# Official Journal C 342/2019

| | ISSN 1977-091X |
| --- | --- |
| Official Journal
  of the European Union | C 342 |
| | |
| English edition | Information and Notices | Volume 6210 October 2019 |

ISSN 1977-091X

Official Journal

of the European Union

C 342

English edition

Information and Notices

Volume 6210 October 2019

---

| Contents | page |
| --- | --- |
| | II   Information |
| | INFORMATION FROM EUROPEAN UNION INSTITUTIONS, BODIES, OFFICES AND AGENCIES |
| | European Commission |
| 2019/C 342/01 | Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.9515 — TPG Asia/Genting Hong Kong/Dream Cruises) (
  1
  ) | 1 |
| 2019/C 342/02 | Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.9491 — Ardagh Group/OTPP-Element/JV) (
  1
  ) | 2 |
| 2019/C 342/03 | Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.9558 — Triton/All4Labels Group) (
  1
  ) | 3 |
| 2019/C 342/04 | Withdrawal of notification of a concentration (Case M.9413 — Lactalis/Nuova Castelli) (
  1
  ) | 4 |

Contents

page

II   Information

INFORMATION FROM EUROPEAN UNION INSTITUTIONS, BODIES, OFFICES AND AGENCIES

European Commission

2019/C 342/01

Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.9515 — TPG Asia/Genting Hong Kong/Dream Cruises) (
  1
  )

1

1

2019/C 342/02

Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.9491 — Ardagh Group/OTPP-Element/JV) (
  1
  )

1

2

2019/C 342/03

Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.9558 — Triton/All4Labels Group) (
  1
  )

1

3

2019/C 342/04

Withdrawal of notification of a concentration (Case M.9413 — Lactalis/Nuova Castelli) (
  1
  )

1

4

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| | IV   Notices |
| --- | --- |
| | NOTICES FROM EUROPEAN UNION INSTITUTIONS, BODIES, OFFICES AND AGENCIES |
| | European Commission |
| 2019/C 342/05 | Euro exchange rates — 9 October 2019 | 5 |
| 2019/C 342/06 | Commission communication in the framework of the implementation of the Directive 2001/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on general product safety
  (Publication of titles and references of European standards under the directive)

   (
  1
  ) | 6 |
| | European Court of Auditors |
| 2019/C 342/07 | Special Report No 16/2019 European Environmental Economic Accounts: usefulness for policymakers can be improved | 7 |

IV   Notices

NOTICES FROM EUROPEAN UNION INSTITUTIONS, BODIES, OFFICES AND AGENCIES

European Commission

2019/C 342/05

Euro exchange rates — 9 October 2019

5

2019/C 342/06

Commission communication in the framework of the implementation of the Directive 2001/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on general product safety
  (Publication of titles and references of European standards under the directive)

   (
  1
  )

(Publication of titles and references of European standards under the directive)

1

6

European Court of Auditors

2019/C 342/07

Special Report No 16/2019 European Environmental Economic Accounts: usefulness for policymakers can be improved

7

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| | V   Announcements |
| --- | --- |
| | PROCEDURES RELATING TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE COMMON COMMERCIAL POLICY |
| | European Commission |
| 2019/C 342/08 | Notice of initiation of an anti-dumping proceeding concerning imports of certain heavyweight thermal paper originating in the Republic of Korea | 8 |
| 2019/C 342/09 | Notice of initiation of an anti-subsidy proceeding concerning imports of certain hot rolled stainless steel sheets and coils originating in the People’s Republic of China and Indonesia | 18 |
| | PROCEDURES RELATING TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPETITION POLICY |
| | European Commission |
| 2019/C 342/10 | Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.9497 — Crédit Agricole/Abanca/JV) Candidate case for simplified procedure (
  1
  ) | 33 |
| 2019/C 342/11 | Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.9563 — PIC/SKC/SKCCD) Candidate case for simplified procedure (
  1
  ) | 35 |
| 2019/C 342/12 | Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.9541 — Advent/Cobham) Candidate case for simplified procedure (
  1
  ) | 36 |
| | OTHER ACTS |
| | European Commission |
| 2019/C 342/13 | Publication of the amended single document following the approval of a minor amendment pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 53(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 | 37 |

V   Announcements

PROCEDURES RELATING TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE COMMON COMMERCIAL POLICY

European Commission

2019/C 342/08

Notice of initiation of an anti-dumping proceeding concerning imports of certain heavyweight thermal paper originating in the Republic of Korea

8

2019/C 342/09

Notice of initiation of an anti-subsidy proceeding concerning imports of certain hot rolled stainless steel sheets and coils originating in the People’s Republic of China and Indonesia

18

PROCEDURES RELATING TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPETITION POLICY

European Commission

2019/C 342/10

Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.9497 — Crédit Agricole/Abanca/JV) Candidate case for simplified procedure (
  1
  )

1

33

2019/C 342/11

Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.9563 — PIC/SKC/SKCCD) Candidate case for simplified procedure (
  1
  )

1

35

2019/C 342/12

Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.9541 — Advent/Cobham) Candidate case for simplified procedure (
  1
  )

1

36

OTHER ACTS

European Commission

2019/C 342/13

Publication of the amended single document following the approval of a minor amendment pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 53(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012

37

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| | Corrigenda |
| --- | --- |
| | Corrigendum to Publication of the amended single document following the approval of a minor amendment pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 53(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( OJ C 266, 8.8.2019 ) | 42 |

Corrigenda

Corrigendum to Publication of the amended single document following the approval of a minor amendment pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 53(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( OJ C 266, 8.8.2019 )

( OJ C 266, 8.8.2019 )

42

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| --- | --- |
| | (1)   Text with EEA relevance. |

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(1)   Text with EEA relevance.

1

| EN | |
| --- | --- |

EN

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II Information

INFORMATION FROM EUROPEAN UNION INSTITUTIONS, BODIES, OFFICES AND AGENCIES

European Commission

| 10.10.2019 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 342/1 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

10.10.2019

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 342/1

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Non-opposition to a notified concentration

(Case M.9515 — TPG Asia/Genting Hong Kong/Dream Cruises)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2019/C 342/01)

On 27 September 2019, the Commission decided not to oppose the above notified concentration and to declare it compatible with the internal market. This decision is based on Article 6(1)(b) of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1). The full text of the decision is available only in English and will be made public after it is cleared of any business secrets it may contain. It will be available:

| — | in the merger section of the Competition website of the Commission (http://ec.europa.eu/competition/mergers/cases/). This website provides various facilities to help locate individual merger decisions, including company, case number, date and sectoral indexes, |
| --- | --- |

—

in the merger section of the Competition website of the Commission (http://ec.europa.eu/competition/mergers/cases/). This website provides various facilities to help locate individual merger decisions, including company, case number, date and sectoral indexes,

| — | in electronic form on the EUR-Lex website (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html?locale=en) under document number 32019M9515. EUR-Lex is the online access to European law. |
| --- | --- |

—

in electronic form on the EUR-Lex website (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html?locale=en) under document number 32019M9515. EUR-Lex is the online access to European law.

---

(1)  OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1.

---

| 10.10.2019 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 342/2 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

10.10.2019

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 342/2

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Non-opposition to a notified concentration

(Case M.9491 — Ardagh Group/OTPP-Element/JV)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2019/C 342/02)

On 30 September 2019, the Commission decided not to oppose the above notified concentration and to declare it compatible with the internal market. This decision is based on Article 6(1)(b) of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1). The full text of the decision is available only in English and will be made public after it is cleared of any business secrets it may contain. It will be available:

| — | in the merger section of the Competition website of the Commission (http://ec.europa.eu/competition/mergers/cases/). This website provides various facilities to help locate individual merger decisions, including company, case number, date and sectoral indexes, |
| --- | --- |

—

in the merger section of the Competition website of the Commission (http://ec.europa.eu/competition/mergers/cases/). This website provides various facilities to help locate individual merger decisions, including company, case number, date and sectoral indexes,

| — | in electronic form on the EUR-Lex website (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html?locale=en) under document number 32019M9491. EUR-Lex is the online access to European law. |
| --- | --- |

—

in electronic form on the EUR-Lex website (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html?locale=en) under document number 32019M9491. EUR-Lex is the online access to European law.

---

(1)  OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1.

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| 10.10.2019 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 342/3 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

10.10.2019

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 342/3

---

Non-opposition to a notified concentration

(Case M.9558 — Triton/All4Labels Group)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2019/C 342/03)

On 1 October 2019, the Commission decided not to oppose the above notified concentration and to declare it compatible with the internal market. This decision is based on Article 6(1)(b) of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1). The full text of the decision is available only in English and will be made public after it is cleared of any business secrets it may contain. It will be available:

| — | in the merger section of the Competition website of the Commission (http://ec.europa.eu/competition/mergers/cases/). This website provides various facilities to help locate individual merger decisions, including company, case number, date and sectoral indexes, |
| --- | --- |

—

in the merger section of the Competition website of the Commission (http://ec.europa.eu/competition/mergers/cases/). This website provides various facilities to help locate individual merger decisions, including company, case number, date and sectoral indexes,

| — | in electronic form on the EUR-Lex website (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html?locale=en) under document number 32019M9558. EUR-Lex is the online access to European law. |
| --- | --- |

—

in electronic form on the EUR-Lex website (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html?locale=en) under document number 32019M9558. EUR-Lex is the online access to European law.

---

(1)  OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1.

---

| 10.10.2019 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 342/4 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

10.10.2019

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 342/4

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Withdrawal of notification of a concentration

(Case M.9413 — Lactalis/Nuova Castelli)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2019/C 342/04)

Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004

On 9 September 2019, the Commission received notification of a proposed concentration between Gruppo Lactalis Italia S.r.l. and Nuova Castelli S.p.A. On 3 October 2019, the notifying party informed the Commission that it withdrew its notification.

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IV Notices

NOTICES FROM EUROPEAN UNION INSTITUTIONS, BODIES, OFFICES AND AGENCIES

European Commission

| 10.10.2019 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 342/5 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

10.10.2019

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 342/5

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Euro exchange rates (1)

9 October 2019

(2019/C 342/05)

1 euro =

| | Currency | Exchange rate |
| --- | --- | --- |
| USD | US dollar | 1,0981 |
| JPY | Japanese yen | 117,91 |
| DKK | Danish krone | 7,4691 |
| GBP | Pound sterling | 0,89850 |
| SEK | Swedish krona | 10,9173 |
| CHF | Swiss franc | 1,0927 |
| ISK | Iceland króna | 137,30 |
| NOK | Norwegian krone | 10,0528 |
| BGN | Bulgarian lev | 1,9558 |
| CZK | Czech koruna | 25,823 |
| HUF | Hungarian forint | 334,04 |
| PLN | Polish zloty | 4,3236 |
| RON | Romanian leu | 4,7486 |
| TRY | Turkish lira | 6,4053 |
| AUD | Australian dollar | 1,6282 |
| CAD | Canadian dollar | 1,4607 |
| HKD | Hong Kong dollar | 8,6143 |
| NZD | New Zealand dollar | 1,7381 |
| SGD | Singapore dollar | 1,5153 |
| KRW | South Korean won | 1 314,77 |
| ZAR | South African rand | 16,6248 |
| CNY | Chinese yuan renminbi | 7,8265 |
| HRK | Croatian kuna | 7,4270 |
| IDR | Indonesian rupiah | 15 560,08 |
| MYR | Malaysian ringgit | 4,6087 |
| PHP | Philippine peso | 56,816 |
| RUB | Russian rouble | 71,1918 |
| THB | Thai baht | 33,311 |
| BRL | Brazilian real | 4,4783 |
| MXN | Mexican peso | 21,4520 |
| INR | Indian rupee | 78,0340 |

Currency

Exchange rate

USD

US dollar

1,0981

JPY

Japanese yen

117,91

DKK

Danish krone

7,4691

GBP

Pound sterling

0,89850

SEK

Swedish krona

10,9173

CHF

Swiss franc

1,0927

ISK

Iceland króna

137,30

NOK

Norwegian krone

10,0528

BGN

Bulgarian lev

1,9558

CZK

Czech koruna

25,823

HUF

Hungarian forint

334,04

PLN

Polish zloty

4,3236

RON

Romanian leu

4,7486

TRY

Turkish lira

6,4053

AUD

Australian dollar

1,6282

CAD

Canadian dollar

1,4607

HKD

Hong Kong dollar

8,6143

NZD

New Zealand dollar

1,7381

SGD

Singapore dollar

1,5153

KRW

South Korean won

1 314,77

ZAR

South African rand

16,6248

CNY

Chinese yuan renminbi

7,8265

HRK

Croatian kuna

7,4270

IDR

Indonesian rupiah

15 560,08

MYR

Malaysian ringgit

4,6087

PHP

Philippine peso

56,816

RUB

Russian rouble

71,1918

THB

Thai baht

33,311

BRL

Brazilian real

4,4783

MXN

Mexican peso

21,4520

INR

Indian rupee

78,0340

---

(1)  Source: reference exchange rate published by the ECB.

