Daily News 27 / 08 / 2020

Statement by President von der Leyen on the resignation of Commissioner Hogan

President von der Leyen delivered a press statement this morning following the resignation of Commissioner Hogan yesterday: “Last night Phil Hogan submitted his resignation from the post as Trade Commissioner. I respect this. I am very grateful to Phil Hogan for his tireless and successful work as a Commissioner and as a member of the College. I thank him warmly for his valuable contribution to the work of the Commission, not only in this mandate, but also in the previous mandate, when he was Commissioner in charge of Agriculture and Rural Development. Over the past days, I discussed with Phil Hogan about his movements in Ireland, in light of information that emerged regarding respect of public health guidelines in Ireland. In the current circumstances, as Europe fights to reduce the spread of the coronavirus and Europeans make sacrifices and accept painful restrictions, I expect the members of the College to be particularly vigilant about compliance with applicable national or regional rules or recommendations. In accordance with Article 246 of the Treaty, it is up now to the Irish government to present suitable candidates for a Commissioner of Irish nationality. As in the past, I will invite the Irish government to propose a woman and a man. Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis will assume, ad interim, responsibilities for trade matters. At a later stage, I will decide on the final allocation of portfolios in the College of Commissioners.” The statement is available online here. Commissioner Hogan's statement announcing his resignation is available here. (For more information: Eric Mamer – Tel.: +32 2 299 4073; Dana Spinant – Tel.: +32 2 299 0150)

Coronavirus : la Commission signe le premier contrat avec AstraZeneca

Aujourd'hui, le premier contrat négocié par la Commission au nom des États membres de l'UE avec une société pharmaceutique est entré en vigueur suite à sa signature formelle entre AstraZeneca et la Commission. Le contrat permettra l'achat d'un vaccin contre le coronavirus pour tous les États membres de l'UE ainsi que le don à des pays à revenu faible ou intermédiaire ou la redistribution vers d'autres pays européens. Ce contrat donnera la possibilité à tous les États membres d'acheter 300 millions de doses du vaccin, avec une option pour 100 millions de doses supplémentaires. Le candidat au vaccin AstraZeneca a déjà entamé les essais cliniques de phase II/III à grande échelle après avoir obtenu des résultats prometteurs en phase I/II concernant l'innocuité et l'immunogénicité. Ursula von der Leyen, présidente de la Commission européenne, a déclaré : « La Commission travaille sans relâche pour fournir aux citoyens européens un vaccin sûr et efficace contre la COVID-19 dans les meilleurs délais. L'entrée en vigueur du contrat avec AstraZeneca est une avancée importante à cet égard. Je me félicite d'enrichir notre portefeuille de vaccins potentiels grâce à des contrats avec d'autres sociétés pharmaceutiques et de m'engager avec des partenaires internationaux pour un accès universel et équitable à la vaccination. » Stella Kyriakides, commissaire chargée de la santé et de la sécurité alimentaire, a dit : « Nos négociations ont maintenant abouti à des résultats évidents : un premier contrat signé concrétise notre engagement à garantir un portefeuille de vaccins diversifié afin de protéger la santé publique de nos citoyens. La signature d'aujourd'hui - rendue possible par l'important travail préparatoire entrepris par la France, l'Allemagne, l'Italie et les Pays-Bas - garantira que les doses d'un vaccin qui, s'il s'avère efficace et sûr, seront distribuées dans tous les États membres. Nous prévoyons d'annoncer très prochainement des accords supplémentaires avec d'autres fabricants de vaccins. » La Commission poursuit la négociation d'accords similaires avec d'autres fabricants de vaccins et a conclu avec succès des entretiens exploratoires avec Sanofi-GSK le 31 juillet, Johnson & Johnson le 13 août, CureVac le 18 août et Moderna le 24 août. Un communiqué de presse est disponible ici. (Pour plus d'informations: Tim McPhie – Tél.: +32 229 58602; Darragh Cassidy – Tél.: +32 229 83978)

Coronavirus response: Over €180 million Cohesion policy funding redirected to support Cataluña and Navarra regions in Spain

The Commission has approved the modification of Cohesion policy programmes in Cataluña and Navarra to help the two Spanish regions in their fight against coronavirus. Over €180 million of Cohesion policy funding will be redirected to strengthen the regions' capacity to respond to the health crisis. The modification of the programmes will increase temporarily the EU financing rate to 100%, thus helping beneficiaries overcome liquidity scarcity in the implementation of their projects. Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira, said: “Today's adoption will help increase the response capacity of the health system through supplementary hospital beds, recruit new health workers, increase testing capacity and purchase of equipment, including the protective ones. This is especially important for Spain which is severely affected by the pandemic.” The modifications are possible thanks to the exceptional flexibility provided by the Commission under the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative (CRII) and Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative Plus (CRII+) which allow Member States to use Cohesion policy funding to support the sectors most exposed sectors to the pandemic and its economic consequences, such as healthcare, SMEs and labour markets. Spain plans to use in total €2.5 billion from the European Regional Development Fund to support the health services and businesses in mitigating the harmful consequences of the coronavirus pandemic in the country. (For more information: Tim McPhie – Tel.: +32 229 66712; Veronica Favalli – Tel.: +32 229 87269)

State aid: Commission approves €935 million Romanian scheme to support SMEs and certain large enterprises affected by coronavirus outbreak

