Europe Daily News, 23 June 2025

COMPETITION

• Commission clears acquisition of Schoeller Group by Madison Dearborn Partners (M.12012) - Midday Express
• UoKIK - Have agricultural machinery dealers divided the market among themselves?

FINANCE

• Streamlining financial transaction reporting: ESMA calls for input
• ESMA puts forward a Q&A on the shared order book model under MiCA
• ESMA launches selection of Consolidated Tape Provider for shares and ETFs
• The EBA reviews standardised terminology in relation to payment accounts and concludes it remains fit-for-purpose

ENERGY

• Answer given by Ms Albuquerque to a MEP written question - Energy sanctions against Russia and audit request

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• Commissioner Roswall in Bucharest to discuss water resilience at Regional Water Forum - Midday Express
• Answer given by Mr McGrath to a MEP written question - Transparency of the chemical composition of menstrual products and rules governing their safety in the EU
• First Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG-1) of the Global Framework on Chemicals – for a planet free of harm from chemicals and waste (Punta del Este, Uruguay, 24-27 June 2025) - First EU coordination

AGRICULTURE & FISHERIES

• Meeting of the "Agriculture & Fisheries" Council on 23 & 24 June 2025
  - Amending Regulation as regards certain market rules and sectoral support measures in the wine sector and for aromatised wine products - State of play - Information from the Presidency
  - A joint effort for a future-fit and competitive agriculture - Demands on the availability of effective plant protection methods - Information from Austria, supported by Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal and Slovakia
  - Alignment of production standards applied to imported products in terms of pesticide MRLs - Information from Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Romania and Spain, supported by Austria 

HEALTH, FOOD & PRODUCT SAFETY

• Main results of: Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (Health) - 20 June 2025
  - A continued and urgent call for action at EU level to protect young people from harm caused by novel tobacco and nicotine products, in particular e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches - Information from Belgium, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, France, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain
  - Council calls for greater efforts to protect the mental health of children and teenagers in the digital era
• SCCS - Draft Agenda of the 11th plenary meeting, Luxembourg, 26 June 2025

DIGITAL, DATA PRIVACY & CYBERSECURITY

• EU reinforces its cybersecurity with post-quantum cryptography - Midday Express
• Commission seeks feedback on protecting media providers on online platforms - Midday Express

ECB, EURO & ECONOMY

• Main results of: Economic & Financial Affairs Council - 20 June 2025
  - Economic governance: Council approves fiscal expenditure paths for Belgium and Bulgaria: Council approves fiscal expenditure paths for Belgium and Bulgaria
  - Recovery and resilience fund: Council gives green light to amended plans of Belgium, Cyprus, Croatia, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Poland and Slovenia
  - Stability and growth pact: Council decides on way ahead for Belgium and Romania under the excessive deficit procedure
  - Code of Conduct (Business Taxation) Group - Council conclusions (20 June 2025) 
  - ECOFIN report on tax issues
• European Semester – Horizontal note on the integrated country-specific recommendations

FUTURE OF EUROPE

• Agenda for: Meeting of the Coreper (Part.1 & Part.2) - 23, 25 & 27 June 2025

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• Syria: Council approves conclusions
• Human Rights: EU appoints former Dutch minister as new Special Representative
• EU provides €20 million in humanitarian support for vulnerable refugees in Turkey - Midday Express
• UNRWA and the Palestinian Authority receive €202 million of support to ensure key services on the ground - Midday Express