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Europe Daily Bulletin No. 13073

30 November 2022
Contents Publication in full By article 23 / 34
ECONOMY - FINANCE - BUSINESS / Competition
Five chemical companies fined a total of €157 million for participating in a styrene purchasing cartel
Brussels, 29/11/2022 (Agence Europe)

The European Commission decided, on Tuesday 29 November, to fine Sunpor, Synbra, Synthomer, Synthos and Trinseo €157 million for participating in a cartel concerning purchases on the styrene monomer merchant market.

INEOS escaped any financial penalty because it revealed the cartel to the Commission. All six companies admitted their involvement in the cartel and agreed to settle the case.

The product concerned by the cartel is styrene monomer (‘styrene’), which is an intermediate...

Contents

BEACONS
Beacons: The EU’s credibility in rule of law matters is at stake
SECTORAL POLICIES
CONSUMERS: European Parliament and EU Council reach political agreement on general product safety regulation for digital age
FOOD SECURITY: according to a draft, European Commission identifies seven factors affecting food security in EU
AGRICULTURE: Stella Kyriakides admits pesticides proposal “is not set in stone”
AGRICULTURE: agri-food trade increased in August 2022, according to European Commission
FISHERIES: European Commission has adopted Spanish and Croatian programmes implementing EMFAF 2021-2027
CIRCULAR ECONOMY: proposed regulation on packaging and packaging waste, expected on Wednesday, is “sovereignty issue”, according to Pascal Canfin
COMPETITIVENESS: EU ministers will seek to adopt three political agreements
TRANSPORT: European Commission presents its strategy to further develop European drone market
ENERGY: European Parliament rapporteur fears no agreement by end of year over revision of energy efficiency directive
CLIMATE: WWF report exposes misuse of ETS revenues by EU Member States
DIGITAL: balance still to be struck in European Parliament Committee on aggressive fees and provider switching in ‘Data Act’
SPACE: MEPs give green light to interinstitutional agreement on IRIS² Constellation
HOME AFFAIRS: spy software, first discussions in European Parliament concern credibility of information used by Sophie in ‘t Veld
JUSTICE: environmental protection through criminal law, MEPs want to take their time
Russian invasion of Ukraine
NATO: military mobility is a success story of European defence, according to Mols
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS: European journalist shows situation of disabled people in Ukraine
REGIONS: first meeting of Alliance for Reconstruction of Ukraine
SECURITY - DEFENCE
DEFENCE: Allies pledge increased support to Ukraine
SOCIAL AFFAIRS
SOCIAL: European Commission recommendation on minimum income and active inclusion about to be adopted by Member States
ECONOMY - FINANCE - BUSINESS
TAXATION: compromise emerging in European Parliament on ‘Unshell’ Directive
TAXATION: study reveals shadow economy is bigger in eastern and southern European countries
COMPETITION: five chemical companies fined a total of €157 million for participating in a styrene purchasing cartel
ECONOMY: European Court of Auditors gives high marks to quality of European statistics
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS - SOCIETAL ISSUES
MEDIA: EU Member States divided on Media Freedom Act
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS: MEPs push for EU ratification of Istanbul Convention
EU RESPONSE TO COVID-19
HEALTH: impacts of Covid-19 pandemic on vulnerable groups presented by experts to European Parliament
NEWS BRIEFS
EMPLOYMENT: Commission formalises a new Skills Partnership for European retail
ENERGY: “We are on safe ground for this winter”, assures Kadri Simson
COMPANIES: SMEs still not heard enough in European Commission impact assessments, says new study
FINANCE: ESMA consults on standards for European benchmark administrators
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Pascal Durand joins S&D group
HEALTH: Uganda, European Commission allocates €5 million to develop vaccine against Sudan strain of Ebola virus
TURKMENISTAN: EU conveys human rights concerns