Chapter News, Financing for Development/UN SDG's

EIB AND ICO: EUR 800m to support micro-enterprises and the self-employed

The aim of this new agreement is to provide financing on favourable terms for small projects Ensuring that credit reaches entrepreneurs and young people wanting to turn their ideas into a business is the objective behind the agreement signed between the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO). The EIB will provide EUR 400m to ICO, which will in turn contribute an additional EUR 400m of its own, meaning that the financing volume available to micro-enterprises (with...

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Member News

Austria: New Working Time Laws

Written by Roger James of Ogletree Deakins and Matthias Unterrieder  New legislation is on the way, which will introduce significant changes to Austrian rules on working hours. The employer-friendly legislation will increase maximum daily and weekly working hours and allow employers more flexibility in creating work schedules. The maximum daily working time will be increased to 12 hours (from 10), and the maximum weekly working time will be 60 hours (up from 50) in any given week. This will significantly reduce...

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Member News

6 European payroll challenges for US companies

When it comes to HR and payroll, the European market can be particularly complex for US-based companies. Here’s why. While the 28 member countries of the European Union are unified in some ways, when it comes to HR and payroll, they can vary greatly, from how they implement EU directives to government disclosure requirements. And non-EU member states such as those in Eastern Europe, Switzerland and Scandinavia present unique difficulties of their own. If you’re experiencing headaches coordinating HR and payroll...

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Member News

What to Look for in a Staffing Partner

By Len Adams A staffing partner can be an incredibly valuable asset for businesses hoping to find the best talent. However, not all recruiters are created equal and you will only be as successful as the firm you choose to partner with. So how do you decide who to partner with? There are several simple ways that you can use to determine whether a firm is right for you. Responsiveness This is a very quick way to gain insight into the staffing...

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Member News

Don’t Let These 10 Legal Myths Stop Your Doing Business In The USA: Myth #2 Forming a business in the US takes a very long time with too many hurdles to overcome

By Marc S. Friedman | Director of Professional Relations | Global Commerce Education Last week I explained how many non-US companies, including Baltic businesses, are discouraged from exploiting a robust US marketplace by Myth #1 - The costs of entry into the US, including the costs of business formation, are very great and, thus, prohibitive. In this article, the third in a series, I address Myth #2 – that forming a business in the US takes a very long time...

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Brexit News, Member News

Optimism In The Face Of Uncertainty UK SME Brexit Survey 2018

Each year, at OCO Global (a company specialized in International Trade and Investment) we deal with hundreds of UK SMEs and advise and support them on their international growth plans. To supplement what we are hearing and seeing in our daily work, we have commissioned a survey of 1,000 UK SMEs, looking at the impact, expectations and level of preparedness ahead of Brexit. Key findings include: Third of UK SMEs believe Brexit will be positive for their business (driven by existing exporters),...

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Member News

A Successful London IPO for a VC Backed US Tech Company, Learn More at Palo Alto & Seattle Events on November 5 & 6

Join Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati at their Palo Alto office for the event: A Successful London IPO for a VC Backed US Tech Company.   The IPO of San Francisco founded, VC backed fintech Boku Inc. shows London offers a complementary liquidity option to US public markets for US growth companies in the $50m - $500m equity value range. The significant secondary element in the IPO and recent secondary selldown for VCs including Khosla Ventures, Benchmark Capital and Andreesen Horowitz demonstrate how London’s...

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Brexit News, Member News, Trade & TTIP Related

Vulcan View: Week of October 22

BREXIT    Theresa May once again wards off Tory rebels on Brexit    Theresa May addressed her conservative party backbenchers at the weekly meeting of the 1922 Committee on Wednesday, where she made an impassioned speech that appears to have placated some of her critics, at least for now. Mrs May asked to speak at the meeting following rumours that backbench MPs would trigger a vote of no confidence, largely due to Mrs May’s announcement last week that she would consider extending the...

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Member News

Ireland: Trade Secrets – Make Sure Your Business Isn’t Left Behind

The Irish legislation, the European Union (Protection of Trade Secrets) Regulations 2018 (Regulations) came into effect in June 2018. The Regulations have provided a welcome attempt at harmonising the disjointed area of protection of confidential business know-how. These new laws mark the start of trade secrets being given more formal protection in line with other types of intellectual property rights.   What is a trade secret? A trade secret is a valuable piece of information for a business that is treated...

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Chapter News

Commission Work Programme for 2019 and draft budgetary plan of Italy

Commission presents its work programme for 2019 and requests Italy to submit a revised draft budgetary plan within three weeks Commission Work Programme 2019 The European Commission presented today its Work Programme for 2019, setting out three main priorities for the year ahead: reaching swift agreement on the legislative proposals already presented to deliver on its ten political priorities; adopting a limited number of new initiatives to address outstanding challenges; and presenting several initiatives with a future perspective for a Union...

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