Europe Daily News, 14 October 2025

COMPETITION

• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.12154 - Advent / Nextalia / Tinexta)
• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.12085 - Axel Springer / Schwarz Group / Dyn Media and Dyn Productions JV)
• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.12059 - Pandox / Scandic / Dalata)
• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.12112 - FSK / Ares / Production Resource Group)
• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.11924 - TPG / Arch / Kelso / Warburg / Somers Re)
• Commission fines fashion brands Gucci (AT.40840), Chloé (AT.40880) and Loewe (AT.40881) over €157 million for anticompetitive pricing practices  
• The European Commission has published its clearance decision for Safran's acquisition of part of Collins Aerospace’s actuation business - See Case M.11253
  
• Croatia - The Agency for the Protection of Competition approved the concentration of Advance Fashion Group d.o.o. and Saše Apostolovskog on Ponds d.o.o. and Mass Shoes d.o.o.
• Czech Republic - The Office for the Protection of Competition (UOHS) has conditionally cleared the concentration between undertakings CB Auto a.s. and Auto Future, s.r.o.
• Germany - The Bundeskartellamt has cleared plans by BioNTech SE (BioNTech), Mainz, to acquire up to 100 per cent of the shares in CureVac N.V. (CureVac), Tübingen
• Lithuania - The court: Latvian flour and other products manufacturer was reasonable denied permission to acquire a lithuanian competitor
• Norway - The Competition Authority extends commitments against Circle K, YX, and Uno-X
• Poland - Further allegations by the President of the UOKiK regarding the abuse of contractual advantage over farmers
• Romania - The Competition Council authorizes the acquisition of several companies and assets by carrier Global Corporation SA
• UK - The CMA has referred the completed acquisition by Constellation Developments Ltd of ABVR Holdings Ltd for an in-depth investigation
• UK - Open consultation - Fuel Finder draft guidance on the CMA’s enforcement functions

STATE AID

• Authorisation for State aid pursuant to Articles 107 and 108 of the TFEU - Cases where the Commission raises no objections – SA.119051

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Agenda for: Informal meeting of trade ministers - 13 & 14 October 2025
• Agenda for: Meeting of the Sub-group on Customs facilitation of the Customs Union Performance Expert Group - 16 October 2025
• Agenda for: Customs Programme - CLEN Action 1 - Inter Laboratory Inventory of Analytical Determinations (ILIADe) Annual meeting - part 2 - 15 October 2025
• Text of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU and Indonesia following the Ministerial announcement on 23 September 2025
• Foreign direct investment screening continues to safeguard EU security and public order - See the 5th Annual Report & Working Document - Midday Express
• WTO - Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures - Subsidies - New and full notification pursuant to article XVI:1 of the GATT 1994 and article 25 of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures - European Union : Ireland - Addendum
• Cefic joins 25 European business associations in support of the swift ratification of the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement
• EU urges G7 response to China’s rare-earth export curbs - Brussels and Washington want joint response to Beijing’s export controls, says EU trade chief - Politico.eu
• EU and India move into final stages of trade talks with continuous contact - Negotiators step up pace of talks after agreeing on rules governing farm trade, says European Commission -Politico.eu

INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

• Information note by the General Secretariat of the Council to the Coreper: Withdrawal of Commission proposals

SIMPLIFICATION

• Information note by the General Secretariat of the Council to the Coreper: Omnibus simplification legislative packages - Progress report
• Sustainability reporting and due diligence: simpler rules for fewer companies - See the Voting list and compromise amendments (point 9)
• The EU is walking a fine line between simplification and deregulation - See CEPS Position Paper
• The EU must find a regulatory reverse gear - Simplification is not the same as true deregulation - Financial Times

CHEMICAL

• Highlights from ECHA’s Member State Committee October meeting - ECHA/NR/25/32

TOYS SAFETY

• Communication from the Commission the European Parliament pursuant to Article 294(6) of the TFEU concerning the position of the Council on the adoption of a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the safety of toys and repealing Directive 2009/48/EC

