7.12.2020

Official Journal of the European Union

C 422/1

Non-opposition to a notified concentration

(Case M.9868 — Raytheon Technologies Corporation/Saudi Arabian Oil Company/Middle East Cyber Services JV)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2020/C 422/01)

On 10 July 2020, 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 electronic form on the EUR-Lex website (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html?locale=en) under document number 32020M9868. EUR-Lex is the on-line access to European law.

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

7.12.2020

Official Journal of the European Union

C 422/2

Non-opposition to a notified concentration

(Case M.9884 — Thoma Bravo/Madison Dearborn Partners/Axiom)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2020/C 422/02)

On 23 July 2020, 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 electronic form on the EUR-Lex website (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html?locale=en) under document number 32020M9884. EUR-Lex is the on-line access to European law.

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

7.12.2020

Official Journal of the European Union

C 422/3

Non-opposition to a notified concentration

(Case M.9799 — Goldman Sachs/Summa Equity/EcoOnline)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2020/C 422/03)

On 17 April 2020, 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 electronic form on the EUR-Lex website (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html?locale=en) under document number 32020M9799. EUR-Lex is the on-line access to European law.

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

7.12.2020

Official Journal of the European Union

C 422/4

Non-opposition to a notified concentration

(Case M.9903 — SoftBank Group/Mizuho Financial Group/One Tap BUY)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2020/C 422/04)

On 6 August 2020, 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 electronic form on the EUR-Lex website (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html?locale=en) under document number 32020M9903. EUR-Lex is the on-line access to European law.

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

7.12.2020

Official Journal of the European Union

C 422/5

Non-opposition to a notified concentration

(Case M.9858 — Bosch Group/ELCO Group/JV)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2020/C 422/05)

On 11 August 2020, 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 electronic form on the EUR-Lex website (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html?locale=en) under document number 32020M9858. EUR-Lex is the on-line access to European law.

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

7.12.2020

Official Journal of the European Union

C 422/6

Non-opposition to a notified concentration

(Case M.10011 — ORIX/Cambourne/ORIX India Wind/GEH Assets)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2020/C 422/06)

On 1 December 2020, 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 electronic form on the EUR-Lex website (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html?locale=en) under document number 32020M10011. EUR-Lex is the on-line access to European law.

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

7.12.2020

Official Journal of the European Union

C 422/7

Non-opposition to a notified concentration

(Case M.9989 — BB Holding Investment/Duferdofin-Nucor)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2020/C 422/07)

On 24 November 2020, 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 electronic form on the EUR-Lex website (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html?locale=en) under document number 32020M9989. EUR-Lex is the on-line access to European law.

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

7.12.2020

Official Journal of the European Union

C 422/8

Council conclusions on safeguarding a free and pluralistic media system

(2020/C 422/08)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

RECALLING THE REFERENCES AS SET OUT IN THE ANNEX,

RECALLING THE CURRENT POLICY CONTEXT IN WHICH:

—	especially during times of crisis a sustainable (A), pluralistic (B) and trustworthy (C) media system is of utmost importance,

—	the COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the vulnerability of the media sector in the EU, which has been disrupted by the collapse of its main sources of advertising revenues, while at the same time the demand for reliable information and content has significantly increased,

—	globalisation and digitalisation have created a media environment characterised by online platforms that have become the gateways through which a global audience gains cross-border access to an abundance of media content and services, competing for users’ limited attention;

A. Sustainability

ACKNOWLEDGES THAT:

the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated some of the main challenges that the media sector has already been facing for quite some time including the following:

—

sharp declines in revenues, experienced especially by local, regional and traditional media outlets and increasing challenges to the overall sustainability of the media sector. This is a sector largely comprised of companies which are an expression of Europe’s cultural and linguistic diversity, but often do not have the size or financial weight to operate in pan-European and global markets,

