Europe Daily News, 04 July 2023

COMPETITION

• A national competition authority can find, in the context of the examination of an abuse of a dominant position, that the GDPR has been infringed (See CPR No.113/2023 - Judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-252/21; Meta Platforms and Others)
• CJEU declares Meta's GDPR approach illegal. CJEU joins noyb and EDPB view on Meta's "GDPR bypass"
• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.11082 - ARP / GRI / JV)
• Commission authorises the acquisition of joint control of the Kertrucks Finance Group by Sacapuce, Jam Prod and Emil Frey France (M.11137) - Midday Express
• Answer given by EVP Vestager to a MEP written question - Conflict of interests – RBB Economics (consultant for Google inter alia) hired by the Commission to give advice on merger control
• Belgium - The Competition Authority sends a statement of objections to Ladbrokes and the French PMU concerning agreements for the distribution of betting products on French horse races in Belgium
• Bulgaria - CPC sanctioned Miele Bulgaria EOOD with more than 1 600 000 BGN for anticompetitive behaviour on the domestic electric appliances market under the national and European competition law
• Germany - Bundeskartellamt acts as external reporting unit under the German Whistleblower Protection Act
• Germany - Bundeskartellamt – List of Notified Merger Projects
• Greece - Acquisition of sole control by Ideal Holding of K.T. Golden Retail Venture
• France - The Autorité de la concurrence unconditionally clears the acquisition of Make Distribution by the IBL Group
• Italy - Antitrust: more than 4 million fines to fuel distributors in the municipality of Livigno (SO)
• Poland - Pet food - President of the UOKiK initiates proceedings
• Romania - The Competition Council fined (20.5 million lei (approximately 4.1 million euro)) 3 companies for tricking a tender organized by the Ministry of Internal affairs
• UK - CMA sets out plan to help drivers get more competitive fuel prices - See the Report
• UK - Streamlining the CMA’s approach to issuing directions in relation to the enforcement of market and merger undertakings and orders
• Illumina faces record fine over purchase of Grail without EU approval - World’s biggest gene sequencing group closed deal with cancer screening start-up despite ongoing investigation - Financial Times

STATE AID

• Commission opens in-depth investigation into €1 billion Danish and Swedish support measure to recapitalise SAS in context of coronavirus pandemic (SA.58342 and SA.57543) - IP/23/3629

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) /... concerning the classification of certain goods in the Combined Nomenclature (CN: 6911 10 00)
• Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 978/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 applying a scheme of generalised tariff preferences and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 732/2008
• Notice of initiation of a partial interim review of the anti-dumping and countervailing measures applicable to imports of certain woven and/or stitched glass fibre fabrics originating in the People's Republic of China and Egypt, as extended to imports consigned from Türkiye, whether declared as originating in Türkiye or not
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1404 of 3 July 2023 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty and definitively collecting the provisional duty imposed on imports of stainless steel refillable kegs originating in the People’s Republic of China (CN codes ex 7310 10 00 and ex 7310 29 90)
• EVP Valdis Dombrovskis in Washington DC to discuss transatlantic trade and support for Ukraine - Midday Express
• Answer given by EVP Dombrovskis to a MEP written question - Spanish-Moroccan trade of Western Saharan phosphorus and phosphates
• WTO - New report looks into boosting developing countries’ participation in services trade
• UK - Trade Remedies Authority areas of research interest

INTERNAL MARKET, INDUSTRY & RESEARCH

• Agenda for: Working Party on Competitiveness and Growth (Internal Market) - 13 July 2023
• Special report 17/2023: ‘Circular economy - Slow transition by member states despite EU action’

CHEMICAL

• ECHA - Integrated Regulatory Strategy annual report

FINANCIAL SERVICES

• Agenda for: Att. & Exp. Financial Services and Banking Union (Financial Services)
  - Payment Services/Open Finance - 12 July 2023
  - ESG ratings - 10 July 2023
• ESMA publishes second overview of national rules governing fund marketing

EMPLOYMENT & SOCIAL POLICY

• Report by MEP Eleni Stavrou on the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers following an application from Belgium - EGF/2023/001 BE/ LNSA

AGRICULTURE & FISHERIES

• Minutes of the Meeting of the European Union Sugar Market Observatory - 20 June 2023
• Galway Statement anniversary: a decade of marine research cooperation along and across the Atlantic Ocean - IP/23/3663