AUTOMOTIVE

• Demand incentives matter: Making zero-emission cars affordable across the European Union - See the Acea Statement
• Carmakers and motorists clash over post-Brexit law in ‘dieselgate’ case - Lawyers acting for 1.6mn vehicle owners say failure to follow EU precedents would make UK a ‘defeat-device island’ - Financial Times

FINANCE

• ESMA - Final Report on Amendments to the RTS on Settlement Discipline
• The EBA updates list of third-country groups and branches operating in the European Union and the European Economic Area
• List of links for "complaints-handling" under Article 108 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA)
• Opinion of the European Banking Authority on the European Commission’s amendments relating to the final draft Regulatory Technical Standards
  - to specify the highly liquid financial instruments with minimal market risk, credit risk and concentration risk under Article 38(5) of Regulation (EU) 2023/1114
  - to further specify the liquidity requirements of the reserve of assets under Article 36(4) of Regulation (EU) 2023/1114

ENERGY

• Commission advances in the completion of the Common Charger initiative - See the Ecodesign requirements Regulation
• Phasing out Russian natural gas imports, improving monitoring of potential energy dependencies and amending Regulation (EU) 2017/1938 at the EP INTA and ITRE Committee on 16 October 2025 (see the Reasoned opinion of Slovak Parliament)
• Proposal for a Council Decision on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the Ministerial Council of the Energy Community as regards amendments to the Treaty establishing the Energy Community to update and expand the scope of the Treaty to the evolution of Union environmental law

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• Agenda for: Working Party on International Environment Issues (UNECE PRTR) - 21 October 2025
• Agenda for: Working Party on International Environment Issues (UNECE Espoo) - 20 October 2025
• Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP): Meeting of the Heads of Delegations (Elsinore, Denmark, 20-23 October 2025) - First EU coordination
• Meeting of the Council (Environment) on 21 October 2025
  - Annual progress report on Simplification, Implementation and Enforcement - Information from the Commission
• EU and Egypt deepen cooperation on water issues at Cairo Water Week
• Speech by President von der Leyen at the opening of the conference ‘Smart Growth, Green Future: Accelerating Investments in Montenegro'

AREA OF FREEDOM, SECURITY & JUSTICE

• Main results of the Justice and Home Affairs Council (Justice) - 13 October 2025
• EU strategy to face narratives against democracy - with a focus on the external dimension - See the EP Study
• MEPs set out their red lines for air passenger rights changes
• Scores of MEPs hold side jobs in sectors where they steer EU laws - FT analysis identifies paid work that has not been declared as a potential conflict of interest - Financial Times

ECB, EURO & ECONOMY

• Main results of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council - 10 October 2025
• Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and of the Council on the evaluation of REACT-EU
• Commission greenlights Greece's sixth payment request for €2.44 billion under NextGenerationEU
• Commission greenlights Portugal's seventh payment request of €1.06 billion under NextGenerationEU
• Commission greenlights Slovenia's fourth payment request of €439.7 million under NextGenerationEU
• ECB sets transitional provisions for minimum reserve requirements following introduction of euro in Bulgaria
• Decomposing US economic fluctuations: a trend-cycle approach - ECB Working Paper Series No.3138
• ECB Survey of Monetary Analysts (SMA), October 2025

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• Council Decision (CFSP) 2025/2080 of 13 October 2025 amending Decision 2010/638/CFSP concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Guinea
• Chemical Weapons: Council renews restrictive measures for another year - See Council Decision (CFSP) 2025/2072
• Statement by President António Costa following his participation in the Sharm El-Sheikh Summit
• Statement by President von der Leyen with Prime Minister Spajić of Montenegro
• Ukraine: remarks by HR / VP Kaja Kallas at the joint press conference

EU/UN RELATIONS

• EU Statement - UN General Assembly 6th Committee: Crimes against humanity
• EU Statement - UN General Assembly 3rd Committee: Interactive dialogue on Indigenous Peoples
• EU Statement - UN General Assembly 3rd Committee: Interactive dialogue on the Rights of the Child
• EU Statement - UN General Assembly 3rd Committee: Interactive dialogue with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime