European Commission - Daily News Daily News 13 / 03 / 2026 Brussels, 13 March 2026 Commission greenlights Germany's third payment request for €4.6 billion under NextGenerationEU Today, the Commission positively assessed Germany's third payment request for €4.6 billion in grants under the Recovery and Resilience Facility , the centrepiece of NextGenerationEU. This is an important step in the delivery of the reforms an...
European Commission - Daily News Daily News 13 / 03 / 2026 Brussels, 13 March 2026 Commission greenlights Germany's third payment request for €4.6 billion under NextGenerationEU Today, the Commission positively assessed Germany's third payment request for €4.6 billion in grants under the Recovery and Resilience Facility , the centrepiece of NextGenerationEU. This is an important step in the delivery of the reforms and investments tied to this payment request, in the areas of research and innovation for the green transition, greening of transport and housing, public administration reform and digitalisation, as well as education and training. The Commission found that Germany has satisfactorily completed the 5 milestones and 17 targets set out in the Council Implementing Decision . This payment request will bring the funds paid out to Germany under the Recovery and Resilience Facility to €24.4 billion, including €2.3 billion in pre-financing. This amount corresponds to 80% of all funds included in the German recovery and resilience plan , with 79% of all milestones and targets in the plan now fulfilled. A press release is available online. (For more information: Maciej Berestecki — Tel.: + 32 2 2996 64 83; Anna Wartberger – Tel: +32 2 28 20 54) EU agri-food exports reach new high of €238.4 billion in 2025, latest Commission report shows The latest EU agri-food trade report , published today by the European Commission, shows that EU agri-food exports reached a new record in 2025, despite global economic challenges. EU agri-food exports totalled €238.4 billion in 2025, a 1% increase compared to 2024 (+ €2.3 billion). The UK remained the top destination for EU agri-food exports, accounting for 23% of the total (€55.6 billion). Among other key developments, exports grew significantly to Switzerland (+ €1.2 billion, +7%) and Türkiye (+ €1.1 billion, +16%). Cereal preparations, dairy products, and wine continued to lead EU exports, while cocoa, coffee, and chocolate saw the strongest value increases, largely due to rising prices. EU agri-food imports rose to €188.6 billion, up 9% compared to 2024 (+ €15.3 billion). The UK, Brazil, and the US remained the top suppliers, with cocoa, coffee, and fruits and nuts driving import growth due to higher global prices. The EU maintained an overall agri-food trade surplus of €49.9 billion in 2025. This was €13.3 billion lower than the 2024 overall surplus, primarily due to increased import prices of key commodities like coffee, cocoa, fruits and nuts. The EU remains the world's first exporter of agri-food products and was also the top global importer in 2025. Agri-food trade represented 9% of EU total exports, 7.5% of EU total imports, and 37% of the EU overall trade surplus in 2025. More details as well as detailed tables are available in the latest edition of the monthly EU agri-food trade report . (For more information: Balazs Ujvari - Tel.: +32 2 295 45 78; Kateřina Horáková - Tel.: +32 2 299 93 10) Six EU-funded films nominated for 15 awards at the Oscars Six of the films competing for the gold-plated statuettes in the 98th Academy Awards have been supported by the EU's Creative Europe MEDIA programme . ‘Sentimental Value' by Joachim Trier is nominated in nine categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, twice Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best International Feature, and Best Film Editing. The category of Best Animated Feature includes nominations for two EU-supported titles: ‘Arco' by Ugo Bienvenu and ‘ Little Amélie' by Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han. Additional nominations include ‘Sirat' by Oliver Laxe in the categories of Best International Feature and Best Sound , ‘Cutting Through Rocks' by Mohammadreza Eyni and Sara Khaki in the category of Best Documentary Feature, and ‘The Ugly Stepsister' by Emilie Blichfeldt in the category of Best Makeup and Hairstyling. The six EU-funded films nominated for the Oscars have received a total amount of over €4 million in support by the European Commission, through its Creative Europe MEDIA programme. The MEDIA programme has supported European audiovisual content for the past 35 years, promoting cultural diversity and enhancing the competitiveness of the industry. The success of the MEDIA programme paves the way for the proposed AgoraEU programme in the EU's long term budget for 2028-2034, which aims to further support the audiovisual sector. (For more information: Thomas Regnier - Tel.: +32 2 299 10 99; Patricia Poropat - Tel.: +32 2 298 04 85) Commission approves €107.5 million French