Europe Daily News, 09 May 2025

COMPETITION

• Public consultation: Merger guidelines – review - Communication - Feedback period: 08 May 2025 - 03 September 2025

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Agenda for: Working Party on Customs Union - 13 May 2025
• Agenda for: Law Enforcement Working Party (Customs) - 15 May 2025
• Agenda for: Working Party on European Free Trade Association (EFTA) - 14 May 2025
• Joint Minutes Fifth Meeting of the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures under the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement - 11 April 2025
• Recommendation for a Council Decision concerning new negotiating directives for a regional FTA and bilateral FTAs with the countries of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf and respectively the Kingdom of Bahrain, the State of Kuwait, the Sultanate of Oman, the State of Qatar, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the State of the United Arab Emirates - See the Annex
• Commission consults on possible countermeasures and readies WTO litigation in response to US tariffs
  - List of products which could be subject to possible import duties or possible export restrictions
  - Call for stakeholder views
• Parliament backs extension of trade liberalisation measure for Ukrainian imports - See the EP Statement
• European Parliament endorses new screening rules for foreign investment in EU - See the EP Statement
• Landmark economic deal with United States saves thousands of jobs for British car makers and steel industry - Financial Times
• Britain’s trade deal with Trump may not be good news for the world - Starmer’s choice undermines multilateralism and poses risks to the UK - Financial Times
• How the EU deforestation law aggravates the trade dispute with the US - Financial Times
• EU threatens tariffs on US cars if talks with Washington fail - Brussels also plans to target aircraft, bourbon and wine in latest retaliation proposals - Financial Times
• Chinese companies bought up European ports — and now Brussels is starting to worry - Chinese companies own stakes in about 30 European ports, and that’s raising security concerns - Politico.eu

INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

• Agenda for: Working Party on Technical Harmonisation - 20 May 2025
• Preparation for the Council (Competitiveness (Internal Market, Industry), 22 May 2025
  - Public procurement - strategic goals and way forward - Policy debate
  - Council Recommendation on the European Research Area Policy Agenda 2025-2027 - Political agreement
  - Council as a red tape filter - how to achieve business-friendly regulations during the legislative process from its very beginning - Policy debate
• Presentation by the European Court of Auditors (agenda item 2.) on the "EU's strategy for microchips" at the Working Party on Competitiveness & Growth (Industry) meeting - 08 May 2025
• Draft Council conclusions on the European Court of Auditors’ special report No 12/2025: ‘The EU’s strategy for microchips - Reasonable progress in its implementation but the Chips Act is very unlikely to be sufficient to reach the overly ambitious Digital Decade target’
• Answer given by EVP Séjourné to a MEP written question - Failure of European policies whose aim was to ensure the continent’s economic prosperity and preserve our industry

AUTOMOTIVE

• CO2 emissions: EP adopts flexibility measures for carmakers
• ACEA welcomes CO2 relief, long-term strategy now essential
• CLEPA welcomes the EP's support of the Commission’s targeted amendment to the CO₂ standards for cars and van
• Europe must stand firm over its future targets for carmakers as it cannot afford to fall further behind China See T&E Statement
• How carmakers fought EU rules and won - After months of lobbying, lawmakers watered down a provision aimed at cutting CO2 emissions from cars - Politico.eu

FINANCE

• Call for evidence: Savings & Investments Union - EU rules to foster market integration and efficient supervision - Proposal for a directive - Feedback period: 08 May 2025 - 05 June 2025
• Call for evidence: Savings & Investments Union - Regulation fostering EU market integration and efficient supervision - Proposal for a regulation - Feedback period: 08 May 2025 - 05 June 2025

TAXATION

• Judgment of the Court of 08 May 2025 in Case C‑615/23, Dyrektor Krajowej Informacji Skarbowej Vs. P. S.A.
  Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Taxation - Common system of VAT - Directive 2006/112/EC - Article 73 - Taxable amount - Consideration - Subsidies directly linked to the price of a taxable transaction - Collective public transport services - Compensation paid by a local authority to the service provider to cover the costs incurred - Direct link between the compensation and the services provided
• Judgment of the Court of 08 May 2025 in Case C‑405/24, L. s.c. Vs. Dyrektor Krajowej Informacji Skarbowej, interested party: Rzecznik Małych i Średnich Przedsiębiorców
  Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Taxation - Common system of VAT - Directive 2006/112/EC - Article 143(1)(b) - Exemptions on importation - Directive 2006/79/EC - Small consignments of goods of a non-commercial character from third countries - Consignee residing in a Member State other than the Member State of importation
• Opinion of Advocate General Kokott of 8 May 2025 in Case C‑744/23 [Zlakov] , Т.P.T. Vs. ‘Financial Bulgaria’ EOOD
  Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Common system of VAT - Directive 2006/112/EC - Taxable transactions - Absence of consideration for a service due to the uncertainty of a contingency fee – pro bono legal advice given by a lawyer registered as a taxable person liable for VAT - Statutory minimum fee payable by the unsuccessful party in the event of a successful outcome
• Draft Directive amending Directive 2006/112/EC as regards VAT rules relating to taxable persons who facilitate distance sales of imported goods and the application of the special scheme for distance sales of goods imported from third territories or third countries and special arrangements for declaration and payment of import VAT - See the Compromise Text, the General approach & Council Statement

