Europe Daily News, 11 July 2025

COMPETITION

• Opinion of Advocate General Medina of 10 July 2025 in Case C‑245/24, LUKOIL Bulgaria EOOD, LUKOIL Neftohim Burgas AD Vs. Komisia za zashtita na konkurentsiata
  Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Competition - Article 102 TFEU - Abuse of a dominant position - Petroleum sector - Refusal to grant access to an essential facility - Application of the test of the judgment in Bronner (Case C‑7/97) - Privatisation - Concession
• Commission seeks feedback for the revision of EU antitrust enforcement framework
• Commission clears acquisition of IES by Fortress and First Reserve (M.12048) - Midday Express
• Romania - The Competition Council assesses the transaction through which Vladrom S.R.L. intends to take over Xannat Minerals S.R.L
• Romania - The Competition Council approved the operation of a company jointly established and operated by SGB-SMIT International GmbH and Electro-Alfa International S.R.L., under the name SGB-Electroalfa S.R.L.
• Romania - The Competition Council assesses the transaction through which Greenvolt International Power SA and RNV Infrastructure SRL intend to acquire Borzești Energy Storage SRL.
• UK - The CMA is investigating the anticipated acquisition by Sportradar Group AG of IMG Arena US Parent, LLC.

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Council Decision on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union in the General Council of the World Trade organization on the adoption of a decision to grant a WTO waiver permitting the United States to provide duty-free treatment under the US Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA) - Adoption & Decision to use the written procedure
• Commission Implementing Regulation amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/892 as regards certain procedures, the calculation of standard import values and additional import duties
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1334 of 10 July 2025 making imports of phosphorous acid originating in the People’s Republic of China subject to registration
• EU acts against dumped imports of lysine from China - See Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1330
• Commission must tackle China’s export restrictions on rare earth elements - See the EP Resolution
• Minutes of the Civil Society Coordination on the CETA ex-post evaluation - 02 June 2025
• Answer given by the Council to a MEP written question - End of customs exemption for small packages worth less than EUR150
• WTO - Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade - Notification - European Union - Neodymium-based magnets (NdFeB magnets) used in toys
• WTO - Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade - Notification - European Union - Railway interoperability constituents, subsystems and vehicles
• Trump says US to impose 35% tariff on Canadian goods - The higher-than-expected levy is scheduled to take effect next month - Politico.eu & Financial Times

INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

• Agenda for: Meeting of the Antici Group (Simplification: Defence; digitalisation ) - 14 July 2025
• European Parliament adopts position on ‘omnibus’ simplification text on batteries - See the EP Resolution
• Jamie Dimon tells Europe: ‘You’re losing’ - JPMorgan Chase boss warns on EU competitiveness and market complacency over tariffs - Financial Times

FINANCE

• Commission adopts “quick fix” for companies already conducting corporate sustainability reporting - See summary of modifications
• Knowledge and competence of staff providing information on crypto-assets – ESMA criteria published
• Investors should consider risks of unregulated products offered by regulated crypto assets entities - ESMA

TAXATION

• Judgment of the Court of 10 July 2025 in Case C‑276/24, KONREO, v.o.s., acting as insolvency administrator of FAU s. r. o., Vs. Odvolací finanční ředitelství
  Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Taxation - Common system of VAT - Directive 2006/112/EC - Article 205 - Joint and several liability - Conditions and scope of liability - Combating VAT evasion - VAT not paid by the supplier - Refusal to grant the right to deduct VAT to the recipient of the supply - Possibility of holding the recipient of the supply jointly and severally liable for payment of VAT due from the supplier - Principle of proportionality
• Opinion of Advocate General Kokott of 10 July 2025 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 - Tax law - VAT - Directive 2006/112/EC - Article 132(1)(f) - Exemption for ‘cost-sharing groups’ - Exemption for services which may not be essential but are useful for the exempt activity of the members - Services for the direct purpose of carrying out tax-exempt activities - Existence of a distortion of competition by the grant of a tax exemption provided for by European Union law
• Agenda for: Committee on Administrative Cooperation for Taxation - 16 July 2025
• Investigation Huracán: Ninth person convicted in Germany in large-scale VAT fraud
• Portugal: 30 indicted for operating €35 million VAT fraud ring trading essential food products
• Spain: EPPO detains suspected ringleaders in probe into €68 million VAT fraud involving imported alcohol

