Europe Daily News, 01 June 2022

COMPETITION

• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.10695 - Apollo Managment / Band and Acquirers International Holding)
• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.10698 - Mitsui / Indomobil / PTL / JV)
• Austria - AFCA publishes guidelines exempting sustainable cooperation agreements from competition laws
• Cyprus - Notification of a concentration concerning the acquisition by Astrong Fund VIII, SCSp of the share capital of Corden Pharma Holding S.E. and Corden Pharma US Holdings, Inc.
• Germany - Bundeskartellamt - List of Notified Merger Projects
• Germany - Bundeskartellamt statement on fuel prices and the reduction of the energy tax
• Germany - Case summary: Imposing minimum advertised prices in online sales (Decision of 30 May 2022))
• Germany - Competition Register for Public Procurement in full operation – obligation to consult the register and rights to information now applicable
• Lithuania - Competition authority Konkurencijos taryba assigned individual sanctions to the companies Būsto aplinka and City Service Engineering which concluded a bid-rigging cartel
• UK - The CMA announced the launch of its merger inquiry in the anticipated JV between Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. and BT Group plc
• UK - Pursuant to an initial enforcement order dated 21 December 2021, the CMA directed NEC Software Solutions UK Limited and SSS Public Safety Limited and Secure Solutions USA LLC to appoint a monitoring trustee

STATE AID

• Judgment in Case E-4/21 Sýn hf. Vs. EFTA Surveillance Authority - Annulment of Decision on State Aid for an Icelandic Submarine Cable
• Commission approves €50 million Greek scheme to support the livestock sector in context of Russia's invasion of Ukraine (SA.102633) - IP/22/3062
  

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Judgment of the General Court of of 1 June 2022 in Case T‑440/20, Jindal Saw Ltd, Jindal Saw Italia SpA, Vs. European Commission
  Re: Dumping - Imports of tubes and pipes of ductile cast iron originating in India - Compliance with the judgment of the General Court in Case T‑301/16 - Reimposition of a definitive anti-dumping duty - Non-repayment in full of the initial definitive anti-dumping duty - Legal basis - Non-retroactivity - Legal certainty - Article 266 TFEU - Proportionality - Right to effective judicial protection - Article 103 of the Union Customs Code - Registration Regulation - Plea of illegality - Admissibility
• Judgment of the General Court of of 1 June 2022 in Case T‑441/20, Jindal Saw Ltd, Jindal Saw Italia SpA, Vs. European Commission
  Re: Subsidies - Imports of tubes and pipes of ductile cast iron originating in India - Compliance with the judgment of the General Court in Case T‑300/16 - Reimposition of a definitive anti-dumping duty - Non-repayment in full of the initial definitive anti-dumping duty - Legal basis - Non-retroactivity - Legal certainty - Article 266 TFEU - Proportionality - Right to effective judicial protection - Article 103 of the Union Customs Code - Registration Regulation - Plea of illegality - Admissibility
• Notice of initiation of an expiry review of the anti-dumping measures applicable to imports of tungsten carbide, fused tungsten carbide and tungsten carbide simply mixed with metallic powder originating in the People’s Republic of China
• Notice concerning the entry into force of the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation in the context of negotiations under Article XXVIII of the GATT 1994 on the modification of Switzerland’s WTO concessions with regard to seasoned meat
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/853 of 31 May 2022 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2019 and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072 as regards fruits of Momordica charantia L., originating in Honduras, Mexico, Sri Lanka and Thailand
• Position paper - Foreign Subsidies Regulation: key EU trade and investment partners raise concerns - see Amcham Position Paper
• Ministers from Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland met on 31 May 2021 for the annual EFTA Ministerial meeting - see the Communiqué

INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

• Agenda for : Hybrid meeting of the REACH Committee on 21-22 June 2022
• RAC backs restricting lead in outdoor shooting and fishing - ECHA/NR/22/11
• Answer given by Mr Breton to a MEP written question - European defence acquisitions: the case of the Franco-German KNDS bid for the purchase of Leonardo’s OTO Melara and Wass

FINANCIAL SERVICES

• Agenda for: Committee on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing - 08 June 2022
• ESMA publishes a report on the Common Supervisory Action (CSA) on costs and fees for investment funds
• ESMA is publishing ex-post analysis of derivatives risks in Archegos
• ESAs publish the joint Report on the withdrawal of authorisation for serious breaches of AML/CFT rules
• ESA approves renewal of Nasdaq Oslo’s temporary opt-out from MiFIR access provisions - Case No.88101
• BNP Paribas to benefit from change to eurozone exposure rules - BIS capital reform a step towards harmonising regulations and cross-border mergers - Financial Times 

