Europe Daily News, 21 February 2022

EU CORONAVIRUS RESPONSES

HEALTH

• Answer given by Ms Kyriakides to a MEP written question - EU Vaccines Strategy and the issue of the availability of medicines 

STATE AID

• Commission approves amendment to Dutch scheme, including €1.9 billion budget increase, to further support companies in the context of the coronavirus pandemic (SA.101892) - Midday Express
• Commission approves €26.23 million Belgian wage subsidy scheme to support the events, nightclubs and indoor recreational activities sectors affected by the coronavirus pandemic (SA.101410) - Midday Express

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• Answer given by Ms Urpilainen to a MEP written question - COVAX shortcomings in addressing global inequalities in access to COVID-19 vaccines

ECONOMY

• Answer given by Mr Breton to a MEP written question - Emergency support for manufacturers of personal health products in response to epidemics and pandemics
• Overview of how major economies have responded to the Covid-19 pandemic - Study - EP ECON Committees

COMPETITION

• Appeal brought on 16 December 2021 by Nec Corp. against the judgment of the General Court of 29 September 2021 in Case T-341/18, Nec Vs. Commission (Case C-786/21 P)
• Appeal brought on 21 December 2021 by Amazon.com, Inc., Amazon Services LLC, Amazon EU Sàrl, Amazon Europe Core Sàrl against the order of the General Court of 14 October 2021 in Case T-19/21, Amazon.com and Others Vs. Commission (Case C-815/21 P)
  Re: Appeal infringed Article 263 TFEU - Erroneous interpretation of Article 11(6) of Regulation 1/2003 - legal protection from parallel antitrust proceedings as between the Commission and national competition authorities
• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.10566 - P66/H2 EE/JV)
• Belgium - The Prosecution Service of the Competition Authority sanctions two pharmaceutical wholesalers for their participation in a cartel and imposes fines of €29.8 million following a settlement

STATE AID

• Commission approves 2022-2027 regional aid map for Cyprus (SA.100726) - IP/212/1182
• Answer given by EVP Vestager to a MEP written question - Short-term export credit insurance for small and medium-sized enterprises

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Agenda for: 632nd meeting of the Export Credit Group of 24 February 2022
• Agenda for: Trade Policy Committee (Generalised System of Preferences (GSP)) of 22 February 2022
• Action brought on 21 December 2021 - TDK Foil Italy Vs. Commission (Case T-788/21)
  Re: annulment Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1784 ( 1 ) of 8 October 2021 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of aluminium flat-rolled products originating in the P.R. of China, insofar as it includes in the scope of the anti-dumping duty raw aluminium foil used to produce high-voltage anode and tab foils for aluminium electrolytic capacitors;
  in the alternative, annul Article 1(1) of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1784 of 8 October 2021 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of aluminium flat-rolled products originating in the P.R. of China insofar it illegally includes High Purity Aluminium Foil in the scope of the anti-dumping duty
• Action brought on 4 January 2022 - Airoldi Metalli Vs. Commission (Case T-1/22)
  Re: annulment of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1784 of 8 October 2021, imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of aluminium flat-rolled products originating in the People’s Republic of China;
• Action brought on 4 January 2022 - Sveza Verkhnyaya Sinyachikha and Others Vs. Commission (Case T-2/22)
  Re: Annulment of the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 2021/1930 of 8 November 2021 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty and definitively collecting the provisional duty imposed on imports of birch plywood originating in Russia - (the ‘Contested Regulation’)
• Action brought on 4 January 2022 - ZHPLK Vs. Commission (Case T-3/22)
  Re: Annulment of the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 2021/1930 of 8 November 2021 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty and definitively collecting the provisional duty imposed on imports of birch plywood originating in Russia  (the ‘Contested Regulation’)
• WTO - Items proposed for consideration at the next meeting of Dispute Settlement Body of 28 February 2022
• WTO members look at how trade can help LDCs recover from COVID-19

INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

• Public consultation:  Vehicle safety and certification – type-approval templates and numbering system (amendments) - Implementing regulation - Feedback period: 21 February 2022 - 21 March 2022

FINANCIAL SERVICES

• Agenda for: Committee on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing of 24 February 2022
• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/229 of 7 January 2022 on amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1675 supplementing Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council, as regards adding Burkina Faso, Cayman Islands, Haiti, Jordan, Mali, Morocco, the Philippines, Senegal, and South Sudan to the table in point I of the Annex and deleting the Bahamas, Botswana, Ghana, Iraq and Mauritius from this table
• Retail investment strategy: Commission consults on new approach to retail investments - Midday Express
• Rees-Mogg urges rewrite of UK insurance rules in race with EU - Fears grow in Whitehall that Brussels has secured a head-start - Financial Times

EMPLOYMENT & SOCIAL POLICY

• Public consultation: Health & safety at work - protecting workers from exposure to chemicals (lead and di-isocyanates) - Proposal for a directive - Feedback period: 21 February 2022 - 21 March 2022
• €15 million under Erasmus+ to support teacher education with Erasmus+ Teacher Academies - Midday Express

AGRICULTURE & FISHERIES

• Council calls for greater emphasis on sustainability in international food standards
• Opening speech at VIP dinner, EU Green Deal and Farm to Fork Strategy Conference, Dubai
• Opening address by Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski at the "European Green Deal and Farm to Fork Strategy Conference", Dubai.
• Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 138/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards regional economic accounts for agriculture - Four-Column document
• Fishing for Brexit opportunities will end with an unsatisfactory haul - The promised regulatory divergence from the EU is far from an easy win - Financial Times

ENERGY

• Answer by Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis to a written question - Potential for private companies to take legal action against EU countries on grounds of environmental policy
• European energy groups seek €4bn damages over fossil fuel projects - Four governments face legal challenge under secretive treaty to stymying of schemes - Financial Times
• Commissioner Kadri Simson travels to Spain for official visit - Midday Express
• Germany fears Moscow gas retaliation - Financial Times

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• Agenda for: Working Party on Environment of 21 & 25 February 2022
• Agenda for: Working Party on International Environment (Biodiversity) - WPIEI of 24 February 2022
• International Commission for the protection of the Danube river (ICPDR): Declaration A Vision for Integrated Water Management in Our Shared Basin: Building a Sustainable Future in the Danube River Basin, adopted at the ICPDR Ministerial Meeting (8 February 2022)
• ‘Fit for 55’ package: Fuel EU Maritime - Briefing for the EP ENVI & IMCO Committee

HEALTH, FOOD & PRODUCT SAFETY

• ECDC - Work Programme 2022 of the EU Initiative on Health Security
• Answer given by Mr Sinkevičius to a MEP written question - Ban on tobacco-related experiments on animals 
• Answer given by Ms Kyriakides to a MEP written question - Impact on health and the environment of the use of pesticides in soya monocultures

TRANSPORT & MOBILITY

• Commissioner Vălean at the European Railway Summit: launching Europe's Rail Joint Undertaking and closing the European Year of Rail - Midday Express
• Public consultation: Ship safety – EU damage stability requirements for roll-on/roll-off passenger ships - Proposal for a directive - Feedback period: 18 February 2022 - 15 April 2022
• Relaunching transport and tourism in the EU after COVID-19 - Part VI: Public transport - Study for EP TRAN Committee 

DATA PRIVACY & CYBERSECURITY

• Request for a preliminary ruling from the Vilniaus apygardos administracinis teismas (Lithuania) of 12 November 2021 - Nacionalinis visuomenės sveikatos centras prie Sveikatos apsaugos ministerijos Vs. Valstybinė duomenų apsaugos inspekcija (Case C-683/21)
  Re: Interpretation of the concept of ‘controller’ set out in Article 4(7) of the GDPR
• Directive (EU) 2022/228 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

AREA OF FREEDOM, SECURITY & JUSTICE

• Commission and EU Agencies agree on a joint action plan with Cyprus to improve migration management - Midday Express
• Commissioner Johansson travels to Poland to discuss the situations at the border with Belarus and in Ukraine - Midday Express
• High-level conference of French EU Presidency on 20 years of judicial cooperation and use of European Arrest Warrant
• Public consultation: Security-related information sharing - reciprocal access for frontline officers in the EU and key partner countries - Proposal for a regulation - Feedback period: 18 February 2022 - 18 March 2022
• Can the EU and Poland step back from the brink? - The dangerous confrontation between Brussels and Warsaw over rule of law could deepen after a European court ruling last week - Financial Times

ECB, EURO & ECONOMY

• Council adopts €1.2 billion assistance to Ukraine
• ECB Survey of Monetary Analysts (SMA), March 2022
• ECB - Survey on credit terms and conditions in euro-denominated securities financing and over-the-counter derivatives markets (SESFOD) - December 2021
• ECB - Results of the December 2021 survey on credit terms and conditions in euro-denominated securities financing and over-the-counter derivatives markets (SESFOD)
• Opinion of the European Central Bank of 16 February 2022 on a proposal for a directive and a regulation on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing (CON/2022/5)
• Opinion of the European Central Bank of 16 February 2022 on a proposal for a regulation establishing the Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CON/2022/4)

FUTURE OF EUROPE

• Agenda for: Meeting of the Coreper (Part.1 & Part.2) of 03 & 25 February 2022
• Minutes of the Meeting of the Coreper of 02 & 04 February 2022
• Future of Europe: Citizens' recommendations on a stronger economy, social justice and jobs, education, culture, youth, sport and digital transformation - Midday Express

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• EU delivers emergency civil protection assistance to Ukraine - IP/22/1222
• Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the EU on the situation in eastern Ukraine and the Russian military build-up
• Remarks by President Charles Michel at the Munich Security Conference
• Obstacles to humanitarian aid in North Africa and the Middle East: Administrative obstacles: relations with the authorities - presentation by HAMAP-Humanitaire
• Turkey’s foreign policy and its consequences for the EU - In-Depth Analysis for the EP AFET Committee