COMPETITION

  • Judgment of the Court of 27 April 2023 in Case C-70/22; Viagogo AG Vs. Autorità per le Garanzie nelle Comunicazioni (AGCOM), Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM), intervening parties: Ticketone SpA
    Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Electronic commerce - Directive 2000/31/EC - Article 1 - Scope - Article 2(c) - Concept of 'established provider' - Article 3(1) - Provision of information society services by a provider established in the territory of a Member State - Company established in the territory of the Swiss Confederation - Inapplicability ratione personae - Article 56 TFEU - Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Swiss Confederation, of the other, on the free movement of persons - Scope - Prohibition on restrictions on cross-border provision of services not exceeding 90 days per calendar year - Provision of services in Italy lasting more than 90 days - Inapplicability ratione personae - Article 102 TFEU - Absence of any element in the order for reference enabling a link to be established between the dispute in the main proceedings and a possible abuse of a dominant position - Inadmissibility
  • Summary of Commission Decision of 29 November 2022 relating to a proceeding under Article 101 of the TFEU and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement (Case AT.40547 - Styene Monomer)
    - Opinion of the Advisory Committee on restrictive practices and dominant positions
    - Final Report of the Hearing Officer
  • Withdrawal of notification of a concentration (Case M.10860 - Advent / GFK)
  • Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.11058 - Altor / Marlin / Meltwater)
  • Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.10876 - BSA (Lactalis) / Ambrosi)
  • Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.11008 - CDC Group / EDF / Engie / In Groupe / Archipels)
  • France - Several entities sanctioned in bakery equipment distribution sector
  • Germany - Get H2 hydrogen cooperation given the green light
  • Hungary - GVH holds a workshop on the experience of the new regulation on price-fixing
  • Portugal - AdC fines three supermarket chains and a product supplier for price fixing
  • Serbia - The Commission has terminated the procedure against the private association Hotel, Hospitality and Tourist Preduzece Moscow for undeclared concentrations
  • UK - Microsoft / Activision deal prevented to protect innovation and choice in cloud gaming - Financial Times

STATE AID

  • Judgment of the General Court of 27 April 2023 in Case C-492/21 P - Casa Regina Apostolorum della Pia Società delle Figlie di San Paolo Vs. Commission
    Re: appeal Case T-223/18 - Article 263 TFEU - Annulment of Commission Decision C(2017) 7973 final of 4 December 2017 concerning State Aid SA.39913
  • Commission approves amendment to 2022-2027 regional aid map for Portugal (SA.106697) - Midday Express

TRADE & CUSTOMS

  • Judgment of the Court of 27 April 2023 in Case C-107/22, X BV in the presence of: Inspecteur van de Belastingdienst/Douane district Rotterdam
    Re: Preliminary reference - Common Customs Tariff - Classification of goods - Combined Nomenclature - Interpretation - General rules - General rule 2(a) - Article presented in a dismantled or unassembled state - Parts intended, after assembly, to constitute satellite reception apparatus - Classification as complete reception apparatus
  • Agenda for: Trade Policy Committee (Deputy Members) - Attachés - 04 May 2023
  • Notice concerning the valid proof of origin for imports into the European Union of products originating in Seychelles under the EU – Eastern and Southern Africa interim Economic Partnership Agreement, as from 1 July 2023
  • MEPs renew suspension of EU import duties on Ukrainian exports
  • High-level delegations from India and EFTA meet to boost bilateral trade and economic partnership
  • EFTA parliamentarians in India to give impetus to the negotiations on a trade agreement
  • Australia FTA – agriculture concessions still remain sensitive for EU farmers and agri-cooperatives - Copa-Cogeca Statement
  • UK - TRA reports initial findings on Turkish ironing boards
  • UK - Guidance - The UK trade remedies investigations process
  • Spain, Brazil join forces to speed up signing of EU-Mercosur deal - Euractiv

INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

  • Agenda for: Working Party on Competitiveness & Growth (Internal Market - Attachés) - 03 May 2023
  • Commissioner Breton visits Greece to pursue EU defence industry tour - Midday Express
  • MEPs pledge €1 billion for joint procurement of defence products
  • Answer given by Mr Breton to a MEP written question - European competitiveness on the global markets
  • The Critical Raw Materials Act must tackle supply problems in line with European values - T&E position paper on how the EU Commission’s draft law can be improved

