Non-opposition to a notified concentration

(Case M.10672 – VISTA / ELLIOTT / CITRIX SYSTEMS / TIBCO)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2022/C 277/01)

On 13 July 2022, 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 policy’ 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 32022M10672. EUR-Lex is the online point of access to European Union law.

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(1)  OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1.

Notice for the attention of the persons, groups and entities included on the list subject to Articles 2, 3 and 4 of Council Common Position 2001/931/CFSP of 27 December 2001 on the application of specific measures to combat terrorism, as updated by Council Decision (CFSP) 2022/1241, and to Article 2(3) of Council Regulation (EC) No 2580/2001 of 27 December 2001 on specific restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities with a view to combating terrorism, as implemented by Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1230

(2022/C 277/02)

The following information is brought to the attention of the above-mentioned persons, groups and entities listed in Council Decision (CFSP) 2022/1241 (1) and Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1230 (2).

The Council of the European Union has determined that the reasons for including the persons, groups and entities on the above-mentioned list subject to Articles 2, 3 and 4 of Council Common Position 2001/931/CFSP (3) of 27 December 2001 on the application of specific measures to combat terrorism and to Article 2(3) of Council Regulation (EC) No 2580/2001 (4) of 27 December 2001 on specific restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities with a view to combating terrorism, are still valid. Consequently, the Council has decided to maintain those persons, groups and entities on the list.

Regulation (EC) No 2580/2001 provides for a freezing of all funds, other financial assets and economic resources belonging to the persons, groups and entities concerned and that no funds, other financial assets and economic resources may be made available to them, whether directly or indirectly.

The attention of the persons, groups and entities concerned is drawn to the possibility of making an application to the competent authorities of the relevant Member State(s) as listed in the Annex to the Regulation in order to obtain an authorisation to use frozen funds for basic needs or specific payments, in accordance with Article 5(2) of that Regulation.

The persons, groups and entities concerned may submit a request to obtain the Council’s statement of reasons for maintaining them on the above-mentioned list (unless the statement of reasons has already been communicated to them). Any such request should be sent to the following address:

Council of the European Union (Attn: COMET designations)

Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 175

1048 Bruxelles/Brussel

BELGIQUE/BELGIË

Email: sanctions@consilium.europa.eu

The persons, groups and entities concerned may at any time submit a request to the Council, together with any supporting documentation, that the decision to include and maintain them on the list should be reconsidered, to the address provided above. Such requests will be considered when they are received. In this regard, the attention of the persons, groups and entities concerned is drawn to the regular review by the Council of the list according to Article 1(6) of Common Position 2001/931/CFSP. In order for requests to be considered at the next review, they should be submitted by 30 September 2022.

The attention of the persons, groups and entities concerned is also drawn to the possibility of challenging their designation before the General Court of the European Union, in accordance with the conditions laid down in Article 263(4) and (6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

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(1)  OJ L 190, 19.7.2022, p. 133.

(2)  OJ L 190, 19.7.2022, p. 1.

(3)  OJ L 344, 28.12.2001, p. 93.

(4)  OJ L 344, 28.12.2001, p. 70.

Notice for the attention of the data subjects included on the list of persons, groups and entities subject to Articles 2, 3 and 4 of Council Common Position 2001/931/CFSP of 27 December 2001 on the application of specific measures to combat terrorism, as updated by Council Decision (CFSP) 2022/1241, and to Article 2(3) of Council Regulation (EC) No 2580/2001 of 27 December 2001 on specific restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities with a view to combating terrorism, as implemented by Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1230

(2022/C 277/03)

The attention of data subjects is drawn to the following information in accordance with Article 16 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1).

The legal basis for this processing operation are Common Position 2001/931/CFSP (2), as updated by Council Decision (CFSP) 2022/1241 (3), and Council Regulation (EC) No 2580/2001 (4), as implemented by Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1230 (5).

The controller of this processing operation is the Council of the European Union represented by the Director General of RELEX (External Relations) of the General Secretariat of the Council and the department entrusted with the processing operation is RELEX.1 that can be contacted at:

Council of the European Union

General Secretariat

RELEX.1

Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 175

1048 Bruxelles/Brussel

BELGIQUE/BELGIË

Email: sanctions@consilium.europa.eu

The purpose of the processing operation is the establishment and updating of the list of persons subject to restrictive measures in accordance with Common Position 2001/931/CFSP, as updated by Decision (CFSP) 2022/1241, and Regulation (EC) No 2580/2001, as implemented by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1230.

The data subjects are the natural persons who fulfil the listing criteria as laid down in Common Position 2001/931/CFSP and Regulation (EC) No 2580/2001.

The personal data collected includes data necessary for the correct identification of the person concerned, the statement of reasons and any other data related thereto.

The personal data collected may be shared as necessary with the European External Action Service and the Commission.

Without prejudice to restrictions pursuant to Article 25 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, the exercise of the rights of the data subjects such as the right of access, as well as the rights to rectification or to object will be answered in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.

Personal data will be retained for 5 years from the moment the data subject has been removed from the list of persons subject to the restrictive measures or the validity of the measure has expired, or for the duration of court proceedings in the event they had been started.

