Europe Daily News, 03 December 2025

COMPETITION

• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.11952 - Volvo / Swecon)

STATE AID

• Authorisation for State aid pursuant to Articles 107 and 108 of the TFEU - Cases where the Commission raises no objections – SA.112459 & SA.110155

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Answer given by Mr Šefčovič to a MEP written question - Anti-dumping measures and problems for Italian pasta makers
• WTO - Committee on Safeguards - European Union - Safeguard measure regarding certain ferro-alloying elements - Request for consultations by Switzerland under article 12.3 of the Agreement on Safeguards - Switzerland
• WTO - Large increase in new tariffs but also measures to ease global trade, WTO report shows
  WTO - United States launches safeguard investigation on quartz surface products
• WTO - Food processing and global trade flows: What are the trends?

INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

• Meeting of the Competitiveness Council - 08 December 2025:
  - Action Plan: Setting the course towards a Single Market driven by business data - Information from the Presidency
• Answer given by EVP Séjourné to a MEP written question - Risk of unfair competition due to method of calculating tyre emissions
• The EU single market’s elephant in the room - Small, often invisible barriers to trade affect products from businesses across Europe, including a fluffy Ikea pachyderm - Financial Times
• Brussels pushes for 70% of critical goods to be ‘made in Europe’ - Policy would force EU companies to buy certain products domestically in an effort to cut reliance on China - Financial Times

CHEMICAL

• Regulation (EU) 2025/2439 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 November 2025 amending Regulation (EU) 2024/2865 (CLP) as regards dates of application and transitional provisions
• Judgment of the General Court of 03 December 2025 in Case T‑536/23, AlzChem Trostberg GmbH, supported by Industrieverband Agrar eV, intervener Vs. European Commission, supported by Federal Republic of Germany, by Republic of Lithuania, and by European Chemicals Agency (ECHA)
  Re: Public health - Biocidal products - Decision not approving cyanamide as an existing active substance for use in biocidal products of product-types 3 and 18 - Regulation (EU) No 528/2012 - Transitional measures - Manifest error of assessment - Proportionality

ENERGY

• Answer given by Mr Jørgensen to a MEP written question - Nuclear energy as a strategic enabler for European AI competitiveness and energy security
• Answer given by Mr Jørgensen to a MEP written question - Prerequisites for closer EU energy integration 

PHASING OUT OF RUSSIAN FOSSIL FUEL

• EU agrees to permanently stop Russian gas imports and phase out Russian oil for an energy secure and independent Europe - see the EP Statement 
  - Statement by President von der Leyen with Commissioner Jorgensen and Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency
  - Remarks by Commissioner Jørgensen on the provisional agreement on the phasing out of Russian fossil fuels under REPowerEU
• Answer given by Mr Jørgensen to a MEP written question - Financing of purchases of Russian gas using EU funds by the Commission
• Answer given by Mr Jørgensen to a MEP written question - Ban on Russian gas imports versus energy security
• Answer given by Mr Jørgensen to a MEP written question - Recent events concerning the Druzhba pipeline 

DIGITAL & INFORMATION SOCIETY

• Meeting of the TTE (Telecommunications) Council - 05 December 2025
  - Summit on European Digital Sovereignty (Berlin, 18 November 2025) - Information from France and Germany
• Council Decision (EU) 2025/2465 of 24 November 2025 on the signing, on behalf of the Union, of the Agreement on Digital Trade between the European Union and the Republic of Korea
• Answer given by EVP Virkkunen to a MEP written question - Criminalisation of expression online: EU partly responsible through the Digital Services Act and EU-backed complaints bodies
• Answer given by EVP Virkkunen to a MEP written question - Marginalisation of mountain and rural areas in terms of communication and network connection services

DATA PRIVACY & CYBERSECURITY

• Agenda for: Attachés - Horizontal Working Party on Cyber Issues - 04 December 2025
• Agenda for: 31st meeting of the Committee established under Article 93 of the General Data Protection Regulation - 16 December 2025
• Agenda for: 30th meeting of the Committee established under Article 93 of the General Data Protection Regulation - 12 December 2025
• Agenda for: Meeting of the Specialised Committee on the implementation of the Windsor Framework (a. Artificial Intelligence Act & b. Cyber Resilience Act) - 03 December 2025
• Strengthening data protection worldwide: EDPB meets with the countries and organisation with an adequacy decision
• EU justice chief draws red line on privacy reforms - The Commission’s plans have already reached the limit of what can be done without putting Europeans’ privacy “at risk,” Michael McGrath argues - Politico.eu