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| 10.10.2019 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 342/6 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

10.10.2019

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 342/6

---

Commission communication in the framework of the implementation of the Directive 2001/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on general product safety

(Publication of titles and references of European standards under the directive)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2019/C 342/06)

Commission Communication 2017/C267/03 in the framework of the implementation of the Directive 2001/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on general product safety (1) is superseded by Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/1698 (2).

In the interests of clarity, a complete list of titles and references of European standards drafted in support of Directive 2001/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) and satisfying the requirements they aim to cover should be published in one act.

Therefore, from the date of entry into force of the Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/1698, the European Commission ensures the updating of this list on the basis of future implementing decisions published in the OJ series L instead of series C.

---

(1)  OJ C 267, 11.8.2017, p. 7.

(2)  OJ L 259, 10.10.2019, p. 65.

(3)  OJ L 11, 15.1.2002, p. 4.

---

European Court of Auditors

| 10.10.2019 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 342/7 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

10.10.2019

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 342/7

---

Special Report No 16/2019

‘European Environmental Economic Accounts: usefulness for policymakers can be improved’

(2019/C 342/07)

The European Court of Auditors hereby informs you that Special Report No 16/2019 ‘European Environmental Economic Accounts: usefulness for policymakers can be improved’ has just been published.

The report can be accessed for consultation or downloading on the European Court of Auditors’ website: http://eca.europa.eu

---

V Announcements

PROCEDURES RELATING TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE COMMON COMMERCIAL POLICY

European Commission

| 10.10.2019 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 342/8 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

10.10.2019

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 342/8

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Notice of initiation of an anti-dumping proceeding concerning imports of certain heavyweight thermal paper originating in the Republic of Korea

(2019/C 342/08)

The European Commission (‘the Commission’) has received a complaint pursuant to Article 5 of Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2016 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Union (1) (‘the basic Regulation’), alleging that imports of certain heavyweight thermal paper (‘HWTP’) originating in the Republic of Korea, are being dumped and are thereby causing injury (2) to the Union industry.

1.   Complaint

The complaint was lodged on 26 August 2019 by the European Thermal Paper Association (‘the complainant’) on behalf of producers representing more than 25 % of the total Union production of HWTP.

An open version of the complaint and the analysis of the degree of support by Union producers for the complaint are available in the file for inspection by interested parties. Section 5.6 of this Notice provides information about access to the file for interested parties.

2.   Product under investigation

The product subject to this investigation is certain heavyweight thermal paper, defined as thermal paper which weighs more than 65 g/m2; which is sold on rolls of a width of 20 cm or more, weighing 50 kg or more (including paper) and with a diameter of 40 cm or more (jumbo rolls); with or without base coat on one or both sides; coated with a thermo-sensitive substance (i.e. a mixture of dye and a developer that reacts and forms an image when heat is applied) on one or both sides; and with or without top coat (‘the product under investigation’).

All interested parties wishing to submit information on the product scope must do so within 10 days of the date of publication of this Notice (3).

3.   Allegation of dumping

The product allegedly being dumped is the product under investigation, originating in The Republic of Korea (‘the country concerned’), currently falling under CN codes ex 4809 90 00, ex 4811 59 00 and ex 4811 90 00 (TARIC codes 4809900020, 4811590020 and 4811900020). The CN and TARIC codes are given for information only.

The allegation of dumping from the country concerned is based on a comparison of the domestic price with the export price (at ex-works level) of the product under investigation when sold for export to the Union.

On that basis, the dumping margin calculated is significant for the country concerned.

4.   Allegation of injury and causation

The complainant has provided evidence that imports of the product under investigation from the country concerned have increased overall in absolute terms and have increased in terms of market share.

The evidence provided by the complainant shows that the volume and the prices of the imported product under investigation have had, among other consequences, a negative impact on the market share held by the Union industry, resulting in substantial adverse effects on the overall performance and the financial situation of the Union industry.

5.   Procedure

Having determined, after informing the Member States, that the complaint has been lodged by or on behalf of the Union industry and that there is sufficient evidence to justify the initiation of a proceeding, the Commission hereby initiates an investigation pursuant to Article 5 of the basic Regulation.

The investigation will determine whether the product under investigation originating in the country concerned is being dumped and whether the dumped imports have caused injury to the Union industry.

If the conclusions are affirmative, the investigation will examine whether the imposition of measures would not be against the Union interest under Article 21 of the basic Regulation.

Regulation (EU) 2018/825 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4), which entered into force on 8 June 2018 (TDI Modernisation package), introduced significant changes to the timetable and deadlines previously applicable in anti-dumping proceedings. In particular, investigations will be conducted more expeditiously and any provisional measures may be imposed up to two months earlier than previously. The time-limits for interested parties to come forward, in particular at the early stage of investigations, are shortened.

5.1.   Investigation period and period considered

The investigation of dumping and injury will cover the period from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019 (‘the investigation period’). The examination of trends relevant for the assessment of injury will cover the period from 1 January 2016 to the end of the investigation period (‘the period considered’).

5.2.   Comments on the complaint and the initiation of the investigation

All interested parties wishing to comment on the complaint (including matters pertaining to injury and causality) or any aspects regarding the initiation of the investigation (including the degree of support for the complaint) must do so within 37 days of the date of publication of this Notice.

Any request for a hearing with regard to the initiation of the investigation must be submitted within 15 days of the date of publication of this Notice.

5.3.   Procedure for the determination of dumping

Exporting producers (5) of the product under investigation from the country concerned are invited to participate in the Commission investigation.

5.3.1.   Investigating exporting producers

All exporting producers and associations of exporting producers in the Republic of Korea are invited to contact the Commission, preferably by email, immediately but no later than 7 days after the publication of this Notice, in order to make themselves known and request a questionnaire.

Exporting producers in the country concerned have to fill in a questionnaire within 37 days from the date of publication of this Notice.

A copy of the above-captioned questionnaire for exporting producers is available in the file for inspection by interested parties and on DG TRADE’s website (http://trade.ec.europa.eu/tdi/case_details.cfm?id=2419). The questionnaire will also be made available to any known association of exporting producers, and to the authorities of the Republic of Korea.

5.3.2.   Investigating unrelated importers (6) (7)

Unrelated importers of the product under investigation from the country concerned to the Union are invited to participate in this investigation.

In view of the potentially large number of unrelated importers involved in this proceeding and in order to complete the investigation within the statutory time limits, the Commission may limit to a reasonable number the unrelated importers that will be investigated by selecting a sample (this process is also referred to as ‘sampling’). The sampling will be carried out in accordance with Article 17 of the basic Regulation.

In order to enable the Commission to decide whether sampling is necessary and, if so, to select a sample, all unrelated importers, or representatives acting on their behalf, are hereby requested to provide the Commission with the information on their company(ies) requested in the Annex to this Notice within 7 days of the date of publication of this Notice.

In order to obtain information it deems necessary for the selection of the sample of unrelated importers, the Commission may also contact any known associations of importers.

If a sample is necessary, the importers may be selected based on the largest representative volume of sales of the product under investigation in the Union which can reasonably be investigated within the time available.

Once the Commission has received the necessary information to select a sample, it will inform the parties concerned of its decision on the sample of importers. The Commission will also add a note reflecting the sample selection to the file for inspection by interested parties. Any comment on the sample selection must be received within 3 days of the date of notification of the sample decision.

In order to obtain information it deems necessary for its investigation, the Commission will send questionnaires to the sampled unrelated importers. Those parties must submit a completed questionnaire within 30 days from the date of the notification of the decision about the sample, unless otherwise specified.

A copy of the questionnaire for importers is available in the file for inspection by interested parties and on DG TRADE’s website (http://trade.ec.europa.eu/tdi/case_details.cfm?id=2419).

5.4.   Procedure for the determination of injury and investigating Union producers

A determination of injury is based on positive evidence and involves an objective examination of the volume of the dumped imports, their effect on prices on the Union market and the consequent impact of those imports on the Union industry. In order to establish whether the Union industry is injured, Union producers of the product under investigation are invited to participate in the Commission investigation.

In view of the large number of Union producers concerned and in order to complete the investigation within the statutory time limits, the Commission has decided to limit to a reasonable number the Union producers that will be investigated by selecting a sample (this process is also referred to as ‘sampling’). The sampling is carried out in accordance with Article 17 of the basic Regulation.

The Commission has provisionally selected a sample of Union producers. Details can be found in the file for inspection by interested parties. Interested parties are hereby invited to comment on the provisional sample. In addition, other Union producers, or representatives acting on their behalf, that consider that there are reasons why they should be included in the sample must contact the Commission within 7 days of the date of publication of this Notice. All comments regarding the provisional sample must be received within 7 days of the date of publication of this Notice, unless otherwise specified.

All known Union producers and/or associations of Union producers will be notified by the Commission of the companies finally selected to be in the sample.

The sampled Union producers will have to submit a completed questionnaire within 30 days from the date of notification of the decision of their inclusion in the sample, unless otherwise specified.

A copy of the questionnaire for Union producers is available in the file for inspection by interested parties and on DG TRADE’s website (http://trade.ec.europa.eu/tdi/case_details.cfm?id=2419).

5.5.   Procedure for the assessment of Union interest

Should the existence of dumping and injury caused thereby be established, a decision will be reached, pursuant to Article 21 of the basic Regulation, as to whether the adoption of anti-dumping measures would not be against the Union interest. Union producers, importers and their representative associations, users and their representative associations, trade unions and representative consumer organisations are invited to provide the Commission with information on the Union interest. In order to participate in the investigation, the representative consumer organisations have to demonstrate that there is an objective link between their activities and the product under investigation.

Information concerning the assessment of Union interest must be provided within 37 days of the date of publication of this Notice unless otherwise specified. This information may be provided either in a free format or by completing a questionnaire prepared by the Commission. A copy of the questionnaires, including the questionnaire for users of the product under investigation, is available in the file for inspection by interested parties and on DG TRADE’s website (http://trade.ec.europa.eu/tdi/case_details.cfm?id=2419). The information submitted pursuant to Article 21 will only be taken into account if supported by factual evidence at the time of submission.

5.6.   Interested parties

In order to participate in the investigation interested parties, such as exporting producers, Union producers, importers and their representative associations, users and their representative associations, trade unions and representative consumer organisations first have to demonstrate that there is an objective link between their activities and the product under investigation.

