do-me/EUR-LEX huggingface dataset:
Case C-544/17 P: Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 7 November 2018 — BPC Lux 2 Sàrl v European Commission, Portuguese Republic (Appeal — State aid — Action for annulment — Admissibility — Aid granted by the Portuguese authorities for the resolution of the financial institution Banco Espírito Santo SA — Creation and capitalisation of a Bridge Bank — Decision of the European Commission declaring the aid compatible with the internal market — Interest in bringing proceedings — Action before the national courts seeking annulment of the decision to put Banco Espírito Santo into resolution)
Date: 2018-11-07
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: Portugal, State aid, aid for restructuring, aid to undertakings, bank, control of State aid








C_2019016EN.01002401.xml










14.1.2019   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 16/24






Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 7 November 2018 — BPC Lux 2 Sàrl v European Commission, Portuguese Republic
(Case C-544/17 P) (1)

((Appeal - State aid - Action for annulment - Admissibility - Aid granted by the Portuguese authorities for the resolution of the financial institution Banco Espírito Santo SA - Creation and capitalisation of a Bridge Bank - Decision of the European Commission declaring the aid compatible with the internal market - Interest in bringing proceedings - Action before the national courts seeking annulment of the decision to put Banco Espírito Santo into resolution))
(2019/C 16/29)
Language of the case: English

Parties


Appellant: BPC Lux 2 Sàrl (represented by: J. Webber and M. Steenson, Solicitors, B. Woolgar, Barrister, and K. Bacon QC)

Other parties to the proceedings: European Commission (represented by: L. Flynn and P.-J. Loewenthal, acting as Agents), Portuguese Republic

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:






1.


Sets aside the order of the General Court of the European Union of 19 July 2017, BPC Lux 2 and Others v Commission (T-812/14, not published, EU:T:2017:560);










2.


Refers the case back to the General Court of the European Union;










3.


Reserves the costs.






(1)  OJ C 402, 27.11.2017.
Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/1688 of 7 November 2018 granting derogations to Slovakia as regards the provision of statistics pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1099/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on energy statistics (notified under document C(2018) 7304) (Text with EEA relevance.)
Date: 2018-11-07
Institutions: European Commission, Eurostat
Subjects: EU statistics, Slovakia, data processing, derogation from EU law, energy consumption, industrial waste, renewable resources








L_2018279EN.01003801.xml










9.11.2018   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


L 279/38








            COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION (EU) 2018/1688
of 7 November 2018
         
granting derogations to Slovakia as regards the provision of statistics pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1099/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on energy statistics


(notified under document C(2018) 7304)


(Only the Slovak text is authentic)
(Text with EEA relevance)


THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,


Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1099/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2008 on energy statistics (1), and in particular Articles 5(4) and 10(2) thereof,

Whereas:







(1)


A request has been submitted by Slovakia for obtaining derogations from the obligation to transmit to the Commission (Eurostat) the national statistics referred to in Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1099/2008. That request concerned the provision of statistics on the renewable portion of industrial waste and ambient heat.












(2)


The information provided by Slovakia justifies that the collection of such statistics would lead to an excessive burden on respondents in that Member State, namely because it is necessary to adjust the new classifications and develop a new methodology in their national statistics to reduce burden on respondents derived from the collection and compilation of the requested data. Therefore, the derogations should be granted.












(3)


The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the European Statistical System Committee,





HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:



Article 1
Slovakia shall be granted the following derogations from the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1099/2008:






(a)


from producing results for reference year 2017 for item 5.2.11.6 of Annex B on renewable energy statistics;










(b)


from producing results for reference years 2017, 2018 and 2019 for items 5.2.3, 5.2.6, 5.2.8.1, 5.2.8.2 and 5.2.8.5 of Annex B on renewable energy statistics (covering all aggregates for the products defined in point 3.5.8.1.7 ‘Renewable portion of industrial waste’ and point 3.5.9 ‘Ambient heat’ of Annex A).






Article 2
This Decision is addressed to the Slovak Republic.




Done at Brussels, 7 November 2018.


