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Europe Daily Bulletin No. 13608

27 March 2025
Contents Publication in full By article 18 / 31
COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EU / Competition
EU General Court confirms participation of seven investment banks in sovereign debt markets cartel
Brussels, 26/03/2025 (Agence Europe)

The General Court of the European Union has upheld the European Commission’s decision of May 2021 finding that seven investment banks - UBS, Natixis, UniCredit, Nomura, Bank of America, Portigon (formerly WestLB) and NatWest (formerly Royal Bank of Scotland) - participated in a cartel to trade European government bonds between January 2007 and November 2011 (see EUROPE B12723A12) and fined Nomura, UBS and UniCredit a total of €371 million, in a judgment handed down on...

Contents

SECTORAL POLICIES
CIVIL PROTECTION: European Commission wants to enhance EU’s capability to prevent emerging threats with its ‘Preparedness Union Strategy’
HEALTH: quality of work carried out by Health Emergency Response and Preparedness Authority (HERA) praised by European Commission
COMPANIES: ‘omnibus’- EU Council approves postponement of directives on corporate sustainability reporting and on corporate due diligence
TRANSPORT: agreement between European Parliament and EU Council on disqualifications for reckless driving
DIGITAL: Henna Virkkunen unveils first outlines of future European AI action plan
DIGITAL: latest version of General Purpose AI Code of Practice worries former AI Act MEP negotiators
AGRICULTURE : MEPs and experts recommend measures to strengthen food sovereignty in Europe
SEA: commissioner Costas Kadis organises informal ministerial exchange with EU countries on ocean conservation
CLIMATE: COP30 - NDC, financing, coalition... at 16th Petersberg Climate Dialogue, European Union fine-tunes its position for Belém
ENERGY: Ditte Juul Jørgensen says that energy dimension, including grids, must be included in debate on security
ENERGY: European Parliament report on electricity grids - negotiations to continue on coordinated planning at EU level
ENERGY: ACER makes recommendations to contain network costs, in favour of EU competitiveness
EXTERNAL ACTION
MIDDLE EAST: Hadja Lahbib and NGOs concerned about humanitarian situation in Gaza
SERBIA: despite Aleksandar Vučić’s promises, Belgrade has made no significant progress towards EU membership
AFRICA: 2025 summit expected to focus on partnership aspect
LATIN AMERICA: Francisco Santos urges EU to get involved in helping Latin American countries defend themselves against interference from foreign powers
SOCIAL AFFAIRS
SOCIAL/EMPLOYMENT: labour markets – European Court of Auditors gives mixed assessment of effectiveness of reforms supported by European Recovery Plan
COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EU
COMPETITION: EU General Court confirms participation of seven investment banks in sovereign debt markets cartel
COURT OF JUSTICE: appointment of thirteen judges to EU General Court
EDUCATION - YOUTH - CULTURE - SPORT
EDUCATION/RESEARCH: European University Association calls for competitiveness partnership bringing together stakeholders and political decision-makers
NEWS BRIEFS
CENTRAL ASIA: Kaja Kallas visits Ashgabat for 20th ministerial meeting between EU and region
EUROPEAN COMMISSION : Valérie Drezet-Humez appointed Director of General Affairs, Knowledge and Resources at DG ‘ENV’
ECONOMY: EU Council ready to negotiate with European Parliament on new macro-financial assistance of €500 million for Jordan
ENVIRONMENT: European Environment Agency denounces rising consumption levels of textiles and footwear in EU
UNITED STATES: Washington is expected to impose tariffs on car imports in the next few days
MOZAMBIQUE: EU welcomes meeting between President and former presidential candidate
MIDDLE EAST: EU appalled by attack on and arrest of film director Hamdan Ballal
CSDP: Alessandro Di Biasi, new EU Force Commander for EUNAVFOR Med Irini
RESEARCH: start-ups want better access to finance, markets, talent, and less bureaucracy, according to the European Commission
SOCIAL: European Globalisation Adjustment Fund to provide €8 million in support for 2,400 workers made redundant in Belgium
TRANSPORT: EU and Singapore continue to deepen relations to improve connectivity and security