Without prejudice to any judicial, administrative or non-judicial remedy, data subjects may lodge a complaint with the European Data Protection Supervisor in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 (edps@edps.europa.eu).

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(1)  OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39.

(2)  OJ L 344, 28.12.2001, p. 93.

(3)  OJ L 190, 19.7.2022, p. 133.

(4)  OJ L 344, 28.12.2001, p. 70.

(5)  OJ L 190, 19.7.2022, p. 1.

Notice for the attention of certain persons subject to the restrictive measures provided for in Annex I to Council Decision (CFSP) 2019/1720 and in Annex I to Council Regulation (EU) 2019/1716 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Nicaragua

(2022/C 277/04)

The following information is brought to the attention of Mr. Francisco Javier DÍAZ MADRIZ (n 3) and Mr Lumberto Ignacio CAMPBELL HOOKER (n 19), persons appearing in Annex I to Council Decision (CFSP) 2019/1720 (1) and in Annex I to Council Regulation (EU) 2019/1716 (2) concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Nicaragua.

The Council intends to maintain the restrictive measures against the above-mentioned persons with amended statements of reasons. Those persons are, hereby informed that they may submit a request to the Council to obtain the intended statement of reasons for maintaining their designation, by 26 July 2022, to the following address:

Council of the European Union

General Secretariat

RELEX.1

Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 175

1048 Bruxelles/Brussel

BELGIQUE/BELGIË

Email: sanctions@consilium.europa.eu

The persons concerned may submit at any time a request to the Council, together with any supporting documentation, that the decision to include and maintain them on the list should be reconsidered, to the address provided above. Such requests will be considered when they are received. In this respect, the attention of the persons concerned is drawn to the regular review by the Council according to Article 9 of Council Decision (CFSP) 2019/1720.

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(1)  OJ L 262 15.10.2019, p. 58.

(2)  OJ L 262 15.10.2019, p. 1.

Euro exchange rates (1)

18 July 2022

(2022/C 277/05)

1 euro =

	Currency	Exchange rate
USD	US dollar	1,0131
JPY	Japanese yen	140,16
DKK	Danish krone	7,4435
GBP	Pound sterling	0,84708
SEK	Swedish krona	10,5265
CHF	Swiss franc	0,9911
ISK	Iceland króna	138,90
NOK	Norwegian krone	10,2553
BGN	Bulgarian lev	1,9558
CZK	Czech koruna	24,508
HUF	Hungarian forint	402,05
PLN	Polish zloty	4,7760
RON	Romanian leu	4,9389
TRY	Turkish lira	17,7225
AUD	Australian dollar	1,4839
CAD	Canadian dollar	1,3151
HKD	Hong Kong dollar	7,9528
NZD	New Zealand dollar	1,6432
SGD	Singapore dollar	1,4153
KRW	South Korean won	1 333,33
ZAR	South African rand	17,3830
CNY	Chinese yuan renminbi	6,8266
HRK	Croatian kuna	7,5130
IDR	Indonesian rupiah	15 157,63
MYR	Malaysian ringgit	4,5113
PHP	Philippine peso	57,056
RUB	Russian rouble
THB	Thai baht	37,130
BRL	Brazilian real	5,4505
MXN	Mexican peso	20,7095
INR	Indian rupee	81,0340

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

Summary of the Opinion of the European Data Protection Supervisor on the Proposal for a Regulation on the digitalisation of the visa procedure

(The full text of this Opinion can be found in English, French and German on the EDPS website www.edps.europa.eu)

(2022/C 277/06)

On 27 April 2022, the European Commission issued a Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the digitalisation of the visa procedure. The Proposal aims at introducing the possibility to submit visa applications online through the European digital visa application platform, and replacing the visa sticker with a digital visa. By doing so, the visa application procedures within the Schengen area should be simplified and harmonised, and security risks posed by the physical visa stickers would be reduced.

The EDPS recognises that the digitalisation of the visa processing has the potential to address a number of challenges faced by visa applicants and consulates. However, the mandatory nature of the new procedure may also create additional obstacles to visa applicants, for instance, due to IT illiteracy or lack of adequate equipment. The EDPS recommends including in the Proposal an explicit provision that would exempt individuals with accessibility issues from using the European digital visa application platform.

The EDPS takes note that the Proposal adds, among the personal data to be included in the visa application, the IP addresses from which application forms are submitted. In this regard, the EDPS recalls the principle of data minimisation, which should lead the Commission to assess whether the collection of IP addresses is needed for the purposes of the Proposal.

The EDPS also recalls the importance of providing to the data subjects information about the processing of their personal data, to ensure fair processing. Consequently, since the personal data for VIS shall be first collected in the European online visa platform, the EDPS is of the opinion that information about the processing of personal data in the context of VIS, in line with Article 37(1) of the VIS Regulation, should also be provided by the platform. Besides, in view of the operationalisation of interoperability and the consequent processing of personal data for multiple purposes, the right to information should not be limited to providing information about the purposes for which the data will be processed within the VIS. It should also provide information about the processing that takes place in all the other JHA large-scale database systems and interoperability components falling within the scope of the interoperability framework.