—

the data-driven business models used by online platforms (i.e. content recommendation engines, personalisation of content and all forms of targeted advertising) are increasingly outpacing the media’s financing models. The spending on digital advertising on platforms is expected to exceed the spending on advertising on traditional media in the near future;

media service providers invest in content production and are subject to strict responsibilities, while online platforms, giving access to third party content, often monetise it without having to fulfil the same obligations. This can cause a lack of a level playing field which can give some market players competitive advantages;

there is a need to recall the importance of the key principles of financing media content which underpin the whole value chain and safeguard media pluralism. For example, territorial and exclusive allocation of licensing rights can often be crucial for the audiovisual media sector. The development of new innovative business models is also of great importance;

4.	the Union’s financial interest shall be protected in accordance with the general principles embedded in the Union Treaties, in particular the values of Article 2 TEU;

INVITES THE EU MEMBER STATES TO:

provide an adequate and independent framework for economical sustainability of the national media landscape, including State aid, to support a recovery from the crisis and thus ensure a pluralistic media system in the long run. Any state funding or subsidisation should be based on predetermined, objective and transparent criteria, independent from any political influence;

examine other possible options and incentives at national level in order to facilitate additional support for the recovery of the media sector;

INVITES THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION TO:

mitigate the negative effects of the pandemic on the media sector (in particular on media pluralism) by complementing national State aid efforts and creating effective synergies between European initiatives including the MFF, the ‘Next Generation Europe’ recovery instrument and other relevant EU programmes as appropriate;

inform stakeholders of relevant EU funding opportunities for the creative and media sectors through an EU-wide online portal;

continuously evaluate State aid rules and ensure the proper implementation of EU rules applicable to State aid in the media sector;

10.

in order to facilitate support from national authorities, evaluate the application of State aid rules for the press sector, with a view to make suitable adaptations, for example within the Block Exemption Regulation. Those rules should under no circumstance allow or justify any direct or indirect state interference with the editorial independence of the media;

11.

strengthen the resilience of the media sector, which has been badly affected by the crisis, stimulate its adaptation to address the digital and the green transformation and foster the availability of diverse and independent media content in a fair and competitive media environment through the Media and Audiovisual Action Plan;

12.

refine the responsibilities of online platforms within the Digital Services Act. Any new specific obligations for online platforms should be adequate and proportionate and duly consider the possible impacts on the level playing field and safeguarding media pluralism. New horizontal EU legal acts should be coherent with sector-specific legal instruments in force, such as the Audiovisual Media Services Directive and the Copyright Directive;

INVITES THE MEMBER STATES AND THE COMMISSION, WITHIN THEIR RESPECTIVE SPHERES OF COMPETENCE AND WITH DUE REGARD FOR THE PRINCIPLE OF SUBSIDIARITY, TO:

13.

ensure a legal and economic framework that allows media service providers to sufficiently monetise their content by

—	supporting and stimulating the development of new, sustainable and collaborative business models, in particular for local, regional and traditional media outlets,

—	acknowledging the importance of advertising for the media sector and its crucial role in ensuring users’ free access to information,

—	evaluating advertising regulation and related data protection measures in the digital age to ensure that they facilitate the financing of media content,

—	carrying out research into the roles of online advertising, the use of data, collaboration around data and media innovation,

—	incentivising platforms to adequately remunerate media content providers and authors for the content monetised by platforms and ensure that they respect intellectual property rights;

—	assessing the need and possible ways of facilitating access to financing opportunities for media outlets to overcome liquidity shortfalls;

B. Pluralism

ACKNOWLEDGES THAT:

14.

safeguarding media pluralism primarily falls under the competences of the EU Member States, while the EU institutions should also respect media freedom and pluralism within the exercise of their respective competences. The diversity of the different national media landscapes across Europe is an important expression of the cultural diversity of its Member States and must be recognised as such;

15.

