Europe Daily News, 08 October 2025

COMPETITION

• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.12044 - Instatiq / Zublin / JV)
• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.12168 - Permira / GA / Property Finder )
• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.12155 - Centrica / Bridegepoint  / Grain)
• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.12073 - Velobank / Bank Handlowy)
• Commission clears acquisition of PRG by FSK and Ares (M.12112) - Midday Express
• Commission clears acquisition of Brevo by AT, Oakley Capital, and GA (M.12141) - Midday Express
• Commission clears acquisition of control over Dalata by Pandox and Scandic (M.12059) - Midday Express
• Commission clears acquisition of NCH Corporation by Platinum Equity Group (M.12055) - Midday Express

STATE AID

• Authorisation for State aid pursuant to Articles 107 and 108 of the TFEU - Cases where the Commission raises no objections – SA.108729; SA.102514; SA.102517; SA.102498 & SA.102519

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1981 of 7 October 2025 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of ceramic tableware and kitchenware originating in the People’s Republic of China following an expiry review pursuant to Article 11(2) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 of the European Parliament and of the Council
• Council Decision (EU) 2025/2053 of 10 September 2025 authorising the opening of negotiations with the Kingdom of Morocco for an agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters on the amendment of the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and the Kingdom of Morocco on the amendment of Protocols 1 and 4 to the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Kingdom of Morocco, of the other part
• Commission proposes plan to protect EU steel industry from unfair impacts of global overcapacity - Q&A and Staff working document
  - Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council addressing the negative trade-related effects of global overcapacity on the Union steel market - See the Annex
  - Recommendation for a Council Decision authorising the opening of negotiations with a view to modifying the Union’s concessions made in the WTO on import tariffs applicable to certain steel products - See the Annex
• Commission proposes safeguards to strengthen protections for EU farmers in EU-Mercosur deal
• EFTA-India Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement enters into force - Joint communiqué (01 October)

EU/UK RELATIONS 

• Council Decision (EU) 2025/2047 of 29 September 2025 establishing the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union within the Joint Committee established by the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community as regards the adoption of a decision adding a newly adopted Union act to Annex 2 to the Windsor Framework

INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

• Defence: Council agrees position to incentivise defence-related investments in the EU budget
  
• October infringements package: key decisions

FINANCE

• European Commission issues €11 billion in its 9th syndicated transaction of 2025
• ESMA - Compliance table on the Joint Guidelines on oversight cooperation under DORA
• ESMA - Updated standard market size (SMS) for the new quoting obligations of Systematic Internalisers (SIs)

TAXATION

• Agenda for: Working Party on tax questions (Direct taxation) - 14 October 2025
• Commission Recommendation (EU) 2025/2029 of 30 September 2025 on increasing the availability of savings and investment accounts with simplified and advantageous tax treatment
• Commission decides to refer Greece to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to remove the excise duty exemption for tax-free shops at land borders with non-EU countries

ENERGY

• Judgment of the General Court of 08 October 2025 in Case T‑558/23, Swissgrid AG, Vs. European Union Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) supported by European Commission - see also Case T-556/23 and Case T-557/23
  Re: Energy - Internal market for electricity - Guideline on electricity balancing - Article 1(6) and (7) of Regulation (EU) 2017/2195 - European platform for the exchange of balancing energy from frequency restoration reserves with automatic activation - Non-participation of the Swiss Transmission System Operator - Appeal brought before the ACER Board of Appeal - Specific conditions and arrangements for appeals - Article 28 of Regulation (EU) 2019/942 - Inadmissibility for lack of standing to bring proceedings before the Board of Appeal - Lack of direct concern - Plea of illegality
• Agenda for: Working Party on Energy - 14 October 2025
• Commission decides to refer Sweden to the Court of Justice of the European Union in order to ensure accelerated permitting procedures for renewable energy installations 
• ACER to review the methodology for electricity redispatching and countertrading cost sharing for the Core region

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• Judgment of the General Court of 08 October 2025 in Case T‑169/24, PMC Vlissingen Netherlands BV Vs. European Commission supported by Kingdom of the Netherlands, and by Republic of Austria, and by Kingdom of Sweden, and by European Chemicals Agency (ECHA)
  Re: Environment and protection of human health - Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 - Classification, labelling and packaging of certain substances and mixtures - Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/197 - Classification and labelling of dibutyltin oxide - Criteria for classification of a substance in the hazard class reproductive toxicity, Category 1B - Absence of public consultation on the opinion of ECHA’s Committee for Risk Assessment - No obligation to review - Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 - Read-across - Maternal toxicity - Manifest error of assessment
• Decision No 4 of the Joint Monitoring and Review Mechanism set up by the Voluntary Partnership Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of Ghana on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade in timber products into the Community as regards amendments to its Annex I
• Amazon wildfires scorched area larger than Belgium in 2024, study finds - Midday Express
• Commission decides to refer Poland to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to submit its national long-term climate strategy
• Commission decides to refer Poland to the Court of Justice of the European Union for not submitting its final updated National Energy and Climate Plan

DIGITAL & INFORMATION SOCIETY

• Agenda for: Attachés - Horizontal Working Party on Cyber Issues - 09 October 2025
• Minutes of the 8th meeting of the Digital Services Expert Group - 10 June 2025
• Commission launches two strategies to speed up AI uptake in European industry and science - Remarks by EVP Henna Virkkunen
  - Communication from the Commission on Apply AI Strategy and Q&As
  - Communication from the Commission : A European Strategy for Artificial Intelligence in Science Paving the way for the Resource for AI Science in Europe (RAISE) and Q&As
• Answer given by EVP Virkkunen to a MEP written question - Cybersecurity and foreign interference
• Answer given by EVP Virkkunen to a MEP written question - Spillover effect of the Digital Services Act (DSA) into non-EU countries
• Answer given by EVP Virkkunen to a MEP written question - Protecting minors from risks and unwanted influences from the internet

TRANSPORT & MOBILITY

• Commission decides to refer Bulgaria and Portugal to the Court of Justice of the European Union for not fully transposing EU rules on posting of drivers
• Commission decides to refer Italy to the Court of Justice of the European Union for not fully transposing EU rules on tolls and user charges for road infrastructure use

AREA OF FREEDOM, SECURITY & JUSTICE

• Commission decides to refer Italy to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to align its rules on working conditions for honorary judges with EU law
• Commission builds on Union of Equality with adoption of new LGBTIQ+ Equality strategy - See the Communication and Remarks by Commissioner Lahbib
• Commission publishes guidelines to support the implementation of the Regulation on the Transparency of Political Advertising
• More flexible visa suspension mechanism - See the EP Statement

ECB, EURO & ECONOMY

• Next Generation EU drives sustainable growth across the EU
• Decoding climate-related risks in sovereign bond pricing: a global perspective - ECB Working Paper Series No.3135
  The slope of the euro area price Phillips curve: evidence from regional data - ECB Working Paper Series No.3133
• A comparative review of worldwide on-site banking supervision trends through the lens of IMF/World Bank FSAP - ECB Occasional Paper Series No.375

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• President von der Leyen hosts 2025 Global Gateway Forum in Brussels
• EU and Jordan reaffirm strong commitment to advance Human Rights, Democratisation and Governance
• Speech by President von der Leyen at the EP plenary debate on a united response to recent Russian violations of the EU Member States' airspace and critical infrastructure