Ukraine: EU Emergency Response Update – Key Policy & Regulatory Developments No. 100

COMPETITION & STATE AID

Competition

On 30 March 2023, the third meeting of the EU-US Joint Technology Competition Policy Dialogue (TCPD) took place in Washington, D.C. with European Commission Executive Vice-President and Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan, and the Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust of the US Department of Justice (DOJ) Jonathan Kanter.

To recall, the TCPD was launched on 7 December 2021 to further consolidate cooperation efforts to ensure and promote fair competition in the digital sector (see also Jones Day COVID-19 Update No. 91 of 9 November 2022).

On the occasion of this third TCPD meeting, FTC Chair Khan stated that the TCPD "continues to provide an invaluable forum for the U.S. agencies to engage with the European Commission on challenges in digital markets. At this moment of unique risk and opportunity, it is especially critical that we deepen our cooperation with key enforcement partners."

The third meeting's discussions centered on:

• crucial issues facing the agencies, including why mergers between digital players may raise competition concerns.
• abuse of dominance and monopolization in the digital sector and recent related policy initiatives.
• evolving business strategies of big tech companies and the implications for enforcement.

Furthermore, in view of continuing close collaboration under the TCPD, agency experts from the DOJ and FTC will be sent to Brussels to support implementation of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which entered into force on 1 November 2022 and is applicable as of 2 May 2023 (see also Jones Day COVID-19 Update No. 92 of 18 November 2022).

The TCPD will continue with high-level meetings, as well as ongoing discussions at technical level.

State Aid

On 31 March 2023, the Commission announced two notable developments concerning the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the key instrument at the core of the €800 billion NextGenerationEU recovery plan for Europe. To recall, the RRF was established in February 2021 by RRF Regulation (EU) 2021/241 (running until end-2026) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to support faster and more resilient Member State recovery. The two developments concern the following:

(i) In just over two years of the RRF's existence, the Commission surpassed €150 billion in disbursements to Member States under the RRF, following its €6 billion payment to Spain on 31 March 2023.

The payment was made possible on the basis of the Commission's opinion that Spain complies with the 24 milestones and 5 targets linked to the third tranche of its national recovery plan. The payment request covers, in particular, various reforms and investments in the areas of green and digital transitions; research, development and innovation; and education and vocational training.

For each Member State, payments under the RRF are performance-based and depend on implementation of the investments and reforms outlined in its national recovery plan. The Commission's Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard, in particular, regularly provides updates on disbursements and progress made by Member States.

(ii) To further increase transparency on the RRF's functioning and its actual impact on EU citizens and businesses, the Commission also launched an online, interactive map showing Member State projects supported by the RRF. The map seeks to provide a "virtual tour" of Member State implementation of their national recovery plans.

The Commission cautions, however, the following with respect to the map:

• Inclusion of a specific reform or investment on the map does not necessarily imply that the Member State has already received RRF funding related to that project (e.g., a Member State may have already commenced implementing a project with national funding).
• The map is not intended to provide an exhaustive overview of RRFfunded projects, particularly since the RRF's implementation remains ongoing, and some projects that will receive RRF funding are not yet defined.

The interactive map will be regularly updated as implementation of national recovery plans progresses, and as the Commission acquires new information on the advancement of projects linked to Member State reforms and investments.

The map will also incorporate, in particular, information (when available later in 2023) on the 100 largest final recipients of RRF funding for each national recovery plan.