CHEMICAL

  • HEAL-CPES - Follow-up comments to CARACAL 48 discussion on ECHA regulatory strategy for flame retardant

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

  • Intellectual property: harmonised EU patent rules boost innovation, investment and competitiveness in the Single Market - IP/23/2454
    -     Proposals for a Regulation on Supplementary Protection Certificates & QaA - Factsheet
    -     Proposal for a Regulation on Compulsory Licensing of Patents & QaA - Factsheet
    -     Proposal for a Regulation on Standard Essential Patents & QaA  - Factsheet

FINANCIAL SERVICES

  • Judgment of the Court of 27 April 2023 in Case C-537/20, L Fund Vs. Finanzamt D, in the presence of: Bundesministerium der Finanzen
    Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Article 63 TFEU - Free movement of capital - Corporation tax - Taxation of income from immovable property situated within the territory of a Member State - Difference in treatment between resident and non-resident funds - Exemption of resident funds only - Comparability of situations - Taking into account of the tax system of the investors - None - Justification - Need to preserve the coherence of the national tax system - Need to preserve a balanced distribution of the power of taxation between Member States - None
  • EBA publishes draft version of its revised taxonomy architecture

TAXATION

  • Judgment of the Court of 27 April 2023 in Case C-677/21; Fluvius Antwerpen Vs. MX
    Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Taxation - VAT - Directive 2006/112/EC - Taxable transactions - Article 2(1)(a) - Concept of 'supply of goods for consideration' - Article 9(1) - Economic activity - Article 14(1) and (2), (a) - Supply of goods - Unlawful consumption of electricity - Principle of neutrality of VAT - Charging of an allowance to the consumer including the price of the electricity consumed - Regional legislation of a Member State - Taxable person - Sui generis entity commissioned by municipalities - Concept of 'body governed by public law' - Directive 2006/112/EC - Third subparagraph of Article 13(1) and Annex I - Taxability of the distribution of electricity in principle - Concept of 'negligible nature of the activity'
  • Agenda for: Working Party on Tax Questions (Indirect Taxation - Excise duties/Energy taxation) - 11 May 2023

AGRICULTURE & FISHERIES

  • Minutes & Working Documents - Meeting of the Expert Group Water Monitoring in Poultry Meat
  • Working Document - Expert group for Agricultural Markets, in particular concerning aspects falling under the CMO Regulations - Arable Crops and Olive Oil
    - Point 1 agrometeorological conditions
    - Point 3.4 Rice Market presentation
    - Point 5 Market transparency
  • EU Parliament's agriculture Committee makes it clear that Green Deal must not jeopardise the continent's food security - Copa-Cogeca Statement
  • Revision of the marketing standards - bittersweet feeling for EU beekeepers after Commission announcements - Copa-Cogeca Statement
  • EU Parliament's Agriculture Committee says a resounding NO to Commission's rhetoric on IED! - Copa-Cogeca Statement

ENERGY

  • Agenda for: Working Party on Atomic Questions - 03 May 2023
  • Fit for 55: MEPs vote to boost methane emission reductions from the energy sector - see Documents & Amendments
  • ACER to consult on the methodology for electricity intraday flow-based capacity calculation in the Core region
  • Coal demand dropped in Europe over winter despite energy crisis - Renewable energy outstrips fossil fuel for electricity generation for the first time - Financial Times
  • Russia seizes subsidiaries of Finland’s Fortum and Germany’s Uniper - Kremlin builds ‘compensation fund’ in response to west’s ‘illegal expropriation of Russian assets’ - Financial Times

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

  • Agenda for: Working Party on the Environment - 27 & 28 April 2023
  • Ending fast fashion: tougher rules to fight excessive production and consumption - see the EP Statement
  • Answer given by Mr Sinkevicius to a MEP written question - Need to decontaminate the site of a former refinery at Matosinhos
  • The EU could take a step towards its 2050 climate target – if new ecodesign rules phase out sales of fossil fuel boilers - see EEB Statement