The European Commission has approved a €935 million (RON 4.521 billion) Romanian scheme to support companies affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The scheme was approved under the State aid Temporary Framework. The public support will take the form of direct grants for working capital and productive investments, and will be co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund. The measure will be accessible to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) active in specific sectors and certain large companies related to the eligible SMEs, which have been negatively impacted by the coronavirus outbreak. The aim of the scheme is to provide liquidity to these companies, thus enabling them to continue their activities, start investments and maintain employment. The Commission found that the Romanian scheme is in line with the conditions set out in the Temporary Framework. In particular, (i) the direct grants will not exceed €100,000 per company active in the primary agricultural sector, €120,000 per company active in the fishery or aquaculture sectors, and €800,000 per company active in all other sectors; and (ii) the scheme will run until 31 December 2020. The Commission concluded that the measure is necessary, appropriate and proportionate to remedy a serious disturbance in the economy of a Member State, in line with Article 107(3)(b) TFEU and the conditions set out in the Temporary Framework. On this basis, the Commission approved the measure under EU State aid rules. More information on the Temporary Framework and other actions taken by the Commission to address the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic can be found here. The non-confidential version of the decision will be made available under the case number SA.58166 in the State aid register on the Commission's competition website once any confidentiality issues have been resolved. (For more information: Arianna Podesta – Tel. +32 229 87024; Giulia Astuti – Tel.: +32 229 55344)

Mergers: Commission refers to Poland the assessment of the creation of a joint venture by Discovery and Polsat

The European Commission has referred to the Polish national competition authority the assessment of the proposed creation of a joint venture by Discovery Communications Europe Limited (“Discovery”) of the UK, part of Discovery, Inc. (the “Discovery Group”) of the U.S., and Cyfrowy Polsat S.A. (“Polsat”) of Poland. The joint venture will operate an over-the-top (“OTT”) service in Poland. The new service will aggregate Discovery's and Polsat's non-linear content as well as their linear channels in Poland. Discovery Group is a media company, which produces TV channels and provides TV content across multiple distribution platforms. Polsat produces TV channels, is the operator of a satellite digital pay-TV platform and provides telecommunication services. The Polish authority asked the Commission to refer the proposed concentration to it. It considers that the transaction may threaten to significantly affect competition in the markets for the production and licensing of audio-visual content, the wholesale supply of TV channels, the retail supply of TV services and the sale of offline and online advertising space in Poland, which present all the characteristics of distinct markets. The evidence gathered by the Commission confirmed that the conditions for a referral under Article 9 of the EU Merger Regulation were fulfilled and that the Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection is best placed to assess the effects of the transaction in Poland. The Commission has therefore decided to refer the case to Poland. The Polish authorities will deal with the case under national law. More information is available on the Commission's competition website, in the public case register under the case number M.9299. (For more information: Arianna Podesta – Tel. +32 229 87024; Giulia Astuti – Tel.: +32 229 55344)

Mergers: Commission refers to Poland the assessment of the acquisition of Tesco Polska by Salling Group

The European Commission has referred to the Polish national competition authority the assessment of the proposed acquisition of sole control over Tesco (Polska) sp. Z.o.o. (“Tesco Polska”) of Poland by Salling Group A/S of Denmark. Tesco Polska is active in the retail distribution of food and daily consumer products through supermarkets, hypermarkets and discountersin Poland. Salling Group is active in the retail distribution of daily consumer goods through supermarkets, hypermarkets and discounters, as well as online shops, coffee shops, restaurants and meal box business, in Denmark, Germany and Poland (via Netto Sp. z o.o.). The Polish authority asked the Commission to refer the proposed concentration to it. It considers that the transaction may threaten to affect competition in local markets for the retail sale of daily consumer goods through modern distribution channels in Poland, which present all the characteristics of distinct markets. The evidence gathered by the Commission confirmed that the conditions for a full referral under Article 9 of the EU Merger Regulation were fulfilled and that the Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection is best placed to assess the effects of the transaction in Poland. The Commission has therefore decided to refer the case to Poland. The Polish authorities will deal with the case under national law. More information is available on the Commission's competition website, in the public case register under the case number M.9886. (For more information: Arianna Podesta – Tel. +32 229 87024; Giulia Astuti – Tel.: +32 229 55344)

Mergers: Commission clears the creation of a joint venture between Mitsubishi Corporation Energy and ENEOS Corporation

The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the creation of a joint venture between Mitsubishi Corporation Energy (“MCE”) and ENEOS Corporation, all of Japan. The joint venture will operate petrol stations in Japan. MCE is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation, and is active in the sale and trade of petroleum products and in the construction and operation of petrol stations. ENEOS Corporation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ENEOS Holdings Inc., and is active in the energy sector, including in the production and sale of petroleum products, petrochemicals, electricity, lubricants, coal and hydrogen. The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns given that the joint venture will have no activities in the European Economic Area. The transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure. More information is available on the Commission's competition website, in the public case register under the case number M.9915. (For more information: Arianna Podesta – Tel. +32 229 87024; Giulia Astuti – Tel.: +32 229 55344)

Mergers: Commission clears the acquisition of joint control over Brinker and Orion by Genstar and TA Associates

The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of joint control over a newly-created joint venture consisting of Brinker Capital Holdings, Inc. (“Brinker”) and Orion Advisor Solutions, LLC (“Orion”), by Genstar Capital Partners, LLC (“Genstar”) and TA Associates Cayman, Ltd. (“TA”), all of the U.S. Brinker's activities focus on outsourced investment management and support services to financial advisors in the U.S, while Orion provides advisory technology and investment management services, also in the U.S. The new joint venture will continue providing the services currently offered by Brinker and Orion, always in the U.S. Genstar and TA are private equity firms investing in various industry segments, such as financial and business services, healthcare and technology. The Commission concluded that the proposed transaction would raise no competition concerns given that the joint venture has no actual or foreseen activities in the European Economic Area. The transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure. More information is available on the Commission's competition website, in the public case register under the case number M.9912.  (For more information: Arianna Podesta – Tel. +32 229 87024; Giulia Astuti – Tel.: +32 229 55344)

Eurostat press releases