Europe Daily News, 11 September 2024

COMPETITION

• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.11623 - BPCE / SGEF)
• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.11677 - Mideuropa Partners / Famar)
• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.11686 - Baosteel / Baowu Aluminium / Kobelco / Kobelco Bao Automotive Aluminium Rolled Products JV)
• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.11159 - JD Sports / Courir)
• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.11563 - MSC / Clasquin)
• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.11644 - VREP / GIilde SFS / Conteyor / KTP)
• Commission clears creation of joint venture by HMLYS and Xiamen C&D Commodities (M.11658) - Midday Express
• Commission clears acquisition of Ameropa Biotech by Fertinagro and Ameropa Holding (M.11516) - Midday Express
• Commission clears acquisition of parts of Aviva's onshore windfarm business by CKI and CKA (M.11709) - Midday Express
• Italy: AGCM - An inquiry has been launched into school publishing, as well as a public consultation opened to all stakeholders
• UK - The CMA is investigating the anticipated acquisition by Boparan Private Office Ltd. (via 2 Agriculture Ltd.) of ForFarmers UK Ltd.’s Burston and Radstock feed mills

STATE AID

• Authorisation for State aid pursuant to Articles 107 and 108 of the TFEU - Cases where the Commission raises no objections – SA.113219
• Ireland’s €13bn Apple windfall leaves cash-rich country with spending dilemma - Dublin spent €10mn on legal fees defending tax deal that European court says contravened EU rules - Financial Times

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Judgment of the General Court of 11 September 2024 in Case T‑2/22, Sveza Verkhnyaya Sinyachikha NAO Vs. European Commission, Latvijas Finieris AS and by Paged Pisz sp. z o.o.
  Re: Dumping - Imports of birch plywood originating in Russia - Definitive anti-dumping duties - Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1930 - Adjustment - Export price - Single economic entity - Commission contracts - Normal value - Functions similar to those of an agent working on a commission basis - Article 2(10)(i) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 - Selling, general and administrative costs - Dividends - Management costs - Article 2(6) of Regulation 2016/1036 - Product concerned - Market segmentation - Causal link - Other injury factors - Article 3(3), (6) and (7) of Regulation 2016/1036
• Judgment of the General Court of 11 September 2024 in Case T‑3/22, Zheshartsky LPK OOO (ZHLPK), Vs. European Commission, Latvijas Finieris AS and by Paged Pisz sp. z o.o.
  Re: Dumping - Imports of birch plywood originating in Russia - Definitive anti-dumping duties - Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1930 - Adjustments - Commission - Export price - Transport costs - Article 2(10)(e), (i) and (k) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 - Selling, general and administrative costs - Article 2(6) of Regulation 2016/1036 - Product concerned - Market segmentation - Causal link - Other injury factors - Article 3(3), (6) and (7) of Regulation 2016/1036
• Judgment of the General Court of 11 September 2024 in Case T‑32/22, Vyatsky Plywood Mill OOO Vs. European Commission, by Latvijas Finieris AS and Paged Pisz sp. z o.o.
  Re: Dumping - Imports of birch plywood originating in Russia - Definitive anti-dumping duty - Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1930 - Objective examination - Post-investigation period - Market segmentation - Other injury factors - Article 3(2), (6) and (7) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 - Equal treatment - Union interest - Article 21 of Regulation 2016/1036 - Rights of the defence
• Agenda for: Working Party on Trade Questions - 17 September 2024
• Agenda for: Working Party on the United Kingdom - 13 September 2024
• Agenda for: Trade Policy Committee (Deputy Members) - 12 September 2024
• Agenda for: 261st meeting of the Customs Code Committee Tariff and Statistical Nomenclature (Sub-Section Agriculture/Chemistry) - 8th to 9th October 2024
• Report from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on negotiations undertaken by the Commission in the field of export credits, in the sense of Regulation (EU) No 1233/2011
• Annual Review by the Commission of Member States' Annual Activity Reports on Export Credits in the sense of Regulation (EU) No 1233/2011
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2392 of 10 September 2024 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/191 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of certain iron or steel fasteners originating in the People’s Republic of China following acceptance of a request for new exporting producer treatment
• Transitional CBAM Registry user manual for Declarants
• Most important features for the Declarant portal for release "CBAM TP 1.3.0.0"
• CBAM Quarterly Report structure XSD and “stypes.xsd” (ZIP format & XLS format)
• Business calls for a proactive, creative and forward-looking EU trade agenda Trade -  see the Position Paper

