Europe Daily News, 08 November 2022

COMPETITION

• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.10941 - ENI / Sonatrach / Equinor / In Salah JV)
• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.10942 - PHO P/Stora Enso Maxau)
• Commission seeks feedback on draft revised Market Definition Notice - IP/22/6528
• Croatia - CCA opens infringement proceeding against Knauf
• Croatia - Conditionally approved concentration between Grand Automotive LLP/Grand Automotive RD Ltd. and Renault Nissan Hrvatska
• Cyprus - Notification of a concentration concerning the acquisition of the share capital of N.Th. Kouroushis Ltd by Olympus Foods (Cyprus) Ltd
• Cyprus - Notification of concentration regarding the Hotel Services Agreement- Grand Hyatt Limassol between Anolia Holdings Ltd και Hyatt International (Europe Africa Middle East) LLC.
• Lithuania - Competition authority has cleared the acquisition of 33.4% of the shares of the company 9 sparnai, as well as acquisition of its joint control together with E energy invest, by Windly Holding OÜ
• Portugal - The Explorer IV Fund notifies the acquisition of sole control over Magos Irrigation Systems
• Portugal - DeepOcean, Østensjø and Solstad notify the acquisition of joint control over DeepOcean InvestCo 3
• Romania - The Competition Council approved the transaction by which Marcos Provit S.A. takes over Polisano Pharma S.RL.
• UK - CMA: Accommodation merger could mean worse deal for students in Birmingham - See Summary of phase 1 decision
• UK - CMA has cleared the anticipated acquisition by ALD S.A. of LP Group B.V (the holding company of LeasePlan Corporation N.V)

STATE AID

• Tax rulings: The Court of Justice holds that the General Court was wrong to confirm the reference framework used by the Commission to apply the arm’s length principle to integrated companies in Luxembourg, in failing to take into account the specific rules implementing that principle in that Member State (See CPR No.178/2022 - Judgments of the Court of Justice in Cases C-885/19 P, C-898/19 P, Fiat Chrysler Finance Europe Vs. Commission) - Statement by Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Agenda for: 49th meeting of the Customs Expert Group - Tariff Measures subsection - 25 November 2022
• Minutes of:236th meeting of the Customs Code Committee (Sub-Section Agriculture/Chemistry) - 20th to 21st September 2022
• EESC calls for an international investment protection system with dispute settlement mechanism - see the EESC Press release and Opinion
• Distortive foreign subsidies - See the EP Briefing
• Proposal for a Council Decision on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the Committee on Customs established under the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Singapore, as regards the amendment of Protocol 1 concerning the definition of ‘originating products’ and methods of administrative cooperation
• Better Utilization of EU Free Trade Agreements - Policy recommendations for more effective utilization - see BDI Position Paper
• China becomes top exporter to Russia as sanctions hit Moscow’s trade with EU - See the Kiel research - Financial Times
• China ditches EU chief Michel’s speech at top trade show - Cancellation comes just a week before Michel is due to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping - Politico.eu
• Germany wants new trade talks with US after midterm elections - Politico.eu

INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

• Agenda for: Working Party on Competitiveness & Growth (Internal Market / Ecodesign) - 14 November 2022
• Draft Council conclusions on the New European Innovation Agenda - Presidency text
• Commission Implementing Decision on the harmonised standards for radio equipment drafted in support of Directive 2014/53/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council
• One in four substances recovered from waste non-compliant with REACH - ECHA/NR/22/17
• ECHA - SCIP database now open to submissions from EEA countries

FINANCIAL SERVICES

• Agenda for: Expert Group of the European Securities Committee - 25 November 2022
• Banking sector: Council agrees its position on the implementation of Basel III reforms
• Digital operational resilience act (DORA) - See the EP Briefing
• Amending digital operational requirements in financial services legislation - See the EP Briefing

TAXATION

• Agenda for: Code of Conduct Group (Business Taxation) - Subgroup on internal and external issues - 15 November 2022
• Taxation: Finance ministers agree to strengthen the code of conduct used to identify and curb harmful tax measures of member states

AGRICULTURE & FISHERIES

• Council ("Agriculture & Fisheries") meeting - 21 November 2022
  - The implementation of the New EU Forest Strategy for 2030 - Information from the Presidency and the Commission - Exchange of views
• Minutes of: Meeting of the Organic Production Committee - 26 October 2022
• Minutes of: Meeting of the Committee for the Common Organisation of the Agricultural Markets - Horticultural products - 26 October 2022
• Minutes of: Meeting of the Committee for the Common Organisation of the Agricultural Markets - CMO Promotion - 28 October 2022
• Answer given by Mr Wojciechowski to a MEP written question - Mineral fertiliser shortages - Can we reduce our dependence through organic fertilisers and legumes?
• Answer given by Mr Wojciechowski to a MEP written question - Getting farmers involved in reducing use of pesticides by 2030

ENERGY

• Joint Statement: South Africa Just Energy Transition Investment Plan
• Answer given by Mr Schmit to a MEP written question - Exclusion of cross-border workers from the German energy subsidy
• Answer given by Ms Simson to a MEP written question - Commission measures on natural gas and the rise in electricity prices
• CEER - Open Public Consultation on Guidelines of Good Practice for Trustworthy Green Offers and Consumer Protection against Misleading Marketing ("Greenwashing")
• EU gas price cap ‘agreement’ starts unravelling - Some capitals want to block other energy measures until cap details are tabled - Financial Times
  