freedom of expression, freedom of the media and media pluralism are democratic values of the European Union, as set out in Article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Their protection is among the overarching objectives of media regulation. They are crucial for a vibrant democracy where those principles and fundamental rights are being upheld;

16.

the concept of media pluralism has many aspects and encompasses all measures that ensure access to a variety of information and content sources and allow diverse actors with different opinions to have equal opportunities to reach the public through the media;

17.

bridging the gap between what users are looking for online and the content to be found is of key relevance for media content providers. A deep understanding of information management, search engine indexing and keyword matching is therefore among the crucial skill sets for media content providers online;

EMPHASISES THAT:

18.

we live in a hybrid media system (offline and online) in which all types of media services and forms of content contribute to a pluralistic media landscape. Information, news and current affairs as well as cultural, local, regional, educational and entertaining content carries and reflects the values of our society;

19.

a dual media system consisting of stable, adequately financed and future-oriented public service media and private media outlets is well designed to contribute to media pluralism. Moreover, an increasing amount of online user-generated content also contributes to the diversity of content in the online media ecosystem, but needs to be distinguished from editorial media content;

20.

in the platform economy strong network effects contribute to new forms of market concentration and monopolisation tendencies can be observed, which may have a negative effect on media pluralism. Former issues of limited transmission capacities have now been supplemented by issues regarding transparency, non-discrimination, findability and discoverability;

AGREES THAT:

21.

due to digital developments and media convergence the media landscape is growing increasingly complex and the tools to ensure media pluralism need to be continuously reconsidered and redefined. In the current context, future media policy should consider the following important issues;

Accessibility and non-discrimination

—	how to ensure the presence (availability) and ease of use (accessibility) of diverse content online,

—	non-discriminatory rules for online platforms with a gatekeeper role in terms of access and equal treatment for media content providers;

Transparency and user autonomy

—

transparency regulations for online platforms leading to the disclosure of the central criteria for the aggregation, selection and presentation of media content and their weighting, including information on the functioning of the algorithms used, while respecting trade secrets, protecting the integrity of services and taking into account existing regulation such as the P2B regulation and the GDPR,

—	disclosure of information in a language that is simple, concise and understandable for users, in order to enable them to make informed decisions,

—	offers of personalised content should be based on criteria which have been provided voluntarily and/or selected by the user to enhance user autonomy;

Findability and discoverability

—	algorithms affecting the results that users are actively searching for (findability) and the media content that users are passively exposed to (discoverability), as well as their impact on the user’s media consumption,

—	measures such as pluralism-oriented must-show rules (enhanced findability and discoverability) for actors that give access to and organise media content, taking new technologies such as voice assistants into account,

—	any criteria for enhanced findability and discoverability for media offers should favour pluralism and cultural diversity, and not be related to the content itself;

Media market concentration and data access

—	approaches to assess relevant markets and media market concentration in the light of media convergence, globalisation and digitalisation, taking into account the importance of the availability of market share data of media actors,

—	in accordance with applicable data protection laws, fair access for content creators, media outlets and regulators to relevant data collected by dominant market players, to enable them to effectively address relevant audience and advertising groups,

—

with regard to competition law, enabling cooperation between media service providers – public and private – in order to form alliances to successfully produce and distribute media content of general interest without being dependent on large platforms, while carefully taking into consideration the possible impact on media pluralism;

NOTES THAT:

22.

there is an increasing thematic overlap of the work of the Audiovisual Working Party with that of other working parties and a need to ensure sufficient exchange with those dealing with media-related issues. Furthermore, an adaptation of the name of the Audiovisual Working Party is appropriate in order to reflect the changes brought about by media convergence;

INVITES THE EU MEMBER STATES TO:

23.

further evaluate and develop national measures to assess media pluralism to ensure that users are exposed to a variety of content and can fully enjoy their freedom of expression and their right to information;

24.

take due account of the findings of these Council Conclusions into upcoming national media regulation and policy measures to adequately safeguard media pluralism;

