Europe Daily News, 23 January 2026

COMPETITION

• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.12274 - Chequers / Fremman / Groupe Bertin)
• Summary notice concerning the initiation of an in-depth investigation in case FS.100068 - Nuctech pursuant to Article 10(3)(d) of Regulation (EU) 2022/2560
• Finland - The KKV is investigating an arrangement whereby Administer Oyj will acquire Numera Palvelut Oy's financial and payroll management services business in the wellness sector
• Romania - The Competition Council has imposed a fine of 4,552,647 lei (€915,068) on Thelios SpA for participating, alongside its partner Shades Originators SRL, in an anti-competitive agreement on the luxury eyewear market

STATE AID

• Authorisation for State aid pursuant to Articles 107 and 108 of the TFEU - Cases where the Commission raises no objections – SA.118346
• Answer given by EVP Ribera to a MEP written question - Industrial energy price compensation and EU State aid framework
• Answer given by EVP Ribera to a MEP written question - Follow-up to the Court of Justice of the European Union judgment in Case C-59/23 P (Paks II State aid)

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Agenda for: Working Party on European Free Trade Association (EFTA) - 27 January 2026
• Proposal for a Council Decision on the renewal of the entitlement for co-productions as provided for in Article 5 of the Protocol on Cultural Cooperation to the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Korea, of the other part
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/142 of 22 January 2026 making imports of robot lawn mowers originating in the People’s Republic of China subject to registration with a view to allowing the levy of anti-dumping duties on the imports subject to registration
• Decision No 1/2026 of the EU-Switzerland joint Committee of 14 January 2026 amending Tables III and IV of Protocol 2 to the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the  Swiss Confederation of 22 July 1972 
• Answer given by Mr Šefčovič to a MEP written question - Dutch government takeover of Nexperia and economic coercion
• Answer given by Mr Šefčovič to a MEP written question - Panama: new infringement of EU-Central America free trade agreement and undermining of trade union freedoms
• WTO - Proposed agenda for the meeting of the Dispute Settlement Body - 27 January 2026
• Scant benefits for significant risks: price undertakings for Chinese electric vehicles entering Europe - The Commission’s proposed price undertaking system could mean bigger margins for Chinese producers and higher prices for EU consumers - See Bruegel Analysis
• EU leaders to push for ratification of US trade deal despite anger with Trump - As summit begins in Brussels, governments don’t want week of rancor to obstruct pact coming into effect - Politico.eu
• EU leaders push to implement Mercosur trade pact - Parliamentarians this week voted to refer the deal to the European Court of Justice - Financial Times
• How Brussels failed to stop Mercosur trade deal fiasco - The EC saw the Parliament catastrophe coming — but its lobbying was overwhelmed by domestic political pressure - Politico.eu

INTERNAL MARKET, INDUSTRY & RESEARCH

• Judgment of the Court of 22 January 2026 in Case C‑554/24 P, Republic of Poland, Vs. European Commission
  Re: Appeal - Articles 259, 260 and 279 TFEU - Compliance by a Member State with an order of the Vice-President of the Court imposing interim measures - Obligation to pay a daily penalty until the order is complied with - Failure to take the necessary measures to comply with the order and to pay the periodic penalty - Removal of the case on the merits from the register - Recovery by way of set-off of debts arising from the non-payment of the periodic penalty - Action for annulment
• Agenda for:118th meeting of the Working Group on Agricultural Tractors and Mobile Machinery (WGATM) - 12 February 2026
  
• R&D - Science Comes to Town launches in Split: bringing science closer to citizens
• BusinessEurope launches its “Omnibook” of proposals for reducing regulatory burden for companies in Europe

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT

• Judgment of the Court of 22 January 2026 in Case C‑812/24, LIPOR – Associação de Municípios para a Gestão Sustentável de Resíduos do Grande Porto, PreZero Portugal, S.A. Vs. Semural Waste & Energy, S.A.
  Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Public procurement of service, supply and works contracts - Directive 2014/24/EU - Award of contracts - Article 2(1)(10) - Concept of ‘economic operator’ - Inclusion of a subsidiary wholly owned by the parent company - Article 63 - Reliance on the capacities of other entities of persons linked with that undertaking - Article 59(1) - Freedom to prove that the capacities of other entities have been made available - Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/7 - Annex 1 and point C of Part II of Annex 2 - Submission of several European Single Procurement Documents (ESPD) - Purpose of the ESPD
• Judgment of the Court of 22 January 2026 in Case C‑590/24, AK Dlhopolec s.r.o., Mabonex Slovakia spol. s r.o., A.B.,X.Y.
  Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Public procurement procedures - Directive 2014/23 - Award of concession contracts - Directive 2014/24 - Grounds for exclusion - National legislation establishing a register of public sector partners - Requirement of impartiality on the part of the person authorised to enter the public sector partner in that register - Imposition of a fine for non-compliance with that requirement - Automatic exclusion from participation in public procurement procedures in the event of non-payment of that fine - Article 49 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union - Criminal nature of the penalty - Predictability and proportionality of that penalty - Principle of legal certainty

