Europe Daily News, 26 April 2024

COMPETITION

• Commission clears acquisition of ACI by Commerzbank Immobilien and ACH (M.11453) - Midday Express
• Commission clears creation of joint venture by Equinor, Shell and TotalEnergies (M.11166) - Midday Express
• Meta sees publication of EU decision to investigate ‘pay or consent’ model under DMA rules - see Case DMA-100055
• Czech Republic: Fruta Podivín, a. s. is being acquired by CE FMCG, the merger has been cleared by the UOHS
• Czech Republic: ČEZ Teplárenská has received approval from the competition authority to acquire Actherm Distribuce (ACTD), subject to conditions
• Lithuania - Competition Authority affirms that Alternative Fuels Act changes could hurt competition for EV charging points, 
  
• Norway - Vipps must allow competitors access to BankAxept and BankID for three more years

STATE AID

• Authorisation for State aid pursuant to Articles 107 and 108 of the TFEU - Cases where the Commission raises no objections – SA.108510
• Commission approves €300 million French State aid measure to support Nuward in researching and developing small modular nuclear reactors (SA.106964) - IP/24/2228
• Commission approves Slovak compensation to digital terrestrial television operator Towercom (SA.55953) - Midday Express

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Agenda for: Working Party on Customs Union - 29 April 2024 & on  30 April 2024
  
• Proposal for a Council Decision on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the CETA Joint Committee established under the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada, of the one part, and the European Union and its Member States, of the other part as regards the adoption of a decision setting out supplemental rules on expedited procedures for the resolution of investment disputes between investors and states, in particular for natural persons and small and medium-sized enterprises
• Draft Commission Implementing Regulation …/… of XXX amending Implementing Regulations (EU) 2020/761 and (EU) 2020/1988 regarding the creation, modification and management of certain tariff quotas following the Interim Agreement on Trade between the European Union and the Republic of Chile
• Draft Commission Implementing Regulation …/… of XXX amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/761 with regard to the management of certain tariff quotas in the rice sector, the adjustment of cheese export tariff quota for the United States and an update of the technical specifications for the IMA 1 certificates for the import of dairy products from New Zealand
• WCO - New instrument on Customs valuation adopted at the 58th TCCV Session
• EU pulls its gun on China - The EU is accelerating its crackdown on what it sees as Beijing’s unfair support for companies that undermine European rivals - Politico.eu
• MPs demand clarity on post-Brexit border checks on food imports from EU - High error rates risk automatically sending thousands of trucks for physical inspection, officials warn - Financial Times

INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

• MEPs approved the Net-Zero industry Act to bolster EU production in technologies needed for decarbonisation
• European Institute of Innovation and Technology trains 40,000 young women in STEM - Midday Express

CHEMICAL

• Communication from the Commission – Guiding criteria and principles for the essential use concept in EU legislation dealing with chemicals

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

• Agenda for: Working Party on Intellectual Property - 02 May 2024
• Agenda for: Working Party on Intellectual Property (Patents) - 07 May 2024
• World Intellectual Property Day highlights the link between innovation and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

FINANCE

• Closing remarks by the Eurogroup President at the presentation of the French task force report on the reboot of the Capital Markets Union
• The EBA observes an increase of high earners in the EU in 2022

AGRICULTURE & FISHERIES

• Judgment of the Court of 24 April 2024 in Case C‑308/22, Pesticide Action Network Europe (PAN Europe) Vs. College voor de toelating van gewasbeschermingsmiddelen en biociden, intervening party: Corteva Agriscience Netherlands BV
  Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Approximation of laws - Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 - Authorisation for placing plant protection products on the market - Examination for authorisation - Article 36 - Discretion of the Member State concerned, for the purposes of Article 36(2), with regard to the scientific risk assessment carried out by the Member State examining the application for authorisation under Article 36(1) - Article 44 - Withdrawal or amendment of an authorisation - Precautionary principle - Effective judicial remedy - Current scientific and technical knowledge
• Judgment of the Court of 24 April 2024 in Joined Cases C‑309/22 and C‑310/22, Pesticide Action Network Europe (PAN Europe) Vs. College voor de toelating van gewasbeschermingsmiddelen en biociden intervening parties: Adama Registrations BV (Adama) (C‑309/22), BASF Nederland BV (C‑310/22)
  Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Approximation of laws - Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 - Authorisation for placing plant protection products on the market - Examination for authorisation - Article 4 - Article 29 - Conditions - No harmful effect - Criteria - Endocrine disrupting properties - Regulation (EU) 2018/605 - Precautionary principle - Current scientific and technical knowledge
• Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EU) 2021/2115 and (EU) 2021/2116 as regards good agricultural and environmental condition standards, schemes for climate, environment and animal welfare, amendments to CAP Strategic Plans, review of CAP Strategic Plans and exemptions from controls and penalties - Outcome of the European Parliament's first reading (Strasbourg, 22 to 25 April 2024)
• Strong start to 2024 for EU agri-food trade - Midday Express