INVITES THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION TO:

25.

continue and further develop research to identify potential risks to media pluralism and further understand the changed position of editorial media outlets in relation to social media, search engines, video-sharing platforms and other media platforms; concepts of information science should explicitly be taken into account;

26.

take into account Member States’ competence to adopt measures to achieve social, cultural and democratic goals, based on their linguistic diversity, national and regional specificities and their interest to maintain public access to diverse information and content;

27.

foster a holistic policy perspective, taking into account legal, political and economic variables that are relevant to safeguarding media pluralism and media freedom and be especially conscious of the possible effects of regulatory initiatives that are not traditionally considered as media regulation but have a major impact on media pluralism; develop such a holistic approach beginning with the announced European Democracy Action Plan, the Media and Audiovisual Action Plan and the Digital Services Act package;

28.

strengthen horizontal coherence in the regulatory framework, by explicitly and structurally taking media pluralism into account in the legislative process during the impact assessment of regulatory initiatives;

29.

establish a ‘European Media Forum’ to discuss current media policy issues among all relevant stakeholders on a yearly basis;

C. Trustworthiness

ACKNOWLEDGES THAT:

30.

disinformation constitutes a threat to democratic processes, public health and societies and can foster hate speech and incitement to violence online and offline, along with undermining trust in democratic state structures and processes that are vital in guaranteeing freedom of the press and media;

31.

safeguarding a trustworthy media system is central, as highlighted during the COVID-19 crisis, to ensure that all citizens are able to participate in the democratic debate through informed decision-making, free from undue political influence, pressure of third party policies, manipulative interference and the effects of disinformation;

32.

editorial media service providers are competing for users’ attention on platforms with other content producers who often do not observe the same editorial standards. Sensationalist and provocative content is often used to maximise engagement rates and advertising revenues;

EMPHASISES THAT:

33.

safeguarding media pluralism also means ensuring freedom for users to participate and engage with media content online without fear or risk of harassment by protecting the fundamental core values of a free media system, including protection of freedom of expression, protection from violence and hatred, protection of human dignity, protection of minors and protection of consumers;

34.

there is a rising amount of dissemination of content originating from European or non-European countries which increasingly includes content that violates fundamental core values of the European and national media systems;

35.

a few online platforms, originally non-European, are increasingly influencing the access to media content by users across the EU;

AGREES THAT:

36.

effective law enforcement is difficult since the existing processes of cross-border law enforcement are often complicated, long-lasting, inefficient and lack effective protection for the public. National regulatory authorities should therefore strive to find more effective common rules and enforcement procedures for content that is accessible online and distributed across national borders;

37.

major platforms which act as gatekeepers often exercise ‘secondary’ control over content that already complies with editorial standards and the applicable legal provisions;

38.

distinguishing the various manifestations of false and misleading content and identifying typical methods of dissemination of disinformation (e.g. through coordinated inauthentic behaviour) is crucial for finding appropriate and individual responses;

39.

with regard to the importance of the freedom of speech, states and administrative regulatory authorities as well as private platform providers should abstain from defining quality content or the reliability of content itself. This should not prevent platforms from promoting public communications and announcements in case of crisis or emergency situations;

INVITES THE EU MEMBER STATES TO:

40.

promote media literacy as stated in the Council Conclusions on media literacy in an ever-changing world and especially support national media literacy actions that combat disinformation, strengthen audiences’ resilience and target citizens of all age groups;

41.

encourage their national regulatory authorities to cooperate with other national regulatory authorities, in particular within the European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services (ERGA), and evaluate national rules on legal and administrative cooperation as well as the suitability of the competences of the independent national media authorities to address digital challenges and enforce the existing regulations;

INVITES THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION TO:

42.

take appropriate measures based on previous assessments of the implementation of the Code of Practice on Disinformation and in line with the overarching freedom of speech principle in order to identify existing gaps and prevent public harm by addressing the manipulative dissemination techniques of disinformation inter alia under the framework of the announced European Democracy Action Plan;