For the Commission

Marianne THYSSEN
            

Member of the Commission






(1)  
            OJ L 304, 14.11.2008, p. 1.
Euro exchange rates
Date: 2018-11-07
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: euro, exchange rate, money








C_2018401EN.01000401.xml










7.11.2018   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 401/4






Euro exchange rates (1)

6 November 2018
(2018/C 401/05)

1 euro =











 


Currency


Exchange rate




USD


US dollar


1,1428 




JPY


Japanese yen


129,31 




DKK


Danish krone


7,4593 




GBP


Pound sterling


0,87313 




SEK


Swedish krona


10,3470 




CHF


Swiss franc


1,1460 




ISK


Iceland króna


137,90 




NOK


Norwegian krone


9,5448 




BGN


Bulgarian lev


1,9558 




CZK


Czech koruna


25,833 




HUF


Hungarian forint


322,06 




PLN


Polish zloty


4,3088 




RON


Romanian leu


4,6647 




TRY


Turkish lira


6,1246 




AUD


Australian dollar


1,5789 




CAD


Canadian dollar


1,4996 




HKD


Hong Kong dollar


8,9510 




NZD


New Zealand dollar


1,7105 




SGD


Singapore dollar


1,5693 




KRW


South Korean won


1 280,90 




ZAR


South African rand


16,2351 




CNY


Chinese yuan renminbi


7,9015 




HRK


Croatian kuna


7,4383 




IDR


Indonesian rupiah


16 916,30 




MYR


Malaysian ringgit


4,7604 




PHP


Philippine peso


60,482 




RUB


Russian rouble


75,3169 




THB


Thai baht


37,644 




BRL


Brazilian real


4,2833 




MXN


Mexican peso


22,7736 




INR


Indian rupee


83,3785 






(1)  Source: reference exchange rate published by the ECB.
Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.9131 — Blackstone/Telereal Trillium/Real Estate JV) — Candidate case for simplified procedure (Text with EEA relevance.)
Date: 2018-11-07
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: economic concentration, investment company, merger control, real estate business, town and country planning








C_2018401EN.01001301.xml










7.11.2018   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 401/13






Prior notification of a concentration
(Case M.9131 — Blackstone/Telereal Trillium/Real Estate JV)
Candidate case for simplified procedure
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2018/C 401/11)

1.   
On 26 October 2018, the Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1).
This notification concerns the following undertakings:






—


The Blackstone Group L.P. (‘Blackstone’, USA);










—


Tele-Finance Holdings Limited (‘Telereal Trillium’, United Kingdom); and










—


the commercial estate business of Network Rail Infrastructure Limited (the ‘Real Estate JV’, United Kingdom).




Blackstone and Telereal Trillium acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation joint control of the Real Estate JV. The concentration is accomplished by way of contract.


2.   
The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:
—   for Blackstone: global asset manager, headquartered in the USA with offices in Europe and Asia, operating as an investment management firm;
—   for Telereal Trillium: property management company operating in property partnerships, investment, development and strategic land;
—   for the Real Estate JV: the commercial estate business of Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which is a public sector body that manages Britain’s railway infrastructure in England, Wales and Scotland.


3.   
On preliminary examination, the Commission finds that the notified transaction could fall within the scope of the Merger Regulation. However, the final decision on this point is reserved.
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.   
The Commission invites interested third parties to submit their possible observations on the proposed operation to the Commission.
Observations must reach the Commission not later than 10 days following the date of this publication. The following reference should always be specified:
M.9131 — Blackstone/Telereal Trillium/Real Estate 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







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

(2)  OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.
New national side of euro coins intended for circulation
Date: 2018-11-07
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Belgium, commemoration, euro, issuing of currency








C_2018401EN.01000501.xml










7.11.2018   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 401/5






New national side of euro coins intended for circulation
(2018/C 401/06)


National side of the new commemorative 2-euro coin intended for circulation and issued by Belgium

Euro coins intended for circulation have legal tender status throughout the euro area. For informing the public and all parties who handle the coins, the Commission publishes a description of the designs of all new coins (1). In accordance with the Council conclusions of 10 February 2009 (2), euro-area Member States and countries that have concluded a monetary agreement with the European Union providing for the issuance of euro coins are authorised to issue commemorative euro coins intended for circulation, provided that certain conditions are met, one of these being that only the 2-euro denomination is used. These coins have the same technical characteristics as other 2-euro coins, but their national face features a commemorative design that is highly symbolic in national or European terms.