TRANSPORT & MOBILITY

• Meeting of the TTE (Transport) Council on 4 December 2025
  - Supporting demand for electric vehicles through ambitious rules on the greening of corporate fleets - Information from France 
• Consumer protection: Council and Parliament strike a deal on revising rules on package travel 

AREA OF FREEDOM, SECURITY & JUSTICE

• Agenda for: Fifth meeting: UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement Specialised Committee for Law Enforcement and Judicial Cooperation - 04 December 2025
• Council and European Parliament reach deal on new EU law to step up fight against corruption - Politico.eu
• Belgium: Three individuals formally notified of accusation in probe into College of Europe and European External Action Service
• Police detain Federica Mogherini in EU fraud probe - EU’s former diplomatic chief and top Brussels official in custody over suspicions of wrongdoing in contract award - Financial Times

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• 2025 Annual Report on the implementation of the European Union's External Action Instruments in 2024
• On 3 and 4 December 2025, the President of the European Council António Costa travels to Astana, Kazakhstan to strengthen the EU’s engagement with Central Asia

EU/RUSSIA/UKRAINE RELATIONS

• Judgment of the General Court of 03 December 2025 in Case T‑285/24, Gennady Nikolayevich Timchenko Vs. Council of the European Union
  Re: CFSP - Restrictive measures taken in view of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine - Freezing of funds - List of persons, entities and bodies to whom the freezing of funds and economic resources applies - Restrictions on admission to the territory of Member States - List of persons, entities and bodies subject to restrictions on admission to the territory of Member States - Maintenance of the applicant's name on the lists - Obligation to state reasons - Error of assessment - Right to be heard - Citizenship of the Union - Freedom of movement - Right to property - Proportionality - Non-contractual liability
• Judgment of the General Court of 03 December 2025 in Case T‑1107/23, Elena Petrovna Timchenko Vs. Council of the European Union? European Commission
  Re: CFSP - Restrictive measures taken in view of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine - Freezing of funds - List of persons, entities and bodies to whom the freezing of funds and economic resources applies - Restrictions on admission to the territory of Member States - List of persons, entities and bodies subject to restrictions on admission to the territory of Member States - Maintenance of the applicant's name on the lists - Obligation to state reasons - Error of assessment - Right to be heard - Citizenship of the Union - Freedom of movement - Right to property - Proportionality - Non-contractual liability
• Proposal for a Council Regulation on emergency measures addressing the serious economic difficulties caused by Russia's actions in the context of the war in Ukraine
• Answer given by the Council to a MEP written question - Overall economic impact of the Russia sanctions, effectiveness of protection mechanisms, and adapting the sanctions policy
• The EU is finally blacklisting Russia for money laundering - The move will oblige financial institutions to strengthen due diligence on all transactions - Politico.eu
• Commission unveils €165B loan to Ukraine using Russian frozen assets - Belgium’s foreign minister has already expressed concerns over the plan - Politico.eu

OTHER EU SANCTIONS

• Judgment of the General Court of 03 December 2025 in Case T‑72/24, UC Vs. Council of the European Union
  Re: CFSP - Restrictive measures taken in view of the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo - Freezing of funds - Restrictions on admission to the territory of Member States - Lists of persons, entities and bodies to which the freezing of funds and economic resources applies and which are subject to restrictions on admission to the territory of Member States - Maintenance of the applicant's name on the lists - Action for annulment - Competence of the Council - Obligation of transparency - Legal certainty - Obligation to state reasons - Error of assessment - Fundamental rights - Proportionality
• Judgment of the General Court of 03 December 2025 in Case T‑414/24, Amer Foz, Vs. Council of the European Union
  Re: CFSP - Restrictive measures taken in view of the situation in Syria - Freezing of funds - Restrictions on entry into the territory of the Member States - Lists of persons, entities and bodies subject to the freezing of funds and economic resources and subject to restrictions on entry into the territory of the Member States - Maintenance of the applicant’s name on the lists - Criterion of association with a person or entity subject to restrictive measures - Fall of the regime of Bashar Al-Assad - Error of assessment