Europe Daily News, 25 April 2024

COMPETITION

• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.11496 - BP / ADNOC / JV)
• Summary of Commission Decision of 23 March 2021 declaring a concentration compatible with the internal market and the functioning of the EEA Agreement (Case M.9569 - EssilorLuxottica/GrandVision) -  see the Opinion of the Advisory Committee on mergers and the Final Report of the Hearing Officer
• MSC, GIP see clearance decision for Italo rail deal published by EU Commission - Case M.11326
• Denmark - The Competition Council intervenes in Kingspan's acquisition of TreeTops
• France - Takeover of assets belonging to Ludendo (La Grande Récré) by the JouéClub group: the Autorité opens a public consultation until 7 May 2024
• Norway - Statement of Objections sent to two moving companies

STATE AID

• Authorisation for State aid pursuant to Articles 107 and 108 of the TFEU - Cases where the Commission raises no objections – SA.109688; SA.47650; SA.113258 & SA.112404
• Decision No 037/24/COL of 20 March 2024 to open a formal investigation into support measures relating to the Norwegian wood industry – Invitation to submit comments pursuant to Article 1(2) of Part I of Protocol 3 to the Agreement between the EFTA States on the Establishment of a Surveillance Authority and a Court of Justice concerning the abovementioned measure
• EFTA Surveillance Authority - State aid – Decisions to raise no objections (193/23/COL & 194/23/COL)

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Agenda for: Working Party on the United Kingdom - 26 April 2024
• Agenda for: Trade Policy Committee (Services & Investment) - 02 May 2024
• Agenda for: Working Party on European Free Trade Association (EFTA) - 26 April 2024
• Statement from Ambassador Katherine Tai on European Union’s International Procurement Instrument Investigation
• WTO - South Africa initiates second dispute complaint regarding EU citrus fruit measures
• Corrigendum - Regulation (EU) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024 establishing a framework for ensuring a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials and amending Regulations (EU) No 168/2013, (EU) 2018/858, (EU) 2018/1724 and (EU) 2019/1020
• Europe turns on China’s Nuctech after decade of awarding security contracts - Financial Times
• The colonialist overtones of EU’s green trade crusade - Many middle-income countries show reserves of pragmatic tolerance that Europeans do not necessarily deserve - Financial Times

INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

• Agenda for: Working Party on Competitiveness & Growth (Internal Market & Industry) - 29 & 30 April 2024
• Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2024/1197 of 23 April 2024 amending Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/1954 as regards harmonised standards for electrical systems – alternating and direct current installations, and bilge-pumping systems
• EU and Türkiye deepen cooperation on green and digital transition - IP/24/2305

FINANCE

• The European Parliament has adopted a package of laws strengthening the EU’s toolkit to fight money-laundering and terrorist financing:  see the EP Resolution on Anti-Money Laundering Directive & Regulation and on Establishing the Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism

TAXATION

• Judgment of the Court of 25 April 2024 in Case C-657/22, SC Bitulpetrolium Serv SRL
  Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Taxation of energy products and electricity - Directive 2003/96/EC - Taxation in accordance with the principle of the actual use of those products - Annex I - Minimum levels of taxation applicable to energy products under that directive - Common system of VAT - Directive 2006/112/EC - Article 2, (1)(a) - Chargeable event - Article 63 - Chargeability of VAT - Article 78(1)(a) - Taxable amount - Re-entry of energy products into the tax warehouse - Conditions imposed by national law - Excise duty and VAT surcharges applied as a penalty for failure to comply with those conditions - Principle of proportionality
  

EMPLOYMENT & SOCIAL AFFAIRS

• EU job seeker’s aid worth €1.9 million for 390 dismissed workers in Denmark - see the EP Resolution
• MEPs approve aid worth €3 million for 835 employees of Vallourec Deutschland GmbH, who lost their jobs - see the EP Resolution
• MEPs gave their final green light to the EU Disability Card and the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities

AGRICULTURE & FISHERIES

• Commission Notice – Questions and answers on the implementation of EU rules on organic beekeeping
• Parliament approves a revision of the EU’s common agricultural policy - see the EP Resolution

ENERGY

• Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the internal markets for renewable and natural gases and for hydrogen (recast) - Outcome of the European Parliament's first reading (Brussels, 10 to 11 April 2024)
• Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on common rules for the internal markets in renewable and natural gases and in hydrogen - Outcome of the European Parliament's first reading (Brussels, 10 to 11 April 2024)
• MEPs consent to the EU withdrawing from the Energy Charter Treaty - see the EP Resolution

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• EP legislative resolution of 24 April 2024 on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2000/60/EC establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy, Directive 2006/118/EC on the protection of groundwater against pollution and deterioration and Directive 2008/105/EC on environmental quality standards in the field of water policy

HEALTH, FOOD & PRODUCT SAFETY

• Commission launches the Critical Medicines Alliance to help prevent and address shortages of critical medicines - IP/24/2229, QaA, FactSheet and Speech by President von der Leyen
• Commission welcomes European Parliament's adoption of the European Health Data Space and regulation on substances of human origin - IP/24/2250, QaA & FactSheet
• EMA - New recommendations to strengthen supply chains of critical medicines
• ECDC - High burden of Hepatitis B and C persists in the EU/EEA

TRANSPORT & MOBILITY

• Judgment of the Court of 25 April 2024 in Case C-204/23, Autorità di regolazione dei trasporti Vs. Lufthansa Linee Aeree Germaniche, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Swiss International Air Lines Ltd, Lufthansa Cargo
  Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Air transport - Airport charges - Directive 2009/12/EC - Article 11(5) - Financing of the independent supervisory authority - Contribution from airport users - Taxation criteria
• MEPs endorsed updated plans to complete major trans-European transport projects, such as cross-border roads, railways, bridges and tunnels, by the end of 2030 - see the EP Resolution
• Answer given by Ms Vălean to a MEP written question - Negative effects caused by the practical implementation of the EU-Ukraine and EU-Moldova agreements on the carriage of freight by road
• Answer given by Ms Vălean to a MEP written question - Mediterranean Corridor missing its completion deadline

DIGITAL, DATA PRIVACY & CYBERSECURITY

• AG Rantos: Privacy: a public statement by the user of a social network about his or her sexual orientation renders those data ‘manifestly public’, without, however, permitting their processing for the purposes of personalised advertising (See CPR No 74/2024 - Opinion of the Advocate General in the Case C-446/21, Schrems - Principles of Community law)
• Commission stress tests platforms’ election readiness under the Digital Services Act

AREA OF FREEDOM, SECURITY & JUSTICE

• EU law does not, in principle, preclude the automatic loss of German nationality in the event of recovery of Turkish nationality (See CPR No 73/2024 - Judgment of the Court of Justice in Joined Cases C-684/22, C-685/22, C-686/22; Stadt Duisburg)
• Citizenship of the European Union: the withdrawal, on the basis of classified information, of the residence permit of a third-country national bringing up a child who is a Union citizen must be subject to an effective remedy (See CPR No 72/2024 - Judgments of the Court of Justice in Cases C-420/22, C-528/22, NW)
• Summary of the second meeting of the Sub-Group to the Expert Group on B2B data sharing and cloud computing contracts - 01 February 2024
• Foreign interference: Presidency reinforces exchange of information ahead of the June 2024 European elections
• Rule of Law in Hungary: Parliament condemns the “Sovereignty Act”

FUTURE OF EUROPE

• Parliament celebrates the 20th anniversary of the EU’s biggest enlargement & Speech by President von der Leyen