EU CORONAVIRUS RESPONSES

HEALTH

TRANSPORT

  • Rail: prolongation of temporary measures concerning the levying of charges - COVID-19

ECONOMY

  • REACT-EU: €285 million to support employment, skills and social inclusion in France, Germany and Romania - Midday Express
  • NextGenerationEU funding operations off to a good start according to new report - Midday Express 

COMPETITION

  • Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.10617 - EDF / SojitzCorporation / Nebras Power / Kyuden International Corporation / JV)
  • Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.10212 - ANDEL / Energi Danmark)
  • Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.10605 - Macquarie Real Estate / CPG VanOostrom Beheer / EDGE)
  • Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.10404 - Phoenix / McKesson)
  • Commission clears acquisition of joint control of Pharmalot by Ace and Mosadex (M.10567) - Midday Express
  • Answer given by EVP Vestager to a MEP written question - Prince group and competition law
  • Belgium - Competition Authority approves the acquisition of sole control over the Llorens group by the Emil Frey Belgique group
  • Croatia - Price agreements and agreed price increases of associations of undertakings are prohibited under competition law
  • Cyprus -  Notification of concentration concerning the acquisition of the share capital of Chartboost Inc. by Zynga Inc.
  • Cyprus -   Notification of concentration concerning the acquisition of the share capital of the Bountiful Company by Nestle S.A.
  • France - The Autorité clears the takeover of 15 organic stores of the Salej group by Naturalia, a subsidiary of the Casino Group
  • France - Air freight transport of pets to Polynesia: the Autorité de la concurrence fines a company for abuse of a dominant position
  • Germany - Bundeskartellamt’s 2021 market power report on the electricity generation sector
  • Greece - Hellenic Competition Commission carries out unannounced inspections in the pasta product sector
  • Greece - Clearance of the proposed acquisition of sole control by DELTA SA Industrial and Commercial Food Company Sole Proprietors SA over Daniel S. Gatenio & Son SA Import and Export Company, food and beverages
  • Ireland - CCPC consultations on policies and guidelines for exercising new competition law powers opening on 14 February
  • Italy - More than EUR 10 million in total fines for anti-competitive cartel in water meter companies
  • Poland - Obstructing a search - the President of UOKiK initiated proceedings on the imposition of a penalty
  • Portugal - The AdC issued a non-opposition decision to the merger 1/2022 - Grupo MásMóvil / Cabonitel
  • Romania - The Competition Council fines (approx. 71 million euro) 5 pharmaceutical companies suppliers of immunoglobulin and other medicinal products
  • Romania - The Competition Council assesses the transaction by which Autonom Services S.A. intends to take over Premium Leasing S.R.L., part of Țiriac Group.
  • Romania - Division into lots of roads modernization and repair works increases competition
  • Slovak Republic - PMÚ SR approved the merger of CPI Property GROUP société anonyme and Immofinanz AG
  • Slovak Republic - PMÚ SR approved the concentration of ESCO Slovensko, a.s. and Elimer, a.s.

STATE AID

  • Commission notice on current State aid recovery interest rates and reference/discount rates applicable as from 1 March 2022

TRADE & CUSTOMS

  • Agenda for: Trade Policy Committee (Services & Investment) of 23 February 2022
  • Agenda for: Trade Policy Committee of 22 February 2022
  • Agenda for: Customs Union Working Party of 22 February 2022
  • Report from the Commission on the exercise of the power to adopt delegated acts conferred on the Commission pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2017/821 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2017 laying down supply chain due diligence obligations for Union importers of tin, tantalum and tungsten, their ores, and gold originating from conflict-affected and high-risk areas
  • Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/191 of 16 February 2022 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of certain iron or steel fasteners originating in the People’s Republic of China
  • Ex-post evaluation of the implementation of Part IV of the Association Agreement (“Trade Pillar”) between the EU and its Member States and Central America (Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama) - see the Presentation of the draft Interim Report
  • The European Union and Africa - Partners in Trade - see the Factsheet
  • Answer given by HR/VP Borrell to a MEP written question - EU support for Turkmenistan’s World Trade Organization membership bid 

INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

  • Commission Recommendation (EU) 2022/210 of 8 February 2022 on a common Union toolbox to address semiconductor shortages and an EU mechanism for monitoring the semiconductor ecosystem
  • European Parliament resolution of 17 February 2022 on tackling non-tariff and non-tax barriers in the single market
  • The impact of influencers on advertising and consumer protection in the Single Market - Study for EP IMCO Committee

FINANCIAL SERVICES

  • Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) /... supplementing Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council by specifying rules of procedure for the exercise of the power to impose fines or periodic penalty payments by the ESMA regarding data reporting service providers
  • Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) /... supplementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1011 of the European Parliament and of the Council by specifying rules of procedure for measures applicable to the supervision by the ESMA of certain benchmark administrators
  • Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) /... supplementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1011 of the European Parliament and of the Council by specifying fees applicable to the supervision by the ESMA of certain benchmark administrators

TAXATION

  • European Parliament resolution of 16 February 2022 on the implementation of the Sixth VAT Directive: what is the missing part to reduce the EU VAT gap?

