Europe Daily News, 06 June 2024

COMPETITION

• Opinion of Advocate General Rantos of 6 June 2024 in Case  C-264/23, Booking.com BV, Booking.com (Deutschland) GmbH Vs. 25hours Hotel Company Berlin GmbH and Others
  Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Competition - Agreements between undertakings - Contracts between an online hotel booking platform and hotels - Price parity clauses - Article 101 TFEU - Ancillary restraints - Block exemption - Vertical agreements - Regulation (EU) No 330/2010 - Market definition
• Opinion of Advocate General Rantos of 6 June 2024 in Case C‑255/22 P, Orlen S.A., formerly Polski Koncern Naftowy Orlen S.A., formerly Polskie Górnictwo Naftowe i  S.A. Vs. European Commission
  Re: Appeal - Competition - Article 102 TFEU - Article 54 of the EEA Agreement - Abuse of a dominant position - Gas markets of Central and Eastern Europe - Article 9(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 - Commission decision to make binding the individual commitments proposed by an undertaking - Action for annulment - Adequacy of the commitments proposed in the light of the competition concerns identified in the statement of objections - Nature of the EU Courts’ power of review - Commission decision not to require commitments in relation to some of the initial concerns - Obligation to state reasons - Energy-policy objectives of the European Union - Article 194 TFEU - Principle of energy solidarity - Applicability
  
• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.11562 - Tasaru / Benteler/ Holon)
• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.11591 - TDR Capital/ Bubbles Bidco)
• US antitrust enforcer says ‘urgent’ scrutiny needed over Big Tech’s control of AI - Financial Times

STATE AID

• COVID-19: the Court upholds the Commission’s decision authorising the solvency support fund for strategic Spanish undertakings (see CPR Nº 94/2024 - Judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-441/21 P, Ryanair Vs. Commission)
• Authorisation for State aid pursuant to Articles 107 and 108 of the TFEU - Cases where the Commission raises no objections – SA.112221 & SA.111602

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Agenda for: Meeting of the Economic Tariff Questions Group - 10 July 2024
• Notice of the impending expiry of certain anti-dumping measures (Steel road wheels - The P.R. of China - Anti-dumping duty - 05.03.2025)
• Commission Implementing Regulation EU) …/... making imports of titanium dioxide originating in the People’s Republic of China subject to registration
  
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1608 of 5 June 2024 making imports of erythritol originating in the People’s Republic of China subject to registration
• EU trade support measures for Ukraine enter into force - Midday Express
• Answer given by EVP Dombrovskis to a MEP written question - 13th sanctions package – linseed processors
• Answer given by Ms McGuinness to a MEP written question - Russian oil tankers escaping EU sanctions in the Baltic Sea

INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

• Public procurement: a tenderer who has been unlawfully excluded from a procurement procedure may claim damages for loss of opportunity (see CPR Nº 95/2024 - Judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-547/22, INGSTEEL)
• Recommendation for a Council Decision authorising the opening of negotiations on the Design Law Treaty

CHEMICAL

• Opinion of Advocate General Ćapeta of 06 June 2024 Joined Cases C-256/23 and C-290/23, European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) Vs. Hallertauer Hopfenveredelungsges. m.b.H., joined parties: Regierung von Niederbayern and European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) Vs. B. GmbH
  Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling – Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (REACH) - Commission Regulation (EC) No 340/2008 – Fees and charges payable to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) - ECHA decision imposing an administrative charge – Enforcement - Article 299 TFEU

ENERGY

• Agenda for: Working Party on Energy - 10 June 2024
• Council Decision (EU) 2024/1644 of 30 May 2024 on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the Energy Charter Conference
• Council Decision (Euratom) 2024/1645 of 30 May 2024 on the position to be taken on behalf of Euratom in the Energy Charter Conference

HEALTH, FOOD & PRODUCT SAFETY

• EPSCO (Health) Council - 21 June 2024
  - A call for action at the EU level to protect young people from harm caused by novel tobacco and nicotine products: - Information from the Latvian delegation on behalf of the Cyprus, Estonian, Irish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Luxembourg, Maltese, Portuguese, Slovenian and Spanish delegations
  - Negotiations for an international agreement on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, as well as complementary amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005) - Information from the Presidency and the Commission
  - Council Recommendation on vaccine-preventable cancers (legal basis proposed by the Commission : Article 168(6) TFEU) - Statement by Hungary

DATA PRIVACY & CYBERSECURITY

• Agenda for: Horizontal Working Party on Cyber Issues - 07 June 2024 
• Opinion of Advocate General Medina of 06 June 2024 in Case C‑169/23 [Másdi], Nemzeti Adatvédelmi és Információszabadság Hatóság Vs. UC
  Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Protection of personal data - Regulation (EU) 2016/679 - Processing of data for the issuance of a COVID‑19 certificate - Information to be provided where personal data have not been obtained from the data subject - Article 14(1) - Derogations from the obligation to provide information - Obtaining or disclosure expressly laid down by EU or Member State law - Appropriate measures to protect the data subject’s legitimate interests - Article 14(5)(c) - Right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority - Article 77

ECB, EURO & ECONOMY

• Eurogroup meeting - see the Remarks by Paschal Donohoe
• Commission receives Greece's fourth payment request for grants under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, and a request for a targeted revision of its recovery and resilience plan - Midday Express
• ECB cuts interest rates for first time in 5 years - Quarter-point reduction to 3.75% comes as bank warns that price pressures remain high - Financial Times
• Speech by Christine Lagarde, Luis de Guindos: "Monetary policy statement"
• The economic effects of Europe’s election Premium content - How a rising right might change the EU’s policy course - Financial Times

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• European elections: EU institutions prepared to counter disinformation