Europe Daily News, 04 November 2020

EU CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE

STATE AID

• Commission approves €1.5 billion Dutch scheme to compensate public transport companies for damages suffered due to coronavirus outbreak (SA.58738) - IP/20/2026
• Commission approves €760,000 Slovenian support measure to compensate the concession holder of the Postojna and Predjama caves for damages suffered due to coronavirus outbreak (SA.59014) - Midday Express
  

ECONOMY

• Eurogroup statement on COVID-19 developments this autumn 

MOBILITY

• Council Recommendation (EU) 2020/1632 of 30 October 2020 on a coordinated approach to the restriction of free movement inresponse to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Schengen area 

TRANSPORT

• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1627 of 3 November 2020 on exceptional measures for the third reference period(2020-2024) of the single European sky performance and charging scheme due to the COVID-19 pandemic 

COMPETITION

• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.9991 - MassMutual/MVC Capital) 
• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.9875 - BGL BNP Paribas/POST Luxembourg/i-Hub) 
• Answer given by Ms Vestager to a MEP written question - Veolia / Suez merger
• Commission published its decision in Case
  - M.9445 - Natura Cosmeticos / Avon Products
  - M.9619  - CDC / EdF / Engie / La Poste
  - M.8130 - Imerys / Alteo Certain Assets
• Commission clears the creation of a joint venture between Hoyer and Rhenus (M.10002) - Midday Express
• Belgium - Notification - MEDE-C/C-20/0032: Etablissementen Fr. Colruyt NV / Fraluc NV
• Greece - Teleconference/Public consultation in the context of the HCC Fintech sector inquiry
• Greece - Entry into force of the new Organisation of the HCC - Presentation of the new Organisational Chart
• Ireland - The CCPC has extended the validity of its 'declaration' in respect of vertical agreements and concerted practices until 1 December 2022
• The Netherlands - ACM clears acquisition of parts of health care provider Careyn by Thebe after transfer of district nursing in two towns
• Slovakia - PMÚ SR approved the concentration of entrepreneurs TCL China Star Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd., Samsung Suzhou Module Co., Ltd., and Samsung Suzhou LCD Co., Ltd.
• UK - CMA issues fines of over £9m for roofing lead cartel
• UK - CMA has accepted undertakings in lieu of reference for the anticipated acquisition by Stryker Corporation of Wright Medical Group N.V.
• UK - CMA announced the launch of its inquiry in the merger between Tronox Holdings plc and TiZir Titanium and Iron

STATE AID

• Commission approves €600 million German scheme to support single wagon rail freight transport (SA.58046) - Midday Express

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Agenda for: Meeting of the Customs Expert Group, Taric sub Section of 26 November 2020 
• Agenda for: 36th meeting of the Customs Expert Group, General Customs Legislation Section of 09 November 2020 
• Minutes for the 11th meeting of the Customs Expert Group section TIR and other UNECE Convention of 06 October 2020 
• Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 by granting a Union General Export Authorisation for the export of certain dual-use items from the Union to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
• Commission introduces surveillance of imports of bioethanol, and remains open to examining requests from other sectors - IP/20/2025, see Regulation (EU) 2020/1628
• WTO - Hong Kong, China initiates dispute complaint against US origin marking requirements 
• WTO - DDG Wolff: Pandemic crisis highlights need for enhanced cooperation 
• Labour rights key to resuming EU-Thailand trade talks - Bilaterals.org/ just-style.com 

INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

• Agenda for: Working Party on Competitiveness and Growth (Industry) of 04 November 2020 
• Agenda for: Forum for the Exchange of Information on Enforcement of the EU legislation on the approval and market surveillance of motor vehicles of 11 November 2020 
• Minutes of Meeting of the Sherpa Group of the European Innovation Partnership on Raw Materials of 29 September 2020 

FINANCIAL SERVICES

• Agenda for: Working Party on financial services (Digital Operational Resilience) of 09 November 2020 
• ESAs’ Board of Appeal dismisses case against EIOPA on alleged non-application of Union law as manifestly inadmissible
• EBA publishes revised final draft technical standards and Guidelines on methodology and disclosure for global systemically important institutions
• EBA sets out how prudential supervisors should take money laundering and terrorist financing risks into account in the Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process
• EBA launches consultation to incorporate ESG risks into the governance, risk management and supervision of credit institutions and investment firms 
• ‎EBA encourages financial institutions to put the required focus on consumers’ interests when applying Product Oversight and Governance Arrangements

ENERGY

• Measuring the contribution of gas infrastructure projects to sustainability as defined in the TEN-E regulation - See the Study 
• Study on energy costs, taxes and the impact of government interventions on investments
• Study on energy prices, costs and their impact on industry and households
• Answer given by Ms Simson to a MEP written question - Electricity storage technology in the EU

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• Agenda for: Working Party on International Environment Issues - UNECE CLRTAP of 10 November 2020
• Agenda for: Meeting of the Committee on Waste established under Article 39 of Directive 2008/98/EC (Directive on single-use-plastic) of 06 November 2020
• The European Commission (JRC) publishes the 20th edition of its Annual Report on Forest Fires in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa

HEALTH,  FOOD & PRODUCT SAFETY

• Draft - Commission delegated Regulation (EU) …/... amending Regulation (EU) No 528/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council to include citric acid as an active substance in Annex I thereto
• Joint Statement of the European Commission and the WHO Regional Office for Europe: A deeper and result-oriented partnership for health in Europe
• EFSA - 

INFORMATION SOCIETY

• Agenda for: Horizontal Working Party on cyber issues of 04-06 November 2020 

TRANSPORT

• Report from the Commission on the implementation of Directive 2014/47/EU on the technical roadside inspection of commercial vehicles circulating in the Union and repealing Directive 2000/30/EC

AREA OF FREEDOM, SECURITY & JUSTICE

• Agenda for: Working Party in Civil Law Matters (General Questions) of 9 November 2020  
• Agenda for: Meeting of the JHA Counsellors (Terrorist content online) of 05 November 2020 
• Answer given by Mr Reynders to a MEP written question - The Commission’s efforts to tackle the spread of racism and hate speech on big tech platforms such as Facebook

EURO, ECB & ECONOMY

• Remarks by Paschal Donohoe following the Eurogroup video conference of 3 November 2020 
• Macroeconomic dialogue at political level, 3 November 2020
• Results of the September 2020 survey on credit terms and conditions in euro-denominated securities financing and over-the-counter derivatives markets (SESFOD)
• Speech by Fabio Panetta: The two sides of the (stable)coin
• Interview of ECB's ‎Isabel Schnabel with Handelsblatt
• Interest rate-growth differentials on government debt: an empirical investigation for the euro area - ECB Working Paper Series No.2486
• Industrial producer prices up by 0.3% in both euro area and EU - Stat/164/2020

BREXIT

• Barnier to signal lack of Brexit breakthrough on key issues - Negotiators take stock of progress after 13 days of intensified talks over a trade deal – Financial Times 

EXTERNAL RELATIONS & FOREIGN AFFAIRS

• Draft Opinion by MEP Seán Kelly on Connectivity and EU-Asia relations - Amendments 1-41
• State of play of EU-Iran relations and the future of the JCPOA - In-Depth Analysis for the EP AFET Committee
  
• Answer given by High Representative/Vice-President Borrell to a MEP written question - EU action in connection with the situation in Belarus 
• Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the EU on the alignment of certain third countries concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Libya