Europe Daily News, 17 June 2022

COMPETITION

• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.10743 - Towerbrook / GSF)
• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.10731 - Apollo Management / Primafrio)
• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.10686 - LOV Group / Betclic Everest Group)
• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.10560 - SIKA / MBCC Group)
• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.10649 - PKN Orlen / Normbenz / Selected Hungarian and Slovak Assets of MOL)
• Commission clears creation of joint venture by Volvo, Traton and Daimler Truck (M.10534) - Midday Express
• Commission clears creation of joint venture by Estavayer Lait, Givaudan and Bühler (M.10653) - Midday Express
• Commission clears acquisition of joint control of FOWI by MOL, Toho, Hokuriku, Orsted, JERA and Swancor (M.10729) - Midday Express
• Modelling the macroeconomic 2021 update and impact of competition policy: further development - Study by DG COMP, DG ECFIN and JRC
• Austria - Joiner cartel: Additional decision final (Fürst Möbel GmbH and its parent company)
• Cyprus - Notification of a concentration concerning the acquisition of the share capital of Unifrutti Investments Limited by Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company PJSC, via Urusbid Restricted Limited
• Cyprus - Notification of concentration concerning the acquisition of the share capital of Maui Jim Inc. by Kering Eyewear S.p.A., via Huipu Corp.
• Cyprus - Notification of a concentration concerning the creation of a JV by the companies NPM Capital N.V. and Stratasys Ltd, to which they will contribute respectively Ultimaker Holding B.V. and MakerBot Industries LLC
• Lithuania - Competition authority has refused to clear the merger between Piletilevi Group and the ticket distributor Tiketa
• Portugal - The Digital Markets Act and interplay with antitrust enforcement - Margarida Matos Rosa
• Spain - The CNMC approved 8 mergers during the month of May
• Spain - Enel Green fined 4.9 million for abusing its dominant position in two access nodes to the electricity transmission network
• Spain - The CNMC extends the sanctioning proceedings for manipulation and distribution of tenders related to military equipment
• Spain - Communication 1/2022 of 24 May of the CNMC on the holding of hearings in the proceedings provided for in the Law on the Defence of Competition
• UK - London Stock Exchange Group PLC / Quantile Group Limited - The issues statement sets out the scope of the inquiry & Main parties initial Phase 2 submission

STATE AID

• Authorisation for State aid pursuant to Articles 107 and 108 of the TFEU - Cases where the Commission raises no objections
• Commission approves €6.7 million French aid scheme to support farms and fish farms in the French overseas departments and Corsica in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine (SA.103240) - Midday Express
• Commission approves €700,000 Maltese scheme to support fishers in the context of Russia's invasion of Ukraine (SA.103223) - Midday Express
• Commission approves €130 million Italian measure to support rail freight and commercial passenger operators affected by the coronavirus pandemic (SA.102270) - Midday Express
• Commission approves amendment to Croatian scheme, including €111.8 million budget increase, to support maritime, transport, travel and infrastructure sectors affected by the coronavirus pandemic (SA.103135) - Midday Express

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Agenda for: Meeting of the Trade Policy Committee
  - Services & Investment - 22 June 2022
  - Generalised System of Preferences (GSP)) - 21 June 2022
• Minutes - Customs Programme - Proficiency Test on Polymers & Products of Chapter 39 - 10 May 2022
• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) …/... of 10.6.2022 establishing a derogation from Article 43(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament and the Council as regards the import conditions for introduction into the Union of wood packaging material in the form of ammunition boxes, originating in the United States of America, under the control of the United States Department of Defence, and manufactured before 1 September 2007 - Annex
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/933 of 13 June 2022 concerning the classification of certain goods in the Combined Nomenclature (CN: 6110 30 99 & 3924 90 00) 
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/934 of 16 June 2022 making imports of certain aluminium road wheels originating in Morocco subject to registration (CN: ex 8708 70 10 and ex 8708 70 50)
• Success Stories: EU-ESA EPA Economic Partnership Agreement
• WTO 12th Ministerial Conference secures key outcomes on fisheries subsidies, pandemic response, WTO reform, food security and e-commerce - IP/22/3792 & Statement EVP Dombrovskis
• Council conclusions at the end of the 12th World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference
• WTO members secure unprecedented package of trade outcomes at MC12
• WTO breaks negotiating slump with package of deals - Politico.eu
• WTO agrees partial patent waiver for Covid-19 vaccines - Trade body overcomes national differences to reach deal on jabs, as well as in digital products and fishing - Financial Times

INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

• 4th Session of the WIPO Working Group on the Development of the Lisbon System (Geneva, 14 to 16 June 2022) - Final EU/Member States statements

FINANCIAL SERVICES

• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/930 of 10 March 2022 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council by specifying fees relating to the supervision by the European Securities Markets Authority of data reporting service providers 
• Solvency II: Council agrees its position on updated rules for insurance companies
• Joint ESAs Report on withdrawal of authorisation for serious breaches of AML/CFT rules

TAXATION

• Draft Council Directive on ensuring a global minimum level of taxation for multinational groups in the Union - Presidency compromise text
• Fight against VAT fraud: Council authorises deepening cooperation with Norway

EMPLOYMENT & SOCIAL POLICY

• Main results - Employment, Social Policy, Health & Consumer Affairs Council (Social) - 16 June 2022
• Council recommendation on individual learning accounts to boost training of working-age adults
• Commission welcomes Member States' targets for a more social Europe by 2030 - IP/22/3782
  - State of play of national targets for 2030
• Commissioner Schmit in Bulgaria to discuss the labour market, social protection and social economy - Midday Express

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• Bonn Climate Change Conference paves the way to COP 27 - Midday Express