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• Judgment of the Court of 24 April 2024 in Case C‑301/22, Peter Sweetman Vs. An Bord Pleanála, Ireland and the Attorney General, intervening parties: Bradán Beo Teoranta, Galway City Council, Environmental Protection Agency
  Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Environment - Directive 2000/60/EC - Framework for EU action in the field of water policy - Article 4(1)(a) - Environmental objectives relating to surface waters - Obligation of the Member States not to authorise a project which may cause a deterioration of the status of a surface water body - Article 5 and Annex II - Characterisation of surface water body types - Article 8 and Annex V - Classification of surface water status - Article 11 - Programme of measures - Project for the abstraction of water from a lake with a surface area below 0.5km²
• Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on common rules promoting the repair of goods and amending Regulation (EU) 2017/2394, Directives (EU) 2019/771 and (EU) 2020/1828 - Outcome of the European Parliament's first reading (Strasbourg, 22 to 25 April 2024)
• Presentations - Meeting of the Commission Expert Group on Forest and Forestry Stakeholder Platform - 23 April 2024
• Presentations - 27th CEG/MSP on Protecting and Restoring the World’s Forests, including the EU Timber Regulation and the FLEGT Regulation (Deforestation) - 24 April 2024
• Commissioners Simson, Sinkevičius and Hoekstra to attend G7 Ministers’ Meeting on Climate, Energy and Environment
• EU and China agree on further cooperation on circular economy - see the MoU

HEALTH, FOOD & PRODUCT SAFETY

• Minutes of the General Product Safety Regulation Committee - 26 March 2024
• Member States endorse withdrawal of smoke flavourings from EU market: Scansmoke PB 1110 (SF-001); Zesti Smoke Code 10 (SF-002); Smoke Concentrate 809045 (SF-003); Scansmoke SEF 7525 (SF-004); SmokEz C-10 (SF-005); SmokEz Enviro-23 (SF-006); ProFagus-Smoke R709 (SF-008); Fumokomp (SF-009); Benzene-1,2-diol (FL No. 04.029); SF-001 to SF-010) - Midday Express
• Commission welcomes adoption by European Parliament of measures to improve the availability of in vitro diagnostics - IP/24/2291
• EFSA - Scientific Opinion - Evaluation of alternative methods of tunnel composting (submitted by the European Composting Network) II
• EFSA - Scientific Opinion - Prolonged multi-country outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes ST1607 linked to smoked salmon products
• EFSA - Scientific Opinion - Commodity risk assessment of Petunia spp. and Calibrachoa spp. unrooted cuttings from Kenya

DIGITAL, DATA PRIVACY & CYBERSECURITY

• Agenda for: Working Party on Telecommunications & Information Society - 30 April 2024
• Joint statement of the second meeting of the European Union - Japan Digital Partnership Council and Memorandum of Cooperation on Digital Identities and Trust services to implement Data Free Flow with Trust between the Digital Agency of Japan and the European Commission on behalf of the European Union - Approval of non-binding instruments
• Communication from the Commission – Commission Guidelines for providers of Very Large Online Platforms and Very Large Online Search Engines on the mitigation of systemic risks for electoral processes pursuant to Article 35(3) of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065
• Commission designates Shein as Very Large Online Platform under the Digital Services Act - IP/24/2326 & Politico.eu

AREA OF FREEDOM, SECURITY & JUSTICE

• EU Diversity Month kicks off with the winners of the 2024 European Capitals of Inclusion and Diversity Awards - IP/24/2285
• The Commission and Europol organise a conference to tackle migrant smuggling - Midday Express
• MEPs call for a firm response to counter Russian interference
• Parliament signs up for new EU Body for Ethical Standards

ECB, EURO & ECONOMY

• Commission approves request for targeted revision of Italian recovery plan - Midday Express
• Commissioner Hahn to open Annual EU Budget Conference 2024 - Midday Express
• ECB - Euro area economic and financial developments by institutional sector: fourth quarter of 2023
• ECB - Monetary developments in the euro area: March 2024
• ECB - Consumer Expectations Survey results - March 2024

FUTURE OF EUROPE

• Europe faces ‘mortal threat', says Macron - French president calls for huge investment push and EU reforms in Sorbonne speech - Financial Times & Politico.eu

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• HR/VP Borrell and Commissioner Simson in Saudi Arabia to attend World Economic Forum meetings  - Midday Express
• The European Parliament adopted three resolutions on human rights issues in Azerbaijan, The Gambia and Hong Kong
• Parliament condemns Iran’s attack on Israel and calls for de-escalation
• EU steps up humanitarian assistance for Palestinians - IP/24/2288
• EU weighs sanctions on Russian liquefied natural gas - Brussels hasn’t yet gone after Moscow’s gas sector - Politico.eu