Europe Daily News, 03 March 2026

COMPETITION

• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.11900 - Intuitive / AB Medica)
• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.12291 - Apollo Funds/ Prosol Group)
• Commission clears acquisition of MCJ by Bain Capital (M.12310) - Midday Express
• Commission clears creation of joint venture by AAK and KLK (M.12254) - Midday Express
• Commission clears acquisition of PennAero and TriMas Aerospace by Blackstone and Tinicum (M.12252) - Midday Express
• EVP Ribera hosts Youth Policy Dialogue to discuss a resilient, competitive and fair EU - Midday Express
• Belgium - The Competition Authority confirms that it is currently conducting inspections in the road signage and street furniture sectors
• Latvia - Competition Council conducts extensive procedural actions at food retail companies
• Poland - UOKiK issued 900 decisions in the field of competition and consumer protection and imposed PLN 1.15 billion in fines

STATE AID

• Authorisation for State aid pursuant to Articles 107 and 108 of the TFEU - Cases where the Commission raises no objections – SA.120169, SA.120443, SA.120638, SA.120961, SA.121334, SA.114923, SA.120290 & SA.120753
• State aid - Bulgaria - State aid SA.114457 (2025/NN) - Bulgaria - Arbitration award to ACF Renewable Energy Limited (ICSID Case No. ARB/18/1) - Invitation to submit comments pursuant to Article 108(2) of the TFEU
• Commission seeks input on revision of State aid rules on guarantees (until 31 March 2026) - Midday Express
• Answer given by EVP Ribera to a MEP written question - German plan for preferential electricity pricing for industry and its compliance with state aid rules

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Agenda for: 5th CETA Joint Committee Meeting - 05 March 2026
• Agenda for: 2nd meeting of the EU-Angola Committee on Investment Facilitation - 03 March 2026
• Texts of the EU-India Free Trade Agreement further to the conclusion of negotiations on 27 January 2026
• Textual proposals for an EU-Malaysia Free Trade Agreement
• Report of the 3rd round of negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and Malaysia - 09 to 13 February 2026
• Report of the 8th round of negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and Thailand - 02 to 06 February 2026
• Joint Minutes of the Fifth Meeting of the Committee on Intellectual Property under the Agreement between the European Union and Japan for an Economic Partnership - 14 January 2026
• Protein powder, sunglasses, moisturiser: what do these products have in common? If you buy them online, they most likely violate EU product standards

INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

CHEMICAL

• Agenda for: 57th meeting of the CAs for the REACH and CLP Regulations (CARACAL-57) - 18 March 2026
• Draft report by MEP Piotr MÜLLER Dimitris TSIODRAS - Amending Regulations (EC) No 1272/2008, (EC) No 1223/2009 and (EU) 2019/1009 as regards simplification of certain requirements and procedures for chemical products - Amendments 270 - 440

FINANCE

• The EBA publishes its final Guidelines on instruments for the capital endowment requirement for third-country branches
• The ESMA publishes its 2025 market report on the costs and performance of EU retail investment products

TAXATION

• Agenda for: Working Party on Tax Questions (Indirect Taxation – Excise duties: Tobacco) - 24 March 2026
• Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee - Proposal for a Council Directive on the structure and rates of excise duty applied to tobacco and tobacco related products (recast) (COM(2025) 580 final - 2025/0580 (CNS)) & Proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive (EU) 2020/262 as regards the general arrangements for excise duty in respect of tobacco and tobacco related products (COM(2025) 581 final - 2025/0581 (CNS))

ENERGY

• Commissioner Jørgensen in Azerbaijan to discuss energy security, diversification and clean energy transition
• EU Grids Package: ENTSOG recommendations for an integrated, resilient and decarbonised energy system
• EU urges Ukraine to allow access to pipeline carrying Russian oil - Kyiv says evidence shows Druzhba pipeline is too damaged to restart supplies after attack by Moscow in January - Financial Times

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• Agenda for: Meeting of the Ambient Air Quality Committee - 11 March 2026

HEALTH, FOOD & PRODUCT SAFETY

• Agenda for: Meeting of the Antici Group (Simplification: Omnibus X: Food and feed safety) - 06 March 2026

DIGITAL, CYBERSECURITY & INFORMATION SOCIETY

• Agenda for: Horizontal Working Party on Cyber Issues - 05 March 2026
• Minutes of the Meeting of the Health Cybersecurity Advisory Board - 03 February 2026
• Commissioner Brunner convenes the 10th EU Internet Forum Ministerial Meeting - Midday Express
• Public consultation - Draft Commission guidance on the Cyber Resilience Act - Communication - Feedback period: 03 March 2026 - 31 March 2026
• Report by MEP Axel Voss on copyright and generative artificial intelligence – opportunities and challenges
• The transatlantic battle over free speech - EU efforts to regulate the digital sphere are under attack from the Trump administration and, increasingly, Silicon Valley - Financial Times

AREA OF FREEDOM, SECURITY & JUSTICE

• Read-out of the Security College of 2 March 2026
• Customs and VAT fraud are reshaping the criminal ecosystem in the EU, with €45 billion in estimated damage uncovered by EPPO

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• EU-Thailand: Joint press release on the meeting of the Specialised Working Group on Human Rights and Governance