43.

strengthen Europe’s media regulation in regard to the new digital challenges with an emphasis on cross-border content distribution by optimising the procedures and the functioning of the country of origin principle to ensure that cross-border enforcement of media regulations is able to effectively protect media users, consumers and minors;

44.

strengthen the effective enforceability of existing rules in cross-border cases, support the Memorandum of Understanding on simplified procedural rules for cross-border law enforcement prepared by the national regulatory authorities within ERGA and enhance support for the administration, implementation and enactment of this cooperation agreement;

INVITES THE MEMBER STATES AND THE COMMISSION, WITHIN THEIR RESPECTIVE SPHERES OF COMPETENCE AND WITH DUE REGARD FOR THE PRINCIPLE OF SUBSIDIARITY, TO:

45.

promote the development of structural and procedural indicators for trustworthiness of news and media outlets and thus promote compliance with professional norms and ethics;

46.

work with civil society organisations, researchers, professional journalists and other relevant experts, to develop tools identifying disinformation (i.e. by technical fact-checking processes) in order to make citizens aware of any concerns regarding the trustworthiness of the given information;

47.

support the development of the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO) in the effort to detect and expose disinformation campaigns across different social networks and digital media, as set out in the EU Action Plan against Disinformation.

ANNEX

References

European Council

—	Conclusions adopted at the special meeting of 1 and 2 October 2020 (EUCO 13/20).

Council of the European Union

—	Conclusions of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, on media freedom and pluralism in the digital environment (OJ C 32, 4.2.2014, p. 6).

—	EU Human Rights Guidelines on Freedom of Expression Online and Offline, adopted by the Foreign Affairs Council [...] on 12 May 2014.

—	Council conclusions on the strengthening of European content in the digital economy (OJ C 457, 19.12.2018, p. 2).

—	Council conclusions on media literacy in an ever-changing world (OJ C 193, 9.6.2020, p. 23).

European Commission

—	Media pluralism in the Member States of the European Union, SEC(2007) 32.

—	Guidelines for EU support to media freedom and media integrity in enlargement countries, 2014-2020, DG Enlargement, 2014.

—	Assessment of the Code of Practice on Disinformation – Achievements and areas for further improvement (SWD(2020) 180 final).

—	Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: 2020 Rule of Law Report. The rule of law situation in the European Union, COM(2020) 580 final.

European Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

—	Joint Communication to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: Tackling COVID-19 disinformation – Getting the facts right, JOIN(2020) 8 final.

Council of Europe

—	Recommendation CM/Rec(2018)1[1] of the Committee of Ministers to member States on media pluralism and transparency of media ownership.

—	Recommendation CM/Rec(2018)2 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on the roles and responsibilities of internet intermediaries.

—	Declaration by the Committee of Ministers on the financial sustainability of quality journalism in the digital age, Decl(13/02/2019)2.

—	Recommendation CM/Rec(2020)1 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on the human rights impacts of algorithmic systems.

Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom

—	European Union competencies in respect of media pluralism and media freedom, Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom, 2013.

—	Parcu, P. L., New digital threats to media pluralism in the information age, RSCAS 2019/19, European University Institute.

—	Stasi, M. L., Ensuring Pluralism in Social Media Markets: Some Suggestions, RSCAS 2020/05; European University Institute.

—	Brogi, E., Carlini, R., Nenadic, I., Parcu, P. L., de Azevedo Cunha, M. V., Monitoring Media Pluralism in the Digital Era. Application of the Media Pluralism Monitor in the European Union, Albania and Turkey in the years 2018-2019, RSCAS, European University Institute, 2020.

Other studies

—	Independent Study on Indicators for Media Pluralism in the Member States – Towards a Risk-Based Approach, K. U. Leuven – ICRI, Jönköping International Business School – MMTC, Central European University – CMCS, Ernst & Young Consultancy Belgium, 2009.