Issuing country
: Belgium


Subject of commemoration
: The 50th anniversary of the ESRO 2B satellite


Description of the design
: The design shows the ESRO 2B satellite, the first successful satellite of the European Space Research Organization and launched in May 1968, circling around planet Earth. The ESRO 2B, also renamed as ‘IRIS’ (International Radiation Investigation Satellite) once in orbit, was concentrated on solar X-rays, cosmic radiation and Earth’s radiation belts.
The mintmark of Utrecht (the Mercury’s wand) is located on the bottom together with the Belgian mint master mark, the coat of arms of the municipality Herzele, the country code BE and the initials LL referring to the designer of the coin, Mr Luc Luycx.
The coin’s outer ring depicts the 12 stars of the European flag.


Number of coins to be issued
: 260 000 coins


Date of issue
: October 2018


(1)  See OJ C 373, 28.12.2001, p. 1 for the national faces of all the coins issued in 2002.

(2)  See the conclusions of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council of 10 February 2009 and the Commission Recommendation of 19 December 2008 on common guidelines for the national sides and the issuance of euro coins intended for circulation (OJ L 9, 14.1.2009, p. 52).
Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.8744 — Daimler/BMW/Car Sharing JV) (Text with EEA relevance.)
Date: 2018-11-07
Institutions: Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
Subjects: cycle and motorcycle industry, economic concentration, merger control, motor vehicle industry








C_2019142EN.01001901.xml










23.4.2019   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 142/19






Non-opposition to a notified concentration
(Case M.8744 — Daimler/BMW/Car Sharing JV)
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2019/C 142/02)
On 7 November 2018, 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) in conjunction with Article 6(2) 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 electronic form on the EUR-Lex website (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html?locale=en) under document number 32018M8744. EUR-Lex is the online access to European law.






(1)  OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1.
New national side of euro coins intended for circulation
Date: 2018-11-07
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Malta, commemoration, euro, issuing of currency








C_2018401EN.01000601.xml










7.11.2018   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 401/6






New national side of euro coins intended for circulation
(2018/C 401/07)


National side of the new commemorative 2-euro coin intended for circulation and issued by Malta

Euro coins intended for circulation have legal tender status throughout the euro area. For the purpose of informing the public and all parties who handle the coins, the Commission publishes a description of the designs of all new coins (1). In accordance with the Council conclusions of 10 February 2009 (2), euro-area Member States and countries that have concluded a monetary agreement with the European Union providing for the issuing of euro coins are allowed to issue commemorative euro coins intended for circulation, provided that certain conditions are met, particularly that only the 2-euro denomination is used. These coins have the same technical characteristics as other 2-euro coins, but their national face features a commemorative design that is highly symbolic in national or European terms.


Issuing country
: Malta


Subject of commemoration
: Cultural Heritage


Description of the design
: The design was created by a school student and depicts a variety of themes intrinsic to Maltese heritage including: an allusion to the prehistoric temples, which are the world’s oldest free-standing structures, a church dome and spire, which is a characteristic feature of the Maltese town and village skyline and a representation of a traditional Maltese boat carrying a Maltese flag. The name of the issuing country ‘Malta’ is at the top of the inner circle of the coin and the year ‘2018’ at the bottom.
The coin’s outer ring depicts the 12 stars of the European flag.


Number of coins to be issued
: 320 000

Date of issue
: November 2018


(1)  See OJ C 373, 28.12.2001, p. 1 for the national faces of all the coins issued in 2002.

(2)  See the conclusions of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council of 10 February 2009 and the Commission Recommendation of 19 December 2008 on common guidelines for the national sides and the issuance of euro coins intended for circulation (OJ L 9, 14.1.2009, p. 52).
Case C-257/17: Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 7 November 2018 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Raad van State — Netherlands) — C, A v Staatssecretaris van Veiligheid en Justitie (Reference for a preliminary ruling — Jurisdiction of the Court — Directive 2003/86/EC — Right to family reunification — Article 15 — Refusal to grant an autonomous residence permit — National legislation providing for a requirement to pass a civic integration examination)
Date: 2018-11-07
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: family, family migration, foreign national, integration of migrants, jurisdiction, residence permit








C_2019016EN.01001201.xml










14.1.2019   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 16/12






Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 7 November 2018 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Raad van State — Netherlands) — C, A v Staatssecretaris van Veiligheid en Justitie
(Case C-257/17) (1)

((Reference for a preliminary ruling - Jurisdiction of the Court - Directive 2003/86/EC - Right to family reunification - Article 15 - Refusal to grant an autonomous residence permit - National legislation providing for a requirement to pass a civic integration examination))
(2019/C 16/14)
Language of the case: Dutch

Referring court

Raad van State

Parties to the main proceedings


Appellants: C, A

Respondent: Staatssecretaris van Veiligheid en Justitie

Operative part of the judgment







1.


