COMPETITION
- Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.11020 – KKR / April)
- Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.11044 – Derichebourg / Elior)
- Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.11063 – CVC Capital / Scan Global Logistics)
- Commission clears acquisition of Altra Industrial Motion by Regal Rexnord (M.11007) – Midday Express
- Czech Republic – The Office for the Protection of Competition accepts Honeywell’s commitments
- France – The Autorité publishes its opinion on the draft decree on the code of professional conduct for lawyers to the French Administrative Supreme Court and French Supreme Court
- Germany – Bundeskartellamt: List of Notified Merger Projects
- Spain – The CNMC fines Telefónica 6 million euros for breaching the commitments made in its merger with DTS
- UK – The CMA is investigating whether Google might have abused a dominant position through its conduct in ad tech
- UK – The CMA has made a decision to launch a remedy review of the undertakings given by British Sky Broadcasting Group plc in 2001
- UK – The CMA has decided on administrative priorities grounds to close its investigation into whether Google and Meta entered into an anti-competitive agreement
STATE AID
- Authorisation for State aid pursuant to Articles 107 and 108 of the TFEU – Cases where the Commission raises no objections
- Commission adopts Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework to further support transition towards net-zero economy – IP/23/1563, Statement by EVP Vestager & Communication
- Commission amends General Block Exemption rules to further facilitate and speed up green and digital transition – IP/23/1523 & Communication from the Commission & Annex
- Commission approves amendments to Hungarian schemes, including an overall €6.18 billion budget increase, to support companies in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine (SA.106542) – Midday Express
- Answer given by EVP Vestager to a MEP written question – Second call for proposals for the PERTE for electric and connected vehicles
TRADE & CUSTOMS
- Agenda for: Working Party on Customs Union – 10 March 2023
- Commission Decision of 20 February 2023 approving, on behalf of the European Union, the modification of Annexes XVII-C and XVII-D to the Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, of the one part, and Georgia, of the other part Changes proposed to UK’s trade remedies system
- EU welcomes Japan joining the multi-party interim appeal arbitration arrangement – Midday Express
- UK – The Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) proposes to extend measures on hot rolled flat and coil steel imports from China, Russia, Brazil and Iran, but remove them for Ukraine
- Cooperation on standards at WTO could speed up steel sector decarbonization: Trade Forum
- Transatlantic trade disputes are moving to a new US-controlled rhythm – Increasingly America is acting without consulting its European allies – Financial Times
- US seeks to avoid EU trade rivalry over clean energy spending – Energy secretary Jennifer Granholm: ‘make sure we can do this in a way that lifts all’- Financial Times
INTERNAL MARKET & INDUSTRY
- Agenda for: Working Party on Competitiveness and Growth (Internal Market) – 14 March 2023
- Agenda for: Working Party on Competitiveness and Growth (Internal Market) – 17 March 2023
CHEMICAL
- Answer given by Mr Sinkevičius to a MEP written question – Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS)
- Authorities and ECHA push for compliance with authorisation duties – ECHA/NR/23/06
- ECHA – PFAS restriction proposal: info session on 5 April at 11:00 EET
- OECD eChemPortal updated with latest ECHA data
- ECHA – Highlights from March BPC meeting
ENERGY
- Agenda for: Working Party on Energy – 14 March 2023
- The Council presidency and the European Parliament negotiators today reached a provisional political agreement to reduce final energy consumption at EU level by 11,7 % in 2030.
- Request from CEE Bankwatch Network and ÖKOBÜRO for an internal review according to Article 10 of Regulation 1367/2006 2 (the ‘Aarhus Regulation’) and Commission Decision 2008/ 50/EC of 13 December 2007, in relation to the Council Regulation (EU) 2022/2577 of 22 December 2022 laying down a framework to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy
- European Green Deal: EU agrees stronger rules to boost energy efficiency – IP/23/1581
- Ukraine, one year after: MEPs debate the energy outlook with the Commission and IEA
- Answer given by Ms Simson to a MEP written question – ‘Safe Gas for a Safe Winter’ initiative
- Answer given by Ms Simson to a MEP written question – Risks posed by the draft agreement on electricity with Azerbaijan
- Answer given by Ms Simson to a MEP written question – Protecting decision-making from the interests of fossil fuel companies
ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE
- Agenda for: Working Party on Environment – 13 March 2023
- The Council approved conclusions reaffirming that EU climate and energy diplomacy is a core component of EU’s foreign policy, and stressing the EU determination to engage and work with partners worldwide in this field.
