Europe Daily News, 12 February 2025

COMPETITION

• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.11857 - Oaktree / Basalt / JV)
• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.11805 - Unucredit / CNP Unicredit Vita)
• Appointment of a Hearing Officer - From 16.2.2025, Mr Wouter WILS is assigned to the post of Hearing Officer for competition proceedings
• The Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union creates new opportunities in the area of competition and consumer protection

STATE AID

• Authorisation for State aid pursuant to Articles 107 and 108 of the TFEU - Cases where the Commission raises no objections - SA.100547; SA.58908; SA.116266; SA.104434; SA.104435; SA.104676; SA.104440; SA.104453; SA.104442 & SA.104668

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Agenda for: Law Enforcement Working Party (Customs) - 12 February 2025
• Agenda for: 6th Meeting of the CETA Regulatory Cooperation Forum - 24 & 25 April 2025
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/266 of 11 February 2025 correcting Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/45 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty and definitely collecting the provisional duty imposed on imports of mobile access equipment originating in the People’s Republic of China
• Public consultation: EU customs code – rules on consultation between customs authorities (update) - Implementing regulation - Feedback period: 11 February 2025 - 11 March 2025
• Answer given by Mr Síkela to a MEP written question - No ‘blood minerals’ in the EU: reliable supply chains in the EU-Rwanda raw materials agreement
• Answer given by Mr Šefčovič to a MEP written question - Safeguarding the EU’s cognac and brandy sectors in the face of the Chinese tariff threat
• Answer given by Mr Šefčovič to a MEP written question - Trade liberalisation with Ukraine
• Trump tariffs: EU ministers hold crisis talks - Fight Trump or flatter him? Europe’s grim options for trying to avert trade war - Politico.eu

INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

• Agenda for: 3rd meeting of the Expert Stakeholder Group on equity and non-equity data quality and transmission protocols (DEG) - 19 February 2025
• Call for evidence: Geo-blocking Regulation - evaluation - Report - Feedback period: 11 February 2025 - 11 March 2025
• February infringements package: key decisions
• Report from the European Commission - Implementation of the European Urban Initiative in 2022-2024
• Joint business statement on the upcoming horizontal Single Market Strategy

CHEMICAL

• France pitches plan to halt decline of EU chemical industry - The law should list certain chemicals as critical to Europe’s strategic autonomy, copying similar policies for minerals and medicines - Politico.eu

FINANCE

• European Commission issues €11 billion in its 2nd syndicated transaction of 2025
• Commission decides to refer Bulgaria, Spain, Hungary, Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Finland to the Court of Justice of the EU for failing to transpose the Directive on Non-Performing Loans
• Public consultation: Net Stable Funding Ratio – prudential treatment of short-term securities financing transactions (amending regulation) - Proposal for a regulation - Feedback period: 10 February 2025 - 10 March 2025
• The EBA amends its Guidelines on ICT and security risk management measures in the context of DORA application
• European Savings and Retail Banking Group recommends reviewing EU taxonomy

ENERGY

• Energy Community Secretariat and The Nature Conservancy publish "Blueprint for Renewables Acceleration Areas"
• Energy Community confirms continued procurement operations under the Ukraine Energy Support Fund to ensure Ukraine’s energy recovery
• EU weighs temporary gas price cap to counter diverging costs with US - Proposal draws backlash from industry, warning it could damage ‘trust’ - Financial Times

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• Agenda for: Working Party on International Environment Issues (Climate change) - 18 February 2025
• Commission decides to refer France to the Court of Justice of the EU for non-compliance with the Birds Directive
• 2024 Report from the European Commission on CO2 Emissions from Maritime Transport - see the Working Document
• 200 EU associations against deregulation of use of new genomic techniques - See the NGO Statement
• Answer given by Ms Roswall to a MEP written question - Extraction of rare earths on the island of Fuerteventura (Canary Islands)

HEALTH, FOOD & PRODUCT SAFETY

• Judgment of the Court of 12 February 2025 in Case T-394/23, Christoph Klein Vs. European Commission, supported by Federal Republic of Germany
  Re: Public health - Union regulatory framework governing medical devices - Safeguard clause - Article 8(1) and (2) of Directive 93/42/EEC - Notification by a Member State of a decision prohibiting the placing on the market of a medical device - Inhaler Broncho-Air® medical device - Repeal of Directive 93/42 - Articles 94 to 97 of Regulation (EU) 2017/745 - Breach of essential procedural requirements

DIGITAL & INFORMATION SOCIETY

• Answer given by EVP Virkkunen to a MEP written question - The role of TikTok in the Romanian presidential election

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

• Agenda for: Meeting of the Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence in the domain of Home Affairs - 19 February 2025
• EU launches InvestAI initiative to mobilise €200 billion of investment in artificial intelligence
• Answer given by Mr McGrath to a MEP written question - AI liability directive
• AI Summit in Paris leads to an international framework in progress, with EU, but without Washington or London - see the Summit statement
• Eric Schmidt warns west to focus on open-source AI in competition with China - Former Google chief’s caution comes following Chinese start-up DeepSeek’s breakthrough - Financial Times

DATA PRIVACY & CYBERSECURITY

• Agenda for: Working Party on Data Protection - 19 February 2025
• EDPB adopts statement on age assurance, creates a task force on AI enforcement and gives recommendations to WADA

ECB, EURO & ECONOMY

• €378.1 million payment for Finland moves forward under NextGenerationEU with the Commission's positive preliminary assessment
• €76.9 million payment to Cyprus moves forward under NextGenerationEU with Commission's positive preliminary assessment
• Shaping the future of the EU together: the Commission sets out the road to the next EU long-term budget
• Explanatory note - Accompanying document to Council recommendation on the economic policy of the euro area 2025
• ECB - “political” decision to introduce "digital euro" must be taken by EU legislators, says European Parliament
• Housing wealth across countries: the role of expectations, institutions and preferences - ECB Working Paper Series No.3021

FUTURE OF EUROPE

• A bolder, simpler, faster Union: the 2025 Commission work programme - See the Annexes & FactSheet

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• Political and Security Committee Decision (CFSP) 2025/319 of 11 February 2025 extending the mandate of the Head of Mission of the EU Mission in Armenia (EUMA)
• Statement by HR/VP Kallas and Commissioner for Enlargement Kos on the parliamentary elections
• The European Union allocates TZS 396.2 million to support Tanzania’s response to Marburg Outbreak
• Read-out of the meeting between the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and J.D. Vance, Vice President of the Unites States of America
• Democratic Republic of Congo: Speech by Dubravka Šuica on behalf of HR/VP Kaja Kallas at the EP plenary on the escalation of violence in the eastern part of the country
• Statement by HR/VP Kallas on behalf of the EU on the alignment of certain third countries concerning restrictive measures against cyberattacks threatening the Union or its Member States
• Statement by HR/VP Kallas on behalf of the EU on the alignment of certain third countries concerning restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities in view of the situation in Tunisia

EU/UKRAINE/RUSSIA

• Answer given by HR/VP Kallas to a MEP written question - Chinese combat drones used in war against Ukraine
• Answer given by HR/VP Kallas to a MEP written question - Human rights in the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine
• Statement by HR/VP Kallas on behalf of the EU on the alignment of certain countries concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia’s actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine
• Trump is forcing Europe to a reckoning on Ukraine - The worst nightmare of leaders on the continent is a deal between Putin and the US president done over their heads - Financial Times