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• Agenda for: Working Party on International Environment Issues (Basel) & (Global) - 14 November 2022
• Approved environmental associations must be able to bring legal proceedings to challenge an EC type-approval of vehicles equipped with ‘defeat devices’ that may be prohibited (see Press Release 41/22) (See CPR No.176/2022 - Judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-873/19, Deutsche Umwelthilfe (Réception des véhicules à moteur))
• NGOs' Open letter: Time to agree on an EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) and a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) that work for the climate and support industrial
  transformation

COP27

• EU concludes a strategic partnership with Kazakhstan on raw materials, batteries and renewable hydrogen - IP/22/6585 - Statement by President von der Leyen
• EU concludes a strategic partnership with Namibia on sustainable raw materials and renewable hydrogen - IP/22/6683 - Statement by President von der Leyen 
• EU launches Forest Partnerships with five partner countries - IP/22/6653 - Statement by President von der Leyen 
• Statement by President von der Leyen at the Forests and Climate Leaders' Partnership Summit
• Speech by EIB President Werner Hoyer and Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle on “Financing a global just transition to climate neutrality”
• EBRD, the EIB and the UfM with the political support from the European Commission to set up a new Blue Mediterranean Partnership

HEALTH, FOOD & PRODUCT SAFETY

• Agenda - Climate change and health: Crisis, heat stress, infectious disease threats: Health impacts and solutions in Europe (9 November 2022)
• MDCG 2022-16 - Guidance on Authorised Representatives Regulation (EU) 2017/745 and Regulation (EU) 2017/746 - October 2022
• SCCS - Scientific advice on the safety of Triclocarban and Triclosan as substances with potential endocrine disrupting properties in cosmetic products
• SCHEER - Preliminary Opinion open for comments on "Draft Environmental Quality Standards for Priority Substances under the WFD" - Hexachlorobutadiene (Deadline: 01/12/22)
• SCHEER - Minutes of the Working Group meeting on Draft Environmental Quality Standards for the Water Framework Directive Priority Substances of 19 October 2022
• Stricter asbestos exposure limits are needed to protect workers - see EESC Statement
  

DIGITAL SINGLE MARKET

• ETNO presents new study on effects of the EU Data Act on the telecom sector
• GSMA published vision for a Strategy Paper for Circular Economy: Mobile Devices

DATA PRIVACY & CYBERSECURITY

• Agenda for: Meeting of the Committee on Horizontal on cyber issues - 9 November 2022
• Summary of the Opinion of the EDPS on the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on asset recovery and confiscation 
• A high common level of cybersecurity – NIS2 - See the EP Briefing

AREA OF FREEDOM, SECURITY & JUSTICE

• A national court is required to ascertain of its own motion whether a detention measure taken in respect of an illegally staying foreign national or an asylum seeker is lawful (See CPR No. 177/2022 - Judgment of the Court of Justice in Joined Cases C-704/20 PPU, C-39/21 PPU, Staatssecretaris van Justitie en Veiligheid (Examen d’office de la rétention))
• Vanuatu: Council fully suspends visa free travel agreement (‘golden passport’ schemes)
• Corporate sustainability reporting directive - See the EP Briefing

ECB, EURO & ECONOMY

• Main results of the Eurogroup, and Remarks by Commissioner Gentiloni and by Paschal Donohoe - 7 November 2022
  - Macroeconomic dialogue with the social partners on 7 November 2022
• EU budget: Council agrees disaster relief aid of €668 million for seven member states following floods, a volcano eruption and an earthquake
• Interview with Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the ECB, conducted by Johanna Treeck on 3 November 2022 
• Supply bottlenecks and price pressures in euro area goods trade and tourism - ECB Economic Bulletin Issue 7, 2022
• Risk sharing in the euro area: a focus on the public channel and the COVID-19 pandemic - ECB Economic Bulletin Issue 7, 2022

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• Agenda for: Working Party on Development cooperation and international partnerships - 10 November 2022
• Eastern Mediterranean: Council prolongs the sanctions regime over unauthorised drilling activities for a further year
• Democracy in America 2022: Current challenges to US democracy and first lessons for Europe - See the EP Briefing
• Report from the Commission - 2022 Annual Report on the implementation of the European Union's External Action Instruments in 2021 - Working Document
• Statement by the HR/VP on behalf of the EU on the alignment of certain countries concerning restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities in view of the situation in Iran
• Statement by the HR/VP on behalf of the EU on the alignment of certain countries concerning restrictive measures against ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaeda and persons, groups, undertakings and entities associated with them

RUSSIAN INVASION OF UKRAINE

• Answer given by HR/VP Borrell to a MEP written question - Negotiations to revive the JCPOA in the context of Russian aggression against Ukraine and deepening cooperation between Russia and Iran
• Joint appeal to ramp up emergency energy equipment donations to Ukraine - Energy Community

BREXIT

• Opening remarks by Vice-President Šefčovič at the EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly
• UK plan to scrap all EU laws suffers new setback - Discovery of 1,400 more pieces of legislation makes huge bureaucratic task even harder - Financial Times
• EU and UK ‘not worlds apart’ on Northern Ireland Brexit row, senior EU official says - Britain meanwhile urges faster work on new EU-UK electricity trading rules ahead of winter energy squeeze - Politico.eu