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Europe Daily Bulletin No. 12190
Contents Publication in full By article 21 / 29
NEWS BRIEFS / Competition

Paris and Berlin want to make competition law an instrument of European economic sovereignty

08/02/2019 (Agence Europe) – The German Minister of Economy, Peter Altmaier, and the French Minister of Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire, intend to propose “an adaptation” of European competition law in order to "better take into account the demands of global competition". These joint proposals will be developed with willing EU partners and presented before the European elections, they said in a joint forum published by several French and German newspapers on Friday 8 February. They could even be presented in March, according to a French source. The two ministers reiterated their regret of the European Commission's recent decision to ban the merger between the German group Siemens and the French Alstom (see EUROPE 12188), promising to "explore all possible legal, political and practical avenues" to find a solution to this immediate problem. (MB)

Contents

SECTORAL POLICIES
ENERGY: European Parliament/Council negotiations on modifications to 'Gas Directive' will start on 12 February
TRANSPORT: European Parliament/Council provisional political agreement on support for maritime links in the event of a hard Brexit
JUSTICE: Romania still as uncomfortable as ever about possible appointment of country's former head of anti-corruption as head of European Public Prosecutor's Office
JUSTICE: first positive reactions from Member States on draft mandate for a transatlantic agreement on access to electronic evidence
AGRICULTURE: Member States are asking for flexibilities on CAP direct aids after 2020
AGRICULTURE: EU Council will adopt on 12 February the adjustments on direct payments 2019 and 2020
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: European Parliament Development and Environment Committees prepare a joint report on implementation of MDGs
COMPETITIVENESS: 'greening' of European industry by 2050 on next ministerial meeting agenda
INTERNAL MARKET: compliance with and enforcement of European rules regulation will not cover counterfeit products
ECONOMY - FINANCE
ECOFIN: review of European system of financial supervision and qualified majority voting on fiscal matters on ministerial agenda
BUDGET: Council stresses need to avoid any unpaid claims in EU budget for 2020
STATE AID: acquisition of Grivalia by Eurobank is compatible with commitments made under second Greek bailout plan
EXTERNAL ACTION
FYROM: European Commission should, in coming days, use name 'North Macedonia'
UKRAINE: EU calls on Kiev to respect international procedures for election observation
VENEZUELA: EU calls for distribution of humanitarian aid to Venezuelans not to be politicised
HORN OF AFRICA: EU launches €20 million project for the reconstruction of roads between Eritrea and Ethiopia
SINGAPORE: little suspense about vote of MEPs in plenary on two trade agreements with city-state
SOCIAL AFFAIRS
SOCIAL: Number of fathers on parental leave or paternity leave is increasing in most Member States, according to Eurofound
INSTITUTIONAL
PARLIAMENTARY PLENARY: debate on future of EU with Giuseppe Conte, international trade, cohesion policy on the agenda for plenary session
NEWS BRIEFS
PATENTS: pharmaceutical industry concerned by European Parliament’s position on revision of supplementary protection certificate
COMPETITION: Paris and Berlin want to make competition law an instrument of European economic sovereignty
ENERGY: offshore wind capacity in EU increased by 18% in 2018
COMPANIES: SMEunited advocates role of SMEs in green transition to Commissioner Vella
SPACE: French Court of Auditors wants European partners to participate more in financial effort in Ariane project
DIGITAL: intermediation platforms, EU co-legislators are giving themselves two days to complete file
HEALTH: fully implemented Falsified Medicinal Products Directive
The B-word: Agence Europe’s newsletter on Brexit
THE B-WORD: Welcome to Brexit limbo
CALENDAR
Main activities of the European Institutions: 11/02 - 20/02/2019
Other events: until 24 February 2019