Europe Daily News, 28 July 2022

COMPETITION

• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.10802 - Ares / Onex / Founder / Ryan)
• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.10798 - NBIM / Oxford Properties / Sony Center)
• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.10813 - Blackstome / CPP Investments / Advarra)
• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.10836 - Equinor / SSE / Triton Power)
• Commission opens in-depth investigation into the proposed acquisition of VOO and Brutélé by Orange (M.10663) - IP/22/4762
• Commission clears acquisition of Supreme Energy Muara Laboh by INPEX and Sumitomo (M.10811) - Midday Express
• Austria - Construction cartel: AFCA applies for review of STRABAG decision by Cartel Court
• Cyprus - Notification of a concentration concerning the acquisition of the share capital of Internet Tourism Solutions, S.L.by Hoist Group Spain, S.A.U
• Cyprus - Notification of a concentration concerning the acquisition of the share capital of Fameline Technologies Group Ltd by Mariapps Marine Solutions Cyprus Ltd
• Cyprus - Notification of a concentration regarding the acquisition of the share capital of Ensign Holdco 1 Ltd by Lloyd’s Register Group Ltd
• Ireland - CCPC to carry out a Phase 2 investigation of East Cork Oil’s proposed acquisition of Misty Lane Holdings
• Ireland - CCPC publishes 2021 Annual Report
• Italy - AGCM has launched an antitrust investigation against Samsung for alleged deceptive and aggressive conduct
• The Netherlands - ACM clears acquisition of Geveke and LEWA by Atlas
• The Netherlands - ACM is favorable to joint agreement between soft-drink suppliers about discontinuation of plastic handles
• Portugal - The BSC notifies the acquisition of sole control over M.I. Tech.
• Romania - The Competition Council approved the transaction by which Romcim SA takes over Simbeton SRL.
• UK - Guidance - Competition law court proceedings: serving documents on the CMA
• UK - CMA published its Decision of the completed acquisition WM Morrison Supermarkets Limited by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Holdings, LLC.
• UK - CMA published its first update report on the implementation of Google’s Privacy Sandbox commitments accepted by the CMA in February 2022

STATE AID

• Commission approves €80 million Irish scheme for fishery sector in the context of Brexit (SA.102271) - Midday Express
• Commission approves €15 million Slovenian scheme to support the agricultural sector in the context of Russia's invasion of Ukraine (SA.103726) - Midday Express

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) /... amending Council Regulation (EC) No 2368/2002 implementing the Kimberley Process certification scheme for the international trade in rough diamonds
• Commission Decision of 26 July 2022 on the conclusion of an Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and the Republic of Chile concerning amendments to Appendix I to the Agreement on Trade in Spirit Drinks and Aromatised Drinks (Annex VI), annexed to the Association Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Chile, of the other part
• Commission Decision of 26 July 2022 on the conclusion of an Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and the Republic of Chile concerning amendments to Appendices I, II, V and VIII to the Agreement on Trade in Wines (Annex V), annexed to the Association Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Chile, of the other part
• WTO members show restraint in trade-restrictive measures despite economic uncertainty
• WTO - In a world of poly-crisis, Aid for Trade Global Review focuses on recovery, resilience - See the WTO Statement
• WTO - Report of the TPRB from the Director-General on trade-related developments - Remarks by DG Okonjo-Iweala

INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

• Commission Regulation (EU) …/… of XXX amending Regulation (EU) No 582/2011 as regards the emissions type-approval of heavy duty vehicles using pure biodiesel - See the Annex
  
• Tonnage band changes may now be taken into account during dossier evaluation process - See ECHA Statement
• Report on an EU SME referral scheme

FINANCIAL SERVICES

• Report on the current framework for qualification of financial advisors in the EU and assessment of possible ways forward