—	A free and pluralistic media to sustain European democracy, High Level Group on Media Freedom and Pluralism, 2013.

—	Internal Media Plurality in Audiovisual Media Services in the EU: Rules & Practices (ERGA report), 2018.

—	ERGA Report on disinformation: Assessment of the implementation of the Code of Practice, 2020.

7.12.2020

Official Journal of the European Union

C 422/16

Euro exchange rates (1)

4 December 2020

(2020/C 422/09)

1 euro =

	Currency	Exchange rate
USD	US dollar	1,2159
JPY	Japanese yen	126,44
DKK	Danish krone	7,4429
GBP	Pound sterling	0,90282
SEK	Swedish krona	10,2578
CHF	Swiss franc	1,0822
ISK	Iceland króna	152,10
NOK	Norwegian krone	10,6598
BGN	Bulgarian lev	1,9558
CZK	Czech koruna	26,518
HUF	Hungarian forint	358,57
PLN	Polish zloty	4,4769
RON	Romanian leu	4,8725
TRY	Turkish lira	9,4636
AUD	Australian dollar	1,6387
CAD	Canadian dollar	1,5633
HKD	Hong Kong dollar	9,4240
NZD	New Zealand dollar	1,7254
SGD	Singapore dollar	1,6206
KRW	South Korean won	1 320,60
ZAR	South African rand	18,4674
CNY	Chinese yuan renminbi	7,9421
HRK	Croatian kuna	7,5415
IDR	Indonesian rupiah	17 222,37
MYR	Malaysian ringgit	4,9366
PHP	Philippine peso	58,430
RUB	Russian rouble	90,0679
THB	Thai baht	36,672
BRL	Brazilian real	6,2759
MXN	Mexican peso	24,1091
INR	Indian rupee	89,6755

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

7.12.2020

Official Journal of the European Union

C 422/17

Prior notification of a concentration

(Case M.10063 – Mitsubishi UFJ Lease & Finance/Hitachi Capital)

Candidate case for simplified procedure

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2020/C 422/10)

On 27 November 2020, 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:

—	Mitsubishi UFJ Lease & Finance Company, Limited (‘MUL’, Japan), and

—	Hitachi Capital Corporation (‘HC’, Japan).

MUL and HC enter into a full merger within the meaning of Article 3(1)(a) of the Merger Regulation.

The concentration is accomplished by absorption between MUL and HC.

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

—

for MUL: leasing, as well as financing services in the sectors of real estate healthcare, environment and energy, infrastructure and investment, and aviation and logistics. In the EEA, MUL is primarily active in the provision of operational leases of aircraft, aircraft engines, and marine shipping containers, and of commercial loans.

—

for HC: leasing and financial services. In the EEA, HC is primarily active in the provision of asset-backed financial solutions to businesses (including asset financing, franchise financing, vendor solutions and factoring), personal loans to UK consumers, and automotive leasing to corporations and individuals.

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.

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.10063 – Mitsubishi UFJ Lease & Finance / Hitachi Capital

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.

7.12.2020

Official Journal of the European Union

C 422/19

Prior notification of a concentration

(Case M.10057 — Schlumberger/CEA/Genvia JV)

Candidate case for simplified procedure

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2020/C 422/11)

On 27 November 2020, 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:

—	Schlumberger SA (‘Schlumberger’, France),

—	CEA Investissements SA (‘CEA Investissements’, France), controlled by the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (le Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives, ‘CEA’, France),

—	Genvia (‘the joint venture’, France).

Schlumberger and the CEA acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and Article 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of the joint venture.

The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares in a newly created company constituting a joint venture.