State aid scheme to support printed press distribution The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a €107.5 million French State aid scheme to support single-copy printed press distribution via a network of national distributors, wholesalers and retailers. The scheme aims to encourage publishers to use pooled distribution methods in order to reduce costs and maintain a balanced territorial press distribution network, ensuring all citizens have access to the national press. It would increase the dissemination of reliable, high-quality information at a reasonable price , while ensuring media pluralism, democratic debate and cultural diversity . Under the scheme, the aid will take the form of direct grants. The scheme will be open to press publishers using a single-copy distribution network. The scheme will finance up to 40% of the distribution costs of national daily and weekly newspapers of political and general interest. It also targets periodicals providing sports information. The scheme will run until 31 December 2030. The Commission assessed the scheme under EU State aid rules, in particular Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which allows Member States to support the development of certain economic activities under certain conditions. The Commission found that the scheme is necessary and appropriate to facilitate the development of press publishing and distribution activities. The Commission also found that the scheme is proportionate as it is limited to the minimum necessary and will have a limited impact on competition and trade between Member States. On this basis, the Commission approved the French scheme under EU State aid rules. The non-confidential version of today's decision will be made available under the case number SA.118124 in the State aid register on the Commission's competition website once any confidentiality issues have been resolved. (For more information: Ricardo Cardoso – Tel.: +32 2 298 01 00; Luuk de Klein – Tel.: +32 229 94774) Commission clears acquisition of County Broadband, Freedom Fibre and Truespeed by TCGL and DigitalBridge The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of joint control of County Broadband Limited, Freedom Fibre Limited and Truespeed Communications Limited (‘Truespeed') by Truespeed Communications Group Limited (‘TCGL'), all of the UK, and DigitalBridge Group, Inc. (‘DigitalBridge') of the US. The transaction relates primarily to the provision of fibre-to-the-premises. The Commission concluded that the notified transaction would not raise competition concerns, given the limited impact on the European Economic Area. The notified transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure. More information is available on the Commission's competition website , in the public case register under the case number M.12352 . (For more information: Ricardo Cardoso – Tel.: +32 2 298 01 00; Paula Clara Ritter-Moschütz – Tel.: +32 2 296 40 83) Commission clears acquisition of PDSVision by Bridgepoint and Polaris Management The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of joint control of PDSVision Group Invest AB (‘PDSVision') of Sweden by Bridgepoint Group plc (‘Bridgepoint') of the UK and Polaris Management A/S of Denmark. The transaction relates primarily to solutions for digitalisation of value chains. The Commission concluded that the notified transaction would not raise competition concerns, given the companies' limited market positions resulting from the proposed transaction. The notified transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure. More information is available on the Commission's competition website , in the public case register under the case number M.12305 . (For more information: Ricardo Cardoso – Tel.: +32 2 298 01 00; Paula Clara Ritter-Moschütz – Tel.: +32 2 296 40 83) Commission clears acquisition of Ramudden by I Squared The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of sole control of Ramudden Global AB (‘Ramudden') of Sweden by I Squared Capital Advisors (US) LLC (‘I Squared') of the US. The transaction relates primarily to temporary traffic management services for critical infrastructure. The Commission concluded that the notified transaction would not raise competition concerns, given that the companies are not active in the same or vertically related markets. The notified transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure. More information is available on the Commission's competition website , in the public case register under the case number M.12318 . (For more information: Ricardo Cardoso – Tel.: +32 2 298 01 00; Paula Clara Ritter-Moschütz – Tel.: +32 2 296 40 83) Tentative agendas for forthcoming Commission meetings Note that these items can be subject to changes. Upcoming events of the European Commission Eurostat press releases Calendar items of the President and Commissioners Individual calendars of the President and Commissioners MEX/26/606
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