INTERNAL MARKET INDUSTRY

• BusinessEurope welcomes Draghi report and calls for urgent action to restore the EU’s competitive edge

CHEMICAL

• Judgment of the General Court of 11 September 2024 in Case T‑29/22, Polynt SpA, Vs. European Chemicals Agency (ECHA)
  Re: REACH - Compliance check of registrations - Substance 1,3-dioxo-2-benzofuran-5-carboxylic acid with nonan-1-ol - Articles 42 and 50 of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 - Principle of good administration - Proportionality
• Judgment of the General Court of 11 September 2024 in Case T‑192/22, Polynt SpA, Vs. European Chemicals Agency (ECHA)
  Re: REACH - Compliance check of registrations - Substance 1,3-dioxo-2-benzofuran-5-carboxylic acid with nonan-1-ol - Failure to respond to the compliance check decision - Article 50 of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 - Proportionality

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

• Agenda for: Working Party on Intellectual Property (Copyright) - 20 September 2024

FINANCE

• European Commission issues €10 billion in its 8th syndicated transaction of 2024
• ESAs warn of risks from economic and geopolitical events

AGRICULTURE & FISHERIES

• Agenda for: Meeting of the CEG for Agricultural Markets under the CMO Regulation - olive oil chemist - 02 October 2024
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2391 of 10 September 2024 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1185 as regards certain reporting requirements, certain notifications to the Commission of information, and documents in the agricultural markets sector
• Answer given by Mr Wojciechowski to a MEP written question - Support for small and medium-sized farms

ENERGY

• State of the Energy Union Report 2024 shows EU progress to ensure secure, competitive and affordable energy for all - see the Factsheet and Remarks by Commissioner Simson
  - State of the Energy Union Report 2024 and the Country fiches
  - Annex on bioenergy

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• Answer given by MR Hoekstra to a MEP written question - Decision to exclude accessible vehicles from carbon pooling agreements

HEALTH FOOD PRODUCT SAFETY

• EMA guidance on the use of medicinal products for treatment and prophylaxis in case of exposure to biological agents used as weapons of terrorism, crime or warfare
• EMA guidance on the use of medicinal products for treatment in case of exposure to chemical agents used as weapons of terrorism, crime, or warfare
• EMA - Minutes of the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee meeting 8-11 July 2024
• EFSA - Peer review of the pesticide risk assessment of the active substance Bacillus velezensis RTI301

TRANSPORT & MOBILITY

• Agenda for: Meeting for the European ITS Committee - 26 September 2024

AREA OF FREEDOM, SECURITY & JUSTICE

• Summary of the third meeting of the Sub-Group to the Expert Group on B2B data sharing and cloud computing contracts - 11 April 2024
• UK to require £10 travel permits for EU and US citizens - Government says expansion of electronic travel authorisation scheme designed to ‘enhance security - Financial Times

EU INSTITUTIONS

• The European Parliament infringed certain protection rules relating to the status as an informant of a parliamentary assistant (See CPR No 139/2024 - Judgment of the General Court in Case T-793/22, TU Vs. Parliament Staff Regulations of Officials)
• The General Court of the European Union rules for the first time on the financial consequences of alleged irregularities with regard to a former Member of the European Court of Auditors (See CPR No 138/2024 - Judgment of the General Court in Case T-386/19, CQ Vs. Court of Auditors)
• Commission decides to register two European Citizens' Initiatives, entitled ‘ECI for a Water-Smart and Resilient Europe' and ‘PsychedeliCare'
• Possible items for College agenda 17 September – 30 October 2024

