This regular alert covers key regulatory EU developments related to the COVID-19 situation. It does not purport to provide an exhaustive overview of developments and contains no analysis or opinion.
LATEST KEY DEVELOPMENTS
Competition & State Aid
- European Commission consults on proposed amendments to General Block Exemption Regulation
- European Commission approves new and amended Member State measures to support the economy
Trade / Export Controls
- United States-European Commission Joint Statement: Launch of the Joint COVID-19 Manufacturing and Supply Chain Taskforce
Medicines and Medical Devices
- EMA recommendations on extra COVID-19 vaccine doses and boosters
- EMA commences evaluation of application for marketing authorization of monoclonal antibody Regkirona for treating COVID-19
Cybersecurity, Privacy & Data Protection
- No noteworthy developments for this issue
COMPETITION & STATE AID |
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State Aid |
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European Commission consults on proposed amendments to General Block Exemption Regulation (see here) |
On 6 October 2021, the Commission opened its consultation with Member States and interested parties to comment on certain proposed amendments to the General Block Exemption Regulation (Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 ("GBER")). To recall, the GBER deems specific categories of State aid as compatible with the Treaty, where these satisfy certain conditions, and exempts such categories from the requirement of prior notification to and approval by the Commission. The GBER's rules are complementary to those provided in various sets of State aid Guidelines, which outline the conditions under which the Commission assesses whether State aid measures are deemed compatible with the Single Market, where these are not block-exempted and must thus be notified to the Commission. According to the Commission, this dual set of rules together provide a comprehensive rulebook for certain areas of State aid law. The GBER was most recently amended on 23 July 2021, in particular, in view of broadening the ability to provide State aid to support sustainable and resilient economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, including exempting new aid categories from the notification obligation for certain measures falling under high EU priority policy areas for the twin green and digital transition Regulation (see also Jones Day COVID-19 Update No. 57 of 26 July 2021) This latest proposed GBER revision seeks to take into account changes to various sets of State aid Guidelines under review (namely, the Regional Aid Guidelines; the Climate, Energy and Environmental State aid Guidelines; the Risk Finance Guidelines; and the Research, Development and Innovation Framework), as well as to further promote public support for the EU's ecological and digital transition. With these new rules, the Commission aspires to reinforcing the foundations of a sustainable economy in view of responding to the COVID-19 crisis. Member States and other interested parties can respond to the consultation until 8 December 2021. Adoption of the revised GBER is anticipated in the first half of 2022. |
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European Commission approves new and amended Member State measures to support the economy (see here, and here) |
Since the onset of the coronavirus outbreak, the Commission has adopted a significant number of State aid measures under Article 107(2)b, Article 107(3)b and under the Temporary Framework.
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