Next week will be plenary week in the European Parliament. Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”) will gather virtually and in person in Brussels. Several interesting votes and debates are scheduled to take place. On Monday, MEPs will debate and vote (Tuesday) on a report on strengthening the EU’s capabilities to enforce its rights under … Continue Reading
Next week, Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”) will gather virtually and in person in Brussels for committee meetings. Several interesting votes and debates are scheduled to take place. On Monday, the Committee on International Trade (“INTA”) is the first Committee to debate on the merits of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (“TCA”), which … Continue Reading
We recently presented to DG COMP the findings of the immunity and leniency survey 2020, which was conducted jointly by Covington and the Brussels School of Competition. The survey ran from December 2019 to March 2020 and asked competition law practitioners, enforcers and in-house counsels to share their observations on the perceived decline in immunity … Continue Reading
Next week, Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”) will gather in person and virtually in Brussels for committee meetings. Several interesting votes and debates are scheduled to take place. On Monday, the Legal Affairs Committee (“JURI”) will vote on a report that addresses interpretive questions of public international law on the military uses of AI … Continue Reading
On 25 November 2020, the European Commission published a proposal for a Regulation on European Data Governance (“Data Governance Act”). The proposed Act aims to facilitate data sharing across the EU and between sectors, and is one of the deliverables included in the European Strategy for Data, adopted in February 2020. (See our previous blog … Continue Reading
Next week, Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”) will gather in person and virtually in Brussels for committee meetings. Several interesting votes and debates are scheduled to take place. On Monday and Tuesday, MEPs of the Committee on International Trade (“INTA”) will have an exchange of views with Sabine Weyand, Director-General of DG Trade on … Continue Reading
The deadline has already passed for any UK-EU Agreement to be reached in time for translation and consideration by the European Parliament before the end of the Parliamentary term on 16th of December. In a gesture of conciliation, the parliament has indicated it may be prepared to convene on 28 December. However, as the pressure … Continue Reading
Briefings from both the EU and UK sides have been more positive over the last few days, with the Commission President briefing on 20 November that most major issues were now agreed. That adds to the impression that a Deal is close to being signed off (even if some members of the UK’s Cabinet have … Continue Reading
Next week, Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”) will gather in person and virtually in Brussels for plenary sessions. Several interesting votes and debates are scheduled to take place. On Monday, MEPs will debate how to update the new Industrial Strategy for Europe. The Commission presented its initial Industrial Strategy on March 10, 2020, but … Continue Reading
With the UK due to host the COP 26 climate summit in a year’s time, the UK Government is keen to set out its credentials as a global ‘green‘ leader and demonstrate not only that it can make good on its election promise to level up (with much of the promised Green Industrial Revolution investment … Continue Reading
Next week, Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”) will gather in person and virtually in Brussels for committee meetings and plenary sessions. Several interesting votes and meetings are scheduled to take place. On Monday, technical meetings are planned between negotiators of the European Parliament and the Council of the EU on the EU’s long-term budget … Continue Reading
On Saturday 31 October, the UK Government announced a new national lockdown and confirmed the extension of the existing Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, more commonly referred to as the “furlough” scheme.In this alert, we set out what the UK Government has announced and what this means in terms of the support available to employers, including … Continue Reading
So far, restructurings in Germany have been implemented either by way of consensual pre-insolvency solutions or formal and comprehensive insolvency proceedings with court oversight. The EU Restructuring Directive (EU) 2019/1023 of 20 June 2019 paved the way for the implementation of pre-insolvency restructuring proceedings in all EU member states that allow debtors to restructure effectively at an early … Continue Reading
The French Competition Authority (“FCA”) prohibited the proposed acquisition of the hypermarket retailer Géant Casino by its competitor E.Leclerc in the French city of Troyes. It found that the transaction would create a duopoly between the two remaining hypermarkets, Carrefour and E.Leclerc, risk increasing prices, and reduce the diversity of the offer for consumers. It … Continue Reading
Next week, Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”) will gather in Brussels for committee meetings. Several interesting votes and meetings are scheduled to take place. On Monday, the European Parliament’s Committee on the International Market and Consumer Protection (“IMCO”) will vote on a resolution that calls on the Commission to establish a consumer “right to … Continue Reading
On October 11, 2020, the EU FDI Screening Regulation (EU) 2019/452 – the “Regulation”) entered fully into force. The Regulation, which was approved and adopted in March 2019, establishes a framework for the screening of foreign direct investments (“FDI”) by EU Member States in which decision-making powers rest at the Member State level. Significantly, from … Continue Reading
Next week, Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”) will gather in Brussels for committee and political groups’ meetings. Several interesting debates are scheduled to take place. On Monday, the Committee on Budgets (“BUDG”) and the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (“ECON”) will both vote on a draft report on the Sustainable Europe Investment Plan … Continue Reading
On 10 September 2020, the German Federal Social Court (Bundessozialgericht – “BSG”) has issued an important decision with significant impact on the drug pricing and reimbursement system. It ruled that a pharmaceutical company can file a direct legal action against the early benefit assessment in the so-called AMNOG process. This was not possible so far. … Continue Reading
Next week, Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”) will gather in Brussels for committee and political groups’ meetings. Several interesting debates are scheduled to take place. On Monday, the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (“ENVI”) will have an exchange of views with Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans on the 2030 Climate Target … Continue Reading
Next week, Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”) will gather in Brussels for committee meetings. Several interesting debates are scheduled to take place. On Monday, MEPs of the Foreign Affairs Committee (“AFET”) will have an exchange of views with China’s Ambassador to the EU, Ming Zhang. It is likely that MEPs will discuss the outcomes … Continue Reading
The UK Government recently announced that it is developing legislation that would make it illegal for large businesses operating in the UK to use certain commodities that have not been produced in line with local laws, and require in-scope companies to conduct due diligence to ensure that their supply chains are free from illegal deforestation … Continue Reading
Foreign Direct Investment Regulation The EU Regulation on Foreign Direct Investment (2019/452) (the “EU FDI Regulation”) will enter into force fully on October 11, 2020. Most notably, on this date, a cooperation and information sharing mechanism among Member States and the European Commission in respect of foreign direct investment (“FDI”) that has an “EU-dimension” will … Continue Reading
Next week, Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”) will gather in Brussels for plenary sessions. Several interesting debates are scheduled to take place. On Monday, MEPs will debate on a draft Report on the System of Own Resources of the EU. According to the co-rapporteurs, MEP José Manuel Fernandes (PT, EPP) and MEP Valérie Hayeris … Continue Reading
As of January 2021, many imports and exports of agricultural products covered by EU tariff quotas will be subject to the new licensing rules of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/760 (“Delegated Regulation”) and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/761 (“Implementing Regulation”) (together, “Licensing Regulations” or “Regulations”). The new Regulations introduce significant changes to – and are … Continue Reading