ENERGY

• Council Decision on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union at the extraordinary meeting on 24 June 2022 of the Energy Charter Conference under the Energy Charter Treaty
• Answer given by Ms Simson to a MEP written question - Rosatom
• Answer given by Ms Simson to a MEP written question - Exorbitant energy prices
  Answer given by Ms Simson to a MEP written question - Gas distribution networks
• Answer given by Ms Simson to a MEP written question - The role of nuclear power in the REPowerEU plan
• Answer given by Ms Simson to a MEP written question - EU-US liquid natural gas supply agreement - economic and environmental terms and costs
• How to make the EU Energy Platform an effective emergency tool - Bruegel Policy Contribution - Issue No.10/22 - June 2022
• EU ethanol sets new record for greenhouse-gas reduction, confirms importance to Europe’s energy independence - ePURE Statement
• Germans told to conserve energy as Russia cuts gas flows to Europe - Deputy chancellor warns of ‘serious’ situation as Italy, Austria and Slovakia report more supply reductions - Financial Times 

HEALTH, FOOD & PRODUCT SAFETY

• Minutes - 22nd meeting of the High Level Expert Group to assess the needs, potential, feasibility and approach for an International Platform for Food Systems Science (IPFSS) - 18 May 2022
• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/931 of 23 March 2022 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council by laying down rules for the performance of official controls as regards contaminants in food
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/932 of 9 June 2022 on uniform practical arrangements for the performance of official controls as regards contaminants in food, on specific additional content of multi-annual national control plans and specific additional arrangements for their preparation
• EFSA - Scientific Opinion: Safety and efficacy of a feed additive consisting of Bacillus subtilis FERM BP‐07462, Enterococcus lactis FERM BP‐10867 and Clostridium butyricum FERM BP‐10866 (BIO‐THREE®) for chickens for fattening, chickens reared for laying, turkeys for fattening, turkeys reared for breeding, all avian species for rearing/fattening to slaughter and all avian species reared for laying or breeding to point of lay (TOA BIOPHARMA Co., Ltd.)
• EFSA - External Scientific: Report Application of Next Generation Sequencing on Norovirus‐contaminated oyster samples
• EFSA - Scientific Report: Update of the Xylella spp. host plant database – systematic literature search up to 31 December 2021
• EFSA - Scientific Opinion: Safety and efficacy of a feed additive consisting of Sepiolitic clay for all animal species (Mineria y Tecnologia de Arcillas SA ‐ MYTA)
• EFSA - Scientific Opinion: Safety evaluation of the food enzyme glucan 1,4‐α‐maltohydrolase from the GM Bacillus licheniformis strain NZYM‐CY; NZYM‐FR & NZYM‐SD

DIGITAL & INFORMATION SOCIETY

• Agenda for: 79th Radio Spectrum Committee meeting - 7 July 2022
• Disinformation: Commission welcomes the new stronger and more comprehensive Code of Practice on disinformation - IP/22/3664 & QaA 
• Greater consumer safety when shopping online and offline - See the EP Statement
• BEREC publishes the received stakeholders' input to the public consultation on the draft BEREC Guidelines on the Implementation of the Open Internet Regulation

DATA PRIVACY & CYBERSECURITY

• Data transfers in the data strategy: Understanding myth and reality - see DigitalEurope Paper
• Digital industry sounds the alarm on contradicting EU legislation on data and cloud that would harm the economy - see DigitalEurope Paper
• EU privacy chief bashes lack of GDPR enforcement against Big Tech - The EDPS hinted at needing a more centralized enforcement model - Politico.eu

ECB, EURO & ECONOMY

• Remarks by Paschal Donohoe and Commissioner Gentiloni following the Eurogroup meeting of 16 June 2022
• Eurogroup statement on the future of the Banking Union of 16 June 2022
• Euro area member states recommend that Croatia become the 20th member of the euro area
• Eurogroup paves way to end of Greece’s enhanced surveillance and confirms release of further tranche of debt measures
• Council takes action to ensure green transition is fair and inclusive
• EU Cohesion Policy: Commission adopts €2.2 billion Partnership Agreement with Sweden for 2021-2027 - IP/22/3728
• NextGenerationEU: Commission receives the first payment request from Latvia for €201 million under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF)
• Recovery plans: MEPs push for wise use of money, democratic oversight 

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• Council Decision (EU) 2022/935 of 13 June 2022 on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union within the Association Council set up by the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an Association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Arab Republic of Egypt, of the other part, with regard to the adoption of EU-Egypt Partnership Priorities 2021–2027
• World Refugee Day: Joint Statement by the European Commission and the High Representative
• Global Gateway: Commissioner Urpilainen visits Panama and Ecuador to strengthen EU-Latin America and the Caribbean partnership  - Midday Express

RUSSIAN INVASION OF UKRAINE

• The European Commission recommends to Council confirming Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia's perspective to become members of the EU and provides its opinion on granting them candidate status - IP/22/3790 & Statement by President von der Leyen
  - Georgia: Opinion & Memo
  - Moldova: Opinion & Memo
  - Ukraine: Opinion & Memo
• FAQs on prohibition to engage with certain state-owned enterprises - Article 5aa - 16 June2022
• FAQs on central securities depositories concerning sanctions adopted following Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine - 16 June2022
• Peace versus Justice: The coming European split over the war in Ukraine - see ecfr Policy Brief - June 2022
• Rhetoric and reality collide as France, Germany, Italy back Ukraine’s EU bid - In Kyiv, EU’s Big 3 and Romania endorse candidate status but war shadows Ukraine’s aspirations - Politco.eu
• European leaders back Ukraine’s bid to apply for EU membership - France, Germany, Italy and Romania support move but say ‘profound reforms’ needed to fight corruption - Financial Times