Europe Daily News, 27 June 2022

COMPETITION

• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.10758 - EIM / Brookfield / Nielsen)
• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.10785 - ICG / Konecta / Comdata)
• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.10764 - Sagard / BpiFrance / Adit JV)
• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.10749 - PAI Partners / The Carlyle Group / Theramex)
• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.10251 - Invivo Group / Etablissements J Soufflet) 
• Commission clears acquisition of Forterro by Partners Group (M.10709) - Midday Express
• Germany - Bundeskartellamt clears the acquisition of the Hofheim Veterinary Clinic by veterinarians IVC Evidensia
• Romania - The Competition Council approved the taking over of Fameccanica by Angelini Holding
• Slovak Republic: PMÚ SR initiated administrative proceedings regarding a possible cartel agreement in a public tender related to the supply of technologies in the field of the food industry
• UK - CMA provisionally finds illegal cartels in construction industry
• UK - CMA has accepted undertakings in lieu of reference for the completed acquisition by CVS Group plc of Quality Pet Care Ltd (trading as The Vet)

STATE AID

• Commission approves prolongation of €24 million Croatian scheme to support book publishing (SA.102488) - Midday Express
• Commission approves €280.5 million support measure to Celsa Spain in the context of the coronavirus pandemic (SA.60190) - Midday Express
• Commission seeks feedback on updates to de minimis Regulation, setting exemptions from notification for small amounts of aid - Feedback period: 27 June 2022 - 25 July 2022 - Midday Express

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) /... imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of certain ring binder mechanisms originating in the People's Republic of China and as extended to Vietnam and Lao People's Democratic Republic following an expiry review pursuant to Article 11(2) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 of the European Parliament and of the Council
• Council Decision (EU) 2022/998 of 17 June 2022 on the position to be taken on behalf of the EU within the EPA Committee established under the Stepping Stone Economic Partnership Agreement between Ghana, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part, as regards the adoption of the Rules of Procedure for dispute settlement
• WTO - Items proposed for consideration at the next meeting of Dispute Settlement Body - 30 June 2022
• WTO - DDG Ellard addresses the role of multilateralism in a world of polycrisis 

INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

• Regulation for safer machinery: Council adopts mandate for negotiations with European Parliament 
• VP Maroš Šefčovič visits Norway to advance cooperation on batteries and critical raw materials  - Midday Express

TAXATION

• Public Consultation - VAT - administrative cooperation and fight against fraud (evaluation) - Evaluation - Feedback period: 27 June 2022 - 25 July 2022 

ENERGY

• Agenda for: TTE Council (Energy) - 27 June 2022 
  - Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on energy efficiency (recast) - General approach 
  - Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Directive 98/70/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the promotion of energy from renewable sources, and repealing Council Directive (EU) 2015/652 - General approach 
  - Recent main developments in the field of external energy relations - Any other business
• Energy Security: Commission welcomes swift adoption of new gas storage rules - IP/22/4080, see also the Outcome of the EP's first reading & Adoption of the legislative act
• Joint Statement by President von der Leyen and President Biden on European Energy Security
• Council Decision (EU) 2022/1002 of 21 June 2022 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 Simson to a MEP written question - Green transition and ‘Superbonus 110 %’
• ACER publishes its new report on the progress of Projects of Common Interest in 2021
• European energy crisis reignites debate over closure of Groningen reserve - Russia’s war in Ukraine could force rethink of plans to end production at Europe’s largest gasfield despite its link to earth tremors - Financial Times

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• Ninth session of the Plenary of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES-9) (Bonn, 3–9 July 2022) - EU coordination
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/996 of 14 June 2022 on rules to verify sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria and low indirect land-use change-risk criteria
• Council Decision (EU) 2022/997 of 7 April 2022 on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union at the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants as regards the proposal for amendment of Annex A to that Convention
• Oceans: Commissioner Sinkevičius represents the EU at 2022 UN Oceans Conference - Midday Express
• Environment Council: main climate proposals of the Fit for 55 package under discussion - Midday Express
• Answer given by EVP Timmermans to a MEP written question - Russia’s impact on EU climate and energy policy
• Public consultation - Protecting biodiversity: nature restoration targets under EU biodiversity strategy - Proposal for a regulation - Feedback period: 24 June 2022 - 22 August 2022

