DAILY NEWS
Brussels, 24 July 2026
Commission preliminary finds TikTok in breach of Digital Services Act for failing to ensure safe accounts for minors
Today, the European Commission sent TikTok preliminary findings indicating that TikTok accounts of minors do not meet the safety standards required under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
On TikTok, minors can choose to set their account as ‘public'. This means that any user, including those without a TikTok account, may be able to view minors' content. This setting also allows content published by ‘older' minors (16-17 years old) to be recommended to any other TikTok user through the For You Feed.
This exposure could result in unwanted contact from potential perpetrators and a risk that content can be used for cyberbullying. This feature potentially gives strangers a window into a child's life. In addition, since what minors publish may stay online forever and follow them into adulthood, the feature comes with risks of potentially life-long consequences.
Even when minors choose private accounts, their accounts can be easily found through the ‘following' and ‘followers' lists of other users, and their profile photos remain accessible to anyone, including users without a TikTok account. TikTok's settings continue to expose them to risks – including unwanted contact, cyberbullying, or predatory behaviour.
Account settings are key to ensure minors are safe online, since they determine who can view their content and who can contact them. Under the DSA, platforms accessible to minors must ensure a high level of privacy, safety, and security on their service. The Commission preliminarily considers that TikTok's account settings fail to meet this standard, as they expose minors' accounts and content too widely.
More information is available in the press release.
(For more information: Thomas Regnier - Tel.: +32 2 299 10 99; Patricia Poropat — Tel. + 32 2 299 27 17)
Commission invites comments on draft new rescue and restructuring State aid guidelines
The European Commission has launched a public consultation on the draft of new Guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring non-financial undertakings in difficulty (‘Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines'). The new version will align the existing Guidelines with current social, market and technological conditions. The Commission invites Member States and all other interested parties to comment on the draft by 4 September 2026.
The Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines, which were first adopted in 2014, set out the conditions under which State aid to non-financial companies in difficulty may be allowed under EU State aid rules.
The Commission proposes several changes which aim to reflect today's changed economic context. The draft proposes to include the steel sector in the sectoral scope of the Guidelines, remove certain types of innovative startups from the solvency test of the “undertaking in difficulty” definition, and include some types of hybrid financial instruments in the determination of equity to assess whether a company is in difficulty.
In addition to the consultation launched today, the draft Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines will be discussed in a meeting between the Commission and Member States. The public consultation will close on 4 September 2026. This process ensures that Member States, as well as other interested parties, have several opportunities to comment on the proposal. The adoption of the revised Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines is planned for the end of 2026, before the current Guidelines expire on 31 December 2026.
Executive Vice-President for a Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, Teresa Ribera, said: “The new Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines we propose today will adapt the rules to our current economic environment, while keeping in mind that this kind of aid strongly distorts competition in the internal market. I strongly encourage all public authorities, companies and other interested parties to participate in this important consultation.”
A press release is available online.
(For more information: Siobhan McGarry - Tel.: +32 2 296 47 98; Luuk de Klein – Tel.: +32 2 299 47 74)
Commission provides €1.5 billion in macro-financial assistance to Egypt
Today, the European Commission disbursed €1.5 billion in Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to Egypt. This is the second of the three instalments expected under the ongoing €4 billion MFA programme for the country.
This financial support, will help Egypt cover part of its ongoing financing needs, preserve macroeconomic stability and support the implementation of its ongoing economic reform programme. Taking the form of concessional loans, it will also support progress with the country's economic reform agenda in conjunction with the ongoing International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme. This assistance will help ease pressure on Egypt's external finances, including due to the consequences of the current situation in the Middle East.
In its assessment, the Commission concluded that Egypt met all the conditions for this instalment: it fulfilled the economic policy conditions agreed with the EU; took some concrete and credible steps towards effective democratic mechanisms, including a multi-party parliamentary system, upholding the rule of law, and ensuring respect for human rights; and kept the IMF programme on track, as required for the disbursement of MFA funds.
Regarding the economic policy conditions, Egypt has implemented economic reforms to strengthen macroeconomic stability and resilience, including improvements in public financial management and the functioning of the foreign exchange market. It has also made progress in enhancing the business environment and competitiveness, notably through strengthening state-owned enterprise governance, and advancing digitalisation of public services. Further progress has also been made in supporting the green transition, including in the areas of water management and energy.
The ongoing €4 billion MFA programme to Egypt, together with the short-term MFA of €1 billion disbursed at the end of 2024, form a fundamental part of the EU-Egypt Strategic Comprehensive Partnership concluded in March 2024, totalling €5 billion in MFA support. The first instalment of €1 billion was disbursed in January 2026. Since it was signed, the EU and Egypt have achieved good progress on the implementation of the Partnership across its six key pillars. The first ever EU-Egypt summit in October 2025 elevated relations with Egypt as a key and strategic partner and boosted the implementation of the partnership with the signature of pivotal agreements.
(For more information: Balazs Ujvari - Tel.: +32 2 295 45 78; Guillaume Mercier – Tel.: +32 460 75 53 11; Francisca Marçal Santos - Tel.: +32 2 299 72 36; Luca Dilda – Tel. +32 2 295 21 53)
Commission welcomes the Council's adoption of a renewed Interim Regulation to detect child sexual abuse online
The Commission welcomes yesterday's adoption by the Council of a proposal to reinstate the interim derogation from certain provisions of the e-Privacy Directive for the purpose of combating online child sexual abuse. The Council adoption includes the amendments that the European Parliament adopted in its vote on 9 July. The Commission has already given a positive opinion to the Parliament's amendments.
This is a positive development that restores legal certainty after the expiry of the previous interim derogation on 3 April this year. Online service providers can now continue voluntary detection and reporting of child sexual abuse on their services until 3 April 2028. Such reporting is essential for the rescue of child victims since it is often the only way to uncover abuse. The interim derogation also supports the removal of child sexual abuse material from circulation, which reduces the secondary victimisation that continues to haunt survivors of child sexual abuse for years, sometimes decades after the physical abuse has ended.
Recent alarming trends related to child sexual abuse make this decision particularly timely. The number of reports of new material increased by more than 200 times over the past 3 years, driven by the misuse of Artificial Intelligence. Reinstating this framework strengthens our ability to identify abuse, support victims and stop offenders. However, this framework can only provide a bridge solution until agreement is found on the long-term legislation laying down rules to prevent and combat child sexual abuse. The Commission will continue to support the efforts of the co-legislators to come to a swift conclusion of negotiations on long-term rules, and to put in place an effective permanent system to protect children, support the rescue of child victims, enable the identification of perpetrators, and reduce secondary victimisation.
More information is available in our press release.
(For more information: Guillaume Mercier– Tel.: +32 2 298 05 64; Fiorella Boigner - Tel.: +32 2 299 37 34)
Commission proposes more than €410,000 from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund to support dismissed car industry workers in Finland
The European Commission has proposed to mobilise €410,310 from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers (EGF) to support 235 workers dismissed by Valmet Automotive in Finland.
Valmet Automotive is a contract manufacturer for the car industry, dependent on fixed-term contracts with major car makers. Its factory was left without new orders after a major contract ended in 2025, amid a broader downturn in the global automotive sector. In November 2025, the company announced the dismissal of 235 workers and the temporary lay-off of an additional 860 employees.
Since 2007, the EGF has intervened in 192 cases, allocating €737 million to offer support to more than 185,000 people in 20 Member States. This funding complements national active labour market measures.
(For more information: Anna-Kaisa Itkonen – Tel.: +32 2 295 75 01; Eirini Zarkadoula - Tel.: +32 2 295 70 65)
Commission approves €54 million Luxembourgish State aid for road and rail transport firms facing increased fuel prices
The European Commission has approved a €54 million Luxembourgish State aid scheme to support road transport and rail freight companies facing increased fuel prices due to the Middle East crisis.
The scheme was approved under the Middle East Crisis Temporary State Aid Framework (METSAF) adopted by the Commission on 29 April 2026.
The aid will take the form of direct grants. The aid can cover up to 70% of the additional fuel costs resulting from the Middle East crisis incurred between 1 March and 31 December 2026.
The Commission assessed the scheme under EU State aid rules, in particular Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, which enables Member States to support the development of certain economic activities subject to certain conditions, as well as Sections 1 and 2.2 of the METSAF.
