Europe Daily News, 20 January 2026

COMPETITION

• Agenda for: Working Party on Competition - 28 January 2026
• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.12224 - Oep IX / Digital Value)
• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.12226 - Multiply / Peninsula / Isem)
• Finland - The Supreme Administrative Court upheld the Market Court's decision to impose a penalty payment of EUR 600,000 on Valio for violating the terms of the Heinon Tukku acquisition
• Ireland - CCPC investigates suspected anticompetitive behaviour in home appliances sector
• Portugal - AdC has decided to terminate the proceedings in merger operation 89/2025 – Alcon / Staar
• Romania - The Competition Council sanctioned 27 companies with fines totalling 14.73 million lei (approximately €2.9 million) for participating in an agreement on the market for vehicle maintenance and repair services
• Open letter from WIN to European Commissioner Dombrovskis: “Europe as a beacon of fair competition”

STATE AID

• Authorisation for State aid pursuant to Articles 107 and 108 of the TFEU - Cases where the Commission raises no objections – SA.118519; SA.104898 & SA.114526
• Germany opens €3bn EV support scheme to Chinese automakers - New subsidy programme that runs till 2029 will support purchase or lease of about 800,000 cars - Financial Times

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Council Decision (EU) 2026/125 of 8 December 2025 on the conclusion of the Agreement on Digital Trade between the European Union and the Republic of Singapore
  - Agreement on digital trade between the European Union and the Republic of Singapore
• Answer given by Mr Šefčovič to a MEP written question - European Commission’s steps to exempt olive oil from US import duties
• Answer given by Mr Šefčovič to a MEP written question - Relationship between the Commission’s steel tariff mechanism proposal and CBAM
• Answer given by Mr Šefčovič to a MEP written question - European peach compote industry at risk of collapse due to unfair competition resulting from Chinese dumping
• Answer given by Mr Šefčovič to a MEP written question - Trade measures on steel products and their economic implications for the downstream industries and broader supply chain

EU/US TRADE

• Berlin weighs digital tax in response to Trump tariff threats - Politico.eu
• The EU’s magical, mystery trade weapon — and other options to nail Trump - Politico.eu
• Franco-German tensions jeopardize EU’s drive for common front against Trump - Politico.eu
• Scott Bessent questions Europe’s ability to agree a strong response to Greenland tariffs - US Treasury secretary derides the ‘dreaded European working group’ - Financial Times
• Merz seeks to dial down Trump trade tensions — while Macron talks tough - Tactical divide emerges between French and German leaders over response to U.S. president - Politico.eu

WTO

• WTO - Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade - Notification - European Union - Carcinogens, germ cell mutagens or reproductive toxicants
• WTO - Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade - Notification - European Union - Medical devices and in vitro diagnostic medical devices
• WTO - European Union - Certain Measures concerning Palm Oil and Oil Palm Crop-Based Biofuels - Status report by the European Union 
• WTO - European Union and certain Member States - Certain Measures concerning Palm Oil and Oil Palm Crop-Based Biofuels - Status report by the European Union - Addendum

INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

• Agenda for: Meeting of the Antici Group (Simplification: Omnibus IX: Automotive omnibus & Omnibus X: Food and feed safety) - 23 January 2026
• Minutes of the Meeting of the Commission Stakeholder Expert Group on Public Procurement (SEGPP) - 15 December 2025

TAXATION

• Agenda for: Code of Conduct Group (Business Taxation) - 28 January 2026
• Answer given by Mr Hoekstra to a MEP written question - Application of VAT Directive to essential goods for disabled persons

ENERGY

• Agenda for: Working Party on Energy - 27 January 2026

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• Answer given by Ms Roswall to a written question - Mining in alum shale deposits is a threat to drinking water

HEALTH, FOOD & PRODUCT SAFETY

• Agenda for the meeting of the PAFF Committee
  - Section: "Phytopharmaceuticals - Legislation" of 20 & 21 January 2026
  - Section: "Phytopharmaceuticals - Pesticide residues" of 05 & 06 February 2026
• SCCS - Minutes of the Working Group meeting on Nanomaterials in Cosmetic Products of 12 December 2025
• SCHEER - Request for a scientific Opinion on an environmental quality standard for copper in surface waters under the Water Framework Directive
• Answer given by Mr Várhelyi to a MEP written question - Are smoke-free alternatives better alternatives?
• Answer given by Mr Várhelyi to a MEP written question - Approval of live microbial biosolutions as feed additives
• Answer given by Mr Várhelyi to a MEP written question - The risks to access and the cost of medicines as a result of the price war declared by US President Donald Trump

ECB, EURO & ECONOMY

• Jordan: Council greenlights further EU assistance of €500 million in loans
• Main Results of the Eurogroup meeting - 19 January 2026
  - Remarks by Kyriakos Pierrakakis and by Commissioner Dombrovskis
• 4148th meeting of the Economic & Financial Affairs Council - 20 January 2026
  - Alert Mechanism Report 2026 – Council conclusions
  - Remarks by Commissioner Dombrovskis at the ECOFIN press conference
• Special Address by President von der Leyen at the "World Economic Forum"
• ECB - Euro area monthly balance of payments: November 2025
• Understanding the inflation–output relationship across business cycle phases - ECB Working Paper Series No.3175
• ECB Survey of Monetary Analysts (SMA), February 2026

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• Europe must not appease Trump on Greenland - By capitulating again, the EU and UK would signal that we are now irrevocably in a might-makes-right world - Financial Times