AGRICULTURE & FISHERIES

• New agri-food trade report: EU offsets dramatic fall in Ukrainian maize imports and increases agri-food exports to Africa - Notable developments in EU agri-food trade amid global uncertainties
• CAP conditionality derogations – A timely decision providing farmers with necessary clarity but not enough tools nor incentives - See Copa-Cogeca Statement
• Ukraine - Russia agreement on grain exports raises hopes for the prevention of world food security crisis - See Copa-Cogeca Statement
• EU Commission needs to take action regarding the alliance between FAO and CropLife International - See PAN Letter to Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen

ENERGY

• Proposal for a power market design in order to decouple electricity prices from soaring gas prices - Information from the Greek delegation
• Answer given by Ms Simson to a MEP written question - First­ and second ­generation biofuels and their development up to 2030 
• Answer given by Ms Simson to a MEP written question - Russian sanctions on Western energy companies

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• 8th Round of Mutual Evaluations - 'The practical implementation and operation of European policies on preventing and combating Environmental Crime' - Follow-up to the Report on Estonia
• DG Environment is organising the second segment of the Fourth Annual Forum on Endocrine Disruptors on 21-22 September 2022
• Answer given by EVP Timmermans to a MEP written question - Wood and carbon neutrality
• Answer given by EVP Timmermans to a MEP written question - Flexible mechanisms for the transfer of emission reductions between countries
• HEAL Joint letter: Restriction of bisphenols under the REACH Regulation – setting the right precedent

HEALTH, FOOD & PRODUCT SAFETY

• European Health Union: HERA signs Joint Procurement contract for Pandemic Influenza Vaccine - IP/22/4363
• Report from the Commission on the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2020/521 on activating emergency support to finance necessary expenditure to address the COVID‐19 pandemic

DIGITAL SINGLE MARKET

• Digital Economy and Society Index 2022: overall progress but digital skills, SMEs and 5G networks lag behind - IP/22/4560 & QaA 

DATA PRIVACY & CYBERSECURITY

• The ENISA releases today the 2021 incident reports on telecom and trust services
• Supervisory authorities of the Baltic States launch of coordinated inspection of the compliance of personal data processing in the field of short-term vehicle rental

TRANSPORT & MOBILITY

• Proposal for a Council Decision on the signing, on behalf of the Union, of the Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement between the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and the European Union and its Member States - Statement by Belgium & Statement by the Commission
  
• Report from the Commission on the implementation of Regulation (EU) No 1214/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 November 2011 on the professional cross-border transport of euro cash by road between euro-area Member States pursuant to article 26 of this Regulation - See the Annex
• Transport infrastructure: Commission amends TEN-T proposal to reflect infrastructure impacts of Russia's aggression against Ukraine - Midday Express 

EURO, ECB & ECONOMY

• NextGenerationEU: Commission receives payment request from Cyprus for €85 million under the Recovery and Resilience Facility - Midday Express
• Flash Consumer Confidence Indicator for EU and euro area - July 2022
• The fiscal impact of extreme weather and climate events: Evidence for EU Countries - DG ECFIN Discussion Paper 168
• ECB - Euro area economic and financial developments by institutional sector: first quarter of 2022
• The optimal quantity of CBDC in a bank-based economy - ECB Working Paper Series - No.2689
• Voluntary Support and Ring-Fencing in Cross-border Banks - ECB Working Paper Series - No.2688
• The economic impact of the NPLcoverage expectations in the euro area - ECB Occasional Paper Series - No.297
• ECB - Rich non-immigrants and poor immigrants? Why it matters for monetary policy

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• EU Association Agreements with Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine - The roads to EU membership - See EPRS In-Depth Analysis
• Answer given by the Council to a MEP written question - Donbas; Cyprus; Nagorno-Karabakh
• Answer given by HP/VP Borrell to a MEP written question - Sanctions on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Leadership
• Answer given by HP/VP Borrell to a MEP written question - EU memorandum of understanding with Egypt and Israel on natural gas, and the absence of a territorial clause
  

RUSSIAN INVASION OF UKRAINE

• FAQs on gold imports related matters concerning sanctions adopted following Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine
• FAQs on aviation related matters concerning sanctions adopted following Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine
• COHAFA common messages on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine