Europe Daily News, 01 July 2022

COMPETITION

• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.10664 - XLCEE / Derot / Black Red White)
• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.10798 - Nbim / Oxford Properties / Sony Center)
• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.10802 - Ares / Onex / Funder / Ryan)
• Commission clears acquisition of joint control of Waystone and KB Associates by Montagu and Hg (M.10660) - Midday Express
• Commission clears acquisition of joint control of National Grid Gas by National Grid, Macquarie Group, and BCI (M.10748) - Midday Express
• Germany - Bundeskartellamt - Case summary from 30 June 2022: Meta’s paramount significance for competition across markets (Decision of 2 May 2022)
• Germany - Bundeskartellamt - List of Notified Merger Projects
  

STATE AID

• Authorisation for State aid pursuant to Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union - Cases where the Commission raises no objections
• Commission approves €5 billion French scheme to support energy intensive companies in context of Russia's invasion of Ukraine (SA.103280) - IP/22/4152
  

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Agenda for: Working Party on European Free Trade Association (EFTA) - 05 July 2022
  
• Agenda for: 235th Meeting of the Tariff & Statistical Nomenclature Section of the Customs Code Committee (Combined Nomenclature Sector) - 15 July 2022
• Notice of initiation of an expiry review of the anti-dumping measures applicable to imports of melamine originating in the People’s Republic of China (CN code 2933 61 00)
• Decision No 1/2022 of the ACP-EU Committee of Ambassadors of 21 June 2022 to amend Decision No 3/2019 of the ACP-EU Committee of Ambassadors to adopt transitional measures pursuant to Article 95(4) of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement
• Recommendation No 1/2022 of the EU-Egypt Association Council of 19 June 2022 on the EU-Egypt Partnership Priorities 2021-2027
• Ukraine: Commission waives customs duties and VAT on the import of life-saving goods for Ukrainians - IP/22/4235
• Foreign Subsidies: Commission welcomes political agreement on Regulation on distortive foreign subsidies - IP/22/4190
• Foreign subsidies distorting the internal market: provisional political agreement between the Council and the European Parliament - See Remarks by EVP Vestager, the EP Statement and reaction by BusinessEurope
• EU-New Zealand Trade Agreement: Unlocking sustainable economic growth - IP/22/4158 & Joint media release by President von der Leyen and New Zealand's Prime Minister Ardern
• EU-New Zealand trade deal signed: EU dairy, sheep and beef are the sacrificed lambs - See Copa-Cogeca Statement
• EU-New Zealand agreement: welcome restart of an ambitious bilateral trade agenda - See BusinessEurope Statement
• WTO - Members welcome MC12 commitment to address dispute settlement
• WCO - Successful conclusion of the Green Customs Global Conference
• WCO - Shipping companies and Customs authorities come together to step up the fight against narcotics trafficking
  

INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

• Agenda for: Working Party on Intellectual Property - 7 and 8 July 2022
• ECHA - Consultation on SEAC's draft opinion on restricting lead in outdoor shooting and fishing - respond by 29 August

FINANCIAL SERVICES

• Digital finance: Commission welcomes political agreements  on milestone regulatory framework for crypto-assets (MICA) - Midday Express
• EBA Risk Dashboard points to high capital and liquidity ratios and indicates first signs of deterioration in asset quality not least related to geopolitical tensions

TAXATION

• France ready to bypass Hungary for global corporate tax deal - Finance minister Bruno Le Maire pushes for EU workaround to approve minimum tax rate for big companies - Financial Times

AGRICULTURE & FISHERIES

• Minutes of: Third Meeting of the Horizon Europe - Expert Group on the COVID-19 impact on gender equality in research and innovation - 09 June 2022

ENERGY

• Agenda for: Energy Union Committee for a meeting on 13 July 2022
• Energy diplomacy: EU held second High-Level Energy Dialogue with the Republic of Moldova  - Midday Express
• CEER Report on Liquefied Natural Gas small-scale services in the European Union
  

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• Frans Timmermans in Luxembourg for government and EIB meetings and launch of electric car charging facility - Midday Express

HEALTH, FOOD & PRODUCT SAFETY

• Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/1094 of 29 June 2022 authorising the placing on the market of products containing, consisting of or produced from GM maize DP4114 × MON 810 × MIR604 × NK603 and GM maize combining two or three of the single events DP4114, MON 810, MIR604 and NK603, pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council

EU COVID-19 RESPONSES

• Commission Implementing Decision of 30 June 2022 establishing the equivalence, for the purpose of facilitating the right of free movement within the Union, of COVID-19 certificates issued by the Republic of Korea (2022/1096), the Republic of Madagascar (2022/1097), Kosovo (2022/1098), the Kingdom of Bahrain (2022/1099), and the Republic of Ecuador (2022/1100) to the certificates issued in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2021/953 of the European Parliament and of the Council

