France: EU Commission approves state aid of €102m for Port of Saint-Malo
Brussels, 30 September 2024 The European Commission has approved under EU State aid rules French
30/09/2024
LATEST NEWS
JHA: Agreement to reform the EU’s migration and asylum system
The agreement to thoroughly reform the EU’s legal framework on migration and asylum has been one of the main achievements of the Spanish presidency of the Council, which has also strengthened the citizenship orientation and democratic values of the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice. After several years of negotiations, an agreement has been reached at the end of the Spanish six-month period between the Council and the European Parliament
27/12/2023
New tool to enable EU to withstand economic coercion enters into force
The ACI is first and foremost designed to act as a deterrent against economic coercion. Where coercion still happens, the tool provides a structure to respond in a well-calibrated way to stop the coercion. It gives the EU a wide range of possible countermeasures when a country refuses to remove the coercion. These include the imposition of tariffs, restrictions on trade in services and trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights,
27/12/2023
Will the Commission require all food products to clearly and prominently state that certain ingredients are derived from insects? – EU Commission answer
The Commission considers that the existing legal framework ensures that consumers are well informed about the presence of insects in their food and about any potential risks, thus enabling them to make informed choices about the food they eat. With the exception of the EU promotion policy for agricultural products, where Member States endorsed the work programme for 2024, the Commission does not have policy and funding tools to support
22/12/2023
EU Commission clears acquisition of Kenter by OMERS and ABP
The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of joint control of Kenter B.V. by OMERS Infrastructure European Holdings 2 B.V. (‘OMERS’) and Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP (‘ABP’), all three based in the Netherlands. The transaction relates primarily to the market for the provision of gas and electricity metering services to large customers in the Netherlands.
22/12/2023
EU Commission clears acquisition of BCPE Ulysses Intermediate by Platinum and Bain Capital
The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of joint control of BCPE Ulysses Intermediate, Inc. by Platinum Equity Group and Bain Capital Investors, LLC, all of the US. The transaction relates primarily to the distribution of specialty building materials.
22/12/2023
EU Commission clears acquisition of Costa by PSP Fund VI, BCI and Driscoll’s
The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of joint control of Costa Group Holdings Limited (‘Costa’) of Astralia by Paine Schwartz Food Chain Fund VI GP, L.P. (‘PSP Fund VI’) of the US, British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (‘BCI’) of Canada and Driscoll’s, Inc of the US. The transaction relates primarily to the market for the wholesale of fruit and vegetables, especially the wholesale of
22/12/2023
EU Commission provides over €118m to the Palestinian Authority
Through the EU’s PEGASE mechanism, the new financial assistance adopted will contribute to the payments of the salaries and pensions of civil servants in the West Bank, the social allowances for vulnerable families through the Cash Transfer Programme in the West Bank and Gaza, the payment for the medical referrals to the East Jerusalem Hospitals and support the administrative and technical capacity of the Palestinian Authority institutions.
22/12/2023
EU Commission receives payment requests of Croatia, Denmark, Latvia and Malta under the RRF
Payments under the RRF are performance-based and contingent on Croatia, Denmark, Latvia and Malta implementing the reforms and investments outlined in their recovery and resilience plans. The Commission will now assess the requests and will then send its preliminary assessments of the fulfilment of the milestones and targets required for this payment to the Economic and Financial Committee.
22/12/2023
Finland to provide humanitarian aid to crisis areas
The power struggle in Sudan, which began in spring 2023, has led to a rapid increase in humanitarian needs both in Sudan and in its neighbouring areas. According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the conflict in Sudan has forced 6.6 million people, 2.6 million of them children, to leave their homes. The UNHCR provides support such as emergency accommodation and emergency relief items to the refugees. Finland supports the
22/12/2023
Europol: Major bust of a notorious narcotics clan in Spain and Portugal
The investigation was initiated in February 2023, when law enforcement authorities gathered evidence of drug trafficking by known local narcotics clans along the Portuguese coast. The drug trafficking operations were carried out by retrieving cocaine shipments in the waters of the Atlantic. Portuguese authorities seized one such shipment of cocaine in Peniche (Portugal). The information gathered by law enforcement authorities indicated that the notorious Galician narcotics clan was deploying significant
22/12/2023
Europol: Action against digital skimming reveals 443 compromised online merchants
Europol, law enforcement authorities from 17 countries and the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) have joined forces with the private sector partners, including Group-IB and Sansec, to fight digital skimming attacks. With the support of national Computer Security Incident Response Teams (CSIRT), the two-month action has enabled Europol and its partners to notify 443 online merchants that their customers’ credit card or payment card data had been compromised. This
22/12/2023
EU Commission approves €17.7bn aid for Italian electricity storage
The measure aims to facilitate the integration of renewable energy sources (‘RES’) in the Italian electricity system. The production of electricity by RES does not always coincide with periods of electricity demand. Electricity storage systems allow to store excess electricity at times of overgeneration and to use it at times of scarcity, thereby reducing RES curtailment and the need to produce additional electricity through programmable but polluting power plants (e.g.
