The EU Commission has decided to refer Hungary to the Court of Justice of the European Union considering its national law on the Defence of Sovereignty to be in breach of EU law. Meanwhile, at home, Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán seems to be escalating his conflict with the Commission.
The Council presidency and the European Parliament’s negotiators reached a provisional agreement on the reform of the Single European Sky. The aim of the reform is to improve the performance, organisation and management of European airspace and the provision of the air navigation services to increase capacity, lower costs and increase the system’s adaptability, while also trying to reduce aviation’s impact on environment and climate.
The Belgian presidency gave an update on one of its priority issues for its 6-month term: fighting drug trafficking and organised crime. It highlighted in particular two elements: the setting up of a network of prosecutors specialised in the fight against organised crime, and the strengthening of judicial cooperation with third countries.
On 29 February, the Government adopted a regulation on special export credit guarantees for Ukraine. This enables exporting businesses to apply for export credit guarantees from the Swedish Export Credit Agency. The guarantees will apply to exports to Ukraine that can contribute to its development and welfare. The Government has also decided to open a trade commissioner’s office in Kyiv and will appoint a new trade commissioner in Ukraine.
The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of sole control of Randall & Quilter America Holdings Inc. (‘R&Q Accredited’) of the US by ONEX Corporation (‘ONEX’) of Canada. The transaction relates primarily to the markets for non-life insurance and reinsurance in the US, the UK and Europe. The Commission concluded that the notified transaction would not raise competition concerns, given the companies’ limited combined market
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a loan agreement worth up to €100 million with Germany-based Sunfire, to advance its development of solid oxide electrolysers for renewable hydrogen production in industrial settings. This agreement is backed by the InvestEU programme. The agreement will support Sunfire to develop electrolysers to produce renewable hydrogen more energy- and cost-effectively for industrial processes. This will support Europe’s decarbonisation, especially in high energy-consuming sectors
The proposals, sent to the Council, include updates to the agreement with Ukraine to improve its practical implementation and enforcement while maintaining its objectives and scope. The original agreements were signed in June 2022 and later extended until end of June 2024. They give bilateral transport rights to Ukrainian, Moldovan and EU hauliers for each other’s territories. With traditional transport routes in the region disrupted or closed due to Russian’s
The Council and the European Parliament have reached a provisional deal on the regulation prohibiting in the EU market products made with forced labour. The provisional agreement reached today between the two co-legislators supports the main objective of the proposal to prohibit the placing and making available on the EU market, or the export from the EU market, of any product made using forced labour. The deal introduces significant modifications
A dispute was raised between the Association Defence Active des Amateurs d’Armes ASBL (DAAA) and two Belgian citizens, on the one hand, and the Conseil des ministres (Council of Ministers, Belgium), on the other, concerning the reform of the loi sur les armes (Law on weapons) which entered into force in 2019. Under that provision, certain types of semi-automatic weapons converted to fire blanks which were sold freely in Belgium
On appeal, the Court of Justice today sets aside the judgment of the General Court and annuls the Commission’s decision. The Court recalls that EU law guarantees any citizen of the European Union, and any natural or legal person residing in a Member State, access to documents, including those held by the European Commission. Access to a document may however be refused where its disclosure would undermine the protection of
Ruling on the dispute itself, the Court of Justice holds that the unlawful data processing in the form of the disclosure to unauthorised persons of data relating to intimate conversations between Mr Kočner and his girlfriend led to that data being made accessible to the public by the Slovak press. The Court of Justice concludes that that unlawful processing infringed Mr Kočner’s right to respect for his private and family
The fight against drug trafficking and organised crime – a priority of the Belgian presidency – was a key issue at the meeting of ministers of home affairs. The Council agreed on a recommendation regarding the implementation of best practices from member states’ capabilities to fight drug trafficking
The Austrian administrative court asks the Court of Justice whether such a condition is compatible with the Qualification Directive. The Court answers in the negative. The Qualification Directive does not permit a presumption that any subsequent application based on circumstances which the applicant has created by his or her own decision since leaving the country of origin stems from abusive intent and abuse of the procedure for the grant of
The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of joint control of CBM by EMC, both of Italy, and OEP Hitch of the Netherlands. The transaction relates primarily to the design and manufacturing of attachment systems for off-highway vehicles, in particular for tractors. The Commission concluded that the notified transaction would not raise competition concerns, given the companies’ limited combined market position resulting from the proposed
The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the creation of a joint venture (UAB Lithuanian Defense Services) by Rheinmetall AG of Germany and KNDS N.V. of the Netherlands.
The transaction relates primarily to the defence sector, in particular to the supply of maintenance services and spare parts for military vehicles.
The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of joint control of Perennial Newco 2 Ltd (‘IRIS’) of the UK by Leonard Green & Partners (‘LGP’) of the US and Hg Capital (‘Hg’) of the UK.