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

—	Schlumberger is a global supplier for the oil and gas industry,

—	The CEA is a French public body involved in scientific, technical and industrial research. CEA Investissements seeks to make profitable investments by acquiring minority stakes in start-ups with a view to enabling the emergence and development of high-tech companies that apply research results,

—	Genvia will operate in the hydrogen production sector. It intends to produce reversible solid oxide electrochemical stacks (SOEC/SOFC) with different capacities, as well as modules that can be incorporated into electrolysers and more complete systems.

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 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.

The Commission invites interested third parties to submit their possible observations on the proposed operation to the Commission.

Observations must reach the Commission no later than ten days following the date on which this notification is published. The following reference should always be specified:

M.10057 — Schlumberger/CEA/Genvia JV

Observations can be sent to the Commission by e-mail, 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.

7.12.2020

Official Journal of the European Union

C 422/20

Corrigendum to Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.9684 — Parks Bottom/Omers/Accor/Fairmont Hotels)

( Official Journal of the European Union C 419 of 4 December 2020 )

(2020/C 422/12)

Publication (2020/C 419/06) on page 16 is to be considered null and void.

7.12.2020

Official Journal of the European Union

C 422/21

Corrigendum to Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.9675 — Apollo Capital Management/Lopesan Group/IFA Faro Hotel/IFA Buenaventura Hotel)

(This text replaces and annuls that published in Official Journal of the European Union C 419 of 4 December 2020, p. 13 )

(2020/C 422/13)

‘

Non-opposition to a notified concentration

(Case M.9723 – Showa Denko K.K./Hitachi Chemical Company)

(Text with EEA relevance)

On 17 February 2020, 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 electronic form on the EUR-Lex website (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html?locale=en) under document number 32020M9723. EUR-Lex is the online access to European law.

’

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

		ISSN 1977-091X
Official Journal of the European Union		C 422

English edition	Information and Notices	Volume 63 7 December 2020

Contents		page
	II Information
	INFORMATION FROM EUROPEAN UNION INSTITUTIONS, BODIES, OFFICES AND AGENCIES
	European Commission
2020/C 422/01	Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.9868 — Raytheon Technologies Corporation/Saudi Arabian Oil Company/Middle East Cyber Services JV) ( 1 )	1
2020/C 422/02	Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.9884 — Thoma Bravo/Madison Dearborn Partners/Axiom) ( 1 )	2
2020/C 422/03	Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.9799 — Goldman Sachs/Summa Equity/EcoOnline) ( 1 )	3
2020/C 422/04	Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.9903 — SoftBank Group/Mizuho Financial Group/One Tap BUY) ( 1 )	4
2020/C 422/05	Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.9858 — Bosch Group/ELCO Group/JV) ( 1 )	5
2020/C 422/06	Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.10011 — ORIX/Cambourne/ORIX India Wind/GEH Assets) ( 1 )	6
2020/C 422/07	Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.9989 — BB Holding Investment/Duferdofin-Nucor) ( 1 )	7

	Corrigenda
	Corrigendum to Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.9684 — Parks Bottom/Omers/Accor/Fairmont Hotels) ( OJ C 419, 4.12.2020 )	20
	Corrigendum to Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case M.9675 — Apollo Capital Management/Lopesan Group/IFA Faro Hotel/IFA Buenaventura Hotel) ( OJ C 419, 4.12.2020 )	21

	IV Notices
	NOTICES FROM EUROPEAN UNION INSTITUTIONS, BODIES, OFFICES AND AGENCIES
	Council
2020/C 422/08	Council conclusions on safeguarding a free and pluralistic media system	8
	European Commission
2020/C 422/09	Euro exchange rates — 4 December 2020	16

	V Announcements
	PROCEDURES RELATING TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPETITION POLICY
	European Commission
2020/C 422/10	Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.10063 – Mitsubishi UFJ Lease & Finance/Hitachi Capital) Candidate case for simplified procedure ( 1 )	17
2020/C 422/11	Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.10057 — Schlumberger/CEA/Genvia JV) Candidate case for simplified procedure ( 1 )	19