Exporting producers, Union producers, importers and representative associations who made information available in accordance to the procedures described in sections 5.3, 5.4 and 5.5 above will be considered as interested parties if there is an objective link between their activities and the product under investigation.

Other parties will only be able to participate in the investigation as interested party from the moment they make themselves known, and provided that there is an objective link between their activities and the product under investigation. Being considered as an interested party is without prejudice to the application of Article 18 of the basic Regulation.

Access to the file available for inspection for interested parties is made via TRON.tdi at the following address: https://tron.trade.ec.europa.eu/tron/TDI. Please follow the instructions on that page to get access.

5.7.   Possibility to be heard by the Commission investigation services

All interested parties may request to be heard by the Commission’s investigation services.

Any request to be heard must be made in writing and must specify the reasons for the request as well as a summary of what the interested party wishes to discuss during the hearing. The hearing will be limited to the issues set out by the interested parties in writing beforehand.

The timeframe for hearings is as follows:

| — | For any hearings to take place before the deadline for the imposition of provisional measures, a request should be made within 15 days from the date of publication of this Notice and the hearing will normally take place within 60 days of the date of publication of this Notice. |
| --- | --- |

—

For any hearings to take place before the deadline for the imposition of provisional measures, a request should be made within 15 days from the date of publication of this Notice and the hearing will normally take place within 60 days of the date of publication of this Notice.

| — | After the stage of provisional findings, a request should be made within 5 days from the date of the disclosure of the provisional findings or of the information document, and the hearing will normally take place within 15 days from the date of notification of the disclosure or the date of the information document. |
| --- | --- |

—

After the stage of provisional findings, a request should be made within 5 days from the date of the disclosure of the provisional findings or of the information document, and the hearing will normally take place within 15 days from the date of notification of the disclosure or the date of the information document.

| — | At the stage of definitive findings, a request should be made within 3 days from the date of the final disclosure, and the hearing will normally take place within the period granted to comment on the final disclosure. If there is an additional final disclosure, a request should be made immediately upon receipt of this additional final disclosure, and the hearing will normally take place within the deadline to provide comments on this disclosure. |
| --- | --- |

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At the stage of definitive findings, a request should be made within 3 days from the date of the final disclosure, and the hearing will normally take place within the period granted to comment on the final disclosure. If there is an additional final disclosure, a request should be made immediately upon receipt of this additional final disclosure, and the hearing will normally take place within the deadline to provide comments on this disclosure.

The outlined timeframe is without prejudice to the right of the Commission services to accept hearings outside the timeframe in duly justified cases and to the right of the Commission to deny hearings in duly justified cases. Where the Commission services refuse a hearing request, the party concerned will be informed of the reasons for such refusal.

In principle, hearings will not be used to present factual information which is not yet on file. Nevertheless, in the interest of good administration and to enable Commission services to progress with the investigation, interested parties may be directed to provide new factual information after a hearing.

5.8.   Instructions for making written submissions and sending completed questionnaires and correspondence

Information submitted to the Commission for the purpose of trade defence investigations shall be free from copyrights. Interested parties, before submitting to the Commission information and/or data which is subject to third party copyrights, must request specific permission to the copyright holder explicitly allowing the Commission a) to use the information and data for the purpose of this trade defence proceeding and b) to provide the information and/or data to interested parties to this investigation in a form that allows them to exercise their rights of defence.

All written submissions, including the information requested in this Notice, completed questionnaires and correspondence provided by interested parties for which confidential treatment is requested shall be labelled ‘Limited’ (8). Parties submitting information in the course of this investigation are invited to reason their request for confidential treatment.

Parties providing ‘Limited’ information are required to furnish non-confidential summaries of it pursuant to Article 19(2) of the basic Regulation, which will be labelled ‘For inspection by interested parties’. Those summaries should be sufficiently detailed to permit a reasonable understanding of the substance of the information submitted in confidence.

If a party providing confidential information fails to show good cause for a confidential treatment request or does not furnish a non-confidential summary of it in the requested format and quality, the Commission may disregard such information unless it can be satisfactorily demonstrated from appropriate sources that the information is correct.

Interested parties are invited to make all submissions and requests via TRON.tdi (https://tron.trade.ec.europa.eu/tron/TDI) including scanned powers of attorney and certification sheets.

In order to have access to TRON.tdi, interested parties need an EU Login account. Full instructions on how to register and use TRON.tdi are available on https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/tron/resources/documents/gettingStarted.pdf.

By using TRON.tdi or email, interested parties express their agreement with the rules applicable to electronic submissions contained in the document ‘CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION IN TRADE DEFENCE CASES’ published on the website of the Directorate-General for Trade: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2011/june/tradoc_148003.pdf. The interested parties must indicate their name, address, telephone and a valid email address and they should ensure that the provided email address is a functioning official business email which is checked on a daily basis. Once contact details are provided, the Commission will communicate with interested parties by TRON.tdi or email only, unless they explicitly request to receive all documents from the Commission by another means of communication or unless the nature of the document to be sent requires the use of a registeredmail. For further rules and information concerning correspondence with the Commission including principles that apply to submissions including principles that apply to submissions via TRON.tdi and by email, interested parties should consult the communication instructions with interested parties referred to above.

Commission address for correspondence:

| European Commission |
| --- |
| Directorate-General for Trade |
| Directorate H |
| Office: CHAR 04/039 |
| 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel |
| BELGIQUE/BELGIË |

European Commission

Directorate-General for Trade

Directorate H

Office: CHAR 04/039

1049 Bruxelles/Brussel

BELGIQUE/BELGIË

TRON.tdi: https://tron.trade.ec.europa.eu/tron/TDI

Email:

For dumping issues:

TRADE-AD659-THERMAL-PAPER-DUMPING@ec.europa.eu

For injury issues:

TRADE-AD659-THERMAL-PAPER-INJURY@ec.europa.eu

6.   Schedule of the investigation

The investigation is, whenever possible, to be concluded within one year but in any event not later than 14 months from the date of publication of this Notice, pursuant to Article 6(9) of the basic Regulation. In accordance with Article 7(1) of the basic Regulation, provisional measures may be imposed normally not later than 7 months, but in any event not later than 8 months from the publication of this Notice.

In accordance with Article 19a of the basic Regulation, the Commission will provide information on the planned imposition of a provisional duty 3 weeks before such imposition. Interested parties may request this information in writing within 4 months of the publication of this notice. Interested parties will be given 3 working days to comment in writing on the accuracy of the calculations.

In cases where the Commission intends not to impose a provisional duty but to continue the investigation, interested parties will be informed in writing of the non-imposition of a duty 3 weeks before the expiry of the deadline under Article 7(1) of the basic Regulation.

Interested parties will be given 15 days to comment in writing on the provisional findings and 10 days to comment in writing on the definitive findings, unless otherwise specified. Where applicable, additional final disclosures will specify the deadline for interested parties to comment in writing.

7.   Submission of information

As a rule, interested parties may only submit information in the timeframes specified in sections 5 and 6 of this Notice. The submission of any other information not covered by those sections, should respect the following timetable:

| — | Any information for the stage of provisional findings should be submitted within 70 days from the date of publication of this Notice, unless otherwise specified. |
| --- | --- |

—

Any information for the stage of provisional findings should be submitted within 70 days from the date of publication of this Notice, unless otherwise specified.

| — | Unless otherwise specified, interested parties should not submit new factual information after the deadline to comment on the disclosure of the provisional findings or the information document at the stage of provisional findings. After this deadline, interested parties may only submit new factual information if they can demonstrate that such new factual information is necessary to rebut factual allegations made by other interested parties and provided that such new factual information can be verified within the time available to complete the investigation in a timely manner. |
| --- | --- |

—

Unless otherwise specified, interested parties should not submit new factual information after the deadline to comment on the disclosure of the provisional findings or the information document at the stage of provisional findings. After this deadline, interested parties may only submit new factual information if they can demonstrate that such new factual information is necessary to rebut factual allegations made by other interested parties and provided that such new factual information can be verified within the time available to complete the investigation in a timely manner.

| — | In order to complete the investigation within the mandatory deadlines, the Commission will not accept submissions from interested parties after the deadline to provide comments on the final disclosure or, if applicable, after the deadline to provide comments on the additional final disclosure. |
| --- | --- |

—

In order to complete the investigation within the mandatory deadlines, the Commission will not accept submissions from interested parties after the deadline to provide comments on the final disclosure or, if applicable, after the deadline to provide comments on the additional final disclosure.

8.   Possibility to comment on other parties' submissions

In order to guarantee the rights of defence, interested parties should have the possibility to comment on information submitted by other interested parties. When doing so, interested parties may only address issues raised in the other interested parties’ submissions and may not raise new issues.

Such comments should be made according to the following timeframe:

| — | Any comment on information submitted by other interested parties before the deadline of imposition of provisional measures should be made at the latest on day 75 from the date of publication of this Notice, unless otherwise specified. |
| --- | --- |

—

Any comment on information submitted by other interested parties before the deadline of imposition of provisional measures should be made at the latest on day 75 from the date of publication of this Notice, unless otherwise specified.

| — | Comments on the information provided by other interested parties in reaction to the disclosure of the provisional findings or of the information document should be submitted within 7 days from the deadline to comment on the provisional findings or on the information document, unless otherwise specified. |
| --- | --- |

—

Comments on the information provided by other interested parties in reaction to the disclosure of the provisional findings or of the information document should be submitted within 7 days from the deadline to comment on the provisional findings or on the information document, unless otherwise specified.

| — | Comments on the information provided by other interested parties in reaction to the final disclosure should be submitted within 3 days from the deadline to comment on the final disclosure, unless otherwise specified. If there is an additional final disclosure, comments on the information provided by other interested parties in reaction to this disclosure should be made within 1 day from the deadline to comment on this disclosure, unless otherwise specified. |
| --- | --- |

—

Comments on the information provided by other interested parties in reaction to the final disclosure should be submitted within 3 days from the deadline to comment on the final disclosure, unless otherwise specified. If there is an additional final disclosure, comments on the information provided by other interested parties in reaction to this disclosure should be made within 1 day from the deadline to comment on this disclosure, unless otherwise specified.

The outlined timeframe is without prejudice to the Commission’s right to request additional information from interested parties in duly justified cases.

9.   Extension to time limits specified in this Notice

Extensions to the time limits provided for in this Notice may be granted upon request of interested parties showing due cause.

Extensions to the deadline to reply to questionnaires and to other time-limits as specified in this Notice or otherwise provided in specific communications with interested parties will be limited to a maximum of 3 additional days. Such an extension may be prolonged up to a maximum of 7 days where the requesting party demonstrates the existence of exceptional circumstances.

10.   Non-cooperation

In cases where any interested party refuses access to or does not provide the necessary information within the time limits, or significantly impedes the investigation, provisional or final findings, affirmative or negative, may be made on the basis of facts available, in accordance with Article 18 of the basic Regulation.

Where it is found that any interested party has supplied false or misleading information, the information may be disregarded and use may be made of facts available.

If an interested party does not cooperate or cooperates only partially and findings are therefore based on facts available in accordance with Article 18 of the basic Regulation, the result may be less favourable to that party than if it had cooperated.

Failure to give a computerised response shall not be deemed to constitute non-cooperation, provided that the interested party concerned shows that presenting the response as requested would result in an unreasonable extra burden or unreasonable additional cost. That interested party should immediately contact the Commission.

11.   Hearing Officer

Interested parties may request the intervention of the Hearing Officer for trade proceedings. The Hearing Officer reviews requests for access to the file, disputes regarding the confidentiality of documents, requests for extension of time limits and any other request concerning the rights of defence of interested parties and third parties as may arise during the proceeding.

