EXME 14 / 06.01

DAILY NEWS

06 / 01 / 14

European Union to lead international counter piracy efforts in 2014

From the 1st of January 2014 the European Union will assume for one year the chairmanship of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS) with Maciej Popowski, Deputy Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) as EU chairperson. The chairmanship of the Contact Group is a joint endeavour of the EEAS and the European Commission and will continue the work carried out in 2013 under the chairmanship of the United States. While the number of hostages has gone down from more than 700 in 2011 to around 50 today, the European Union is strongly committed to bringing this number down to zero: zero ships and zero seafarers in the hands of Somali pirates.

Other news

Mergers: Commission continues inquiry into planned acquisition of Cemex West by Holcim in cement industry and does not refer case to Germany

The European Commission has rejected a request from Germany to refer the planned acquisition of Cemex West by the Swiss building materials group Holcim to the German competition authority for assessment under national competition law. The Commission concluded that the geographic scope of the affected cement markets is wider than national and that therefore the Commission cannot refer the assessment of the transaction to Germany. The Commission has until 31 March 2014 to take a final decision.

Mergers: Commission clears acquisition of sole control over team by DLG

The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of a controlling stake in team AG of Germany by DLG a.m.b.a. of Denmark. The rest of the company's shareholding is fragmented and stakes are mainly held by numerous private individuals. Team is active in in the energy and building materials sector. DLG buys and sells grain, feed, fertiliser, crop protection, premix, minerals, etc. to farmers and agricultural companies. DLG is also active in the energy and building materials sector. The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would not raise competition concerns, because the overlaps between the parties' activities in the markets concerned are limited. The transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure. competitionwebsite, in the public case registerunder the case number M. 7003

Mergers: Commission clears acquisition of Dong Energy by Goldman Sachs and Denmark

The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of joint control over DONG Energy A/S of Denmark by the Kingdom of Denmark and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. of the US. DONG is currently controlled by the Danish State. Denmark is currently active inter alia in energy markets via DONG. Goldman Sachs is active globally in investment banking, institutional client services, investing and lending and investment management. DONG is active in Northern Europe in the markets for oil and natural gas exploration and production, development, construction and operation of offshore wind farms, electricity and heat generation from power plants, and the sale, distribution and trading of electricity and natural gas. The Commission found that the proposed transaction would not give raise to competition concerns, in particular because the overlaps between the parties' activities are very limited. The transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure. competitionwebsite in the public case registerunder the case number M.7068.


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