Daily News 31 / 08 / 2023

NextGenerationEU: Greece submits request to modify recovery and resilience plan and add a REPowerEU chapter

Today, Greece submitted a request to the Commission to modify its recovery and resilience plan, to which it also wishes to add a REPowerEU chapter.

The REPowerEU chapter includes energy efficiency measures related for instance to energy renovations for households and utilities, and to increasing penetration of renewable energy sources, with measures promoting energy storage, as well as reforms promoting the transition towards a smart grid and energy sharing.

Greece's request to modify its plan is based on its request to take up €5 billion in additional loans. The additional loans will be used as a top-up for the loans compartment of the existing loan facility measure, which aims to support private investment related to the green transition, digitalisation, increasing export capacity, economies of scale and innovation. Companies will be able to benefit from easier access to finance through loans at lower cost.

Greece's request to modify its plan is also based on the need to factor in the change in market conditions.

Greece's proposed modification of the plan foresees the modification of several measures from the original plan, and the addition of new measures, such as the inspection of seismic resistance of critical public infrastructures, as well as reforms in the areas of the Hellenic Cadastre primary health care, and taxation, including to encourage electronic transactions.

Greece has requested to transfer part of its share of the Brexit Adjustment Reserve, amounting to €25.6 million, to its recovery and resilience plan. Together with Greece's REPowerEU grants allocation (€769.22 million) and the additional €5 billion loans support requested, these funds make the submitted modified plan worth €18.22 billion in grants support and €17.73 billion in loans support.

The Commission has now up to two months to assess whether the modified plan fulfils all the assessment criteria in the RRF Regulation. If the Commission's assessment is positive, it will make a proposal for an amended Council Implementing Decision to reflect the changes to the Greek plan. Member States will then have up to four weeks to endorse the Commission's assessment.

More information on the process concerning REPowerEU chapters and the revision of recovery and resilience plans can be found in this Q&A.

(For more information: Daniel Ferrie — Tel.: +32 2 298 65 00; Laura Bérard — Tel: +32 2 29 55721)

InvestEU: EIF invests €50 million to support circular plastics

The European Investment Fund (EIF) has signed a €50 million participation in Infinity Recycling's Circular Plastics Fund, a European impact fund that invests in companies developing new processes for the advanced recycling of plastics. The fund supports companies with scalable technologies that need financing for the industrial and commercial scale-up of their operations. The Circular Plastics Fund has a target size of €150 million, a third of which is covered by the EIF's commitment. The transaction is supported by the InvestEU programme.

The Circular Plastics Fund supports advanced recycling technologies including chemical processes that enable the full recycling of end-of-life plastic waste, producing new plastics with virgin-equivalent properties and reintroducing them into the existing value chain. The fund can thus play a role in enabling a fully circular plastics industry.

Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, said: “For most Europeans recycling is already an integral part of their daily lives. Establishing a true circular economy also requires industrial solutions that allow plastics to be recycled fully, efficiently and many times over. Today's funding through InvestEU will help innovative European companies advance a circular plastics industry, acting as a booster for the EU's green transition.”

The InvestEU programme provides the EU with long-term funding by leveraging private and public funds in support of EU policy priorities. As part of the programme, the InvestEU Fund is implemented through financial partners who will invest in projects using the EU budget guarantee and thus mobilising at least €372 billion in additional investment. 

A press release is available online.

(For more information: Daniel Ferrie — Tel.: +32 2 298 65 00; Laura Bérard — Tel: +32 2 29 55721)

Agriculture : la Commission approuve la « Ciliegia di Lari » d'Italie comme nouvelle indication géographique

Aujourd'hui la Commission a approuvé comme nouvelle indication géographique protégée (IGP) la « Ciliegia di Lar i » d'Italie.

La cerise « Ciliegia di Lari » est produite dans les communes de Casciana Terme – Lari, Terricciola et Crespina-Lorenzana, en Toscane. La longue histoire de la production de la « Ciliegia di Lari » a permis d'établir des relations solides avec les consommateurs, qui apprécient sa qualité distinctive particulière : sa douceur naturelle. La culture de la « Ciliegia di Lari » a des racines anciennes sur le territoire des collines pisanes, et l'expérience des agriculteurs locaux, acquise de génération en génération, qui s'appuie sur une recherche et une mise en œuvre continues de techniques de culture spécifiques, a déterminé les conditions permettant à la culture de la « Ciliegia di Lari » de se consolider au fil du temps, au point de constituer également un patrimoine historique, traditionnel et culturel d'un territoire, dont le principal pôle de conservation et de développement se trouve à Lari.

Cette nouvelle dénomination sera ajoutée à la liste des 1 652 produits agricoles déjà protégés. La liste de toutes les indications géographiques protégées se trouve dans la base de données eAmbrosia. Plus d'informations sont disponibles en ligne sur les systèmes de qualité et sur notre portail GIView.

(Pour plus d'informations : Miriam Garcia Ferrer – Tél.: +32 2 299 90 75; Thérèse Lerebours – Tél.: +32 2 296 33 03)

Concentrations : la Commission autorise l'acquisition du contrôle conjoint de BMS par Eurazeo, BCI et PCP

La Commission européenne a approuvé, en vertu du règlement européen sur les concentrations, l'acquisition du contrôle conjoint de BMS Investment Holding Company Limited («BMS»), basée au Royaume-Uni, par Eurazeo SE, basée en France, British Columbia Investment Management Corporation («BCI»), basée au Canada, et Preservation Capital Partners («PCP »), basée au Royaume-Uni.

BMS est un courtier d'assurance qui distribue des produits d'assurance et de réassurance non-vie de spécialité à des clients professionnels. Eurazeo et BCI sont entreprises d'investissement. PCP est une entreprise de capital-investissement.

La Commission a conclu que la concentration envisagée ne soulèverait pas de problème de concurrence, compte tenu des positions de marché combinées minimales des entreprises et l'absence de relations verticales significatives entre leurs activités. La transaction a été examinée dans le cadre de la procédure simplifiée de contrôle des concentrations.

De plus amples informations sont disponibles sur le site internet concurrence de la Commission, dans le registre public des affaires sous le numéro d'affaire M.11047.

(Pour plus d‘informations: Daniel Ferrie – Tél.: +32 2 298 65 00; Sara Simonini – Tél.: +32 2 298 33 67)

Mergers: Commission clears acquisition of AIG's treaty reinsurance business by RenRe

The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of sole control of the treaty reinsurance business of American International Group, Inc. (‘AIG'), of the US, by RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (‘RenRe'), of Bermuda.

AIG 's treaty reinsurance business includes: (i) Validus Reinsurance, Ltd., a global reinsurance group focused on treaty reinsurance; (ii)  AlphaCat Managers, Ltd., an investment adviser for a series of insurance-linked securities funds and vehicles, as well as providing reinsurance among other services; and (iii) Talbot Underwriting Ltd, a specialty reinsurance and insurance group. RenRe is a global provider of reinsurance and insurance, specialising in property, casualty and specialty reinsurance, as well as certain insurance solutions.

The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns, given the limited horizontal overlaps and vertical relationships resulting from the proposed transaction. 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.11207.

(For more information: Daniel Ferrie – Tel.: +32 2 298 65 00; Sara Simonini – Tel.: +32 2 298 33 67)

Tentative agendas for forthcoming Commission meetings

Note that these items can be subject to changes.

Upcoming events of the European Commission

Eurostat press releases