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Europe Daily Bulletin No. 13345

8 February 2024
Contents Publication in full By article 33 / 42
COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EU / State aid
EU General Court once again annuls €3.4 billion in aid to KLM
Brussels, 07/02/2024 (Agence Europe)

The Dutch State aid of €3.4 billion granted in July 2021 to support the airline KLM in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, is incompatible with European Union competition law, the General Court of the European Union ruled once again on Wednesday 7 February (Case T-146/22).

The General Court was asked to rule on a second appeal by the Irish low-cost airline Ryanair, after annulling in May 2021 (see EUROPE B12722A24) an initial similar aid measure approved in July 2020 by the European...

Contents

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT PLENARY
AGRICULTURE: quarrels and few proposals in European Parliament on how to help farmers out of crisis
AGRICULTURE: European Parliament ratifies its position on\ rules governing new genomic techniques
ENVIRONMENT/CLIMATE: water resilience, MEPs eagerly awaiting European strategy
FUTURE OF EU: Romania must become full member of Schengen area “as soon as possible”, says Klaus Iohannis
DEMOCRACY: in case of Tatjana Ždanoka, MEPs are preparing to call for an investigation to be opened “without delay” to determine “appropriate criminal proceedings”
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS: Margarítis Schinás urges European Parliament to make civic commitment in EU against acts of hatred, antisemitism and Islamophobia
RULE OF LAW: European Parliament deplores deterioration of fundamental rights in Greece, particularly as regards media freedom
FINANCE: European Parliament ratifies introduction of instant credit transfers in euro
ANGOLA: European Parliament gives green light to ratification of Investment Facilitation Agreement with Luanda
VENEZUELA: EU calls for “full” implementation of Barbados Agreement
SEAS: MEPs criticise Norway’s decision to start mining Arctic seabed
TRANSPORT: European Parliament authorises France to negotiate with United Kingdom on Cross-Channel Tunnel
SOCIAL: European Parliament approves new occupational exposure limit values for lead and diisocyanates
HOME AFFAIRS: Regarding online child pornography content, MEPs can begin negotiations with Council of EU on derogation from e-Privacy Directive
FISHERIES: European Parliament ratifies management and control measures in Atlantic and Mediterranean
SECTORAL POLICIES
COMPETITIVENESS: provisional agreement on ‘STEP’ platform between European Parliament and EU Council
COMPETITIVENESS: Belgian Presidency of EU Council wants to make recommendations to next Commission for robust Single market
HOME AFFAIRS: reform of Schengen Borders Code – European Parliament and EU Council agree on a better framework for internal border controls
CLIMATE: 2040 climate target, CAN Europe says aiming for a 90% reduction is not enough
CLIMATE/ENERGY: decisions on biomass management in Europe are urgently needed if EU’s climate objectives are to be met, says European Environment Agency
INSTITUTIONAL
BUDGET: European Parliament/EU Council agreement on revision of Multiannual Financial Framework
EP2024: French Reconquête! party joins family of European conservatives
SOCIAL AFFAIRS - EMPLOYMENT
SOCIAL: digital platform workers, despite absence of revised mandate, Belgian Presidency of EU Council will seek solutions with European Parliament on 8 February
ECONOMY - FINANCE - BUSINESS
FINANCE: EU Council and European Parliament reach an agreement on revision of ‘EMIR’
ECONOMY: uncertainty over ability of European Parliament and EU Council to finalise reform of Stability Pact
TAXATION: fight against harmful tax practices is intensifying, according to OECD
COMPETITION: European Commission suspects Greek electricity supplier PPC of predatory practices
SECURITY - DEFENCE
NATO: according to Jens Stoltenberg, there is no imminent threat against a NATO ally
EXTERNAL ACTION
WESTERN BALKANS: Court of Auditors considers that conditions for disbursement under growth plan for Balkans are “not ambitious enough”
TURKEY: European Commission signs €400 million agreement with Turkey to support recovery following 2023 earthquakes
Russian invasion of Ukraine
UKRAINE: Ukrainian leaders call on EU to do more to deliver ammunition to their country
CSDP: EUAM Ukraine trains members of Ukrainian National Police and Guard
COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EU
STATE AID: EU General Court once again annuls €3.4 billion in aid to KLM
BREACHES OF EU LAW
ENVIRONMENT: six Member States referred to EU Court of Justice for failure to finalise revision of their water plans
BIODIVERSITY: nature conservation, European Commission refers Portugal for second time to CJEU for failure to comply with previous Court judgment
JUSTICE: European Commission takes Belgium and Luxembourg to EU Court of Justice for incomplete transposition of right of access to lawyer upon arrest
RULE OF LAW: European Commission opens infringement proceedings against Hungarian law on defence of national sovereignty
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS - SOCIETAL ISSUES
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS: EU Agency for Fundamental Rights highlights diversity of national systems and calls for greater child protection collaboration
NEWS BRIEFS
COMPETITION: European Commission defends its antitrust approach
ENERGY: in 2023, wind energy generated more electricity than gas in EU for first time, according to Ember analysis
RESEARCH: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, calls for proposals will be worth over €1.23 billion in 2024
SERBIA: despite irregularities observed during vote and demands for independent enquiry, members of new Serbian Parliament are sworn in