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• Egypt: Press remarks by HR/VP Josep Borrell after his meeting with Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty
• League of Arab States: Opening remarks by HR/VP Josep Borrell at the Ministerial Meeting
• EUDA: EEAS launches European Union Diplomatic Academy - se the QaA

RUSSIAN INVASION OF UKRAINE

• Judgment of the General Court of 11 September 2024 in Case T‑741/22, Pavel Ezubov, Vs. Council of the European Union
  Re: CFSP - Restrictive measures taken in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine - Freezing of funds - Restriction on entry into the territory of the Member States - List of persons, entities and bodies subject to the freezing of funds and restrictions on entry into the territory of the Member States - Maintenance of the applicant’s name on the list - Letter informing the applicant of the maintenance of his name on the list - Act not open to challenge - Inadmissibility - Concept of ‘association’ - Article 2(1) in fine of Decision 2014/145/CFSP - Concept of ‘person benefiting from a leading businessperson’ - Article 2(1)(g) of Decision 2014/145 - Obligation to state reasons - Principle of good administration - Error of assessment - Proportionality
• Judgment of the General Court of 11 September 2024 in Case T-362/22, Musa Yusopovich Bazhaev v Council of the European Union, supported by European Commission
  Re: CFSP - Restrictive measures taken in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine - Freezing of funds - List of persons, entities and bodies to whom the freezing of funds and economic resources applies - Inclusion and maintenance of the applicant's name on the list - Obligation to state reasons - Right to effective judicial protection - Concept of ‘influential businessman and businesswoman’ - Article 2, Article 2(1)(d) and (g) of Decision 2014/145/CFSP - Concept of ‘association’ - Error of assessment - Right to property - Freedom to conduct a business - Right to privacy - Proportionality - Principle of non-discrimination
• Judgment of the General Court of 11 September 2024 in Case T-744/22, Maya Tokareva Vs. Council of the European Union, supported by European Commission
  Re: CFSP - Restrictive measures taken in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine - Freezing of funds - List of persons, entities and bodies to whom the freezing of funds and economic resources applies - Maintenance of the applicant's name on the list - Concept of ‘association’ - Article 2, Article 2(1), in fine, of Decision 2014/145/CFSP - Concept of ‘advantage derived from an influential businessman operating in Russia’ - Article 2(1)(g) of Decision 2014/145 - Error of assessment - Non-contractual liability’
• Judgment of the General Court of 11 September 2024 in Case T-497/22, Marina Alexandrova Mordashova Vs. Council of the European Union,
  Re: CFSP - Restrictive measures taken in respect of acts undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine - Freezing of funds - Restrictions on admission to the territory of the Member States - List of persons, entities and bodies to whom the freezing of funds and economic resources applies and who are subject to restrictions on admission to the territory of the Member States - Inclusion and maintenance of the applicant's name on the list - Concept of ‘association’ - Article 2, Article 2(1) in fine of Decision 2014/145/CFSP - Concept of ‘advantage derived from an influential businessman operating in Russia’ - Article 2(1)(g) of Decision 2014/145 - Plea of illegality - Obligation to state reasons - Error of assessment - Proportionality - Right to property - Legal certainty - Principle of non-discrimination - Right to be heard
• Judgment of the General Court of 11 September 2024 in Case T-286/23, OT Vs. Council of the European Union
  Re: CFSP - Restrictive measures taken in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine - Freezing of funds - List of persons, entities and bodies to whom the freezing of funds and economic resources applies - Maintenance of the applicant's name on the list - Concept of ‘influential businessman’ - Article 2(1)(g) of Decision 2014/145/CFSP - Plea of illegality - Error of assessment - Rights of the defence - Right to effective judicial protection - Right to an effective remedy’
• Economic sanctions against Russia: the Council has the power to establish reporting and cooperation obligations to ensure the effectiveness of fund-freezing measures (See CPR No 140/2024 - Judgments of the General Court in Cases T-635/22, T-644/22, Fridman and Others Vsq. Council)
• War in Ukraine: the General Court confirms the restrictive measures adopted against the Russian finance company NSD (See CPR No 137/2024 - Judgment of the General Court in Case T-494/22, NSD Vs. Council)