Europe Daily News, 29 September 2022

COMPETITION

• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.10436 - Moët Hennessy / Campari / Class A Tannico Shareholders / Tannico)
• Antitrust: Commission adopts Guidelines on collective agreements by solo self-employed people - IP/22/5796 & QaA
• Denmark - The Competition Council approved the acquisition by Volvo Danmark A/S of Titan Lastvogne A/S, which among other things sells and repairs Volvo and Renault trucks.
• Romania - The Competition Council approved the taking over of some companies by Hold Co.
• Spain - The CNMC submits for public consultation the second draft of the Guidelines on the quantification of damages for competition infringements
• Brussels re-energised for Big Tech battles - Court victory over Google fine comes ahead of the Digital Markets Act that will clarify what is anti-competitive behaviour - Financial Times

STATE AID

• Advocate General Pikamäe proposes that the judgment of the General Court and the Commission's decision on the ‘Spanish tax leasing scheme’ should be partially annulled (see CPR Nº 164/2022 : 29 September 2022 - Opinions of the Advocate General in joined cases C-649/20 P, C-658/20 P, C-662/20 P, Spain Vs. Commission) 
• Commission approves €700 million Italian scheme to support companies in context of Russia's war against Ukraine (SA.104242) - IP/22/5729
• Commission authorises €15.4 million French scheme to compensate livestock companies for avian influenza (SA.103754) - Midday Express

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Notice of the impending expiry of certain anti-dumping measures (Tartaric acid - The People’s Republic of China - Anti-dumping duty - Regulation (EU) 2018/921 - 30.6.2023)
• Minutes of Expert Group on Transit and Status (core team) - 7th meeting on Seals & eSeals - 16 June 2022
• Opinion by MEP Anna Cavazzini on Union's rights in enforcing and implementing the UK Withdrawal Agreement (WA) and the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA)
• The Italian populists won’t be mindlessly destructive on trade - Despite repellent views on immigration and nationalism, the European hard right isn’t generally all-out protectionist - Financial Times
  
• Proposal for a Council Decision on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union within the Council of Members of the International Olive Council (IOC), as regards the trade standard applying to olive oils and olive-pomace oils
• Proposal for a Council Decision on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the International Sugar Council concerning the accession of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the International Sugar Agreement, 1992
• Council Decision (EU) 2022/1665 of 26 September 2022 on the signing, on behalf of the Union, of the Agreement between the European Union and the United States of America pursuant to Article XXVIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 relating to the modification of concessions on all the tariff rate quotas included in the EU Schedule CLXXV as a consequence of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union

INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

• Agenda for: Council of the EU (Competitiveness (Internal Market, Industry, Research and Space)) - 29 September 2022
• Agenda for: Working Party on Competitiveness and Growth (Internal Market) - 07 October 2022
• Agenda for: Working Party on Technical Harmonisation (Construction Products) - 3 October 2022
• European platform for transformation technologies - Information from the German delegation
• Minutes - Fifth meeting of the Expert Group on EU Transfers of Defence-related Products - 2 June 2022
• Minutes - 8th meeting of the EIC & EIE configuration of the Programme Committee for the specific programme implementing Horizon Europe - 15 September 2022
• September Infringements package: key decisions
• Internal Market for services: Commission refers Belgium to the Court of Justice of the European Union for not transposing EU rules on the proportionality of new regulation of professions - IP/22/5412
• ECHA - Announcement of appeal by Dragon Chemical Europe GmbH, German of Decision of 24 May 2022 on the substance evaluation of "5-amino-o-cresol" - A-008-2022

FINANCIAL SERVICES

• Ensuring radiation protection: Commission refers Latvia to Court to guarantee citizens' protection from ionising radiation-exposure risks - IP/22/5406

TAXATION

• Judgment of the Court of 29 September 2022 in Case C-235/21; Raiffeisen Leasing, trgovina in leasing d.o.o. Vs. Republika Slovenija
  Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Common system of VAT - Directive 2006/112/EC - Article 203 - Sale and leaseback agreement - Person liable for payment of VAT - Possibility of treating a written agreement as an invoice

EMPLOYMENT & SOCIAL POLICY

• Minimum income: more effective support needed to fight poverty and promote employment - IP/22/5706 & QaA 
  - Proposal for a Council Recommendation on adequate minimum income ensuring active inclusion 
  - Communication on better assessing the distributional impact of Member States' reforms
• Commission acts to better protect people from asbestos and ensure an asbestos-free future - IP/22/5679, QaA & Statement by EVP Dombrovskis and Commissioner Schmit 
  - Communication on working towards an asbestos-free future 
  - Proposal for amending the Asbestos at Work Directive 

