Europe Daily News, 12 March 2026

COMPETITION

• Opinion of Advocate General Emiliou of 12 March 2026 in Case C‑160/24 P, JPMorgan Chase & Co., JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association Vs. European Commission
  Re: Appeal - Competition - Article 101 TFEU - Euro Interbank Offered Rates - Article 263 TFEU - Duty to state reasons - Unlimited jurisdiction - Cross-appeal - General Court’s disregard of an amending decision - Article 288 TFEU
• Opinion of Advocate General Emiliou of 12 March 2026 in Case C‑191/24 P, Crédit agricole SA, Crédit agricole Corporate & Investment Bank Vs. European Commission
  Re: Appeal - Competition - Article 101 TFEU - Euro Interbank Offered Rates - Article 263 TFEU - Duty to state reasons - Unlimited jurisdiction - Cross-appeal - General Court’s disregard of an amending decision - Article 288 TFEU - Burden of proof - The principle ne ultra petita
• Opinion of Advocate General Biondi of 12 March 2026 in Case C‑845/24 P, Silgan Holdings, Inc., Silgan Holdings Austria GmbH, Silgan International Holdings BV, Silgan Metal Packaging Distribution GmbH, Silgan White Cap Manufacturing GmbH Vs. European Commission
  Re: Appeal - Competition - Agreements, decisions and concerted practices - Metal packaging market - Initiation of an investigation procedure by the European Commission at the request of a national competition authority - Period for re-allocation - Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 - Commission Notice on cooperation within the Network of Competition Authorities - Principle of good administration - Obligation to state reasons
• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.12145 - Clarios / Ecobat Germany / Ecobat Austria)
• Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.12358 - JLL / PIF / FMTECH)
• Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.11578 - Boeing / Spirit)
• Commission clears acquisition of ABB Robotics by SoftBank (M.12248) - Midday Express
• Germany - Taking a closer look - The Bundeskartellamt’s focus on the food sector (25.02.2026)
• UK - The CMA is examining heating oil amid concerns about rising prices due to conflict in the Middle East

STATE AID

• Authorisation for State aid pursuant to Articles 107 and 108 of the TFEU – Cases where the Commission raises no objections – SA.121059
• EFTA Surveillance Authority - State aid – Decision to raise no objections: 193/25/COL; 195/25/COL & 192/25/COL
• Commission approves €440 million Spanish State aid scheme to support renewable hydrogen production (SA.121244) - Midday Express

TRADE & CUSTOMS

• Agenda for: Working Party on Trade Questions - 16 March 2026
• Agenda for: Trade Policy Committee (Deputies) - 18 March 2026
• Agenda for: 674th meeting of the Export Credits Group - 25 March 2026
• Notice of initiation of an anti-dumping proceeding concerning imports of certain acrylic esters (CN code ex 2916 12 00) originating in the People’s Republic of China, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Republic of South Africa, and the United States of America
• Notice of initiation of an anti-dumping proceeding concerning imports of copper tubes (CN code ex 7411 10 90) originating in the People’s Republic of China, Mexico, Vietnam and Uzbekistan
• WTO - Russia notifies launch of safeguard investigation on tinplate
• Report of the 5th round of negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and the Philippines - 02 to 06 March 2026
• Trade Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA) in support of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations between the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries - Main Report & Annexes
• Answer given by Mr Hoekstra to a MEP written question - Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)
• Europe needs to stop bickering to compete with China - The fight over ‘Made in Europe’ versus ‘Made with Europe’ is a pointless one - Financial Times
• US launches new probes into EU and other trade partners - Investigations are precursor to fresh tariffs after previous levies were struck down by the Supreme Court - Financial Times
• US committed to EU trade deal, top Trump official tells Brussels - Washington seeks to reassure the EU it won’t walk away from the deal as the European Parliament threatens to sink it over Donald Trump’s attacks on Spain and strikes on Iran - Politico.eu

INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY

• Agenda for: Meeting of the Antici Group (Simplification: Omnibus IV: Small Mid-Caps & Omnibus V: Defence) - 16 March 2026
• EU’s six biggest economies push for single markets watchdog - Proposal by ‘E6’ countries, including Germany and France, aims to reinvigorate plans to unify bloc’s capital markets - Financial Times

