|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
State aid
|
|
|
31/05/2024
|
Commission approves €2 billion Italian State aid measure to support STMicroelectronics to set up a new semiconductor manufacturing facility
|
|
The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a €2 billion Italian measure to support STMicroelectronics (‘ST') in the construction and operation of an integrated chip manufacturing plant for Silicon Carbide (‘SiC') power devices in Catania, Sicily. The measure will strengthen Europe's security of supply, resilience and digital sovereignty in semiconductor technologies, in line with the objectives set out in the European Chips Act Communication. The measure will also contribute to achieving the digital and green transitions.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
31/05/2024
|
Commission amends Guidelines on Regional State aid to allow increased support to Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform projects
|
|
The European Commission has adopted an amendment to the Guidelines on Regional State aid (‘RAG') to allow Member States to grant higher amounts of regional aid for investment projects covered by the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (‘STEP'). The STEP aims to support the development and manufacturing of critical technologies relevant to the EU green and digital transitions, as well as the EU's strategic sovereignty.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
28/05/2024
|
Commission approves up to €1.4 billion of State aid by seven Member States for the fourth Important Project of Common European Interest in the hydrogen value chain
|
|
The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a fourth Important Project of Common European Interest (‘IPCEI') to support research, innovation and the first industrial deployment in the hydrogen value chain. The project contributes to the EU's target of 90% reduction of emissions from the mobility and transport sectors, in order for the EU to become climate-neutral by 2050. By fostering the use of hydrogen as a fuel, it will also help achieve the objectives of the European Green Deal, the EU Hydrogen Strategy and the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy.
See also Remarks by Executive Vice-President Vestager.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
28/05/2024
|
Commission approves up to €1 billion of State aid by six Member States for the first Important Project of Common European Interest in the health sector
|
|
The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, the first Important Project of Common European Interest (‘IPCEI') to support research, innovation and the first industrial deployment of healthcare products, as well as innovative production processes of pharmaceuticals. This IPCEI will notably contribute to the European Health Union's objectives by delivering innovations addressing diseases for which there are no satisfactory means of prevention or treatment and by increasing the EU's preparedness for emerging health threats..
See also Remarks by Executive Vice-President Vestager.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
27/05/2024
|
Commission approves €3.2 billion Czech State aid scheme to support high-efficiency combined heat and power generation
|
|
The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a €3.2 billion (CZK 75 billion) Czech scheme to support the production of electricity from new and modernised high-efficiency combined heat and power (‘CHP') plants. The measure will contribute to the implementation of Czechia's National Energy and Climate Plan, the European Green Deal and the EU's energy efficiency targets.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mergers
|
|
|
|
31/05/2024
|
Commission approves KKR's acquisition of NetCo
|
|
The European Commission has approved unconditionally, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition by KKR & Co. Inc. (‘KKR') of NetCo. The Commission concluded that the transaction would raise no competition concerns in the European Economic Area.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Court
|
|
|
|
30/05/2024
|
Autoridad Portuaria de Bilbao v Commission
|
|
The Commission takes note of today’s judgment of the Court of Justice. In its judgment, the Court of Justice confirmed 2019 Commission decisions requiring Spain to abolish corporate tax exemptions for port authorities.
The Court of Justice confirmed the Commission reasoning that the tax measures at stake constitute State aid. In particular, the Court ruled that, even if a scheme benefits only one company, the Commission can limit itself to assess the abstract features of the scheme, not the specific situation of the beneficiary.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
30/05/2024
|
Ryanair v Commission
|
The Commission takes note of today’s judgment of the Court of Justice, upholding a 2020 Commission State aid decision. In its decision, the Commission had approved a Finnish State guarantee on a €600 million loan to the airline Finnair to mitigate the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the company.
In today’s judgment, the Court of Justice found that the General Court was correct to rule in April 2021 that the Finnish measure approved by the Commission complied with all the conditions set out in EU State aid rules, in particular under Article 107(3)(b) TFEU, as interpreted by the COVID-19 State aid Temporary Framework. The aid did not breach the principle of non-discrimination nor did it involve an unjustified restriction on the freedom of other companies to provide services.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
29/05/2024
|
Decal España v Commission
|
The Commission takes note of the judgments of the General Court upholding a 2013 Commission’s State aid decision. In its 2013 decision, the Commission concluded that a Spanish scheme for the purchase of ships involving leasing and financing through tax relief to be partly incompatible with EU State aid rules. The Commission found that the scheme conferred a selective advantage on economic interest groupings and their investors over their competitors. It therefore ordered Spain to recover the incompatible aid.
On 2 February 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union largely upheld the Commission decision, while annulling it insofar as it only identified the economic interest groupings and their investors as beneficiaries of the aid.
In today’s judgment, the General Court ruled that remaining applications for annulment against the Commission’s 2013 decision were without object as regards the question of the identification of the indirect beneficiaries of the scheme and dismissed the remainder of the actions for annulment.
The judgments also confirm that the Commission was competent to ask Spain to set aside private contractual clauses which allowed beneficiaries of the aid scheme to shift the burden of recovery to third parties.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Events
|
|
|
|
05/06/2024
|
Fifty Years of the Brussels-New York Connection
|
|
The conference will look at transatlantic relations in competition policy and enforcement from three vantage points: our long and rich history, recent developments, and the implications of competition control for broader policy areas in Europe and the US.
Registrations are open for a limited time only!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
28/06/2024
|
Competition in Virtual Worlds and Generative AI
|
|
The European Commission is pleased to announce its upcoming workshop on competition in virtual worlds and generative AI, scheduled for 28 June 2024. This event serves as a follow-up to the call for contributions launched in January 2024, which sought insights into the state of competition within these two sectors.
Registrations are open!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Public consultations
|
|
|
|
27/05/2024 - 24/06/2024
|
Commission seeks feedback on the evaluation of the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation
|
|
The European Commission launched a Call for evidence to seek feedback on the scope and content of its evaluation of the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation, as amended in April 2023 (‘MVBER'), and of the related Supplementary Guidelines, also as amended in April 2023 (‘SGL').
The role of both the MVBER and of the SGL is to assist companies in the automotive sector to assess the compatibility of their vertical agreements with Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The feedback obtained will help the Commission prepare a public consultation planned for the fourth quarter of 2024.
All interested parties can submit their views in any official EU language until 24 June 2024. More information on the MVBER review can be found here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Open calls for tender
|
|
|
|
18/04/2024 - 31/05/2024
|
Competition Policy Capacity Building Programme for Africa
|
|
The European Commission has launched its first pre-call for tender seeking experts to support the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS / CEDEAO), thereby taking the first steps in the implementation of its €20 million Competition Policy Capacity Building Programme for Africa.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
New legislation
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
