Europe Daily News, 07 October 2024

COMPETITION

• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.11644 - VREP / Gilde SFS / Conteyor / KTP)
• Commission clears acquisition of Dornan by Turner (M.11683) - Midday Express
• 6 flashpoints for the EU’s new competition chief - Teresa Ribera has been tasked with tough demands to overhaul competition and merger rules - Politico.eu

STATE AID

• Commission approves €500 million Romanian State aid scheme to support investments in biofuel production capacity to foster the transition to a net-zero economy (SA.115993) - Midday Express
• Answer given by Executive Vice-President Vestager to a MEP written question - Acciaierie d’Italia (formerly ILVA): state aid, environmental compatibility protecting public health

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Agenda for: Working Party on Customs Union - 10 October 2024
• Agenda for: Working Party on the United Kingdom - 08 October 2024
• Agenda for: Law Enforcement Working Party (Customs) - 07 October 2024
• CBAM - Guidance for declarants - “Request Delayed Submission”
• Commission proposal to impose tariffs on imports of battery electric vehicles from China obtains necessary support from EU Member States
• EU member states agree to impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles - China’s carmakers have been increasing market share in Europe - Financial Times &
• EU countries overcome German resistance to back duties on Chinese EVs - Result of vote, as expected, means the Commission can impose duties of up to 35.3 percent - Politico.eu
• Restrictive EU law could benefit London’s Asian art scene - Art from ancient to new is being sold in galleries, auction houses and Frieze Masters this autumn - Financial Times
• Emmanuel Macron’s last stand - The French leader was able to stall a Latin American trade deal in January. With negotiators again closing in on an agreement, he will struggle to repeat that feat - Politico.eu

INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

• Answer given by given by Executive Vice-President Vestager to a MEP written question - Boosting the Greek defence industry
• Answer given by given by Executive Vice-President Vestager to a MEP written question - Protecting the European music industry by making broadcasting rights payments to third-country nationals subject to reciprocity

CHEMICAL

• Draft Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures (first reading) - Adoption of the legislative act & Statement by the Slovak Republic
• Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability – State of play and way forward - Exchange of views

FINANCE

• Commission launches EU Repurchase Agreement, thereby becoming a sovereign-style issuer on EU capital markets - see the Factsheet - Midday Express
• EFTA and UNECE host Financial Accounts Workshop for over 90 experts
• EU’s three biggest countries push for bank deregulation - Request comes amid Macron’s warning that the EU “could die” if its economy falls behind global rivals - Politico.eu
• Spain to propose mini-coalitions to break EU capital markets stalemate - Madrid wants three or more countries to be able to forge ahead when others are opposed - Financial Times

ENERGY

• Agenda for: TTE (Energy) Council - 15 October 2024
  - The contribution of the energy sector to the competitiveness of the European Union – follow up to recommendations of the Draghi report -  Exchange of views
  - Divergence of wholesale electricity prices - Exchange of views
• Proposal for a Council Decision on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the Specialised Committee on Energy established by the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part on the establishment of the Working Group on Security of Supply - see the Annex

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• Agenda for: Meeting of the Climate change committee - 10 October 2024
• Agenda for: Working Party on International Environment Issues (UNECE and other regional issues) - 10 October 2024
• EU sends search and rescue teams to support Bosnia and Herzegovina during deadly floods - Midday Express
• Answer given by Executive Vice-President Šefčovič to a MEP written question - Definitions of forests and their impact
• Answer given by Executive Vice-President Šefčovič to a MEP written question - Technical basis for the assessment of countries under EUDR
• Answer given by Executive Vice-President Šefčovič to a MEP written question - EU forest owners disadvantaged by the Regulation on deforestation-free products (EUDR)

HEALTH, FOOD & PRODUCT SAFETY

• The Commission, through its HERA and the European Investment Bank, have signed an agreement worth €20 million with the French biopharmaceutical company Fabentech
• EFSA - Administrative guidance for the preparation of novel food applications in the context of Article 10 of Regulation (EU) 2015/2283
• EFSA - Modification of the existing maximum residue levels for dichlorprop‐P in cereal grains

AREA OF FREEDOM, SECURITY & JUSTICE

• Overview and State of play of the current legislative proposals under the Hungarian Presidency in preparation for the meeting of the Justice & Home Affairs Council - 10 & 11 October 2024

ECB, EURO & ECONOMY

• Agenda for: Meeting of the Eurogroup - 07 October 2024
• Agenda for: Meeting of the Economic & Financial Affairs Council - 08 October 2024
• 22nd European Week of Regions and Cities takes stock of achievements and looks ahead to the future of Cohesion Policy
• Presentation by ECB's Philip R. Lane: "The transmission of monetary policy"
• Keynote speech by ECB's Piero Cipollone: "Towards a digital capital markets union"
• Stablecoins, money market funds and monetary policy - ECB Working Paper Series No.2987
• Capital requirements in Pillar 1 or Pillar 2: does it matter for market discipline? - ECB Working Paper Series No.2988

FUTURE OF EUROPE

• Agenda for: Meeting of the Coreper (Part.1 & Part.2) - 07, 09 & 14 October 2024
• To really change the EU, the northern flank must take the lead - Nine like-minded member states would be enough to break the logjams on reform - Financial Times

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• Agenda for: Meeting of the Conventional Arms Exports subgroup (COARM) of the Working Party on Non-Proliferation and Arms Exports - 14 October 2024
• Statement by President von der Leyen on the one-year anniversary of the 7 October 2023 acts of terror against Israel
• Joint Statement by President von der Leyen and HR/VP Borrell on the European Court of Justice judgements relating to Morocco
• Hungary Helps Agency Brochure - Presentation at the RELEX Horizontal Questions (International Cultural Relations) meeting of 26 September 2024
• Answer given by HR/VP Borrell to a MEP written question - Urgent measures to restore Mediterranean maritime traffic to normal and support Italian supply chains impacted by Houti attacks

RUSSIAN INVASION OF UKRAINE

• Action brought on 16 August 2024 - Schefler Vs. Council (Case T-430/24)
  Re: annulment of Article 1(6)(a) of Council Regulation (EU) 2024/1745 (restrictive measures in view of Russia’s actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine)
• Action brought on 24 August 2024 - EV and Others Vs. Council (Case T-446/24)
  Re: annulment of Article 3 ea, paragraph 3, point (a) of Council Regulation (EU) 2024/ 1745 and of Article 4ha, paragraph 3, point (a) of Council Decision (CFSP) 2024/1744 (restrictive measures in view of Russia’s actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine)