation and Application of Rules of Origin to Enhance African Trade
  - Annual Report 2024 - Supporting a coordinated implementation and uniform application of the HS in Africa
• EU leaders vow to hit back if ‘attacked’ by Donald Trump tariffs - Europe ‘will have to make itself respected’, says Emmanuel Macron - Finance Times
• Global car industry faces anxious wait on US tariffs - Industry braces for tit-for-tat trade war that could spark wave of bankruptcies among parts makers - Finance Times

INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

• New Competitiveness Task Force set up to operationalise the Competitiveness Compass - Midday Express
• New Housing Task Force set up to ensure all Europeans have access to affordable and sustainable houses - Midday Express

CHEMICAL

• Agenda for: Meeting of the REACH Committee - 27 February 2025

AUTOMOTIVE

• Proposal for a Council Decision on the position to be adopted on behalf of the European Union in the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe as regards the March 2025 proposals for UN regulations

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

• Agenda for: Working Party on Intellectual Property - 10 February 2025
  
• Launch of the 2025 SME Fund to help SMEs protect intellectual property
• The EUIPO joins forces with Europol and EMA to combat fake medicines

FINANCE

• Commission seeks feedback on Savings and Investments Union - Midday Express
• Instant payments: the benefits for customers and business - See the EP Briefing
• ESMA publishes the results of the survey on legal entities identifiers

ENERGY

• Agenda for: Meeting of the Energy Union Committee - 10 & 11 February 2025
• Minutes of the Connecting Europe Facility Coordination Committee - Energy meeting - 28 January 2025
• Report on the proposal for a Council decision on the adoption by the European Atomic Energy Community of the Agreement on the interpretation and application of the Energy Charter Treaty between the European Union, the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States
• European Commission and Moldova agree on a 2-year Comprehensive Strategy for Energy Independence and Resilience and immediate support with the energy bills
• Commissioner Kos travels to Moldova to present EU support in the energy crisis* - Midday Express
• ACER - Retail electricity and gas markets prices
• ACER will consult on inter-temporal cost allocation mechanisms for financing hydrogen infrastructure
• ACER’s quarterly report on its activities under Regulation (EU) No 1227/2011 (REMIT)2 - Issue No.39/Q4 2025

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• Agenda for: Working Party on Environment - 05 February 2025
• Agenda for: Working Party on International Environment Issues (Int. Chemicals/Synergies) - 10 February 2025
• Commission reports show faster progress is needed across Europe to protect waters and better manage flood risks - See the Report
• EU maritime transport: progress made, but environmental, sustainability challenges persist - See the EMSA & EEA Report
• Report on the Commission's assessment of the Member States’ programmes of measures as updated under Article 17 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (2008/56/EC)
  
• Answer given by Mr Hoekstra to a MEP written question - Regulation (EU) 2024/573 on fluorinated greenhouse gases
• Call for evidence: European Water Resilience Strategy - Communication - Feedback period: 04 February 2025 - 04 March 2025
• Call for evidence: Water Efficiency First: guiding principles - Communication - Feedback period: 04 February 2025 - 04 March 2025

FORESTRY / DEFORESTATION

• Draft European Parliament Legislative Resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on a monitoring framework for resilient European forests
• Sustainable forestry: Parliament’s work to fight deforestation - See the EP Briefing
• Deforestation: causes and how the EU is tackling it - See the EP Briefing

DIGITAL & INFORMATION SOCIETY

• Minutes of the Artificial Intelligence Committee meeting - 11 December 2024
• First rules of the Artificial Intelligence Act are now applicable
• A pioneering AI project awarded for opening Large Language Models to European languages
• New Task Force set up dedicated to strategic communication and countering information manipulation - Midday Express
• EU pushes forward with enforcing AI Act despite Trump warnings - Brussels set to issue guidance on banned uses of AI, even as US president threatens retaliation over treatment of Big Tech - Finance Times

DATA PRIVACY & CYBERSECURITY

• Frequently Asked Questions - Data Act (Version 1.2) as updated on 03 February 2025
• Brand book European Common Criteria-based cybersecurity certification scheme (EUCC)
• 2024 report on ‘Common Challenges in Cybercrime’ is a collaborative effort between Eurojust and Europol

TRANSPORT & MOBILITY

• Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) for hotel accommodation services: Stakeholders invited to comment on new draft rules

AREA OF FREEDOM, SECURITY & JUSTICE

• Rule of law: action brought by a professional association of Romanian prosecutors against the Commission decision repealing the decision establishing the mechanism for cooperation and verification is dismissed as inadmissible (See CPR No.9/2025 - Order of the General Court in Case T-1126/23, Asociația Inițiativa pentru Justiție Vs. Commission)
• International protection: EU law does not preclude, under certain conditions, beneficiaries of international protection from having to pass a civic integration examination (See CPR No.10/2025 -Judgment of the Court in Case C-158/23)
• Need for a more fundamental rights-compliant European Green Deal - See the Report

FUTURE OF EUROPE

• Main results of the Informal EU leaders' retreat, 3 February 2025
  - Opening remarks by President von der Leyen at the joint press conference with President Costa and Polish Prime Minister Tusk
  - Remarks by President António Costa at the press conference following the Informal EU leaders' retreat
  - Europe must be responsible for its own security”, Metsola tells EU leaders (See the Speech)
  
• EU leaders deflect Trump on Greenland and on tariffs - EU leaders are looking for a way to keep Trump from invading the Danish territory - Politico.eu

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• Draft Report on the 2023 and 2024 Commission reports on Türkiye
• Speech by President von der Leyen at the "EU Ambassadors Conference 2025"
• Commission Directorate-General to focus on Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood - Midday Express
• One sea, three continents: a new Directorate General to strengthen Mediterranean and Gulf partnerships - Midday Express
• Proposal for a Council Decision on the signing, on behalf of the European Union, of the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Uzbekistan, of the other part - See the Annex
• Answer given by Ms Albuquerque to a MEP written question - European trucks used by the Syrian regime (Council Regulation (EU) No 36/2012)

RUSSIAN INVASION OF UKRAINE

• Commission reinforces support for exiled Russian and Belarusian journalists in the EU - Midday Express
• Answer given by HR/VP Kallas to a MEP written question - Sanctioning and deterring hybrid operations
• Answer given by Ms Albuquerque to a MEP written question - European companies following the introduction of sanctions