The Hearing Officer may organise hearings and mediate between the interested party/-ies and Commissions services to ensure that the interested parties’ rights of defence are being fully exercised. A request for a hearing with the Hearing Officer should be made in writing and should specify the reasons for the request. The Hearing Officer will examine the reasons for the requests. These hearings should only take place if the issues have not been settled with the Commission services in the due course.

Any request must be submitted in good time and expeditiously so as not to jeopardise the orderly conduct of proceedings. To that effect, interested parties should request the intervention of the Hearing Officer at the earliest possible time following the occurrence of the event justifying such intervention. In principle, the timeframes set out in section 5.7 to request hearings with the Commission services apply mutatis mutandis to requests for hearings with the Hearing Officer. Where hearing requests are submitted outside the relevant timeframes, the Hearing Officer will also examine the reasons for such late requests, the nature of the issues raised and the impact of those issues on the rights of defence, having due regard to the interests of good administration and the timely completion of the investigation.

For further information and contact details interested parties may consult the Hearing Officer’s web pages on DG TRADE’s website: http://ec.europa.eu/trade/trade-policy-and-you/contacts/hearing-officer/.

12.   Processing of personal data

Any personal data collected in this investigation will be treated in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council (9).

A data protection notice that informs all individuals of the processing of personal data in the framework of Commission’s trade defence activities is available on DG TRADE’s website: http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/accessing-markets/trade-defence/

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(1)  OJ L 176, 30.6.2016, p. 21.

(2)  The general term ‘injury’ refers to material injury as well as to threat of material injury or material retardation of the establishment of an industry as set out in Article 3(1) of the basic Regulation.

(3)  References to the publication of this Notice mean publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union.

(4)  Regulation (EU) 2018/825 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 amending Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Union and Regulation (EU) 2016/1037 on protection against subsidised imports from countries not members of the European Union (OJ L 143, 7.6.2018, p. 1).

(5)  An exporting producer is any company in the country concerned which produces and exports the product under investigation to the Union market, either directly or via a third party, including any of its related companies involved in the production, domestic sales or exports of the product under investigation.

(6)  This section covers only importers not related to exporting producers. Importers that are related to exporting producers have to fill in Annex I to the questionnaire for these exporting producers. In accordance with Article 127 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 of 24 November 2015 laying down detailed rules for implementing certain provisions of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the Union Customs Code, two persons shall be deemed to be related if: (a) they are officers or directors of the other person’s business; (b) they are legally recognised partners in business; (c) they are employer and employee; (d) a third party directly or indirectly owns, controls or holds 5 % or more of the outstanding voting stock or shares of both of them; (e) one of them directly or indirectly controls the other; (f) both of them are directly or indirectly controlled by a third person; (g) together they control a third person directly or indirectly; or (h) they are members of the same family (OJ L 343, 29.12.2015, p. 558). Persons shall be deemed to be members of the same family only if they stand in any of the following relationships to one another: (i) husband and wife, (ii) parent and child, (iii) brother and sister (whether by whole or half blood), (iv) grandparent and grandchild, (v) uncle or aunt and nephew or niece, (vi) parent-in-law and son-in-law or daughter-in-law, (vii) brother-in-law and sister-in-law. In accordance with Article 5(4) of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the Union Customs Code, “person” means a natural person, a legal person, and any association of persons which is not a legal person but which is recognised under Union or national law as having the capacity to perform legal acts (OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 1).

(7)  The data provided by unrelated importers may also be used in relation to aspects of this investigation other than the determination of dumping.

(8)  A ‘Limited’ document is a document which is considered confidential pursuant to Article 19 of the basic Regulation and Article 6 of the WTO Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the GATT 1994 (Anti-Dumping Agreement). It is also a document protected pursuant to Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43).

(9)  Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39).

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ANNEX

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| 10.10.2019 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 342/18 |
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10.10.2019

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 342/18

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Notice of initiation of an anti-subsidy proceeding concerning imports of certain hot rolled stainless steel sheets and coils originating in the People’s Republic of China and Indonesia

(2019/C 342/09)

The European Commission (‘the Commission’) has received a complaint under Article 10 of Regulation (EU) 2016/1037 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2016 on protection against subsidised imports from countries not members of the European Union (1) (‘the basic Regulation’), alleging that imports of certain hot rolled stainless steel sheets and coils, originating in the People’s Republic of China and Indonesia, are being subsidised and are thereby causing injury (2) to the Union industry.

1.   Complaint

The complaint was lodged on 26 August 2019 by Eurofer, the European Steel Association (‘the complainant’) on behalf of four Union producers representing the entirety of Union production of certain hot rolled stainless steel sheets and coils.

An open version of the complaint and the analysis of the degree of support by Union producers for the complaint are available in the file for inspection by interested parties. Section 5.6 of this Notice provides information about access to the file for interested parties.

2.   Product under investigation

The product subject to this investigation is flat-rolled products of stainless steel, whether or not in coils (including products cut-to-length and narrow strip), not further worked than hot-rolled (‘the product under investigation’).

The following products are excluded:

| — | Products, not in coils, of a width of 600 mm or more and of a thickness exceeding 10 mm. |
| --- | --- |

—

Products, not in coils, of a width of 600 mm or more and of a thickness exceeding 10 mm.

All interested parties wishing to submit information on the product scope must do so within 10 days of the date of publication of this Notice (3).

3.   Allegation of subsidisation

The product allegedly being subsidised is the product under investigation, originating in the People’s Republic of China and Indonesia (‘the countries concerned’), currently falling under HS codes 7219 11, 7219 12, 7219 13, 7219 14, 7219 22, 7219 23, 7219 24, 7220 11 and 7220 12. The HS codes are given for information.

3.1.   
  The People’s Republic of China

The alleged subsidy practices consist, inter alia, of (i) direct transfer of funds, (ii) government revenue forgone or not collected and (iii) government provision of goods or services for less than adequate remuneration. The complaint alleged the existence, for example, of preferential loans and provision of credit lines by State-owned banks, export credit subsidy programmes, export guarantees and insurances and grant programmes; tax reductions for High and New Technology Enterprises, tax offset for research and development, accelerated depreciation of equipment used by High-Tech enterprises for High-Tech development and production, dividend exemption between qualified resident enterprises, withholding tax reduction for dividends from foreign-invested Chinese enterprises to their non-Chinese parent companies, land use tax exemptions and export tax rebate; and government provision of land and power for less than adequate remuneration.

The complainant further alleges that the above measures amount to subsidies because they involve a financial contribution from the Government of China or other regional and local governments (including public bodies) and confer a benefit to the exporting producers of the product under investigation. They are alleged to be limited to certain enterprises or industry or group of enterprises and/or contingent upon export performance and are therefore specific and countervailable. On that basis, the alleged subsidy amounts appear to be significant for the People’s Republic of China.

In view of Articles 10(2) and 10(3) of the basic Regulation, the Commission prepared a memorandum on sufficiency of evidence containing the Commission’s assessment on all the evidence at the disposal of the Commission and on the basis of which the Commission initiates the investigation. That memorandum can be found in the file for inspection by interested parties.

Therefore the Commission considers that the complaint includes sufficient evidence that the producers of the product under investigation from the People’s Republic of China have benefitted from a number of countervailable subsidies.

The Commission reserves the right to investigate other relevant subsidy practices which may be revealed during the course of the investigation.

3.2.   
  Indonesia

The alleged subsidy practices consist, inter alia, of (i) direct transfer of funds, (ii) government revenue forgone or not collected and (iii) government provision of goods or services for less than adequate remuneration. The complaint alleged the existence, for example, of preferential policy loans, and tax benefits under Indonesian laws, import duty exemption on the import of raw materials and production equipment.

The complainant further alleges that the above measures amount to subsidies because they involve a financial contribution from the Government of Indonesia (including public bodies) and confer a benefit to the exporting producers of the product under investigation. They are alleged to be limited to certain enterprises or industry or group of enterprises and/or contingent upon export performance and are therefore specific and countervailable. On that basis, the alleged subsidy amounts appear to be significant for Indonesia.

Moreover, the complainant alleges that some of the subsidies are directly granted by the Government of Indonesia, and some by the Government of China. According to the complaint, an Indonesian exporting producer, which is situated an industrial park, is Chinese-owned. The complaint alleges the existence of loans from Chinese State-owned or State-controlled entities to this Indonesian exporting producer. In view of the objectives of these loans, the complainant argues that such loans benefit the Chinese-owned exporting producer in Indonesia.

In view of Articles 10(2) and 10(3) of the basic Regulation, the Commission prepared a memorandum on sufficiency of evidence containing the Commission’s assessment on all the evidence at the disposal of the Commission on the basis of which the Commission initiates the investigation. That memorandum can be found in the file for inspection by interested parties.

Therefore the Commission considers that the complaint includes sufficient evidence that the producers of the product under investigation from Indonesia have benefitted from a number of countervailable subsidies.

The Commission reserves the right to investigate other relevant subsidies which may be revealed during the course of the investigation.

4.   Allegations of injury and causation

The complainant has provided evidence that imports of the product under investigation from the countries concerned have increased overall in absolute terms and have increased in terms of market share.

The evidence provided by the complainant shows that the volume and the prices of the imported product under investigation have had, among other consequences, a negative impact on the quantities sold by the Union industry, resulting, over a prolonged period of time, in continuous adverse effects on the financial situation, the employment situation and the overall economic performance of the Union industry. According to the complaint, there is indication that further injury will crystallise from this situation of volume and price pressure.

5.   Procedure

Having determined, after informing the Member States, that the complaint was lodged by or on behalf of the Union industry and that there is sufficient evidence to justify the initiation of a proceeding, the Commission hereby initiates an investigation pursuant to Article 10 of the basic Regulation.

The investigation will determine whether the product under investigation originating in the countries concerned is being subsidised and whether these subsidised imports have caused or threaten to cause material injury to the Union industry.

If the conclusions are affirmative, the investigation will examine whether the imposition of measures would not be against the Union interest under Article 21 of the basic Regulation.

The Government of China and the Government of Indonesia have been invited for consultations.

Regulation (EU) 2018/825 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4), which entered into force on 8 June 2018, (TDI Modernisation package) introduced a number of changes to the timetable and deadlines previously applicable in anti-subsidy proceedings. In particular, the Commission needs to provide information on the planned imposition of provisional duties 3 weeks before the imposition of provisional measures. The time-limits for interested parties to come forward, in particular at the early stage of investigations, are shortened. Therefore, the Commission invites interested parties to respect the procedural steps and deadlines provided in this Notice as well as in further communications from the Commission.

5.1.   
  Investigation period and period considered

The investigation of subsidisation and injury will cover the period from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019 (‘the investigation period’). The examination of trends relevant for the assessment of injury will cover the period from 1 January 2016 to the end of the investigation period (‘the period considered’).

5.2.   
  Comments on the complaint and the initiation of the investigation

All interested parties wishing to comment on the complaint (including matters pertaining to injury and causality) or any aspects regarding the initiation of the investigation (including the degree of support for the complaint) must do so within 37 days of the date of publication of this Notice.

Any request for a hearing with regard to the initiation of the investigation must be submitted within 15 days of the date of publication of this Notice.

5.3.   
  Procedure for the determination of subsidisation

Exporting producers (5) of the product under investigation from the countries concerned are invited to participate in the Commission investigation. Other parties from which the Commission will seek relevant information to determine the existence and amount of countervailable subsidies conferred upon the product under investigation are also invited to cooperate with the Commission to the fullest extent possible.

