The European Commission has approved a €550 million Italian scheme to support investments for the use of hydrogen in industrial processes 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 to accelerate the green transition and reduce fuel dependencies.

The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, two German schemes with a total budget of around €1 billion to improve animal welfare standards in breeding of livestock, in particular pigs. The measures will contribute to the achievement of the EU's strategic objectives relating to the European Green Deal,  the Common Agricultural Policy and the Farm to Fork Strategy.

The European Commission has made commitments by Renfe legally binding under EU antitrust rules. The commitments address the Commission's preliminary competition concerns relating to Renfe's refusal to supply all its content and real-time data related to its passenger rail transport services to rival ticketing platforms.
See also DG Competition Director for Transport Henrik Morch telling you all about it.

The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, two Czech schemes with a total budget of around €1.46 billion (CZK 35 billion) to support farmers in preventing the spread of certain poultry and pig diseases. The measures will contribute to the achievement of the EU's strategic objectives relating to the Common Agricultural Policy.

The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a  €126 million Romanian scheme to support investments in ports facing increased trade flows after Russia's war against Ukraine. The measure facilitate flow trades in and from Ukraine in line with the  objectives of the EU's Solidarity Lanes action plan.

The European Commission has approved a €902 million German measure to support Northvolt in the construction of a plant for the production of batteries for electric vehicles to foster the transition towards a net-zero economy, in line with the Green Deal Industrial Plan. The aid 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 to accelerate the green transition and reduce fuel dependencies.
See also Statement by Executive Vice-President Vestager on the approval of two State aid measures.

The European Commission has approved a €2.9 billion French scheme for supporting investment in green industries (tax credit for investment in green industries) 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 crucial for accelerating the green transition and reducing fossil fuel dependencies.
See also Statement by Executive Vice-President Vestager on the approval of two State aid measures.

The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a €1.3 billion French scheme to support the development of non-fossil flexibility technologies to ensure that the electricity supply matches demand during times of peak consumption. The measure contributes to the security of electricity supply and the decarbonisation of the economy, in line with the EU's strategic objectives relating to the European Green Deal.

The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules a €17.7 billion Italian scheme to support the construction and operation of a centralised electricity storage system. The measure contributes to the achievement of the objectives of the European Green Deal and 'Fit for 55' package, by enabling the integration of renewable energy sources in the Italian electricity system.

The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a €2.6 billion German measure to support SHS Stahl-Holding-Saar GmbH & Co KGaA (‘SHS') in partly decarbonising its steel production processes in Saarland. The measure will contribute to the achievement of the EU Hydrogen Strategy, the European Green Deal and the Green Deal Industrial Plan, while helping to end dependence on Russian fossil fuels and fast forward the green transition, in line with the REPowerEU Plan.

The European Commission has approved a €1 billion Slovak 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 to accelerate the green transition and reduce fuel dependencies.

The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed merger between Novozymes A/S and Christian Hansen A/S. The approval is conditional upon full compliance with the commitments offered by the parties.

The European Commission has found a €2.6 billion German support measure in favour of RWE Power AG to be in line with EU State aid rules. The aid will compensate RWE for the early phase-out of its lignite-fired power plants in the Rhenish mining area.

The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, France's plans to compensate La Poste for its universal postal service obligation over the period 2021-2025.

The European Commission has approved a €4.12 billion French scheme to support the rollout of renewable offshore wind energy to foster the transition to 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 to accelerate the green transition and reduce fuel dependencies.

The Commission has fined Lantmännen ek för and its subsidiary Lantmännen Biorefineries AB (formerly named Lantmännen Agroetanol AB) around €47.7 million for participating in a cartel concerning the wholesale price formation mechanism for ethanol in Europe.  This decision follows the adoption of a settlement decision against Abengoa in 2021 and the closure of proceedings against Alcogroup in 2023.

The Commission takes note of the preliminary ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union clarifying the distinction between the role of the Commission and the national court in the treatment of illegal aid, as further elaborated in the notice on the enforcement of State aid law by national courts.

The Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, an Important Project of Common European Interest (‘IPCEI') to support research, development and first industrial deployment of advanced cloud and edge computing technologies across multiple providers in Europe.
See also Remarks by Commissioner Reynders on an Important Project of Common European Interest in cloud and edge computing technologies.

The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a €500 million French scheme to support investments in holding companies active in agricultural primary production. The measure will contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the Common Agricultural Policy by fostering the development of a smart, competitive, resilient and diversified agricultural sector that ensures food security, while supporting and enhancing environmental protection and promoting climate action.

The European Commission has approved a recapitalisation of SAS amounting to approximately €833 million (SEK 9.5 billion) granted in October 2020. The measure is approved under the State aid COVID Temporary Framework. That recapitalisation measure was part of a larger recapitalisation package, which also involved a significant participation of private investors, including the conversion of outstanding privately-held debt instruments into equity.