ENERGY

• Opinion of Advocate General Rantos of 29 September 2022 in Case C‑394/21, Bursa Română de Mărfuri SA Vs. Autoritatea Naţională de Reglementare în domeniul Energiei (ANRE) intervener: Federaţia Europeană a Comercianţilor de Energie
  Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Electricity market - Regulation (EU) 2019/943 – Directive (EU) 2019/944 - Regulation (EU) 2015/1222 - National legislation providing for a single designated electricity market operator
• Agenda for: Extraordinary TTE Council (Energy) - 30 September 2022
• Ensuring radiation protection: Commission refers Latvia to Court to guarantee citizens' protection from ionising radiation-exposure risks - IP/22/5406
• ACER has decided on the methodology for optimising inter-TSO settlements for electricity redispatching and countertrading
• Europe’s energy plan: is it enough to get through winter? - Financial Times

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• Minutes of the Habitats Committee - 20 September 2022
• Circular economy: Commission takes action to reduce waste from single-use plastics - IP/22/5731

HEALTH, FOOD & PRODUCT SAFETY

• Minutes - Scientific Committee for Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks - 20 September 2022
• Farm to Fork Strategy: Statement by Commissioner Stella Kyriakides on the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste
• EFSA Safety and efficacy of a feed additive consisting of Enterococcus faecium NBIMCC 8270, Lactobacillus acidophilus NBIMCC 8242, Lactobacillus helveticus NBIMCC 8269, Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. lactis NBIMCC 8250, L. delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus NBIMCC 8244 and Streptococcus thermophilus NBIMCC 8253 (Probiotic Lactina®) for cats and dogs (Lactina Ltd.)

DIGITAL SINGLE MARKET

• Digital Europe Programme: Commission opens calls to invest €200 million in digital tech - Midday Express
• REPowerEU: Commission and industry leaders launch Biomethane Industry Partnership - Midday Express 

TRANSPORT & MOBILITY

• The national authority responsible for the enforcement of the Air Passengers Rights Regulation may, in response to individual complaints, compel a carrier to pay compensation to passengers (See CPR Nº 163/2022  - Judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-597/20, LOT (Indemnisation imposée par l’autorité administrative)
• Agenda - EP TRAN Committee Meeting - 3 October 2022

AREA OF FREEDOM, SECURITY & JUSTICE

• Opinion of Advocate General Campos Sanchez-Bordona of 29 September 2022 in Case C‑555/21, UniCredit Bank Austria AG Vs . Verein für Konsumenteninformation
  Re: Request for a preliminary ruling - Consumer protection - Credit agreements for consumers relating to residential immovable property - Early repayment of the credit - Reduction in the total cost of the credit - Proportional reduction in costs - Reduction in costs that are not dependent on the duration of the agreement - Costs owed to third parties
• Investor citizenship scheme: Commission refers Malta to the Court of Justice - IP/22/5422
• Vice-President Jourová in Greece to discuss the rule of law and media freedom - Midday Express

ECB, EURO & ECONOMY

• Commission proposes to provide additional €900 million to Greece, €29 million to Cyprus and €300 million to Portugal under SURE (See  Decision for Hellenic Republic (2020/1346),  the Portuguese Republic (2020/1354) and the Republic of Cyprus (2020/1344) - Midday Express
• Letter from Fabio Panetta to Irene Tinagli, ECON Chair, on progress on the investigation phase of a digital euro
• Remarks by ECB Luis de Guindos: Policy mix of the future: the role of monetary, fiscal and macroprudential policies
• Keynote speech by ECB Frank Elderson: Natura finis magistra - acknowledging nature-related risks to make finance thrive
• Introductory statement by Fabio Panetta: Building on our strengths: the role of the public and private sectors in the digital euro ecosystem 
  ECB Working Paper Series - No.2735

FUTURE OF EUROPE

• Possible items for College agendas: 4 October – 21 December 2022

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• Human rights: EU increases support to the protection of human rights defenders worldwide - IP/22/5808

RUSSIAN INVASION OF UKRAINE

• Ukraine: Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union on the illegal sham “referenda” by Russia in the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions
• Press statement by HR/VP Josep Borrell on a new package of restrictive measures against Russia
• Press statement by President von der Leyen on a new package of restrictive measures against Russia 
• Ukraine - Addressing 'Night of European Ideas' in Berlin, President Metsola called for further support to Ukraine. "Tanks are needed. We must be able to take that next step."