5.3.1.   Investigating exporting producers

5.3.1.1.   Procedure for selecting exporting producers to be investigated in the People’s Republic of China

(a)   Sampling

In view of the potentially large number of exporting producers in the People’s Republic of China involved in this proceeding and in order to complete the investigation within the statutory time limits, the Commission may limit the exporting producers to be investigated to a reasonable number by selecting a sample (this process is also referred to as ‘sampling’). The sampling will be carried out in accordance with Article 27 of the basic Regulation.

In order to enable the Commission to decide whether sampling is necessary, and if so, to select a sample, all exporting producers, or representatives acting on their behalf, are hereby requested to provide the Commission with information on their companies requested in Annex I to this Notice within 7 days of the date of publication of this Notice.

In order to obtain information it deems necessary for the selection of the sample of exporting producers, the Commission has also contacted the authorities of the People’s Republic of China and may contact any known associations of exporting producers.

If a sample is necessary, the exporting producers may be selected based on the largest representative volume of exports to the Union which can reasonably be investigated within the time available. All known exporting producers, the authorities of the People’s Republic of China and associations of exporting producers will be notified by the Commission, via the authorities of the People’s Republic of China if appropriate, of the companies selected to be in the sample.

In order to obtain information it deems necessary for its investigation with regard to exporting producers, the Commission will make questionnaires available to the exporting producers selected to be in the sample, to any known associations of exporting producers, and to the authorities of the People’s Republic of China.

Once the Commission has received the necessary information to select a sample of exporting producers, it will inform the parties concerned of its decision whether they are included in the sample. The sampled exporting producers will have to submit a completed questionnaire within 30 days from the date of notification of the decision of their inclusion in the sample, unless otherwise specified.

The Commission will add a note reflecting the sample selection to the file for inspection by interested parties. Any comment on the sample selection must be received within 3 days of the date of notification of the sample decision.

A copy of the questionnaire for exporting producers is available in the file for inspection by interested parties and on DG Trade’s website http://trade.ec.europa.eu/tdi/case_details.cfm?id=2420.

The questionnaire will also be made available to any known association of exporting producers, and to the authorities of the People’s Republic of China.

Without prejudice to the possible application of Article 28 of the basic Regulation, exporting producers that have filled in Annex I within the specified deadline and agreed to be included in the sample but are not selected as part of the sample will be considered to be cooperating (‘non-sampled cooperating exporting producers’). Without prejudice to section 5.3.1(b) below, the countervailing duty that may be applied to imports from non-sampled cooperating exporting producers will not exceed the weighted average amounts of subsidisation established for the exporting producers in the sample (6).

(b)   Individual amount of countervailable subsidisation for companies not included in the sample

Pursuant to Article 27(3) of the basic Regulation, non-sampled cooperating exporting producers may request the Commission to establish their individual subsidy amount. Exporting producers wishing to claim an individual subsidy amount must fill in the questionnaire and return it duly completed within 30 days of the date of notification of the sample selection, unless otherwise specified. A copy of the questionnaire for exporting producers is available in the file for inspection by interested parties and on DG Trade’s website http://trade.ec.europa.eu/tdi/case_details.cfm?id=2420.

The Commission will examine whether non-sampled cooperating exporting producers can be granted an individual subsidy amount in accordance with Article 27(3) of the basic Regulation.

However, non-sampled cooperating exporting producers claiming an individual subsidy amount should be aware that the Commission may nonetheless decide not to determine their individual subsidy amount if, for instance, the number of non-sampled cooperating exporting producers is so large that such determination would be unduly burdensome and would prevent the timely completion of the investigation.

5.3.1.2.   Procedure for selecting exporting producers to be investigated in Indonesia

All exporting producers and associations of exporting producers in Indonesia are invited to contact the Commission, preferably by email, immediately but no later than 7 days after the publication of this Notice, in order to make themselves known and request a questionnaire.

In order to obtain information it deems necessary for its investigation with regard to exporting producers, the Commission will send questionnaires to the exporting producers, to any known associations of exporting producers, and to the authorities of Indonesia.

Exporting producers in Indonesia have to fill in a questionnaire within 37 days from the date of publication of this Notice. The questionnaire will also be made available to any known association of exporting producers, and to the authorities of Indonesia.

A copy of the above-captioned questionnaire for exporting producers is available in the file for inspection by interested parties and on DG Trade’s website http://trade.ec.europa.eu/tdi/case_details.cfm?id=2420.

5.3.2.   Investigating unrelated importers (7) (8)

Unrelated importers of the product under investigation from the countries concerned to the Union are invited to participate in this investigation.

In view of the potentially large number of unrelated importers involved in this proceeding and in order to complete the investigation within the statutory time limits, the Commission may limit to a reasonable number the unrelated importers that will be investigated by selecting a sample (this process is also referred to as ‘sampling’). The sampling will be carried out in accordance with Article 27 of the basic Regulation.

In order to enable the Commission to decide whether sampling is necessary and, if so, to select a sample, all unrelated importers, or representatives acting on their behalf, are hereby requested to provide the Commission with the information on their companies requested in Annex II to this Notice within 7 days of the date of publication of this Notice.

In order to obtain information it deems necessary for the selection of the sample of unrelated importers, the Commission may also contact any known associations of importers.

If a sample is necessary, the importers may be selected based on the largest representative volume of sales of the product under investigation in the Union which can reasonably be investigated within the time available.

Once the Commission has received the necessary information to select a sample, it will inform the parties concerned of its decision on the sample of importers. The Commission will also add a note reflecting the sample selection to the file for inspection by interested parties. Any comment on the sample selection must be received within 3 days of the date of notification of the sample decision.

In order to obtain information it deems necessary for its investigation, the Commission will make questionnaires available to the sampled unrelated importers. Those parties must submit a completed questionnaire within 30 days from the date of the notification of the decision about the sample, unless otherwise specified.

A copy of the questionnaire for importers is available in the file for inspection by interested parties and on DG Trade’s website http://trade.ec.europa.eu/tdi/case_details.cfm?id=2420.

5.4.   
  Procedure for the determination of injury and investigating Union producers

A determination of injury is based on positive evidence and involves an objective examination of the volume of the subsidised imports, their effect on prices on the Union market and the consequent impact of those imports on the Union industry. In order to establish whether the Union industry is injured, Union producers of the product under investigation are invited to participate in the Commission investigation.

In view of the large number of Union producers concerned and in order to complete the investigation within the statutory time-limits, the Commission has decided to limit to a reasonable number the Union producers that will be investigated by selecting a sample (this process is also referred to as ‘sampling’). The sampling is carried out in accordance with Article 27 of the basic Regulation.

The Commission has provisionally selected a sample of Union producers. Details can be found in the file for inspection by interested parties. Interested parties are hereby invited to comment on the provisional sample. In addition, other Union producers, or representatives acting on their behalf, that consider that there are reasons why they should be included in the sample must contact the Commission within 7 days of the date of publication of this Notice. All comments regarding the provisional sample must be received within 7 days of the date of publication of this Notice, unless otherwise specified.

All known Union producers and/or associations of Union producers will be notified by the Commission of the companies finally selected to be in the sample.

The sampled Union producers will have to submit a completed questionnaire within 30 days from the date of notification of the decision of their inclusion in the sample, unless otherwise specified.

A copy of the questionnaire for Union producers is available in the file for inspection by interested parties and on DG Trade’s website http://trade.ec.europa.eu/tdi/case_details.cfm?id=2420.

5.5.   
  Procedure for the assessment of Union interest

Should the existence of subsidisation and injury caused thereby be established, a decision will be reached, pursuant to Article 31 of the basic Regulation, as to whether the adoption of anti-subsidy measures would not be against the Union interest. Union producers, importers and their representative associations, users and their representative associations, representative consumer organisations and trade unions are invited to provide the Commission with information on the Union interest.

Information concerning the assessment of Union interest must be provided within 37 days of the date of publication of this Notice unless otherwise specified. This information may be provided either in a free format or by completing a questionnaire prepared by the Commission. A copy of the questionnaires, including the questionnaire for users of the product under investigation, is available in the file for inspection by interested parties and on DG Trade’s website http://trade.ec.europa.eu/tdi/case_details.cfm?id=2420. In any case, the information submitted will only be taken into account if supported by factual evidence at the time of submission.

5.6.   
  Interested parties

In order to participate in the investigation interested parties, such as exporting producers, Union producers, importers and their representative associations, users and their representative associations, trade unions and representative consumer organisations first have to demonstrate that there is an objective link between their activities and the product under investigation.

Exporting producers, Union producers, importers and representative associations who made information available in accordance to the procedures described in sections 5.3, 5.4 and 5.5 above will be considered as interested parties if there is an objective link between their activities and the product under investigation.

Other parties will only be able to participate in the investigation as interested party from the moment they make themselves known, and provided that there is an objective link between their activities and the product under investigation. Being considered as an interested party is without prejudice to the application of Article 28 of the basic Regulation.

Access to the file available for inspection for interested parties is made via TRON.tdi at the following address: https://tron.trade.ec.europa.eu/tron/TDI. Please follow the instructions on that page to get access.

5.7.   
  Possibility to be heard by the Commission investigation services

All interested parties may request to be heard by the Commission’s investigation services.

Any request to be heard must be made in writing and must specify the reasons for the request as well as a summary of what the interested party wishes to discuss during the hearing. The hearing will be limited to the issues set out by the interested parties in writing beforehand.

The timeframe for hearings is as follows:

| — | For any hearings to take place before the imposition of provisional measures, a request should be made within 15 days from the date of publication of this Notice and the hearing will normally take place within 60 days of the date of publication of this Notice. |
| --- | --- |

—

For any hearings to take place before the imposition of provisional measures, a request should be made within 15 days from the date of publication of this Notice and the hearing will normally take place within 60 days of the date of publication of this Notice.

| — | After the provisional stage, a request should be made within 5 days from the date of the provisional disclosure or of the information document, and the hearing will normally take place within 15 days from the date of notification of the disclosure or the date of the information document. |
| --- | --- |

—

After the provisional stage, a request should be made within 5 days from the date of the provisional disclosure or of the information document, and the hearing will normally take place within 15 days from the date of notification of the disclosure or the date of the information document.

| — | At definitive stage, a request should be made within 3 days from the date of the final disclosure, and the hearing will normally take place within the period granted to comment on the final disclosure. If there is an additional final disclosure, a request should be made immediately upon receipt of this additional final disclosure, and the hearing will normally take place within the deadline to provide comments on this disclosure. |
| --- | --- |

—

At definitive stage, a request should be made within 3 days from the date of the final disclosure, and the hearing will normally take place within the period granted to comment on the final disclosure. If there is an additional final disclosure, a request should be made immediately upon receipt of this additional final disclosure, and the hearing will normally take place within the deadline to provide comments on this disclosure.

The outlined timeframe is without prejudice to the right of the Commission services to accept hearings outside the timeframe in duly justified cases and to the right of the Commission to deny hearings in duly justified cases. Where the Commission services refuse a hearing request, the party concerned will be informed of the reasons for such refusal.

In principle, hearings will not be used to present factual information which is not yet on file. Nevertheless, in the interest of good administration and to enable Commission services to progress with the investigation, interested parties may be directed to provide new factual information after a hearing.

5.8.   
  Instructions for making written submissions and sending completed questionnaires and correspondence

Information submitted to the Commission for the purpose of trade defence investigations shall be free from copyrights. Interested parties, before submitting to the Commission information and/or data which is subject to third party copyrights, must request specific permission to the copyright holder explicitly allowing a) the Commission to use the information and data for the purpose of this trade defence proceeding and b) to provide the information and/or data to interested parties to this investigation in a form that allows them to exercise their rights of defence.

All written submissions, including the information requested in this Notice, completed questionnaires and correspondence provided by interested parties for which confidential treatment is requested shall be labelled ‘Limited’ (9). Parties submitting information in the course of this investigation are invited to reason their request for confidential treatment.

Parties providing ‘Limited’ information are required to furnish non-confidential summaries of it pursuant to Article 29(2) of the basic Regulation, which will be labelled ‘For inspection by interested parties’. Those summaries should be sufficiently detailed to permit a reasonable understanding of the substance of the information submitted in confidence.

If a party providing confidential information fails to show good cause for a confidential treatment request or does not furnish a non-confidential summary of it in the requested format and quality, the Commission may disregard such information unless it can be satisfactorily demonstrated from appropriate sources that the information is correct.

Interested parties are invited to make all submissions and requests via TRON.tdi (https://tron.trade.ec.europa.eu/tron/TDI) including scanned powers of attorney and certification sheets, with the exception of voluminous replies which shall be submitted on a CD-ROM or DVD by hand or by registered mail. By using TRON.tdi or email, interested parties express their agreement with the rules applicable to electronic submissions contained in the document ‘CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION IN TRADE DEFENCE CASES’ published on the website of the Directorate-General for Trade: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2011/june/tradoc_148003.pdf. The interested parties must indicate their name, address, telephone and a valid email address and they should ensure that the provided email address is a functioning official business email which is checked on a daily basis. Once contact details are provided, the Commission will communicate with interested parties by TRON.tdi or email only, unless they explicitly request to receive all documents from the Commission by another means of communication or unless the nature of the document to be sent requires the use of a registered mail. For further rules and information concerning correspondence with the Commission including principles that apply to submissions via TRON.tdi and by email, interested parties should consult the communication instructions with interested parties referred to above.

Commission address for correspondence:

| European Commission |
| --- |
| Directorate-General for Trade |
| Directorate H |
| Office: CHAR 04/039 |
| 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel |
| BELGIUM/BELGIË |

European Commission

Directorate-General for Trade

Directorate H

Office: CHAR 04/039

1049 Bruxelles/Brussel

BELGIUM/BELGIË

TRON.tdi: https://tron.trade.ec.europa.eu/tron/tdi

Email:

TRADE-AS660-SSHR-SUBSIDY@ec.europa.eu

TRADE-AS660-SSHR-INJURY@ec.europa.eu

6.   Schedule of the investigation

The investigation will be concluded, pursuant to Article 11(9) of the basic Regulation within normally 12 months, but not more than 13 months of the date of the publication of this Notice. In accordance with Article 12(1) of the basic Regulation, provisional measures may be imposed normally not later than 9 months from the publication of this Notice.

In accordance with Article 29a of the basic Regulation, the Commission will provide information on the planned imposition of provisional duties 3 weeks before the imposition of provisional measures. Interested parties may request this information in writing within 4 months of the publication of this notice. Interested parties will be given 3 working days to comment in writing on the accuracy of the calculations.

In cases where the Commission intends not to impose provisional duties but to continue the investigation, interested parties will be informed in writing of the non-imposition of duties 3 weeks before the expiry of the deadline under Article 12(1) of the basic Regulation.

Interested parties will be given in principle 15 days to comment in writing on the provisional findings or on the information document, and 10 days to comment in writing on the definitive findings, unless otherwise specified. Where applicable, additional final disclosures will specify the deadline for interested parties to comment in writing.

7.   Submission of information

As a rule, interested parties may only submit information in the timeframes specified in sections 5 and 6 of this Notice. The submission of any other information not covered by those sections should respect the following timetable:

| — | Any information for the stage of provisional findings should be submitted within 70 days from the date of publication of this Notice, unless otherwise specified. |
| --- | --- |

—

Any information for the stage of provisional findings should be submitted within 70 days from the date of publication of this Notice, unless otherwise specified.

| — | Unless otherwise specified, interested parties should not submit new factual information after the deadline to comment on the provisional disclosure or the information document at provisional stage. Beyond such deadline, interested parties may only submit new factual information provided that such parties can demonstrate that such new factual information is necessary to rebut factual allegations made by other interested parties and provided that such new factual information can be verified within the time available to complete the investigation in a timely manner. |
| --- | --- |

—

Unless otherwise specified, interested parties should not submit new factual information after the deadline to comment on the provisional disclosure or the information document at provisional stage. Beyond such deadline, interested parties may only submit new factual information provided that such parties can demonstrate that such new factual information is necessary to rebut factual allegations made by other interested parties and provided that such new factual information can be verified within the time available to complete the investigation in a timely manner.

| — | In order to complete the investigation within the mandatory deadlines, the Commission will not accept submissions from interested parties after the deadline to provide comments on the final disclosure or, if applicable, after the deadline to provide comments on the additional final disclosure. |
| --- | --- |

—

In order to complete the investigation within the mandatory deadlines, the Commission will not accept submissions from interested parties after the deadline to provide comments on the final disclosure or, if applicable, after the deadline to provide comments on the additional final disclosure.

8.   Possibility to comment on other parties’ submissions

In order to guarantee the rights of defence, interested parties should have the possibility to comment on information submitted by other interested parties. When doing so, interested parties may only address issues raised in the other interested parties’ submissions and may not raise new issues.

Such comments should be made according to the following timeframe:

| — | Any comment on information submitted by other interested parties before the imposition of provisional measures should be made at the latest within 75 days from the date of publication of this Notice, unless otherwise specified. |
| --- | --- |

—

Any comment on information submitted by other interested parties before the imposition of provisional measures should be made at the latest within 75 days from the date of publication of this Notice, unless otherwise specified.

| — | Comments on the information provided by other interested parties in reaction to the disclosure of the provisional findings or of the information document should be submitted within 7 days from the deadline to comment on the provisional findings or on the information document, unless otherwise specified. |
| --- | --- |

—

Comments on the information provided by other interested parties in reaction to the disclosure of the provisional findings or of the information document should be submitted within 7 days from the deadline to comment on the provisional findings or on the information document, unless otherwise specified.

| — | Comments on the information provided by other interested parties in reaction to the disclosure of the definitive findings should be submitted within 3 days from the deadline to comment on the definitive findings, unless otherwise specified. If there is an additional final disclosure, comments on the information provided by other interested parties in reaction to this further disclosure should be made within 1 day from the deadline to comment on this further disclosure, unless otherwise specified. |
| --- | --- |

—

Comments on the information provided by other interested parties in reaction to the disclosure of the definitive findings should be submitted within 3 days from the deadline to comment on the definitive findings, unless otherwise specified. If there is an additional final disclosure, comments on the information provided by other interested parties in reaction to this further disclosure should be made within 1 day from the deadline to comment on this further disclosure, unless otherwise specified.

The outlined timeframe is without prejudice to the Commission’s right to request additional information from interested parties in duly justified cases.

9.   Extension to time-limits specified in this Notice

Extensions to time-limits provided for in this Notice may be granted upon request of interested parties showing due cause.

Extensions to the deadline to reply to questionnaires and to other time-limits as specified in this Notice or otherwise provided in specific communications with interested parties will be limited to a maximum of 3 additional days. Such an extension may be prolonged up to a maximum of 7 days where the requesting party can demonstrates the existence of exceptional circumstances.

10.   Non-cooperation

In cases where any interested party refuses access to or does not provide the necessary information within the time-limits, or significantly impedes the investigation, provisional or final findings, affirmative or negative, may be made on the basis of facts available, in accordance with Article 28 of the basic Regulation.

Where it is found that any interested party has supplied false or misleading information, the information may be disregarded and use may be made of facts available.

If an interested party does not cooperate or cooperates only partially and findings are therefore based on facts available in accordance with Article 28 of the basic Regulation, the result may be less favourable to that party than if it had cooperated.

Failure to give a computerised response shall not be deemed to constitute non-cooperation, provided that the interested party shows that presenting the response as requested would result in an unreasonable extra burden or unreasonable additional cost. The interested party should immediately contact the Commission.

11.   Hearing Officer

Interested parties may request the intervention of the Hearing Officer for trade proceedings. The Hearing Officer reviews requests for access to the file, disputes regarding the confidentiality of documents, requests for extension of time limits and any other request concerning the rights of defence of interested parties and third parties as may arise during the proceeding.

The Hearing Officer may organise hearings and mediate between the interested party/-ies and Commissions services to ensure that the interested parties’ rights of defence are being fully exercised. A request for a hearing with the Hearing Officer should be made in writing and should specify the reasons for the request. The Hearing Officer will examine the reasons for the requests. These hearings should only take place if the issues have not been settled with the Commission services in the due course.

Any request must be submitted in good time and expeditiously so as not to jeopardise the orderly conduct of proceedings. To that effect, interested parties should request the intervention of the Hearing Officer at the earliest possible time following the occurrence of the event justifying such intervention. In principle, the timeframes set out in section 5.7 to request hearings with the Commission services apply mutatis mutandis to requests for hearings with the Hearing Officer. Where hearing requests are submitted outside the relevant timeframes, the Hearing Officer will also examine the reasons for such late requests, the nature of the issues raised and the impact of those issues on the rights of defence, having due regard to the interests of good administration and the timely completion of the investigation.

For further information and contact details interested parties may consult the Hearing Officer’s web pages on DG Trade’s website: http://ec.europa.eu/trade/trade-policy-and-you/contacts/hearing-officer/

12.   Processing of personal data

Any personal data collected in this investigation will be treated in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council (10).

A data protection notice that informs all individuals of the processing of personal data in the framework of Commission’s trade defence activities is available on DG Trade’s website: http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/accessing-markets/trade-defence/

---

(1)  OJ L 176, 30.6.2016, p. 55.

(2)  The general term ‘injury’ refers to material injury as well as to threat of material injury or material retardation of the establishment of an industry as set out in Article 2(d) of the basic Regulation.

(3)  References to the publication of this Notice mean publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union.

(4)  Regulation (EU) 2018/825 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 amending Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Union and Regulation (EU) 2016/1037 on protection against subsidised imports from countries not members of the European Union (OJ L 143, 7.6.2018, p. 1).

(5)  An exporting producer is any company in the countries concerned which produces and exports the product under investigation to the Union market, either directly or via a third party, including any of its related companies involved in the production, domestic sales or exports of the product under investigation.

(6)  Under Article 15(3) of the basic Regulation, any zero and de minimis amounts of countervailable subsidies and amounts of countervailable subsidies established in the circumstances referred to in Article 28 of the basic Regulation shall be disregarded.

(7)  This section covers only importers not related to exporting producers. Importers that are related to exporting producers have to fill in Annex I to this Notice for these exporting producers. In accordance with Article 127 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 of 24 November 2015 laying down detailed rules for implementing certain provisions of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the Union Customs Code, two persons shall be deemed to be related if: (a) they are officers or directors of the other person’s business; (b) they are legally recognised partners in business; (c) they are employer and employee; (d) a third party directly or indirectly owns, controls or holds 5 % or more of the outstanding voting stock or shares of both of them; (e) one of them directly or indirectly controls the other; (f) both of them are directly or indirectly controlled by a third person; (g) together they control a third person directly or indirectly; or (h) they are members of the same family (OJ L 343, 29.12.2015, p. 558). Persons shall be deemed to be members of the same family only if they stand in any of the following relationships to one another: (i) husband and wife, (ii) parent and child, (iii) brother and sister (whether by whole or half blood), (iv) grandparent and grandchild, (v) uncle or aunt and nephew or niece, (vi) parent-in-law and son-in-law or daughter-in-law, (vii) brother-in-law and sister-in-law. In accordance with Article 5(4) of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the Union Customs Code, ‘person’ means a natural person, a legal person, and any association of persons which is not a legal person but which is recognised under Union or national law as having the capacity to perform legal acts (OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 1).