DIGITAL SINGLE MARKET

• Consumer protection: Amazon Prime changes its cancellation practices to comply with EU consumer rules - IP/22/4186
• Harmonising enforcement in methods to calculate administrative fines - See DigitalEurope Paper
  

DATA PRIVACY & CYBERSECURITY

• Opinion of Advocate General Giovanni Pitruzzella of 30 June 2022, Case C-205/21, Criminal proceedings against V.S., in the presence of Ministerstvo na vatreshnite raboti, Glavna direktsia za borba s organiziranata prestapnost
  Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data - Directive (EU) 2016/680 - Person under investigation - Police recording of personal data - Sensitive data - Biometric and genetic data - Enforcement - Purpose of prevention and detection of criminal offences - Ongoing criminal proceedings - Comparison with personal data collected in the course of previous investigations - Effective judicial protection - Data processing - Principles - Minimisation of data - Absolute necessity
  
• EDPB, during its June plenary, the EDPB adopted:
  - EDPB response to EDRi regarding the structural and procedural enforcement of the GDPR and its work to promote and safeguard data protection
  - EDPB response to the European Commission's targeted consultation on a digital euro
  - Guidelines on certification as a tool for transfers
• Italian SA bans use of Google Analytics: no adequate safeguards for data transfers from Caffeina Media S.r.l. to the U.S.
• ENISA - Telecom Security Forum: National Authorities and Telecom Regulators analyse policy implementation & current cyber threats

AREA OF FREEDOM, SECURITY & JUSTICE

• Police cooperation: EU and New Zealand sign international Agreement to fight serious crime and terrorism - See Council Decision (EU) 2022/1090 - Midday Express
• Joint EU-U.S. statement following the EU-U.S. Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial Meeting
  

ECB, EURO & ECONOMY

• EU Cohesion Policy: Commission adopts €76.5 billion Partnership Agreement with Poland for 2021-2027 - IP/22/4223
• ECB response to the Joint Consultation of the ESA’s on STS securitisations-related sustainability disclosures
• How well-behaved are revisions to quarterly fiscal data in the euro area? - ECB Working Paper Series - No.2676
• Digitalisation, Institutions and Governance, and Diffusion: Mechanisms and Evidence - ECB Working Paper Series - No.2675
• A new EU fiscal regime could make the ECB truly independent - See CER Insight

FUTURE OF EUROPE

• Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union begins - See the Programme and the Priorities
• Statement by EP leaders on Commission’s work programme for 2023 - Full Statement
• Remarks by President Charles Michel after his meeting in Prague with Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Petr Fiala
• Prague takes over EU baton from Paris Premium content - Ukraine-centric presidency inherits tricky economic files - Financial Times
  

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• European Peace Facility: Council adopts assistance measure (€40 million) in support of the Moldovan Armed Forces - See Council Decision (CFSP) 2022/1093
• Sanctions: Council requests European Parliament consent to add the violation of restrictive measures to the list of EU crimes - See the Decision and the Opt-in by Ireland
• Restrictive measures (Sanctions) - Update of the EU Best Practices for the effective implementation of restrictive measures
  
• Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court: Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the EU to mark the 20th anniversary of its entry into force
• Remarks by Vice-President Šefčovič on the roadmap paving the way towards an Association Agreement with Andorra, Monaco and San Marino
• Yet another failure of EU leadership in the Western Balkans - See CEPS Brief
• North Macedonia signals acceptance of plan to unlock EU membership talks - Premier welcomes French proposals as potential basis for compromise on tensions with Bulgaria - Financial Times

RUSSIAN INVASION OF UKRAINE

• Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 and Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 as regards additional flexibility to address the consequences of the military aggression of the Russian Federation FAST (Flexible Assistance for Territories) - CARE
• REACT-EU: €46.9 million for Belgium and Germany to support jobseekers, students, people in need and those fleeing Russia's aggression against Ukraine - Midday Express
• Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council Providing exceptional macro-financial assistance to Ukraine - COM(2022)450
• Ukraine: Commission waives customs duties and VAT on the import of life-saving goods for Ukrainians - IP/22/4235
• FAQ on General questions concerning sanctions adopted following Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine - 30 June 2022
• FAQ on restrictions on Russian State-owned media adopted following Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine - 30 June 2022
• Address of President von der Leyen to the Ukrainian Parliament following the European Council decision granting Ukraine candidate status
• Answer given by High Representative/Vice-President Borrell i Fontelles to a MEP written question - South Africa’s support for Putin