HEALTH, FOOD & PRODUCT SAFETY

  • SCHEER - Minutes of the Working Group meeting on EMF I of 21 April 2023
  • Opening remarks by VP Schinas and Commissioner Kyriakides on the revision of EU's pharmaceutical legislation
  • EU pharma-legislation risks sabotaging Europe’s life science industry putting European patients further away from the cutting-edge of healthcare - see efpia statement
  • EU aims to create ‘single market for medicines’ with overhaul of pharma rules - Revamp that would cut drugmakers’ years of market exclusivity meets fierce opposition from sector - Financial Times
  • EFSA - Peer review of the pesticide risk assessment of the active substance metiram
  • EFSA - Scientific Report - The 2021 European Union report on pesticide residues in food
  • EFSA - Technical Report - National summary reports on pesticide residue analysis performed in 2021
  • EFSA - Identifying and collecting relevant literature related to the toxicity of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) and brominated phenols
  • EFSA - Assessment of genetically modified oilseed rape MS8, RF3 and MS8 × RF3 for renewal authorisation under Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 (application EFSA‐GMO‐RX‐024)

DIGITAL & INFORMATION SOCIETY

DATA PRIVACY & CYBERSECURITY

  • Unlawful access to personal data by third parties leads to liability for presumed fault on the part of the controller and may give rise to non-material damage for which compensation can be awarded (See CPR Nº 67/2023 - Opinion of the Advocate General in the Case C-340/21, Natsionalna agentsia za prihodite)
  • Opinion of Advocate General Manuel Campos Sanchez-Bordona of 27 April 2023 in Case C-807/21; Deutsche Wohnen SE Vs. Staatsanwaltschaft Berlin
    Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Protection of personal data - Regulation (EU) 2016/679 - Breaches - Imputation to an undertaking of a breach committed by its employees - Possible liability without fault - Transposition of concepts developed in competition law
  • EDPS Opinion 13/2023 on the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on driving licences, amending Directive (EU) 2022/2561 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Regulation (EU) 2018/1724 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Directive 2006/126/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Regulation (EU) No 383/2012
  • During the EDPB’s plenary of 26 April 2023, the EDPB members running to become the new EDPB Chair presented their candidacy to the Board.
  • Answer given by Ms Johansson to a MEP written question - Chat control – EDSA

AREA OF FREEDOM, SECURITY & JUSTICE

ECB, EURO & ECONOMY

  • NextGenerationEU: Commission disburses first payment of €301 million to Denmark under the Recovery and Resilience Facility - Midday Express
    N    extGenerationEU: Slovakia submits request to modify recovery and resilience plan and add a REPowerEU chapter - Midday Express
  • NextGenerationEU: Malta submits request to modify recovery and resilience plan and add a REPowerEU chapter - Midday Express
  • NextGenerationEU: QaA on REPowerEU and on the revision of national recovery plans
  • Remarks by EVP Dombrovskis and Commissioner Gentiloni at the press conference on the review of the EU's economic governance framework
  • European Business Cycle Indicators – Selling price expectations and core inflation: insights from the Commission’s business surveys. 1st Quarter 2023
  • ECB publishes Euro money market study 2022
  • ECB - The exchange of balance of payments, international investment position statistics - BPM6 
  • ECB - Euro area economic and financial developments by institutional sector: fourth quarter of 2022
  • Richer earnings dynamics, consumption and portfolio choice over the life cycle - ECB Working Paper Series No.2810

FUTURE OF EUROPE

EXTERNAL RELATIONS 

  • Colombia: EU announces new cooperation projects
  • One year from the Staff-Level Agreement with the IMF, little has been done – Urgent action is needed
  • MEPs call for coordinated EU strategy against foreign interference - Compromise amendments

RUSSIAN INVASION OF UKRAINE

  • Consolidated version of the FAQs on sanctions against Russia and Belarus.
  • FAQs on sanctions against Russia and Belarus, with focus on the following provision: Article 5a(4) of Council Regulation (EU) No 833/2014. (Russian Central Bank)
  • FAQs on sanctions against Russia and Belarus, with focus on the following legislation: Council Regulation (EU) No 269/2014 (Asset freeze and prohibition to provide funds or economic resources)
  • Leaking Russia sanctions send floods of cash to ex-Soviet countries - Pressure is growing on the EU to prevent countries from helping Russia circumvent sanctions - Politico.eu
  • Pernod Ricard quietly resumes booze exports to Russia - The parent company of Beefeater Gin first paused exports in March 2022 - Politico.eu

BREXIT

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