Jones Day is a global law firm with more than 2,500 lawyers across five continents. The Firm is distinguished by a singular tradition of client service; the mutual commitment to, and the seamless collaboration of, a true partnership; formidable legal talent across multiple disciplines and jurisdictions; and shared professional values that focus on client needs.
This regular alert covers key regulatory developments related to EU emergency responses, including in particular to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine...
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This regular alert covers key regulatory developments related to
EU emergency responses, including in particular to Russia's war
of aggression against Ukraine, COVID-19, and cyber threats. It does
not purport to provide an exhaustive overview of developments.
This regular update expands from the previous COVID-19 Key
EU Developments – Policy & Regulatory Updates (last
issueNo. 99).
LATEST KEY DEVELOPMENTS
Competition & State Aid
Director-General of DG COMP speaks at European Competition
Day
European Court of Auditors publishes Special Report on Recovery
and Resilience Facility's performance monitoring framework
European Commission approves further schemes under new
Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework to support economy in
context of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and accelerating green
transition and reducing fuel dependencies
European Commission approves further scheme to compensate for
damage due to COVID- 19 crisis
Trade / Export Controls
Anti-Coercion Instrument adopted
European Commission publishes Third Annual Report on screening
of foreign direct investments
11th meeting of EU-US Task Force on Energy Security
Medicines and Medical Devices
Commission releases Communication on Addressing Medicine
Shortages in the EU
European Commission authorizes adapted COVID-19 vaccine
Cybersecurity, Privacy & Data Protection
ENISA publishes Threat Landscape 2023 Report
European Commission adopts Work Programme for 2024
COMPETITION & STATE AID
Competition
Director-General of DG COMP speaks at European
Competition Day (see here)
On 17 October 2023, Olivier Guersant, Director-General of DG
COMP, gave the keynote speech at the annual European Competition
Day* on the topic of "Working towards a global
'level-playing field'". Director-General Guersant
addressed the below issues in particular, stating his views as
follows:
State aid policy is challenged by global and
political trends, ranging from when foreign states weaponize vital
supply chains, to the compelling case for industrial aid that
addresses specific 'market failures', such as in relation
to the green and digital transitions.
However, he also emphasized that the most basic principle of State
aid must apply to all EU industrial policy, i.e.,
government money should never be put towards an investment
that the private sector would otherwise be able to
make.
In this respect, he stated that the unwinding of State aid
provided under the Temporary Crisis and Transition
Framework must commence, as the worst of the energy crisis
is now over. While remaining sensitive to the importance of the
pace of the phase-out, Director-General Guersant expressed that
what is most vital is the signal to markets: they
cannot expect that the aid to remedy serious disturbances will
remain available indefinitely, as there is no substitute for
competitiveness in the long term.
On foreign subsidies, while the EU wants the
openness and benefits that come with foreign investment, it must be
fair. Ensuring such fairness is the intended aim of the Foreign
Subsidies Regulation (FSR), whose notification obligations became
applicable on 12 October 2023 (see also Jones Day EU Emergency Response Update No. 105 of
31 August 2023).
As the first notifications arrive, Director-General Guersant
indicated that the Commission will ensure, and improve where
needed, the balance between the Commission's need to get the
most relevant information for assessing cases, while not creating
an overly onerous regulatory burden.
He expects a gradual ramping-up of FSR activities in the coming
months and encourages businesses to:
seek clarifications on the FSR in pre-notification contacts;
and
come forth with concrete information about a competitor getting
financial contributions from a third country that may cause a
distortion on the internal market.
This conference is held during each Presidency of the
Council of the European Union and is attended by the European
competition authorities, the European Commission, ministries and
other experts in the field of competition policy
The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.
Jones Day is a global law firm with more than 2,500 lawyers across five continents. The Firm is distinguished by a singular tradition of client service; the mutual commitment to, and the seamless collaboration of, a true partnership; formidable legal talent across multiple disciplines and jurisdictions; and shared professional values that focus on client needs.