AGRICULTURE & FISHERIES

  • Potential, negative effects of the review of the eligibility of products within the EU promotion policy - Information from the Polish delegation on behalf of the Austrian, Belgian, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese and Spanish delegations
  • Critical situation on the pig meat market - request for exceptional aid for pig producers - Information from the Polish delegation, supported by Hungary and Latvia
  • 16-week period for free range eggs in relation to the avian influenza situation in 2021-2022 - Information from the Netherlands delegation, supported by Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, and Romania 
  • Impacts of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement on fisheries and aquaculture in the EU - Fishing opportunities aspects - Briefing for EP FISCH Committee

ENERGY

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

  • Agenda for: Working Party on International Environment (Climate Change) - WPIEI of 23 February 2022
  • UNEP: Resumed fifth meeting of the Open-ended Committee of Permanent Representatives to UNEP (OECRP-5.2) (Nairobi, 16-18 February 2022) - Resumed fifth session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2) (Nairobi, 28 February - 2 March 2022) - Special session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEP@50) (Nairobi, 3 and 4 March 2022) = Coordination meeting of the EU+MS in hybrid format
  • Green Deal: EU invests over €110 million in LIFE projects for environment and climate in 11 EU countries - IP/22/864 & QaA
  • Report on the Harmonisation of EU Environmental Law - Study for EP LIBE Committee
  • Emissions from road traffic and domestic heating behind breaches of EU air quality standards across Europe - See the EEA Briefing

HEALTH, FOOD & PRODUCT SAFETY

  • Commissioner Kyriakides in Cyprus to promote the European Health Union, EU Vaccines Strategy, and Farm to Fork Strategy - Midday Express
  • European Parliament paves way for stronger rules on toy safety - see the EP resolution 

DATA PRIVACY & CYBERSECURITY

  • Directive (EU) 2022/… of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2022 amending Council Framework Decision 2002/465/JHA, as regards its alignment with Union rules on the protection of personal data
  • Directive (EU) 2022/… of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2022 amending Directive 2014/41/EU, as regards its alignment with Union rules on the protection of personal data
  • ENISA and CERT- EU published a joint set of cybersecurity best practices for public and private organisations in the EU

AREA OF FREEDOM, SECURITY & JUSTICE

  • Rule of Law conditionality: MEPs call on the Commission to act immediately
  • EU court ruling opens way for Brussels to act against Hungary and Poland - Financial Times
  • The EU’s new tools to defend the rule of law - Ruling allows Brussels to suspend funds for Hungary and Poland - Financial Times

ECB, EURO & ECONOMY

  • Council conclusions on the budget guidelines for 2023 - Approval
  • Parliament approves €1.2 billion in loans to Ukraine - see the EP resolution 
  • Presentation by Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at a meeting organised by the Arbeitsgruppe Finanzen of the SPD-Bundestagsfraktion

FUTURE OF EUROPE

  • French Presidency briefs the European Parliament’s committees on its priorities
  • Statement by President von der Leyen with Czech Prime Minister Fiala

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

  • The EU must speak with one voice on foreign policy - see the EP Statement & resolution
  • Adoption of Decision 1/2022 of the EU-Republic of Montenegro Stabilisation and Association Council
  • Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) /... amending Council Regulation (EC) No 314/2004 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Zimbabwe
  • France urges revamp of Europe’s security order in face of Russia threat - French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian says Nato has emerged stronger from current crisis - Financial Times 

  6th EU-AFRICAN UNION SUMMIT

  • 6th EU-African Union Summit: European and African leaders lay the foundations for a renewed and deeper partnership (Background brief) -  Midday Express
  • Africa-Europe Week: Strengthening cross-continent, people-to-people and business relations between both continents - Midday Express
  • The Commission has allocated €294.2 million in humanitarian funding to assist vulnerable populations in East and Southern Africa in 2022 - IP/22/1107
  • Agenda of the 7th EU- Africa Business Forum - 2022

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