ENERGY

• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) …/... correcting Delegated Regulations (EU) No 626/2011, (EU) 2019/2015, (EU) 2019/2016 and (EU) 2019/2018 with regard to energy labelling requirements of air conditioners, light sources, refrigerating appliances, and refrigerating appliances with a direct sales function
• European and Chinese energy groups race to lock in LNG shipments from US - Demand surged after Ukraine war shut off gas supplies from Russia - Financial Times

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• Agenda for: Working Party on International Environment Issues
  - WPIEI Desertification - 13 July 2023
  - UNECE Espoo - 12 July 2023
  - Biodiversity - 11 July 2023
  - Int. Chemicals/Synergies - 10 July 2023
• 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (Geneva, 1 - 12 May 2023) 11th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade (Geneva, 1 - 12 May 2023) 11th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (Geneva, 1 - 12 May 2023) - Compilation of statements
• Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context: 12th Meeting of the Working Group on Environmental Impact Assessment and Strategic Environmental Assessment (WG 12 on EIA and SEA) (Geneva, 13-15 June 2023) - Statements by the EU and its Member States
• North Macedonia joins the LIFE programme for environment and climate action - Midday Express

HEALTH, FOOD & PRODUCT SAFETY

• Commission Implementing Decision (EU) / amending Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/1195 as regards a harmonised standard for sterilization of health care products
• EFSA - Scientific Opinion - Safety evaluation of the food enzyme glucan‐1,4‐α‐maltohydrolase from the genetically modified Bacillus subtilis strain AR‐453
• EFSA - Scientific Opinion - Safety assessment of the process Coca‐Cola HBC, based on the NGR technology, used to recycle post‐consumer PET into food contact materials
• EFSA - Scientific Opinion - Safety assessment of the process CCH CIRCULARPET, based on the NGR technology, used to recycle post‐consumer PET into food contact materials
• EFSA - External Scientific Report - Report on EFSA project GP/EFSA/AFSCO/2017/03 “Detection and Quantification of Allergens in Foods and Minimum Eliciting Doses in Food‐Allergic Individuals” (ThRAll)

TRANSPORT & MOBILITY

• Minutes of the Meeting of the Intelligent Transport Systems expert group - 16 June 2023

DIGITAL & INFORMATION SOCIETY

• The Netherlands - ACM Annual Report on Net Neutrality: action against zero-rating service, and input in the discussion on fees for content providers

DATA PRIVACY & CYBERSECURITY

• Data protection: Commission adopts new rules to ensure stronger enforcement of the GDPR in cross-border cases - IP/23/3609, QaA & Regulation
• GDPR Procedures Regulation: Commission Proposal is an attack on users' rights in GDPR procedures
• EDPB - Opinion 10/2023 on the draft decision of the Spanish Supervisory Authority regarding the Controller Binding Corporate Rules of the Prosegur Group 
• A national competition authority can find, in the context of the examination of an abuse of a dominant position, that the GDPR has been infringed (See CPR No.113/2023 - Judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-252/21; Meta Platforms and Others)
• CJEU declares Meta's GDPR approach illegal. CJEU joins noyb and EDPB view on Meta's "GDPR bypass"

ECB, EURO & ECONOMY

• ECB - Results of the June 2023 Survey on credit terms and conditions in euro-denominated securities financing and over-the-counter derivatives markets (SESFOD)
• ECB - Euro area quarterly balance of payments and international investment position: first quarter of 2023
• ECB - Households and non-financial corporations in the euro area: first quarter of 2023
• Rational inattention and the business cycle effects of productivity and news shocks - ECB Working Paper Series No.2827

FUTURE OF EUROPE

• Agenda for: Meeting of the Coreper (Part.1 & Part.2) - 05 & 07 July 2023
• Statement by President von der Leyen at the joint press conference with Prime Minister Sánchez on the occasion of the College visit to the Spanish Presidency

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• Report by MEP Evin Incir on a European Parliament recommendation to the Council, the Commission and the VP/HR of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on relations with the Palestinian Authority
• Pakistan: EU mobilises over €16.5 million in humanitarian aid for most vulnerable - IP/23/3640
• High Representative Josep Borrell visits Niger - Midday Express

RUSSIAN INVASION OF UKRAINE

• Ukraine: International Centre for the prosecution of Russia's crime of aggression against Ukraine starts operations today - IP/23/3606
• Switzerland questions oil trader over sidestep of Russian sanctions - Geneva-based Paramount investigated about use of overseas subsidiary - Financial Times

UK/EU RELATIONS (BREXIT)

• Joint statement by Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič and Foreign Secretary James Cleverly
• Decision No 2/2023 adding two newly adopted Union acts to Annex 2 to the Windsor Framework
• Decision No 3/2023 amending Part I of Annex I to the Withdrawal Agreement