TAXATION

• Judgment of the Court of 22 January 2026 in Joined Cases C‑379/24 and C‑380/24, Agrupació de Neteja Sanitària, AIE (C‑379/24), Educat Serveis Auxiliars SCCL (C‑380/24) Vs.Tribunal Económico-Administrativo Regional de Cataluña (TEARC),
  Re: References for a preliminary ruling - Taxation - Common system of VAT - Directive 2006/112/EC - Supply of services by independent groups of persons, who are carrying on an activity which is exempt from VAT - Services directly necessary for the exercise of the exempt activity - Risk of distortion of competition - Cleaning services in the healthcare and education sectors - National legislation requiring that the services be directly and exclusively linked to the exempt activity and necessary for the exercise of that activity

EMPLOYMENT & SOCIAL AFFAIRS

• Judgment of the Court of 22 January 2026 in Case C‑633/24 [Sovisso (i)] F.F. Vs. Istituto nazionale della previdenza sociale (INPS)
  Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Social security - Migrant workers - Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 - Equal treatment - Aggregation of periods - Article 58 - Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Swiss Confederation, of the other, on the free movement of persons - Invalidity benefits - Supplement in order to guarantee receipt of the statutory minimum invalidity benefit - Stricter conditions relating to the contribution period for workers who have exercised their right to freedom of movement

AGRICULTURE & FISHERIES

• Meeting of the “Agriculture and Fisheries” Council on 26 January 2026
  - Arable farmers under pressure: urgent action to protect EU agriculture - Information from Austria
  - Continuing crisis on the European milk market - Information from Hungary, supported by Poland, Romania and Slovakia
  - Actions necessary for protection of sensitive agricultural sectors in the context of trade agreements with third countries - Information from Poland, on behalf of Austria, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia

ENERGY

• Bulgaria ordered to pay €1.5 million for failing to transpose revised Renewable Energy Directive on time - See Judgment in Case C-206/23
• Commissioner Jørgensen at the North Sea Summit to advance the expansion of EU offshore wind energy, boost energy independence - Midday Express

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• Agenda for: Working Party on International Environment Issues (Biodiversity) - 28 January 2026
• European Parliament endorses regulation on detergents and surfactants
• 2024 EU greenhouse gas emissions: -20% since 2013 - Eurostat
• Answer given by Ms Roswall to a MEP written question - Deforestation Regulation – objection to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1093
• EU green rules fail to boost funds’ ESG credentials, research finds - SFDR also did not boost flows to more sustainable funds, say academics - Financial Times

DIGITAL, DATA PRIVACY & CYBERSECURITY

• EDPB and EDPS are clearly opposed to deferring obligations of AI Act for high-risk systems - see the Joint Opinion
• EDPB contributes to the LED evaluation and adopts recommendations on the application for Processor BCR
• Cybersecurity Act review: certification can boost security and competitiveness if Europe gets it right - See DigitalEurope Paper
• Digital Networks Act: telecom industry asks for bolder action to secure Europe’s digital future - Connect Europe Paper
• Connect Europe Statement on the Cybersecurity Act

ECB, EURO & ECONOMY

• Commission greenlights Portugal's eighth payment request for €1.1 billion under NextGenerationEU

FUTURE OF EUROPE

• Main results - Informal meeting of the members of the European Council - 22 January 2026
  - Oral conclusions drawn by President António Costa and Statement by President von der Leyen with President Costa
  

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• President von der Leyen in India to advance trade, defence cooperation and deepen ties between the two largest democracies in the world - Midday Express
• EU deploys emergency generators as Russian strikes left one million Ukrainians without power in -20°C
• European Parliament resolution of 22 January 2026 on the brutal repression against protesters in Iran
• Answer given by HR/VP Kallas to a MEP written question - The reintroduction of the death penalty in Kyrgyzstan and the implications for the EU-Kyrgyzstan Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement
• EU leaders fear for US relationship despite Trump climbdown - Europeans criticised by Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy for failing to lead ‘in defending freedom’ - Financial Times