The transaction relates primarily to the provision of software solutions for businesses.
The European Commission has approved a €350 million Portuguese scheme to support investments for the production of equipment necessary to foster the transition towards a net-zero economy, in line with the Green Deal Industrial Plan. The scheme was approved under the State aid Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework, adopted by the Commission on 9 March 2023 and amended on 20 November 2023, to support measures in sectors which are key
Companies may become subject to the DMA if they operate a so-called core platform service, such as, among others, search engines, app stores, messenger services, and also meet the following criteria: have 45 million monthly active end users and 10 000 yearly business users, have a significant impact on the market and have a stable market position. Six companies have already been designated as gatekeepers for 22 core platform services
The European Commission has fined Apple over €1.8 billion for abusing its dominant position on the market for the distribution of music streaming apps to iPhone and iPad users (‘iOS users’) through its App Store. In particular, the Commission found that Apple applied restrictions on app developers preventing them from informing iOS users about alternative and cheaper music subscription services available outside of the app (‘anti-steering provisions’). This is illegal
The regulation aims to set up a new cooperation framework for EU public administrations to ensure the seamless delivery of public services across borders, and to provide for support measures promoting innovation and enhancing skills and knowledge exchange. The new law will establish an interoperability governance structure with a view to creating an ecosystem of shared interoperability solutions for the EU’s public sector, notably through the setting of regulatory sandboxes.
The Council today has adopted amendments to the EU law on waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) which includes a range of products such as computers, fridges and photovoltaic panels. The amendments aim to bring the WEEE directive into line with a 2022 EU Court of Justice judgment on the partial invalidity of the directive owing to unjustified retroactive application of extended producer responsibility to waste from photovoltaic panels
We and use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your experience on our website. We may store and/or access information on a device and process personal data, such as your IP address and browsing data, for personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development. Additionally, we may utilize precise geolocation data and identification through device scanning.
Please note that your consent will be valid across all our subdomains. You can change or withdraw your consent at any time by clicking the “Consent Preferences” button at the bottom of your screen. We respect your choices and are committed to providing you with a transparent and secure browsing experience.
| Cookie | Duration | Description |
|---|---|---|
| __stripe_mid | This cookie is set by Stripe payment gateway. This cookie is used to enable payment on the website without storing any patment information on a server. | |
| __stripe_sid | This cookie is set by Stripe payment gateway. This cookie is used to enable payment on the website without storing any patment information on a server. | |
| _abck | This cookie is used to detect and defend when a client attempt to replay a cookie.This cookie manages the interaction with online bots and takes the appropriate actions. | |
| _wpfuuid | This cookie is used by the WPForms WordPress plugin. The cookie is used to allows the paid version of the plugin to connect entries by the same user and is used for some additional features like the Form Abandonment addon. | |
| ASP.NET_SessionId | Issued by Microsoft's ASP.NET Application, this cookie stores session data during a user's website visit. | |
| AWSALBCORS | This cookie is managed by Amazon Web Services and is used for load balancing. | |
| bm_sz | This cookie is set by the provider Akamai Bot Manager. This cookie is used to manage the interaction with the online bots. It also helps in fraud preventions | |
| cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". | |
| cookielawinfo-checbox-functional | The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". | |
| cookielawinfo-checbox-others | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. | |
| cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". | |
| cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". | |
| elementor | This cookie is used by the website's WordPress theme. It allows the website owner to implement or change the website's content in real-time. | |
| JSESSIONID | Used by sites written in JSP. General purpose platform session cookies that are used to maintain users' state across page requests. | |
| viewed_cookie_policy | The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data. |
| Cookie | Duration | Description |
|---|---|---|
| _ga | The _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors. | |
| _ga_4L7PKQPHHV | This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. | |
| _ga_T50H0MNN9J | This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. | |
| _gat_gtag_UA_12289088_5 | Set by Google to distinguish users. | |
| _gcl_au | Provided by Google Tag Manager to experiment advertisement efficiency of websites using their services. | |
| _gid | Installed by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously. |
| Cookie | Duration | Description |
|---|---|---|
| test_cookie | The test_cookie is set by doubleclick.net and is used to determine if the user's browser supports cookies. |
| Cookie | Duration | Description |
|---|---|---|
| _mcid | No description available. | |
| _swa_u | This cookie is set by the provider Sitewit.com. This cookie is used for statistical report and analysis. | |
| ak_bmsc | No description available. | |
| AWSALB | AWSALB is a cookie generated by the Application load balancer in the Amazon Web Services. It works slightly different from AWSELB. | |
| ec_store_chameleon_font | No description available. | |
| FCCDCF | No description available. | |
| issuem_lp | No description available. | |
| lp_us_his | No description | |
| m | No description available. |