Europe Daily News, 16 May 2025

COMPETITION

• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.11893 - Rethmann / Transdev)
• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.11978 - Central Group / Carschhaus)
• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.11951 - Van Mossel Automotive International / Löhr & Becker)
• Commission seeks feedback on commitments offered by Microsoft over possible anticompetitive practices related to Teams - See Cases AT.40721 and AT.40873
• Commission clears acquisition of Shepherds Flat by GCM, BCI and Brookfield (M.11965) - Midday Express
• Commission clears acquisition of 407 by PSPIB, CPPIB and Cintra (M.11980) - Midday Express
• Belgium - The Competition Authority approves the acquisition of Delitraiteur by Colruyt Food Retail
• Cyprus - Notification of a concentration concerning the acquisition of the share capital of Ethniki Insurance Cyprus Ltd, from Bank of Cyprus Public Company Limited
• Greece - Acquisition of the trademarks and related intellectual property rights, Altis, Elanthi, SOL and Flora by MINERVA SA
• Greece - Acquisition of exclusive control over HELLENIC FARMS by LEADER
• Greece - Temporary interruption in user authentication services via TAXISnet codes
• Ireland - CCPC conducts searches of businesses in the betting sector
• Lithuania - Parliament has adopted amendments to the Competition Law
• Norway - Imposes disclosure requirements on Norva24
• Portugal - LYNX notifies acquisition of exclusive control over Alcapredial
• Portugal - AdC adopts non-opposition decision in merger 28/2025 - Irestal Europe / Thielmann
• Romania - The Competition Council approved the takeover of Karamolegos Bakery Romania by Vel Pitar
• Romania - The Competition Council puts up for debate the commitments regarding the takeover of Telekom Romania Mobile Communications S.A. by Vodafone Romania S.A. and Digi Romania S.A.
• UK - The CMA is investigating the completed acquisition by Constellation Developments Limited of ABVR Holdings Limited.
• UK - The CMA has served an initial enforcement order on SMFL LCI Helicopters Limited (SMFLH) and Macquarie Rotorcraft Limited (MRL)

STATE AID

• Authorisation for State aid pursuant to Articles 107 and 108 of the TFEU - Cases where the Commission raises no objections – SA.116275
• Answer given by EVP Ribera to a MEP written question - Impact of the delay in State aid approval for Solar Package I on agri-photovoltaics and European competitiveness

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Agenda for: 43rd Meeting of the Customs Code Committee - Customs Debt & Guarantees - 22 May 2025
• Main results of the Foreign Affairs Council (Trade) - 15 May 2025
  
• Proposal for a Council Decision on the position to be taken on behalf of the EU in the WCO Council in relation to a WCO Article 16 Recommendation amending the Harmonised System
• Council Decision on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the Trade Committee established by the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and New Zealand, as regards amendments to that Agreement concerning fundamental principles and rights at work - Adoption
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/890 of 15 May 2025 making imports of continuous filament glass fibre products originating in Bahrain, Egypt and Thailand subject to registration
• Slides of the stakeholder meeting on the establishment of a Multilateral Investment Court – 27 March 2025
  
• EU agri-food trade kicked off 2025 with rising exports and imports - Midday Express
  
• MEPs back new tariffs on Russian and Belarusian agricultural goods
• Answer given by Mr Šefčovič to a MEP written question - Effect of imposing duties on European agri-food imports
• Answer given by Mr Šefčovič to a MEP written question - Impact of tariffs and quota systems on downstream steel manufacturing in the EU
• Answer given by Mr Šefčovič to a MEP written question - Is the Commission aware of the serious trade difficulties faced by French wines and spirits?
• European business calls for a pragmatic restart in EU-U.S. trade relations - See BusinessEurope Paper
• Concrete steps to improve the EU-UK economic relationship are needed – Letter from BusinessEurope and CBI ahead of the EU-UK Summit on 19 May 2025  - See BusinessEurope Paper
• What should the EU aim for in a trade deal with Trump? - The EU should plan for both the short term and the long haul in trade talks with the United States - See Bruegel Position Paper

INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

• Agenda for: Meeting of the EP IMCO Committee - 19 May & 20 May 2025
• Agenda for: Telecommunications Conformity Assessment and Market Surveillance Committee (TCAM) - 12 June 2025
• Preparation of the Competitiveness Council (Internal Market, Industry, Research and Space) on 22 May 2025
  - Council as a red tape filter - how to achieve business-friendly regulations during the legislative process from its very beginning - Policy debate
• 34th Session of the WIPO Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) (Geneva, 5–9 May 2025) - General/Opening Statement
• Stellantis and Renault bosses call for EU focus on fewer rules and more strategy - John Elkann says Trump has been more effective in outlining policy to boost car manufacturing - Financial Times

CHEMICAL

• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) …/... of 15.5.2025 amending Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards dechlorane plus

FINANCE

• Answer given by Ms Albuquerque to a MEP written question - Need for an updated list of high-risk countries in the annex to Directive (EU) 2018/843
• ISDA publishes paper exploring use of "Generative AI" to extract and digitize CSA clauses

TAXATION

• New approach to VAT for e-commerce imports to simplify trade and compliance

ENERGY

• Agenda for: Meeting of the Electricity cross-border Committee - 19 May 2025
• Commission final report: Emergency measure on the fossil fuels sector in support of European consumers and businesses
• Answer given by Mr Jørgensen to a MEP written question - Legal options for a Member State to withdraw from the European electricity market

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• Agenda for: Commission Expert Group on Climate Change Policy - The Social Climate Fund Formation - 19 May 2025
• Agenda for: Working Party on the Environment (Green Claims Directive) - 20 May 2025
• Montenegro joins the EU LIFE programme for environment and climate action - Midday Express
• New EU-India Research calls on Marine Pollution and Waste to Hydrogen
• ACEA position on the EU Deforestation Regulation

HEALTH, FOOD & PRODUCT SAFETY

• Agenda for: Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed
  - Section "Plant Health" - 21 May 2025
  - Section: "General food law" - 23 May 2025
  - Section: "Controls and import conditions" - 22 May 2025
  - Section: "Animal health and animal welfare" - 22 May 2025
  - Section: "Biological safety of the food chain" - 22 May 2025

SCHEER

• Minutes of the Working Group meeting on Emerging Risks of 30 April 2025 
• Minutes of the Working Group meeting on Brain stimulators of 11 April 2025

SCCS

• Minutes of the Working Group meeting on Cosmetic Ingredients of 29-30 April
• Minutes of the Working Group meeting on Nanomaterials in Cosmetic Products of 7 and 25 April 2025

DIGITAL & INFORMATION SOCIETY

• Call for evidence: European Business Wallet: digital identity, secure data exchange and legal notifications for simple, digital business - Proposal for a regulation - Feedback period: 15 May 2025 - 12 June 2025
• Embracing the future of mobility: a strategy for autonomous driving in the EU - DigitalEurope Paper
• EU takes action against TikTok over online content rules - Financial Times

ECB, EURO & ECONOMY

• Speech by Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the ECB, at the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) Annual General Meeting

FUTURE OF EUROPE

• Doorstep by President von der Leyen at the European Political Community Summit

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• Agenda for: Meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council and Foreign Affairs Council (Defence) - 20 May 2025
  
• Statement by the HR/VP on behalf of the European Union on the alignment of certain countries concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Myanmar/Burma
• Remarks by President António Costa at the joint press conference with Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama
• The EU and Korea: Partnering for Peace and Security – Europe Day 2025 Marks a Milestone Year
• A new EuroMed Pact could reinvigorate EU-MENA relations - See CEPS Commentary

EU/UK RELATIONS

• EU-UK summit, 19 May 2025
• Minutes: 9th meeting of the Specialised Committee on Fisheries established by the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement -  24 September 2024
• Minutes: 4th Meeting of the Specialised Committee on Road Transport established by the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement - 14 November 2024
• Minutes: 4th meeting of the Specialised Committee on Law Enforcement and Judicial Cooperation (LEJC) established by the  EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement - 13 December 2024
• The EU-UK summit - Not a summit of ambition - see CER Insight
• The UK and EU must choose prosperity over politics - Financial Times
• EU leaders urge Starmer to improve mobility deal in last-ditch ‘reset’ talks - Financial Times