ENERGY

• The draft law adopted seeks to address speculation on the gas market and bring down prices, by introducing greater flexibility in rules on gas storage refilling  - See the EP Statement
• Answer given by Mr Jørgensen to a MEP written question - Securing Europe’s gas supply
• Answer given by Mr Jørgensen to a MEP written question - The future of public interventions in price setting for the supply of electricity
• Answer given by Mr Jørgensen to a MEP written question - Addressing problems relating to the Greece-Cyprus electricity interconnection project
• Answer given by Mr Jørgensen to a MEP written question - Making use of the infrastructure that has been implemented in Greece and that can ensure the energy security of the EU
• EU consumers to save energy with new limits to 'standby' modes of electrical appliances
• ACER releases first reports on the detection, reporting and response to suspicious energy market behaviours under REMIT
• Baltic energy regulators request more time to agree on long-term capacity calculation methodology

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• Judgment of the Court of 08 May 2025 in Case C‑236/24, Provincie Oost-Vlaanderen, Sogent Vs. KG, WA
  Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Environment - Directive 2011/92/EU - Assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment - Projects listed in Annex II - Determination of the projects to be made subject to an environmental impact assessment (screening) - Article 9a - Prevention of conflicts of interest - Combining the functions of developer and the authority competent to make that determination - Appropriate separation between conflicting functions
• Answer given by Ms Roswall to a MEP written question - Implementation of the revised Waste Framework Directive – criteria for extended producer responsibility fees for textiles
• Answer given by Ms Roswall to a MEP written question -The human rights factor in the country benchmarking methodology annex of the EU Deforestation-free Products Regulation

HEALTH, FOOD & PRODUCT SAFETY

• Opinion of Advocate General Athanasios Rantos of 8 May 2025 in Case C-115/24, UJ Vs. Österreichische Zahnärztekammer, Urban Technology GmbH, DZK Deutsche Zahnklinik GmbH
  Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Public health - Concept of ‘provision of health care’ - Concept of ‘provision of health care by telemedicine’ - Concept of ‘provision of physical health care’ - Complex treatment providing for the provision of health care by telemedicine and physical health care - Cross-border nature of that care - Concept of ‘provider of care’ - Applicable law - Directive 2011/24/EU - Member State of treatment - Directive 2000/31/EC - Information society services - Directive 2005/36/EC - Professional qualifications - Article 56 TFEU - Freedom to provide services - Article 49 TFEU - Freedom of establishment

EFSA

• Phymatotrichopsis omnivora Pest Report to support the ranking of EU candidate priority pests
• Safety evaluation of the food enzyme chymotrypsin from the GM Bacillus licheniformis strain NZYM‐RH
• Safety evaluation of the food enzyme prolyl oligopeptidase from the GM Trichoderma reesei strain DP‐Nyq99
• Safety evaluation of the food enzyme acetolactate decarboxylase from the GM Bacillus subtilis strain DP‐Ezz65
• Safety and efficacy of a feed additive consisting of vermiculite for all poultry and ornamental birds, all porcine species, equines, leporids, camelids, pets and other non‐food‐producing animals

ECDC

• ECDC/EC/EFSA country visit to Montenegro to advance One Health responses against antimicrobial resistance
• Communicable Disease Threats Report (CDTR) covering the period 3 May - 9 May 2025

EMA

• Meeting highlights from the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) 5-8 May 2025
• Measures to minimise risk of suicidal thoughts with finasteride and dutasteride medicines

DIGITAL & INFORMATION SOCIETY

• Call for evidence: Quantum Strategy of the EU - Communication - Feedback period 08 May 2025 - 03 June 2025
• Call for evidence: International Digital Strategy - Joint communication - Feedback period 07 May 2025 - 21 May 2025

DATA PRIVACY & CYBERSECURITY

• Agenda for: Horizontal Working Party on Cyber Issues - 12 May 2025
• Agenda for: Attachés & Experts - Horizontal Working Party on Cyber Issues - 12 May 2025
• Agenda for: Ad hoc Working Party on preparedness, response capability and resilience to future crises - 14 May 2025
• Simplification of record-keeping obligation: EDPB and EDPS adopt letter to EU Commission

FUTURE OF EUROPE

• Agenda for: Meeting of the Coreper (Part.1 & Part.2) - 12 & 14 May 2025
• Statement by President von der Leyen with Friedrich Merz, Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• Agenda for Meeting of the Council Security Committee - 14 and 15 May 2025
• Gymnich: press remarks by High Representative Kaja Kallas after the meeting
• Statement by President Costa and President von der Leyen on the election of Pope Leo XIV as head of the Catholic Church