EU Institutions in Brussels are closed due to Christmas holiday.
-听听听听听听 Last week
The European Commission has started an in-depth investigation into the Netherlands tax treatment of Inter IKEA, one of the two groups operating the IKEA business. The Commission has concerns that two Dutch tax rulings may have allowed Inter IKEA to pay less tax and given them an unfair advantage over other companies, in breach of EU State aid rules.
European Commission presented the draft mandate for the second phase of Brexit negotiations last week.
Belgium鈥檚 retirement reform program protested by various trade unions in Brussels. Around 25 thousand attended the protests.
A political agreement on new rules for improving the energy performance of buildings was reached last week between negotiators from the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission. The improvements agreed include measures to strengthen the energy performance of new buildings, to accelerate the rate of building renovation towards more energy efficient systems and tapping into the huge potential for efficiency gains in the building sector, the largest single energy consumer in Europe.
EU Court of Justice decided that the service provided by Uber is covered by services in the field of transport therefore, member states can regulate the conditions for providing that service.
Mexico's Minister of Economy Ildefonso Guajardo and EU鈥檚 Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom held a joint press conference after their meeting focused on trade relations between the EU and Mexico. Sides couldn鈥檛 reach an agreement on updating the current trade agreement.
The EU agreed to prolong economic sanctions targeting specific sectors of the Russian economy for another six months last week.
The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation Lufthansa's proposed acquisition of certain Air Berlin assets. The decision is conditional on Lufthansa's compliance with commitments to avoid competition distortions.
European Commission launched initiative to force Poland to reconsider its judicial reforms. The process may strip Poland of EU voting rights. In two years, the Polish authorities have adopted more than 13 laws affecting the entire structure of the justice system, which are considered as a threat to judiciary by the EU states. The European Commission has told Polish government that it would rescind its decision if the Polish government implements remedial actions.