HEALTH, FOOD & PRODUCT SAFETY

• Commission Regulation (EU) …/… of XXX amending Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the removal of certain flavouring substances from the Union list
• EMA - Meeting highlights from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) 20-23 June 2022
• EMA - First gene therapy to treat severe haemophilia A

EU COVID-19 RESPONSES

• Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2021/954 on a framework for the issuance, verification and acceptance of interoperable COVID-19 vaccination, test and recovery certificates (EU Digital COVID Certificate) with regard to third-country nationals legally staying or residing in the territories of Member States during the COVID-19 pandemic - Outcome of the EP's first reading (Brussels, 22 to 23 June 2022)
• Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2021/953 on a framework for the issuance, verification and acceptance of interoperable COVID-19 vaccination, test and recovery certificates (EU Digital COVID Certificate) to facilitate free movement during the COVID-19 pandemic - Outcome of the EP's first reading (Brussels, 22 to 23 June 2022)

DATA PRIVACY & CYBERSECURITY

• Regulation (EU) 2022/991 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2022 amending Regulation (EU) 2016/794, as regards Europol’s cooperation with private parties, the processing of personal data by Europol in support of criminal investigations, and Europol’s role in research and innovation
• Answer given by Mr Reyndersto a MEP written question - Economic damage owing to lack of data protection regulations
• ENISA - The Annual Privacy Forum (APF) celebrates its first 10 years, as the links between privacy protection & cybersecurity continue to grow 

ECB, EURO & ECONOMY

• NextGenerationEU: European Commission endorses positive preliminary assessment of Spain's second payment request under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, for the disbursement of €12 billion - IP/22/4088 & Q&As on Spain's second payment request under NextGenerationEU
• NextGenerationEU: European Commission endorses positive preliminary assessment of Slovakia's request for €398.7 million disbursement under the Recovery and Resilience Facility - IP/22/3971 & Q&As on Slovakia's disbursement request under NextGenerationEU
• New times for ECB’s monetary policy decisions and press conference

FUTURE OF EUROPE

• Agenda for: Meeting of the Coreper (Part.1) - 29 June 2022
• Main Results of the European Council meeting (23 and 24 June 2022) - Conclusions & - Statement
• Opening remarks by President von der Leyen at the joint press conference with President Michel and President Macron following the meeting of the European Council of 23-34 June 2022

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• Joint statement by Vice-President for Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight Maroš Šefčovič, and Jan Christian Vestre, Norway's Minister of Trade and Industry
• Statement by President von der Leyen on the occasion of the launch of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment at the G7 Leaders' Summit
• Statement by President Charles Michel at the G7 summit side event on Partnership for global infrastructure and investment
• Remarks by President Charles Michel before the G7 summit in Schloss Elmau, Germany
• Iran and EU herald fresh talks to revive nuclear accord in ‘coming days’ - Negotiations between UK, France, Germany, Russia, China and indirectly the US have been on hold since March - Financial Times

RUSSIAN INVASION OF UKRAINE

• Action brought on 3 May 2022 - Pšonka Vs. Council - Case T-243/22
  Re: annulment of Council Decision (CFSP) 2022/376 of 3 March 2022 and Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/375
• Action brought on 3 May 2022 - Pšonka Vs Council - Case T-244/22
  Re: annulment of Council Decision (CFSP) 2022/376 of 3 March 2022 and Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/375
  Action brought on 6 May 2022 - Ponomarenko Vs. Council - Case T-249/22
  Re: annulment of Council Decision (CFSP) 2022/337 of 28 February 2022 and Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/336
• Action brought on 9 May 2022 - Timchenko Vs. Council - Case T-252/22
  Re: annulment of Council Decision (CFSP) 2022/337/CFSP and of annulment of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/336
• Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/994 of 24 June 2022 implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/879 amending Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia’s actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine
• Council Decision (CFSP) 2022/995 of 24 June 2022 concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia’s actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine
  
• Answer given by Ms McGuinness to a MEP written question - Clarification on how the European Union plans to prevent Russia circumventing sanctions through illegal transactions using dummy companies
• FAQs on road transport concerning sanctions adopted following Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine - 24 June 2022
• FAQs on trusts services concerning sanctions adopted following Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine - 24 June 2022
• FAQs  on business services concerning sanctions adopted following Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine - 24 June 2022
• Ukraine: EU mobilises emergency reserves for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats - IP/22/4014