(8)  The data provided by unrelated importers may also be used in relation to aspects of this investigation other than the determination of the subsidisation.

(9)  A ‘Limited’ document is a document which is considered confidential pursuant to Article 29 of the basic Regulation and Article 6 of the WTO Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the GATT 1994 (Anti-Subsidy Agreement). It is also a document protected pursuant to Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43).

(10)  Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39).

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ANNEX I

Image 3

Image 4

Image 5

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ANNEX II

Image 6

Image 7

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PROCEDURES RELATING TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPETITION POLICY

European Commission

| 10.10.2019 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 342/33 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

10.10.2019

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 342/33

---

Prior notification of a concentration

(Case M.9497 — Crédit Agricole/Abanca/JV)

Candidate case for simplified procedure

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2019/C 342/10)

1.

This notification concerns the following undertakings:

| — | Crédit Agricole Assurances S.A. (France), controlled by Crédit Agricole S.A. (‘Crédit Agricole’, France), |
| --- | --- |

—

Crédit Agricole Assurances S.A. (France), controlled by Crédit Agricole S.A. (‘Crédit Agricole’, France),

| — | Abanca Division Inmobiliaria S.A. (Spain), controlled by Abanca Corporación Bancaria S.A. (‘Abanca’, Spain), |
| --- | --- |

—

Abanca Division Inmobiliaria S.A. (Spain), controlled by Abanca Corporación Bancaria S.A. (‘Abanca’, Spain),

| — | Abanca Generales Seguros y Reaseguros S.A. (‘AGSR’, Spain) currently solely controlled by Abanca Division Inmobiliaria. |
| --- | --- |

—

Abanca Generales Seguros y Reaseguros S.A. (‘AGSR’, Spain) currently solely controlled by Abanca Division Inmobiliaria.

CAA and Abanca acquire within the meaning of Articles 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of the whole of AGSR.

The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.

2.

| — | Crédit Agricole is active in the banking, insurance and real estate sectors, |
| --- | --- |

—

Crédit Agricole is active in the banking, insurance and real estate sectors,

| — | Abanca is active in the retail banking, consumer finance, asset management, and insurances sectors, primarily in Spain, |
| --- | --- |

—

Abanca is active in the retail banking, consumer finance, asset management, and insurances sectors, primarily in Spain,

| — | AGSR will offer non-life insurance products in Spain and Portugal. |
| --- | --- |

—

AGSR will offer non-life insurance products in Spain and Portugal.

3.

Pursuant to the Commission Notice on a simplified procedure for treatment of certain concentrations under the Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (2) it should be noted that this case is a candidate for treatment under the procedure set out in the Notice.

4.

Observations must reach the Commission not later than 10 days following the date of this publication. The following reference should always be specified:

M.9497 — Crédit Agricole/Abanca/JV

Observations can be sent to the Commission by email, by fax, or by post. Please use the contact details below:

Email: COMP-MERGER-REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu

Fax +32 22964301

Postal address:

| European Commission |
| --- |
| Directorate-General for Competition |
| Merger Registry |
| 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel |
| BELGIQUE/BELGIË |

European Commission

Directorate-General for Competition

Merger Registry

1049 Bruxelles/Brussel

BELGIQUE/BELGIË

---

(1)  OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1 (the ‘Merger Regulation’).

1

(2)  OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.

2

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| 10.10.2019 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 342/35 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

10.10.2019

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 342/35

---

Prior notification of a concentration

(Case M.9563 — PIC/SKC/SKCCD)

Candidate case for simplified procedure

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2019/C 342/11)

1.

This notification concerns the following undertakings:

| — | Petrochemical Industries Company K.S.C. (‘PIC’, Kuwait), controlled by Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (Kuwait), |
| --- | --- |

—

Petrochemical Industries Company K.S.C. (‘PIC’, Kuwait), controlled by Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (Kuwait),

| — | SKC Co., Ltd (‘SKC’, South Korea), controlled by SK Holdings Co., Ltd (South Korea). |
| --- | --- |

—

SKC Co., Ltd (‘SKC’, South Korea), controlled by SK Holdings Co., Ltd (South Korea).

PIC and SKC acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of a newly created company constituting a joint venture (the ‘JV’).

The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares and contribution of assets.

2.

| — | PIC is a global manufacturer and marketer of petrochemicals based in Kuwait, |
| --- | --- |

—

PIC is a global manufacturer and marketer of petrochemicals based in Kuwait,

| — | SKC is a Korean chemical company listed on the Korean Stock Exchange and is active in chemicals, films and others (Semiconductor & Benzen Hexachloride material), |
| --- | --- |

—

SKC is a Korean chemical company listed on the Korean Stock Exchange and is active in chemicals, films and others (Semiconductor & Benzen Hexachloride material),

| — | the JV will comprise SKC’s current Chemicals business and will manufacture, market and sell chemicals, primarily propylene oxide, propylene glycol, propylene glycol ether, and styrene monomer. |
| --- | --- |

—

the JV will comprise SKC’s current Chemicals business and will manufacture, market and sell chemicals, primarily propylene oxide, propylene glycol, propylene glycol ether, and styrene monomer.

3.

Pursuant to the Commission Notice on a simplified procedure for treatment of certain concentrations under the Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (2) it should be noted that this case is a candidate for treatment under the procedure set out in the Notice.

4.

Observations must reach the Commission not later than 10 days following the date of this publication. The following reference should always be specified:

M.9563 — PIC/SKC/SKCCD

Observations can be sent to the Commission by email, by fax, or by post. Please use the contact details below:

Email: COMP-MERGER-REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu

Fax +32 22964301

Postal address:

| European Commission |
| --- |
| Directorate-General for Competition |
| Merger Registry |
| 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel |
| BELGIQUE/BELGIË |

European Commission

Directorate-General for Competition

Merger Registry

1049 Bruxelles/Brussel

BELGIQUE/BELGIË

---

(1)  OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1 (the ‘Merger Regulation’).

1

(2)  OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.

2

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| 10.10.2019 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 342/36 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

10.10.2019

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 342/36

---

Prior notification of a concentration

(Case M.9541 — Advent/Cobham)

Candidate case for simplified procedure

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2019/C 342/12)

1.

This notification concerns the following undertakings:

| — | Advent International Corporation (‘Advent’, USA), |
| --- | --- |

—

Advent International Corporation (‘Advent’, USA),

| — | Cobham plc (‘Cobham’, United Kingdom). |
| --- | --- |

—

Cobham plc (‘Cobham’, United Kingdom).

Funds controlled by Advent acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation sole control of the whole of Cobham. The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.

2.

| — | for Advent: private equity investor investing in companies from various sectors, including industrial, retail, media, communications, information technology, internet, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, as well as managing investment funds, |
| --- | --- |

—

for Advent: private equity investor investing in companies from various sectors, including industrial, retail, media, communications, information technology, internet, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, as well as managing investment funds,

| — | for Cobham: provider of technology and services for the defence, aerospace and space industries. |
| --- | --- |

—

for Cobham: provider of technology and services for the defence, aerospace and space industries.

3.

Pursuant to the Commission Notice on a simplified procedure for treatment of certain concentrations under the Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (2) it should be noted that this case is a candidate for treatment under the procedure set out in the Notice.

4.

Observations must reach the Commission not later than 10 days following the date of this publication. The following reference should always be specified:

M.9541 — Advent/Cobham

Observations can be sent to the Commission by email, by fax, or by post. Please use the contact details below:

Email: COMP-MERGER-REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu

Fax +32 22964301

Postal address:

| European Commission |
| --- |
| Directorate-General for Competition |
| Merger Registry |
| 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel |
| BELGIQUE/BELGIË |

European Commission

Directorate-General for Competition

Merger Registry

1049 Bruxelles/Brussel

BELGIQUE/BELGIË

---

(1)  OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1 (the ‘Merger Regulation’).

1

(2)  OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.

2

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OTHER ACTS

European Commission

| 10.10.2019 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 342/37 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

10.10.2019

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 342/37

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Publication of the amended single document following the approval of a minor amendment pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 53(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012

(2019/C 342/13)

The European Commission has approved this minor amendment in accordance with the third subparagraph of Article 6(2) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 664/2014 (1).

The application for approval of this minor amendment can be consulted in the Commission’s DOOR database:

PRODUCT SPECIFICATION OF A TRADITIONAL SPECIALITY GUARANTEED

‘BRATISLAVSKÝ ROŽOK’/‘POZSONYI KIFLI’

EU No: TSG-SK-0056-AM02–
  12.2.2019

‘Slovakia’

1.   Name(s) to be registered

‘Bratislavský rožok’/‘Pozsonyi kifli’

2.   Type of product

Class 2.24. bread, pastry, cakes, confectionery, biscuits and other baker’s wares

3.   Grounds for registration

3.1.   Whether the product:

☒ results from a mode of production, processing or composition corresponding to traditional practice for that product or foodstuff

☐ is produced from raw materials or ingredients that are those traditionally used.

The Slovak name ‘Bratislavský rožok’ began to be used in about 1920, after the city of Pressburg, then part of Czechoslovakia and the capital of Slovakia, had been renamed Bratislava. As of that year, the name of the pastry was adapted in line with the city’s new name, hence ‘Bratislavský rožok’. After the city’s new name was adopted, the word Kipfel began to be used in Austria, instead of the usual Beugel, combined with the city’s old name. The name originally used in Hungarian was Pozsonyi patkó, which translates as ‘Bratislava horseshoe’. According to current information from several Hungarian bakers or confectioners, particularly in Budapest, this product is produced and marketed under the name ‘Pozsonyi kifli’, which translates into Slovak as ‘Bratislavský rožok’, Pozsony being the city’s original name, as used until 1918. In view of the established customs, we propose that the name ‘Pozsonyi kifli’ be retained.

3.2.   Whether the name:

☒ has been traditionally used to refer to the specific product

☐ identifies the traditional character or specific character of the product

The product is specific in terms of its historically established composition and method of production. The term ‘Bratislavský rožok’ is used exclusively to denote this particular type of fine baker’s ware or pastry.

The specific character of the product lies in its distinctive surface, which is marbled, i.e. finely mottled with lighter colouring than the rest of the upper crust. The surfaces of other baker’s and confectioner’s wares are not finished in this way:

| — | the product differs from similar types of fine baker’s wares or pastries on the market by virtue of its shape and weight, but also the quantity of filling. The dough has more fat added to it than other products, and no other type of fine pastry has marbling on its surface; |
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the product differs from similar types of fine baker’s wares or pastries on the market by virtue of its shape and weight, but also the quantity of filling. The dough has more fat added to it than other products, and no other type of fine pastry has marbling on its surface;

| — | the product has a specific aroma and flavour, deriving from the poppyseed or walnut filling used; |
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the product has a specific aroma and flavour, deriving from the poppyseed or walnut filling used;

| — | the product has a distinctive appearance and a horseshoe or letter C shape. |
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the product has a distinctive appearance and a horseshoe or letter C shape.

To preserve the traditional character of the product, the following recipe requirements must be met when it is prepared:

| — | the dough must have a fat-to-flour ratio of at least 30 %; |
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the dough must have a fat-to-flour ratio of at least 30 %;

| — | the filling must account for at least 40 % of the total weight of the baked product; |
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the filling must account for at least 40 % of the total weight of the baked product;

| — | whole egg or egg yolk must be brushed on to the product before it is baked so that the baked product has a marbled surface. |
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whole egg or egg yolk must be brushed on to the product before it is baked so that the baked product has a marbled surface.