AGRICULTURE & FISHERIES

• Meeting of the "Agriculture & Fisheries" Council of 14 July 2025
  - Sixth AU-EU Agriculture Ministerial Conference (Rome, 27 June 2025) - Information from the Commission
  - Joint Declaration of the Ministers of agriculture of the frontline Member States (Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) on the agricultural aspects of the modification of the EU-Ukraine trade agreement - Information from Hungary on behalf of Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia
  - Regulation on the welfare of dogs and cats - Four-column table

ENERGY

• Drawbacks of introducing peak-shaving products under normal market conditions outweigh potential benefits - ACER
• ACER publishes its Opinion on the Summer Supply Outlook 2025 prepared by the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas (ENTSOG)
• ENTSOG publishes draft TYNDP 2024 Natural Gas System Assessment & Infrastructure Reports and opens stakeholder consultation

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• Agenda for: Working Party on International Environment Issues (CITES) - 23 July 2025
• Minutes of the Committee on fluorinated greenhouse gases - 05 June 2025
• Minutes of the Committee on the Climate change  - 19 June 2025
• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/1201 of 12 June 2025 amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/530 as regards its date of application (Republic of Ghana - FLEGT)
• Circularity requirements for vehicle design and management of end-of-life vehicles - See the EPRS Briefing - July 2025
• EVP Ribera and Commissioners Hoekstra, Jørgensen and Roswall participate in the EU-China High-Level Climate and Environment & Energy Dialogues - Midday Express

DIGITAL & INFORMATION SOCIETY

• Judgment of the Court of 10 July 2025 in Case C‑367/24, Autoritatea Naţională pentru Administrare şi Reglementare în Comunicaţii Vs. Telekom România Mobile Communications
  Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Electronic communications - Regulation (EU) 2015/2120 - Measures concerning open internet access - Article 3(3) - Obligation on providers of internet access services to treat traffic equally and without discrimination, restriction or interference - Possibility, for those providers, to implement reasonable traffic management measures - Tariff option entailing a bandwidth limitation in respect of video streaming
• Commission welcomes roaming extension for affordable calls to and from Ukraine till the end of 2025

DATA PRIVACY & CYBERSECURITY

• Agenda for: Horizontal Working Party on Cyber Issues - 14 July 2025
• Opinion 14/2025 on the draft decision of the Norwegian Supervisory Authority regarding the Controller Binding Corporate Rules of the Wilh. Wilhelmsen Group

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• Statement by President von der Leyen marking 30 years since the Srebrenica genocide
• Speech by President António Costa at the ceremony to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide
• Israel/Palestine: Statement by the High Representative/Vice President Kaja Kallas
• Speech by High Representative/Vice-President Kaja Kallas at the 32nd meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum, in Kuala Lumpa, Malaysia
• Answer given by the Council to a MEP written question - The Council’s position on Treaty change and EU enlargement
• Answer given by HR/VP Kallas to a MEP written question - Procedure for reviewing the EU-Israel Association Agreement

EU/RUSSIA/UKRAINE

• Opinion of Advocate General M. Manuel Campos Sànchez-Bordona on 10 July 2025 Case C-483/23, D, A, B, C, T Vs. Ministero dell'Economia e delle Finanze, Comitato di Sicurezza Finanziaria, Agenzia del Demanio
  Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Foreign policy - Restrictive measures taken against the Russian Federation for its actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine - Regulation (EU) No 269/2014 - Freezing of funds or economic resources placed in a trust - Recognition of a trust constituted in an offshore jurisdiction - Settlor of a trust designated in Annex I to Regulation No 269/2014 - Ownership, possession and holding of the economic resources and funds of the trust - Control of the economic resources and funds of the trust - Trust associated with a sanctioned person
• Answer given by HR/VP Kallas to a MEP written question - EU potentially reestablishing relations with Russia
• Speech by President António Costa at the 2nd plenary session of the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2025 in Rome
• Statement of the Coalition of the Willing meeting by the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, and Ukraine: 10 July 2025