The Court of Justice has jurisdiction, on the basis of Article 267 TFEU, to interpret Article 15 of Council Directive 2003/86/EC of 22 September 2003 on the right to family reunification in situations such as those at issue in the main proceedings, where a national court is called upon to rule on the grant of an autonomous residence permit to a third country national, who is a family member of an EU citizen who has not exercised his right of free movement, if that provision was made directly and unconditionally applicable to such situations under national law.










2.


Article 15(1) and (4) of Directive 2003/86 does not preclude national legislation which permits an application for an autonomous residence permit, lodged by a third country national who has resided over five years in a Member State by virtue of family reunification, to be rejected on the ground that he has not shown that he has passed a civic integration test on the language and society of that Member State provided that the detailed rules for the requirement to pass that examination do not go beyond what is necessary to attain the objective of facilitating the integration of those third country nationals.










3.


Article 15(1) and (4) of Directive 2003/86 does not preclude national legislation which provides that an autonomous residence permit cannot be issued earlier than the date on which it was applied for.






(1)  OJ C 269, 14.8.2017.
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1661 of 7 November 2018 amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1210/2003 concerning certain specific restrictions on economic and financial relations with Iraq
Date: 2018-11-07
Institutions: European Commission, Service for Foreign Policy Instruments
Subjects: EU restrictive measure, Iraq, economic sanctions, international sanctions, legal person, trade restriction








L_2018278EN.01001601.xml










8.11.2018   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


L 278/16








            COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2018/1661
of 7 November 2018
         
amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1210/2003 concerning certain specific restrictions on economic and financial relations with Iraq


THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,


Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1210/2003 of 7 July 2003 concerning certain specific restrictions on economic and financial relations with Iraq and repealing Regulation (EC) No 2465/96 (1), and in particular Article 11(b) thereof,

Whereas:







(1)


Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 1210/2003 lists public bodies, corporations and agencies and natural and legal persons, bodies and entities of the previous government of Iraq covered by the freezing of funds and economic resources that were located outside Iraq on the date of 22 May 2003 under that Regulation.












(2)


On 2 November 2018, the Sanctions Committee of the United Nations Security Council decided to remove one entry from the list of persons or entities to whom the freezing of funds and economic resources should apply.












(3)


Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 1210/2003 should therefore be amended accordingly,





HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:



Article 1
Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 1210/2003 is amended as set out in the Annex to this Regulation.


Article 2
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.




This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 7 November 2018.


For the Commission,


On behalf of the President,


Head of the Service for Foreign Policy Instruments






(1)  
            OJ L 169, 8.7.2003, p. 6.




ANNEX
In Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 1210/2003, the following entry is deleted:







‘76.


MAYSAN SUGAR STATE ENTERPRISE. Addresses: (a) P.O. Box 9, Amara, Maysan, Iraq; (b) P.O. Box 3028, Maysan, Iraq.’
Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.9160 — Centerbridge/Hospital Topco) — Candidate case for simplified procedure (Text with EEA relevance.)
Date: 2018-11-07
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: economic concentration, health care, holding company, investment company, merger control, real estate business








C_2018401EN.01001201.xml










7.11.2018   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 401/12






Prior notification of a concentration
(Case M.9160 — Centerbridge/Hospital Topco)
Candidate case for simplified procedure
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2018/C 401/10)

1.   
On 29 October 2018, the Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1).
This notification concerns the following undertakings:






—


Centerbridge Partners, L.P. (‘Centerbridge’, United States of America),










—


Hospital Topco Limited (‘Hospital Topco’, United Kingdom).




Centerbridge acquires within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation sole control of the whole of Hospital Topco.
The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares.


2.   
The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:
—   for Centerbridge: investment management firm focused on private equity and distressed investment opportunities,
—   for Hospital Topco: parent company of the healthcare group that carries out its operations under the BMI Healthcare brand, and the property interest holding companies.


3.   
On preliminary examination, the Commission finds that the notified transaction could fall within the scope of the Merger Regulation. However, the final decision on this point is reserved.
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.   
The Commission invites interested third parties to submit their possible observations on the proposed operation to the Commission.
Observations must reach the Commission not later than 10 days following the date of this publication. The following reference should always be specified:
M.9160 — Centerbridge/Hospital Topco
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







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

(2)  OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.