– Council conclusions on Climate and Energy Diplomacy: “Bolstering EU climate and energy diplomacy in a critical decade” - Council (Environment) meeting on 16 March 2023
– 5th International World Chemicals Conference (25-29 September 2023) High-level segment on 28 and 29 September 2023 hosted by Germany – Information from the German delegation
– Regulation of plants obtained by new genomic techniques – need for further discussions respecting environmental aspects – Information from the Austrian delegation, supported by the Cyprus and Hungarian delegations - Executive Vice-President Timmermans visits sustainable innovation projects in the Netherlands – Midday Express
- PAN Europe and Greens in European Parliament publish a study on existence of a wide range of available alternatives to glyphosate – see the Statement and Report
HEALTH, FOOD & PRODUCT SAFETY
- Judgment of the Court of 9 March 2023 in Case C‑356/22, Pro Rauchfrei eV Vs. JS eK,
Re: Reference for a preliminary ruling – Manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco products – Directive 2014/40/EU – Labelling and packaging – Article 2(40) – Concept of ‘placing on the market’ – Article 8(3) – Health warnings to appear on each unit packet of a tobacco product and any outside packaging – Prohibition on hiding – Automatic vending machines for packets of cigarettes – Packets of cigarettes which are not visible from the outside - Climate-neutral claims on food must be banned, shows consumer groups – See Beuc Statement and Report
DATA PRIVACY & CYBERSECURITY
- Agenda for: Horizontal Working Party on Cyber issues – 10 March 2023
- Summary of the Opinion of the EDPS on the proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council harmonising certain aspects of insolvency law
- ENISA publishes one report on eSIMs and a second one on fog and edge computing in 5G. Both reports intend to provide insights on the challenges of these technologies.
- European Parliament agrees cybersecurity requirements for EU bodies – Euractiv.com
AREA OF FREEDOM, SECURITY & JUSTICE
ECB, EURO & ECONOMY
- NextGenerationEU: Estonia submits request to modify recovery and resilience plan and add a REPowerEU chapter – Midday Express
EXTERNAL RELATIONS
- EU Statement – UN General Assembly: Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy Review
- EU Statement on the political prisoners in Belarus – OSCE Permanent Council No. 1414 Vienna, 9 March 2023
- EU Statement in response to the Report by the (Acting) Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan – OSCE Permanent Council No. 1414 Vienna, 9 March 2023
- EU releases €1 million in emergency aid for people affected by fire in Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh – Midday Express
- An EU Space Strategy for Security and Defence to ensure a stronger and more resilient EU – IP/23/1601, QaA and Joint Communication
- Earthquakes: The European Commission and the Swedish Council Presidency will host an International Donors’ Conference in support of the people in Türkiye and Syria on 20 March in Brussels – IP/23/1582
RUSSIAN INVASION OF UKRAINE
- Answer given by President von der Leyen to a MEP written question – Commission President’s statement on the Ukrainian death toll
- FAQs on sanctions against Russia and Belarus, with focus on the following provision: Article 5aa of Council Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 (State-owned enterprises)
- FAQs on sanctions against Russia and Belarus (Consolidated version) as of 08 March 2023
- EU plans joint navy patrols to combat Russian threat to infrastructure – Attack on Nord Stream pipeline shows need to increase maritime security, says commissioner – Financial Times
BREXIT
- EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) – Minutes of the Second meeting of the Specialised Committee on Law Enforcement and Judicial Cooperation (LEJC) – 13 October 2022
- New EU arsenic rules catch N Ireland between Brussels and London – Baby food measures highlight novel status of region under the Windsor framework – Financial Times
