Chapter News

European Council | Migration policy: Council agrees mandate on EU law dealing with crisis situations

Today, EU member states’ representatives reached an agreement on the final component of a common European asylum and migration policy. At a meeting of the Council’s permanent representatives committee, member states sealed their negotiating mandate on a regulation on crisis situations, including sentimentalization of migration, and force majeure in the field of migration and asylum. This position will form the basis of negotiations between the Council presidency and the European Parliament. The new law establishes the framework that would allow...

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Chapter News, Trade & TTIP Related

European Parliament | MEPs adopt new trade tool to defend EU from economic blackmail

The main goal is to deter foreign powers from bullying the EU or its member states. Restrictions to trade, direct investment and access to the EU procurement market are among possible countermeasures. This new tool should serve as a shield protecting EU’s sovereignty. The new trade instrument is primarily meant as a deterrent, but it will allow the EU to fight economic coercion and respond with its own countermeasures. With 578 votes to 24 and 19 abstentions. Parliament approved on Tuesday...

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Member News

Greenberg Traurig | Update: Portugal Ends Real Estate Investment Visa Program

In February 2023, Portugal proposed a “Mais Habitação” or “More Housing” bill that would, in part, suspend the entire Golden Visa immigrant investor program in an effort to address housing availability in the country, as discussed in an earlier blog post. Since that writing, there have been significant updates. Legislative Progress In July 2023, Portugal’s Assembly of the Republic approved a version of the bill that ended the Golden Visa program’s real estate-based investment options. This marked a substantial restructuring, mitigating the possibility...

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Member News

CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA) | Prepare Now for ESG Requirements Starting in 2024, 2025

As ESG continues to evolve as a global area of focus, companies in the private sector are not necessarily exempt from ESG reporting requirements.  Here’s a checklist to gauge if having a conversation sooner vs. later makes sense from a strategic planning perspective. Do any of these apply to your enterprise? The company is doing business with publicly traded companies. The company sells to non-US entities in Europe and is subject to EU sustainability reporting requirements starting in 2024. The...

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Member News

PwC | EU General Court delivers judgements in State aid cases

The EU State aid rules continue to cause significant uncertainty for taxpayers as to the correct application of tax rulings and transfer pricing rules within the European Union. These judgements are one of many steps in providing further clarity and guidance on the application of the State aid rules.Companies should continue to track state aid developments and assess the potential impact of recent judgements. State Aid remains a dynamic area and we expect to see more interesting judgements delivered. EU...

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Member News

Wilson Sonsini | FedNow’s legal terms contain a game changer for digital wallets and payment apps

A few lines buried in the legal terms for the FedNow service, which is now live, create an important opportunity for digital wallet and payment app providers. While the new FedNow legal regime creates significant business opportunities for all players in this space, emerging nonbank payment providers may have the most to gain from this change. Early-stage startup founders and investors in particular should take note. These provisions allow nonbank providers access to FedNow under a remarkably open approach, with only a...

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Member News

Reavis Page Jump | The Corporate Transparency Act is Taking Effect – Part 1

Two and half years ago, Congress passed a law that would not take effect for three years.  Many people did not pay attention to this law, since it did not affect anyone at the time, even though the law would affect nearly all business entities in the country.  The law is set to take effect six months from now, and businesses and attorneys need to be aware and prepare for a new set of mandatory government regulations. The name of...

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Member News

Bannockburn FX | US Yields and Dollar Rise After US Government Closure Averted

The US avoided a government shutdown, barely, and this eased one of the headwinds that were anticipated. In turn, this is spurring new gains in US interest rates and helping underpin the dollar at the start of the new quarter. The 10-year Treasury is holding above 4.60% and nearing last week's high (4.68%). The two-year yield gapped higher and is near 5.10%. The high from September 21 was almost 5.20%. The Swiss franc is the only G10 currency holding...

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Member News, Trade & TTIP Related

Thompson Hine | U.S., UK and EU Announce Updated List of Controlled “High-Priority” Items Restricted for Export to Russia

On September 19, 2023, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced additional items considered significant to Russian weaponry and are now restricted for export to both Russia and Belarus. In coordination with the United Kingdom and European Union, BIS continues to identify “high-priority items” by their six-digit Harmonized System (HS) codes that Russia seeks to procure for its weapons programs. Items described by these HS codes have been found in multiple Russian weapons systems used against Ukraine. In the September 2023 notice, BIS...

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Chapter News

ECB | Careful embrace: AI and the ECB

Blog post by Myriam Moufakkir, Chief Services Officer |  The recent rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has led to a number of quite useful applications, such as helping doctors diagnose diseases and scientists crunch large sets of numbers. So, how does the ECB use this rapidly developing technology? As part of our core work we analyse vast amounts of data. This is the basis for good decisions that contribute to keeping prices stable in the euro area and ensure...

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