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Europe Daily Bulletin No. 12625

18 December 2020
Contents Publication in full By article 34 / 41
ECONOMY - FINANCE - BUSINESS / Competition
European Commission clears Google’s acquisition of Fitbit subject to conditions 
Brussels, 17/12/2020 (Agence Europe)

On Thursday 17 December, the European Commission cleared the acquisition of Fitbit by the tech giant Google.

Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President of Competition Policy, said that Google’s commitments “will ensure that the market for wearables and the nascent digital health space will remain open and competitive”. "The commitments will determine how Google can use the data collected for ad purposes, how interoperability between competing wearables and Android will be...

Contents

SECTORAL POLICIES
CLIMATE: EU environment ministers reach a political agreement on entire ‘Climate Act’
ENVIRONMENT: political agreement in EU Council on amendment of ‘Aarhus’ Regulation to improve NGOs access to justice
ENVIRONMENT: EU Council indicates path to follow for a green and circular post-Covid-19 economic recovery
ENVIRONMENT: EU Council adopts conclusions on ‘green’ digitisation to reconcile two priority transitions
AGRICULTURE: EUR 182.9 million for promotion of European agri-food products
FISHERIES: EU ministers agree on 7.5% reduction in fishing effort in Mediterranean by 2021
HEALTH: European Commission moves towards seventh vaccine against Covid-19
ENERGY: Twenty-two Member States commit to an ‘important project of common European interest’ for hydrogen
TRANSPORT: use of airport slots, European Commission paves way for gradual return to normality
SPACE: Josef Aschbacher appointed head of ESA
EXTERNAL ACTION
UNITED KINGDOM: European Parliament sets Sunday 20 December as deadline for considering a possible agreement on post-Brexit relationship
BELARUS: EU sanctions seven entities and 29 additional individuals
SERBIA: Olivér Várhelyi calls on new Serbian government to continue its efforts
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT PLENARY
CLIMATE: European Parliament calls on EU to strengthen its action on adaptation to climate change
BETTER REGULATION: European Parliament ready to negotiate on reform of comitology procedure
TRANSPORT: European Parliament set to approve similar position to that of EU Council on transport emergency measures after Brexit
TRANSPORT: Channel Tunnel, MEPs approve temporary measures on certificates and licences
GMO: European Parliament vetoes authorisation of five glyphosate-tolerant transgenic soybean and maize varieties
ENVIRONMENT: European Parliament calls for Water Framework Directive to be finally complied with no later than 2027
CHINA: situation of Uighurs, MEPs call for sanctions
IRAN: EU calls for immediate and unconditional release of Sakharov Prize winner Nasrin Sotoudeh
BUDGET: European Parliament considers European Council’s interpretative declaration on ‘Rule of law’ mechanism to be superfluous
COMPANIES: European Parliament calls for update of SME strategy in light of Covid-19
COMPANIES: European Parliament adopts position on sustainable corporate governance
MIGRATION: European Parliament confirms its message on current shortcomings of asylum and return policy
GENDER EQUALITY: European Parliament calls for creation of EU Council configuration dedicated to gender equality
SOCIAL - CULTURE
SOCIAL: European Parliament and EU Council set trigger threshold at 200 for post-2020 Globalisation Adjustment Fund for dismissed workers
CULTURE: European Commission sees no need to extend term of protection in audiovisual sector
COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EU
INDUSTRY: Court says tampering with vehicle emission control systems is illegal under EU law
MIGRATION: Hungary has failed to fulfil several of its obligations under EU law on asylum and returns, Court rules
POLAND: Prohibiting a right of appeal against decisions on appointments of Supreme Court judges violates EU law
MALTA: Prime Minister’s role in appointment of Maltese judges not necessarily contrary to EU law, according to Advocate General
AGRICULTURE: CJEU considers that PDO also protects appearance of products in certain cases
ECONOMY - FINANCE - BUSINESS
COMPETITION: European Commission clears Google’s acquisition of Fitbit subject to conditions 
TAXATION: EU Council makes appointment with US tax authorities on FATCA legislation
NEWS BRIEFS
EUROPEAN COUNCIL: Charles Michel isolates himself after having been in contact with Emmanuel Macron, who tested positive for Covid-19
BUDGET: EU Council formally adopts 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework
NIGERIA: EU calls for immediate release of all abducted children in Kankara by Boko Haram
EPP: European Parliament’s EPP Group strips Hungarian Tamás Deutsch of some of his rights but does not exclude him
RUSSIA: EU formally extends economic sanctions
TRANSPORT: EU Council formally adopts decision making 2021 European Year of Rail