The Commission found that the scheme is in line with the conditions set out in the METSAF. In particular, aid will be granted based on a scheme with a clear estimated budget, and aid will be provided to temporarily support the development of companies active in the road and rail freight transport sectors. The Commission concluded that the scheme is necessary, appropriate and proportionate to facilitate the development of an economic activity and does not adversely affect trading conditions to an extent contrary to the common interest.
On this basis, the Commission approved the Luxembourgish scheme under EU State aid rules.
Commission opens in-depth State aid investigation into PostNord Strålfors capital injections
The European Commission had opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether capital injections into PostNord Strålfors A/S by its parent company PostNord Strålfors Group AB are in line with EU State aid rules. PostNord Strålfors A/S operates in customer communication management. It is a subsidiary of PostNord Strålfors Group AB, which is in turn a subsidiary of PostNord Group AB, owned by the State-owned PostNord AB. The latter is co-owned by Denmark (40%) and Sweden (60%).
In 2020, the Commission received a complaint alleging PostNord Strålfors A/S received State aid in the form of four capital injections between 2014 and 2019 worth a total of €15.9 million (DKK 118.5 million), an alleged commitment from PostNord Strålfors Group AB to provide further capital injections 2019, and the alleged provision of free storage services to PostNord Strålfors by Post Danmark, also part of the PostNord group. The complainant alleges that the capital injections are imputable to Denmark and Sweden since PostNord Strålfors Group AB's decisions to grant the capital injections are imputable to PostNord Group AB because the latter has control through the group executive team. The complainant also alleges that a private investor would not have invested the money as PostNord Strålfors was loss-making.
Based on its preliminary assessment, the Commission has doubts on whether the capital injections in 2017, 2018 and 2019 are in line with EU State aid rules. At the same time, the Commission concluded that the 10-year limitation period expired on the 2014 capital injection, which means it constitutes existing aid not subject to recovery. The Commission also concluded that the alleged commitment to provide further financing in 2019 does not constitute State aid as it was a non-binding statement and no State resources can be linked to it. Lastly, the Commission found that Post Danmark did not provide storage services to PostNord Strålfors without remuneration, which means no State aid was involved.
In two other cases concerning injections granted to entities of the PostNord Group, Post Danmark and PostNord Logistics, the General Court ruled that the Commission should have opened formal investigations to examine the measures in-depth. The Commission recently opened formal investigations into both capital injections, and has now decided to open a formal investigation in this case as well. The opening of an in-depth investigation gives Denmark, Sweden and interested third parties, including the alleged beneficiary of the aid and the complainant, the opportunity to submit comments. It does not prejudge the outcome of the investigation in any way.
The non-confidential version of the decision will be made available under the case number SA.56621 and SA.56622 in the State aid register on the Commission's competition website once any confidentiality issues have been resolved.
Commission clears acquisition of Scholz Group by Derichebourg Environnement
The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of sole control of Scholz Holding GmbH and Scholz Recycling GmbH (together with their subsidiaries, the ‘Scholz Group'), all of Germany, by Derichebourg Environnement SAS of France.
The transaction relates primarily to waste management, in particular the recycling of scrap metals.
The Commission concluded that the notified transaction would not raise competition concerns, given the companies' limited market position 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.12491.
(For more information: Siobhan McGarry– Tel.: +32 2 296 47 98; Paula Clara Ritter-Moschütz – Tel.: +32 2 296 40 83)
Commission clears acquisition of THIMM by SAICA
The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of sole control of THIMM Group GmbH + Co. KG (‘THIMM') of Germany by SA Industrias Celulosa Aragonesa ('SAICA') of Spain.
The transaction relates primarily to corrugated paper and cardboard packaging.
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.12486.
Dr. Kezban AKANSOY
Press Officer / Political Reporter
European Commission
Representation in Cyprus
EU House, 30 Byron Avenue, 1096 Nicosia
Tel: +357 22817770 or 22817837 (direct)
Mobile: +90 533 8672030 or +357 99689521
kezban.akansoy@ec.europa.eu
https://cyprus.representation.ec.europa.eu