21/12/2023
EU Court of Justice: Judgment in Case C-718/21 (Krajowa Rada Sądownictwa)
In Poland, judges who wish to continue to perform their duties after reaching the age of retirement are required to declare their wish to do so to the National Council of the Judiciary (‘the KRS’). A judge from one of the ordinary courts is disputing the resolution of the KRS finding that there was no need to rule on his request. The KRS held that the declaration had been made
21/12/2023
EU Council extends electric vehicle rules in UK Relations
Today the Council approved a proposal to give manufacturers of electric vehicles in the EU and the UK more time to comply with the local content requirements for electric vehicles and batteries under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. It adopted a decision which will allow the EU to agree with the UK on the extension of the current rules of origin for electric vehicles and batteries until 31 December
21/12/2023
EU Court of Justice: Judgment in Case C-261/22 – GN (Ground for refusal based on the best interests of the child)
A woman was convicted in absentia in Belgium to a term of imprisonment of five years for the offences of trafficking in human beings and facilitating illegal immigration. A Belgian court issued an EAW in respect of her for the purpose of enforcing that sentence. Several months later, that woman was arrested in Bologna (Italy). At the time of her arrest, she was pregnant and in the company of her
21/12/2023
EU Court of Justice: Judgment in Case C-281/22 – G.K. and Others (European Public Prosecutor’s Office)
The EPPO has powers of investigation and prosecution of crimes affecting the financial interests of the Union. It is organised at two levels, a central level and a decentralised level. The decentralised level consists of European Delegated Prosecutors (EDPs) located in the Member States. In the present case, several persons are being prosecuted for fraud concerning the import of biodiesel into the Union. That fraud is alleged to have caused
21/12/2023
EU Court of Justice: Judgment in Case C-167/22 – Commission v Denmark (Maximum parking time)
In 2018, Denmark laid down a rule limiting the maximum parking time at public rest areas along the Danish motorway network to 25 hours. The European Commission is of the opinion that that rule constitutes a restriction on the freedom to provide transport services since it does not affect Danish road hauliers and non-resident road hauliers in the same way. It therefore initiated infringement proceedings against Denmark. Denmark submits that
21/12/2023
EU Court of Justice: Judgment in Case C-297/22 P (United Parcel Service v Commission)
UPS requests that the Court of Justice set aside the 2022 judgment of the General Court. By its judgment delivered today, the Court of Justice dismisses UPS’ appeal. First, the Court of Justice observes that, by disputing the circumstances in which the merger agreement concluded with TNT was terminated, UPS does not call into question the General Court’s legal reasoning, but rather the factual assessment made by that court. However,
21/12/2023
EU Court of Justice: Judgment in Case C-488/21 (Chief Appeals Officer and Others)
A direct relative in the ascending line, since he or she is dependent on a worker who is a Union citizen, is an indirect beneficiary of the equal treatment accorded to that worker. If that direct relative in the ascending line were not granted social assistance, which constitutes for the migrant worker a ‘social advantage’, the equal treatment of that migrant worker would thereby be undermined. The status of ‘dependent’
21/12/2023
Child sexual abuse: EU Council paves the way for prolonging protection measure
In 2021, the EU adopted a law which allows providers of certain online services to derogate from data protection rules in the electronic communications sector. Providers of so-called number-independent interpersonal communications services (e.g. messaging services) were permitted to use specific technologies for the processing of personal and other data to detect online child sexual abuse on their services, to report and to remove it.
21/12/2023