1.   INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

1.

On 27 April 2022 the European Commission issued a Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EC) No 767/2008 (1), (EC) No 810/2009 (2) and (EU) 2017/2226 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3), Council Regulations (EC) No 1683/95 (4), (EC) No 333/2002 (5), (EC) No 693/2003 (6) and (EC) 694/2003 (7) and Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement (8), as regards the digitalisation of the visa procedure (‘the Proposal’).

2.

The Proposal aims to streamline and harmonise the procedures in the context of the common visa policy and align travel, entry requirements and border checks within the Schengen area through digitalisation and the interoperability framework at the borders (9). To this end, the Proposal would replace the paper visa sticker with a digital visa and introduce a mandatory online European digital visa application form.

3.

The Estonian Council Presidency began the discussion on the introduction of an online visa application (10) and a digital visa (11) back in 2017. In 2018, the European Commission took up the debate on the digitalisation of the visa processing and announced in its Communication on visa policy the launch of feasibilities studies and pilot projects that would have laid down the ground for future proposals (12). The New Pact on Migration and Asylum set the objective of making the visa procedure fully digitalised by 2025, with a digital visa and the ability to submit visa applications online (13).

4.

The present Opinion of the EDPS is issued in response to a consultation by the European Commission of 28 April 2022, pursuant to Article 42(1) of EUDPR. The EDPS welcomes the reference to this consultation in Recital 47 of the Proposal.

12.   CONCLUSIONS

24.

In light of the above, the EDPS makes the following recommendations: (1) to clarify Recital 14 in order to ensure that persons with digital accessibility issues should be entitled to lodge their applications in person, and to reflect this rule in the operative part of the Proposal; (2) to remove the reference in Article 2(3) of the Proposal to IP addresses as part of the data of the visa application pursuant to Article 7b(5) ; (3) to define a common procedure to ensure that data quality checks on the personal data inserted in the application form via the European digital visa application platform are homogeneous and auditable among different stakeholders; (4) to clarify the roles and responsibilities among eu-LISA, the Member States authorities and, if relevant, the external service providers involved in the processing of personal data via the European digital visa application platform; (5) to remove the derogation to Article 44(1) of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009, as mentioned in Article 1(29)of the Proposal, in order to ensure the encryption of personal data accessed by external service providers through the EU application platform, via the external service provider gateway and, more generally, to provide for security mechanisms for the use of this gateway; (6) to determine robust authentication mechanisms as part of the secure account service; (7) to include in the European digital visa application platform information about the processing of personal data for the purposes of VIS and additional purposes derived from the operationalisation of the interoperability framework.

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(1)  Regulation (EC) No 767/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 concerning the Visa Information System (VIS) and the exchange of data between Member States on short-stay visas (OJ L 218, 13.8.2008, p. 60).

(2)  Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 establishing a Community Code on Visas (OJ L 243, 15.9.2009, p. 1).

(3)  Regulation (EU) 2017/2226 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2017 establishing an Entry/Exit System (EES) to register entry and exit data and refusal of entry data of third-country nationals crossing the external borders of the Member States and determining the conditions for access to the EES for law enforcement purposes, and amending the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement and Regulations (EC) No 767/2008 and (EU) No 1077/2011 (OJ L 327, 9.12.2017, p. 20).

(4)  Council Regulation (EC) No 1683/95 of 29 May 1995 laying down a uniform format for visas (OJ L 164, 14.7.1995, p. 1).

(5)  Council Regulation (EC) No 333/2002 of 18 February 2002 on a uniform format for forms for affixing the visa issued by Member States to persons holding travel documents not recognised by the Member State drawing up the form (OJ L 53, 23.2.2002, p. 4).

(6)  Council Regulation (EC) No 693/2003 of 14 April 2003 establishing a specific Facilitated Transit Document (FTD), a Facilitated Rail Transit Document (FRTD) and amending the Common Consular Instructions and the Common Manual (OJ L 99, 17.4.2003, p. 8).

(7)  Council Regulation (EC) No 694/2003 of 14 April 2003 on uniform formats for Facilitated Transit Documents (FTD) and Facilitated Rail Transit Documents (FRTD) provided for in Regulation (EC) No 693/2003 (OJ L 99, 17.4.2003, p. 15).

(8)  Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985 between the Governments of the States of the Benelux Economic Union, the Federal Republic of Germany and the French Republic on the gradual abolition of checks at their common borders (OJ L 239, 22.9.2000, p. 19).

(9)  COM(2022) 658 final, p. 7.

(10)  Presidency Council of the European Union, e-Visa: Improving the current visa process with online visa application, 12546/17, October 2017.

(11)  Presidency Council of the European Union, e-Visa: Improving the current visa process with digital visa, 11816/17, October 2017.

(12)  Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council, Adapting the common visa policy to new challenges, COM(2018) 251 final.

(13)  COM(2020) 609 final, p. 13.

Prior notification of a concentration

(Case M.10680 – PERMIRA / SESTANT / KEDRION / BPL)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2022/C 277/07)

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