Comment by SquareWheel

The first link confirms exactly what I said above. They’re not preventing Google from removing third party cookies, they’re preventing Google from implementing ALTERNATIVES to third party cookies. The only reason Google is unwilling to straight up remove third party cookies is their business model.

  The CMA was concerned that, without regulatory oversight and scrutiny, Google’s alternatives could be developed and implemented in ways that impede competition in digital advertising markets. This would cause advertising spending to become even more concentrated on Google, harming consumers who ultimately pay for the cost of advertising. It would also undermine the ability of online publishers such as newspapers to generate revenue and continue to produce valuable content in the future.

The second link does contain the phrase “cannot proceed with third-party cookie deprecation”, but it’s simply obvious that it’s not about third party cookies per se. It’s all about Google’s (unnecessary, anticompetitive, anti-user, anti-privacy) replacements for third party cookies.

  … report on the implementation of Google’s Privacy Sandbox commitments, the regulator has said that although the tech giant is so far complying with its demands, there remain considerable areas of concerns …
  …
  That it must not “design, develop or use the Privacy Sandbox proposals in ways that reinforce the existing market position of its advertising products and services, including Google Ad Manager“
  …
  It must also address issues with specific Sandbox tools such as how its Topics API targeting alternative can harm smaller tech business, and clarify who will govern the Topics API taxonomy.