4.   Description

4.1.   Description of the product to which the name under point 1 applies, including its main physical, chemical, microbiological or organoleptic characteristics showing the product’s specific character (Article 7(2) of this Regulation)

Fine baker’s ware or pastry with poppyseed or walnut filling and a glossy marbled surface.

Organoleptic characteristics

Colour: brown to dark brown crust; on the cut surface, after a few millimetres of rough pastry case there is filling only – the poppyseed filling is dark grey to black, and the walnut filling is brown;

Appearance: a uniform glossy brown to dark brown surface with delicate mottling in a lighter shade, resembling marbling, on the upper crust;

Texture: firm, delicate casing which crumbles when broken;

Odour and taste: delicate, typical of the filling used (i.e. typically walnut or poppyseed flavour), pleasantly sweet taste with an aroma of the ingredients used.

Physical characteristics

Shape: horseshoe shape, tapering towards the ends, for the poppyseed filling, and a letter C shape for the walnut filling;

Weight: usually 40-70 g.

4.2.   Description of the production method of the product to which the name under point 1 applies that the producers must follow including, where appropriate, the nature and characteristics of the raw materials or ingredients used, and the method by which the product is prepared (Article 7(2) of this Regulation)

The main raw materials used to make the dough are: wheat flour, fat (table margarine, puff-pastry margarine, butter, lard, etc.), sugar, salt, yeast, eggs, powdered milk, vanilla or vanillin sugar, lemon peel or dried lemon peel and water; cinnamon sugar may also be used. The dough must have a fat-to-flour ratio of at least 30 % and the filling must account for at least 40 % of the finished product’s weight.

The walnut filling is usually made by adding granulated sugar (or honey), sweet breadcrumbs, vanilla or vanillin sugar and cinnamon sugar to chopped walnuts and mixing them together with hot water or milk.

The poppyseed filling is usually made by adding granulated sugar (or honey), sweet breadcrumbs and vanilla or vanillin sugar to ground poppyseed and mixing them together with hot water or milk.

Jam (plum or apricot) or raisins may be added to the filling to improve its flavour.

Production method

The dough is prepared by mixing the flour with water, or water to which powdered milk has been added, yeast, salt, sugar and edible fat. The fat may be mixed with the flour first, the other raw materials being added later. The mixed dough is left to rise for 30-40 minutes. After the dough has visibly increased in volume, it is kneaded again briefly and then separated into pieces which are formed into balls. After rising for 15-20 minutes, these are rolled out into elliptical strips measuring 12-15 cm along their longer axis. The thickness of the rolled pastry strip must be 2 to 3 mm. Cylindrical pieces of poppyseed or walnut filling are placed on the rolled pastry strips and wrapped to form cylinders 12 to 15 cm long, gradually tapering towards the ends. When the filling is wrapped, the dough should be joined evenly and the point at which the join is made must be on the underside of the product when it is shaped into a crescent on the baking tray. The product is formed into a horseshoe shape if it has a poppyseed filling, or into the shape of a letter C if it has a walnut filling. The shapes must be sufficiently different for it to be clear at a glance which filling they contain.

The poppyseed filling is prepared by boiling or scalding poppyseed in hot water (the volume of liquid equating to 35-40 % of the amount of poppyseed). Sugar is dissolved in a small quantity of water and brought to the boil (honey may be used instead of sugar). Ground poppyseed mixed with powdered milk, sweet breadcrumbs and raisins is gradually added to the dissolved sugar under constant stirring and boiled to produce a fairly thick paste. After the poppyseed filling has cooled and thickened, grated fresh lemon peel or lemon paste is added to enhance its flavour, together with cinnamon and a small amount of vanilla sugar where necessary. The walnut filling is not cooked, but ground walnuts are simply mixed with sugar (or honey), raisins, powdered milk, hot water, vanilla sugar or vanillin sugar and ground cinnamon. Up to 10 % by weight of the chopped walnuts or ground poppyseed in the filling may be replaced by sweet breadcrumbs.

Both fillings must be thick enough after cooling for small rolls to be formed by hand.

The shaped products are placed on a baking tray and brushed with whole egg or egg yolk only. The egg-brushed products on the trays are left in a cool place with air circulation so that the egg on their surface dries slightly. Once the surface has dried and they have risen slightly, they are brushed again with egg wash, allowed to dry and then placed in a proving oven. When they have risen, they are baked as fine yeast-based pastry products. During rising, and particularly during baking, the dried egg wash on the surface becomes slightly crackled, creating the typical marbled structure of the product’s upper crust.

The products are baked without steam at 170-220 °C.

The baking time depends on the size of the products. For products weighing 40-50 g, the time is 10-12 minutes, and for those weighing 50-70 g it is 15-20 minutes.

After cooling, the baked products are prepared for dispatch and sale.

Technical losses due to baking amount to around 10 %, depending on the weight of the product and the consistency of the filling.

Labelling: the highlighted product name ‘Bratislavský rožok’ or the equivalent in Hungarian; the Community logo or the logo and the inscription Zaručená tradičná špecialita (Traditional speciality guaranteed). The abbreviation ZTŠ (TSG) may appear on the packaging. The font size of the logo must be no less than 15 mm.

Method and place of sale: ‘Bratislavský rožok’ is sold by the piece in the producer’s specialist outlets or in confectioners’ shops, cafés and fast-food outlets. For non-prepacked products, the ZTŠ (TSG) logo may appear on a price marker close to the product name, or on an information panel close to the products.

Storage: at room temperature.

Depending on the amount of yeast used, the product keeps for 3-10 days.

The product is made by hand and not mass-produced.

It must not be produced as a frozen par-baked semi-finished product which is then defrosted and finished in the oven; it must always be baked fresh.

4.3.   Description of the key elements establishing the product’s traditional character (Article 7(2) of this Regulation)

The traditional character of the product is based on its traditional composition, i.e. the filling must account for at least 40 % of the total weight of the finished product.

A product with the specific name has been made for more than two centuries in the neighbouring countries of Hungary and Austria, with which Slovakia shared a single constitution getting on for 90 years ago.

Vladimír Tomčík’s book S vareškou dvoma tisícročiami (Tracing two thousand years with a cooking spoon) quotes entries from ledgers indicating that ‘Bratislavský rožok’ was being served at inns in 1590, although the secret of its production is much older.

It is stated on page 305 of the publication Ulice a námestia mesta Bratislavy (The streets and squares of Bratislava) by Tivadar Ortvay, published in Bratislava in 1905, that not far from Viktor Mayer’s confectionery shop, the old Scheuermann bakery (now Lauda) bakes poppyseed and walnut horseshoes, specialities for which Bratislava has become famous [Ulice a námestia mesta Bratislavy, the text continues as follows: The city’s history according to the names of its streets and squares, based on original research, written by Dr Tivadar Ortvay, Bratislava, 1905; printed by F.K. Wigand]. Pages 304 and 305 of the book listed in Annex 1 in Hungarian mention the Scheuermann bakery in connection with what is now Hviezdoslavovo námestie. The relevant part of the text reads: ‘Nearby there is the old Scheuermann (now Lauda) bakery that makes poppyseed and walnut horseshoes and which established Bratislava’s fame for this speciality. The Bratislava rusk (bratislavský suchár) is another of these specialities ...’.

On page 52 of Chlieb náš každodenný (Our daily bread) by V. Szemes and V. Karovič, published in Bratislava in 1992, it is stated that: ‘For St Nicholas’ Day in 1785 the baker Schiermann placed in his shop window a new kind of filled pastry which went down in history as the prešpurské beugle’. We regard the difference in the names Scheuermann and Schiermann as a typographical error; the correct spelling is Scheuermann.

‘Bratislavský rožok’ was subsequently made by several bakers in Bratislava. One of the best known was Ágoston Schwappach, whose bakery was founded in 1834 and used to sell poppyseed and walnut horseshoes. Two of the successors to the ‘Bratislavský rožok’ producers Scheuermann and Lauda were the master baker Johann Korče (1851-1919), who was a knight of the Order of Franz Josef, and his son, the master baker Hans Korče. The Korče family was succeeded by Emil Kastner.

The Gustáv Wendler bakery in Štefánikova ulica in Bratislava, which also sent ‘Bratislavský rožok’ by post, was also well known.

In the former Bratislava journal Pressburger Wegweiser of 1863, the Anton Pressberger baker’s and confectioner’s business advertises, amongst other things, ‘poppyseed and walnut beugle’.

The Viennese newspaper Neue Freie Presse of 16 April 1938 has a recipe for ‘Pressburger Kipfel – Bratislavské rožky’. The recipe and production method described are almost identical to those used today.

Terézia Vansová and Ján Babilon also described ‘Bratislavský rožok’ in their book in 1870.

A succession of bakers and confectioners have made ‘Bratislavský rožok’ in several European cities, particularly in Austria, the Czech Republic and Hungary. According to information gathered from bakery experts in other countries, a product bearing the name ‘Bratislavský rožok’ is made in several cities, or its shape, approximate recipe and production method is at least known. Practical training in the making of the ‘Bratislavský rožok’ was given at vocational colleges of bakery and confectionery in the former Czechoslovakia, particularly after 1950. The name ‘Bratislavský rožok’ began to be used in 1918, after the founding of Czechoslovakia and the re-naming of the city from the original Pressburg or Pozsony to Bratislava. The name of the product also changed. The original name Beugel was in Hungarian turned into patkó, meaning ‘horseshoe’. The term rožok apparently began to be used together with the new name of the city. In Hungary, the name ‘Pozsonyi kifli’ (‘Bratislavský rožok’), i.e. the old name for the city with the new name for the shape, is used to the present day. In Austria, too, the name ‘Pressburger Kipfel’ is used more often and the term Beugel is rarely heard.

With its history behind it, ‘Bratislavský rožok’ remains popular to the present day. According to estimates, it is made regularly by more than 20 bakeries and confectioners and at least once a week by dozens more producers in Slovakia.

In 1999 and 2005, the Slovenské družstvo pekárov [Slovak bakers’ cooperative] included ‘Bratislavský rožok’ amongst the competition products presented in the final of the Lesaffre Cup in Paris, and they were highly commended by the judges.

At the beginning of 2007, an international competition for the best ‘Bratislavský rožok’ was held for the first time in history as part of the Danubius Gastro exhibition in Bratislava, attracting nine teams from three countries (front page of Bratislavské noviny, 25 January 2007).

Bratislava newspapers and several nationwide periodicals ran a series of articles about the competition.

On 25 July 2008, the daily Nový čas ran an article on ‘Bratislavský rožok’. The article also contains a traditional recipe from 1938, and the description of the shape of the product states that: ‘... when it has a poppyseed filling, it is formed into a horseshoe shape, and when it has a walnut filling, it is shaped into a letter C.’.

An article entitled ‘Bratislavský rožok – tradícia s dlhou históriou’ (Bratislavský rožok – a long tradition) on p. 52 of Epicure magazine states that ‘with a poppyseed filling the product is formed into a horseshoe, and with a walnut filling it has the shape of a letter C’.

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(1)  OJ L 179, 19.6.2014, p. 17.

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Corrigenda

| 10.10.2019 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 342/42 |
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10.10.2019

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 342/42

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Corrigendum to Publication of the amended single document following the approval of a minor amendment pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 53(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council

(Official Journal of the European Union C 266 of 8 August 2019)

(2019/C 342/14)

On page 8, point 3.2, ‘Peroxide value’:

for:

‘Peroxide value: not more than 0,2 meq O2/kg oil’,

read:

‘Peroxide value: not more than 15 meq O2/kg oil’.

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