AGRICULTURE & FISHERIES

• EIB - Launch of the new European solidarity financing fund for Africa, FEFISOL II, with a first closing of €22.5 million and a technical support envelope of €1 million - EIB

EMPLOYMENT & SOCIAL POLICY

• National targets one year after the Porto Social Summit - Exchange of views
• Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers following an application from Greece – EGF/2021/008 EL/Attica electrical equipment manufacturing

ENERGY

• Netherlands: Limburgs Energie Fonds receives a second investment from the EIB with an extra €54 million for sustainability in Limburg
• How the EU’s ban on Russian oil will rock global markets - Refiners will face fierce competition to secure supplies as Brussels imposes sanctions on seaborne exports - Financial Times 

HEALTH, FOOD & PRODUCT SAFETY

• Answer given by to a MEP written question - Imports by Spain of products containing ingredients banned in the EU

DIGITAL & INFORMATION SOCIETY

• Answer given by Mr Breton to a MEP written question - The Commission’s strategy towards Gaia‑X, an initiative sponsored by Chinese companies
• Poland: EIB provides Kontakt.io with €12 million to accelerate investment in advanced AI technologies

DATA PRIVACY & CYBERSECURITY

• During its May 12th plenary, the EDPB adopted:
  - Guidelines on the calculation of administrative fines
  - Guidelines on the use of facial recognition technology in the area of law enforcement
  - EDPB letter on the protection of personal data in the AML-CFT legislative proposals
  - EDPB response to the joint payments industry regarding the Guidelines on the interplay of Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) and GDPR

AREA OF FREEDOM, SECURITY & JUSTICE

• Regulation (EU) 2022/850 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2022 on a computerised system for the cross-border electronic exchange of data in the area of judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters (e-CODEX system), and amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1726
• European Commissioners for Justice and Home Affairs visit Agency to discuss steps forward after amendment of Eurojust Regulation
• Estonia, Latvia and Slovakia become members of joint investigation team on alleged core international crimes in Ukraine - Eurojust Statement
• Five arrests in Hungary for money laundering across three continents - About EUR 44 million passed through bank accounts linked to the criminal network - Europol Statement

ECB, EURO & ECONOMY

• The actions seeking annulment of the resolution scheme in respect of Banco Popular and/or the Commission decision endorsing that scheme are dismissed in their entirety
  (See CPR Nº 90/2022 - Judgments of the General Court in Cases T-481/17 Fundación Tatiana Pérez de Guzmán el Bueno and SFL Vs. SRB, T 510/17 T 510/17 & Del Valle Ruiz and Others Vs. Commission and SRB, T 523/17 & Eleveté Invest Group and Others Vs. Commission and SRB, T 570/17& Algebris (UK) and Anchorage Capital Group Vs. Commission and T 628/17 & Aeris Invest Vs. Commission and SRB)
• EU commission ready to approve Poland’s recovery plan - Warsaw will not receive money until it reaches firm milestones on judicial independence - Financial Times

FUTURE OF EUROPE

• The European Council adopted conclusions on Ukraine, food security, security and defence, and energy - See also Remarks by President Charles Michel

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• The General Court confirms the restrictive measures adopted by the Council against the Russian businessman Yevgeniy Viktorovich Prigozhin, in view of the situation in Libya
  (See Nº 91/2022 - Judgment of the General Court in Case T-723/20 Prigozhin Vs. Council) 
• Statement by the spokesperson of Charles Michel, President of the European Council, regarding Armenia and Azerbaijan - 31 May 2022
• Syria: Council extends sanctions against the regime for another year

RUSSIAN INVASION OF UKRAINE

• FAQs on circumvention and due diligence concerning sanctions adopted following Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine and Belarus' involvement in it
• Answer given by Ms Johansson to a MEP written question - The threat of human traffickers for women and children fleeing Ukraine
• Answer given by the Council to a MEP written question - Unfolding of the Russia-Ukraine war and the EU’s response
• UK and EU hit Russian oil cargoes with insurance ban - Deal would shut Moscow out of key Lloyd’s of London market - Financial Times
• African Union warns of ‘collateral impact’ as EU’s Russia sanctions hit food supplies - Developing nations say ban on Swift payment system for Russian banks impedes purchases of grain and fertiliser - Financial Times