TAXATION

• Judgment of the Court of 12 March 2026 in Case C-527/24, Harry et Associés Sarl Vs. Agenzia delle entrate – Riscossione – Pescara, Agenzia delle entrate – Centro operativo di Pescara
  Re: Preliminary ruling - Taxation - Common system of VAT - Directive 2006/112/EC - VAT refund - Directive 2008/9/EC - Articles 2, 15 and 23 – Principles of VAT neutrality, effectiveness and proportionality - Taxable person established in a Member State other than that of the VAT refund - Application for a VAT refund - Technical malfunction in the electronic transmission of the application - Inaction of the tax authorities of the Member State of the refund, which received the application - Final judicial decision - Res judicata
• Judgment of the Court of 12 March 2026 in Case C-521/24, Aptiv Services Hungary Kft. Vs. Nemzeti Adó- és Vámhivatal Fellebbviteli Igazgatósága
  Re: Preliminary ruling - Taxation - Common system of VAT - Directive 2006/112/EC - Intra-Community acquisition of goods - Article 168 - Deduction of input VAT due on such an acquisition - Articles 178 and 179 - Procedures for exercising the right to deduct VAT - Late submission of invoices necessary for exercising the right to deduct VAT - Refusal of the right to deduct VAT - National legislation providing for a self-correction procedure allowing the taxable person to exercise their right to deduct beyond the taxable period in which that right arose - Principles of neutrality, proportionality and effectiveness
• Judgment of the Court of 12 March 2026 in Case C-515/24, Randstad España SLU Vs. Administración General del Estado Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling - Taxation - Common system of VAT - Deduction of input VAT - Directive 2006/112/EC - Article 176, second paragraph - Exclusion of the right to deduct VAT - Acquisition of tickets for recreational events and services - Entry into force of the right to deduct VAT on the date of accession of the Kingdom of Spain to the European Economic Community - Standstill clause

AGRICULTURE & FISHERIES

• Fisheries and aquaculture: Council agrees negotiating position on new framework for statistics
• Meeting of the Council meeting (“Agriculture & Fisheries”) - 30 March 2026
  - Energy transition in EU fisheries and aquaculture - Presidency draft background note
• Geographical indications from the Philippines - Public consultation

ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE

• SCHEER - Agenda for: Working Group on COPPER - 17 April 2026
• SCHEER - Agenda for: Working Group on chemical mixtures -18 March 2026
• Meeting of the Council (Environment) - 17 March 2026
  - Twelfth Plenary Session Intergovernmental Science-policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) (Manchester, United Kingdom, 3 - 8 February 2026) - Information from Presidency and the Commission

DIGITAL & INFORMATION SOCIETY

• Telecommunications: A subscriber may terminate a contract for internet access,without costs, where modification is made in order to comply with a decision of the Court of Justice (See CPR No.34/26, Judgment of the Court of 12 March 2026 in Case C-514/24, Magyar Telekom Nyrt. Vs. Nemzeti Média- és Hírközlési Hatóság Elnöke)
• EDPB and EDPS support harmonisation of clinical trials under European Biotech Act, but call for specific safeguards for sensitive health data - See the Opinion
• EU set to ban AI nudification apps in wake of Grok scandal - Politico.eu

TRANSPORT & MOBILITY

• Opinion of Advocate General Càpeta of 12 March 2026, Opinion procedure 1/24, Initiated following a request made by the European Commission
  Re: Opinion pursuant to Article 218(11) TFEU - Air transport – Agreement on air transport between the Sultanate of Oman, of the one part, and the European Union and its Member States, of the other part - Article 3(2) TFEU – International agreement which may affect common rules - Competence of the European Union to conclude alone said agreement

AREA OF FREEDOM, SECURITY & JUSTICE

• Member State legislation which does not permit the amendment of the gender data of one of its nationals who has exercised his or her right to freedom of movement is contrary to EU law (See CPR No.33/26, Judgment of the Court in Case C-43/24 | [Shipova])
• Advocate General Ćapeta: by generally allowing suspects to be questioned without a lawyer if the lawyer does not appear within a certain time period, Hungary and the Czech Republic infringed EU law (See CPR No.36/26, Advocate General’s Opinions in Case C-660/24 and Case C-681/24, Commission Vs. Hungary and Commission Vs. Czech Republic (Time limit imposed on the right of access to a lawyer)
• Communication from the Commission – Annual update of data used for calculation of financial sanctions proposed by the Commission to the Court of Justice of the European Union in infringement proceedings

EURO, ECB & ECONOMY

• Commission disburses €21.2 million to Cyprus under NextGenerationEU - Midday Express

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• Joint press statement by President of the European Council, António Costa, and President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev
• EU brings over 8,000 European citizens home amid Middle East escalation - Midday Express

EU/RUSSIA/UKRAINE

• The assets of a company not included on the list of persons subject to sanctions may be frozen if it is controlled by a person included on that list (See CPR No.32/26, Judgment of the Court in Case C-84/24, UAB “EM SYSTEM” AB Vs.SEB bankas, AS “Citadele banka” Lietuvos filialas)
• Restrictive measures in respect of Russia: the freezing of funds prevents, absolutely and unconditionally, the holder of a depositary receipt from attending a general meeting of shareholders and from voting in that meeting (See CPR No.35/26, Judgment of the Court in Case C‑465/24, SBK Art Limited Liability Company Vs. Fortenova Group STAK Stichting, Open Pass Limited)
• EU weighs lifting Russia sanctions against oil trader Niels Troost - Measures against Dutch citizen seen as ‘legally weaker’ than other listings, say diplomats - Financial Times