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Europe Daily Bulletin No. 13485

19 September 2024
Contents Publication in full By article 24 / 37
ECONOMY - FINANCE - BUSINESS / Competition
European Commission notes withdrawal of Member States’ referral requests on Microsoft’s acquisition of Inflection assets
Brussels, 18/09/2024 (Agence Europe)

On Wednesday 18 September, the European Commission noted the withdrawal of the initial referral requests from seven Member States to examine, under Article 22 of the Merger Regulation, the acquisition of certain assets of Inflection AI, Inc. by Microsoft Corporation.

The deadline for the Commission to decide on these applications was 19 September 2024 (see EUROPE B13477A17). Following the judgment of the EU Court of Justice on 3 September (Illumina/GRAIL), ruling that Member States...

Contents

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT PLENARY
CIVIL PROTECTION: MEPs call for greater responsiveness and measures to adapt to climate change as disasters multiply
HOME AFFAIRS: work permits for Russian nationals, MEPs reiterate in plenary their concerns for EU’s internal security
MIDDLE EAST: EU and MEPs gravely concerned about humanitarian crisis in Gaza and threat of regional escalation
VENEZUELA: right and extreme right in European Parliament want Edmundo González to be recognised as legitimate president
DEVELOPMENT: MEPs review outcome of G20 ministerial meeting in Rio de Janeiro
ENVIRONMENT: MEPs reject two Commission decisions on pesticide residue levels in imported foodstuffs
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: European Parliament approves numerical strength of interparliamentary delegations
PRESENTATION OF THE ‘VON DER LEYEN II’ COMMISSION
FOREIGN AFFAIRS: five European Commissioners and High Representative should share Foreign Affairs and Defence responsibilities
DEFENCE: Andrius Kubilius, candidate-designate for first ever post of European Commissioner for Defence and Space
CLIMATE/ENERGY: good cooperation between future European Commissioners will be “essential” to delivering on EU’s climate ambitions
HOME AFFAIRS/MIGRATION: if accepted by European Parliament, Magnus Brunner will have to propose “innovative” solutions to reduce irregular migration
FINANCE: Ursula von der Leyen looks to Portugal’s Maria Luís Albuquerque to complete capital markets union
EYCS: Maltese Glenn Micallef appointed European Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS/EQUALITY: Hadja Lahbib appointed Commissioner for Crisis Management and Equality, associations denounce risk of backwards step
EUROPEAN COMMISSION: evaluation process for candidate European Commissioners can now begin
SECTORAL POLICIES
MIGRATION: Netherlands formalises request to derogate from European migration and asylum policies in event of changes to Treaties
TRANSPORT: competitiveness and future of rail sector on agenda at informal meeting of European ministers
AGRICULTURE: strategic dialogue, CAP and markets on agenda for meeting of European ministers on 23 September
ENERGY: European Commission opens calls for applications for energy infrastructure projects to obtain PCI/PMI status
EXTERNAL ACTION
HUMAN RIGHTS: several European Parliament political groups announce their candidates for 2024 Sakharov Prize
AFGHANISTAN: MEPs outraged at plight of Afghan women and girls
HEALTH: health emergencies, EU wants to open negotiations with Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway
CHINA: Robert Habeck wants a negotiated solution rather than tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles
ECONOMY - FINANCE - BUSINESS
COMPETITION: European Commission notes withdrawal of Member States’ referral requests on Microsoft’s acquisition of Inflection assets
TAXATION: Tax Foundation urges European policymakers to take close look at disparities between their statutory and effective tax rates
COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EU
COMPETITION: EU Court of Justice annuls €1.5 billion fine imposed on Google by European Commission
COMPETITION: EU General Court largely upholds fine imposed on Qualcomm for abuse of a dominant position
NEWS BRIEFS
WESTERN BALKANS: Ursula von der Leyen to meet Balkan leaders at a working lunch in Brussels
BUDGET: European Commission will deduct €200 million fine imposed on Hungary by CJEU from European funds allocated to Member State
CULTURE: five finalists for LUX Audience Award 2025 have been announced
ECONOMY: euro area inflation estimated at 2.2% in August
SPACE: launch of two new Galileo satellites
GEORGIA: Josep Borrell calls on Tbilisi to withdraw its anti-LGBTIQ+ legislation
INDIA: EU and India strengthen collaboration on sustainable water management
JAPAN: European Commission consults on implementation of Economic Partnership Agreement with Tokyo
LEBANON: Josep Borrell denounces pager attacks
SOCIAL: following final green light from European Parliament, EU Council will vote in October to confirm agreement reached on platform workers