News, TRIA News

EIB | School in Northwestern Ukraine Opens Following EU-Supported Energy-Efficiency Upgrade

Lyceum No. 12 in Kovel, northwestern Ukraine, has been upgraded under the EIB’s Ukraine Public Buildings Energy Efficiency Programme, backed by an EU guarantee under the Ukraine Facility. The renovated facility includes energy-efficient solutions, improved heating and engineering systems. The project improves learning conditions for over 1,200 students and staff while reducing energy consumption and costs. Lyceum No. 12 in the city of Kovel, Volyn oblast, has reopened following a comprehensive energy-efficiency modernisation, improving learning conditions for more than...

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Member News, News

McCann Fitzgerald | Navigating Legal Privilege when Using Generative AI

Lawyers, both in-house and in private practice are making growing use of generative AI in the delivery of legal services.  This had led to the creation of a whole new category of documents, in the form of prompts and AI outputs.  Such documents, as with any others, may be subject to disclosure in legal proceedings, unless protected by privilege. Recent rulings on both sides of the Atlantic have highlighted the growing tensions between the use of generative AI tools and...

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Member News, News

Tarter Krinsky & Drogin | Structuring U.S. Acquisitions for European Investors

For European investors eyeing the U.S. market with an acquisition, the “Stock vs. Assets” debate is more than just a legal technicality; it dictates your future liability profile and tax efficiency. Whether you acquire shares of stock directly through a European legal entity (“European Entity”) or utilize a Delaware “Newco” to buy assets, your choice should align with your long-term risk tolerance and exit strategy. In our new alert, we outline two different acquisition scenarios, highlighting the benefits, opportunities, and...

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Member News, News

A&L Goodbody | Asset Management & Investment Funds: EU & International Developments – April 2026

European Commission adopts RTS under EU Ratings Regulation The European Commission adopted two draft Delegated Regulations supplementing the ESG Ratings Regulation. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) consulted on the draft RTS in May 2025. Draft Delegated Regulation with regard to RTS specifying the measures and safeguards to be implemented by ESG rating providers to separate their ESG rating activities from their other activities Draft Delegated Regulation with regard to RTS specifying the elements of ESG rating products to...

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Chapter News, News

European Parliament | Digital Markets Act: MEPs Want Stronger Enforcement Amid External Pushback

The Digital Markets Act (DMA) is a key instrument to improve market openness and fairness, competition, and user choice in the EU New challenges posed by generative AI and cloud services need to be addressed External pressure must not compromise the EU’s sovereignty and autonomy to define its rules Effective and proportionate fines essential to ensure deterrence and safeguarding DMA’s effectiveness MEPs are pushing for the Commission’s timely and effective enforcement of the EU’s Digital Markets Act and closer...

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Member News, News

VRC | 1Q 2026 Update: Middle Market Credit Spreads, Required Returns

Price discovery emerges as AI and geopolitical volatility cloud the inflation and rate outlook.  The article in brief: •  Heightened volatility in early 2026, driven by AI-related disruption concerns and geopolitical developments, pushed credit markets back into price discovery mode. •  Primary market activity slowed late in the quarter, while secondary spreads widened, particularly for technology and software-exposed credits. •  Despite near-term uncertainty, lender demand remains strong, and the market backdrop continues to favor high-quality borrowers, with higher risk premiums for AI-, tariff-,...

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Member News, News

Practus LLP | The New ETF Frontier: Digital Assets, Tokenization, and the Regulatory Tightrope

Innovation is Easy. Approval is Not Digital assets are having a moment. But for ETF sponsors, in addition to the underlying product innovation, there is still the need to concurrently navigate the regulatory gauntlet of custody, valuation, market integrity and compliance. Formerly fringe, digital assets are firmly implanted in the product pipeline. Even with investor demand rising, many digital asset ETF concepts don’t fail in design – they stall in regulatory review. We’ve worked alongside sponsors on first-of-their-kind cryptocurrency and blockchain-based...

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Chapter News, News, Trade & TTIP Related

European Commission | EU-Mercosur Interim Trade Agreement Starts to Provisionally Apply

On 1 May, the EU-Mercosur Interim Trade Agreement (ITA) will start being provisionally applied. This will allow EU producers, exporters, and farmers to start reaping the benefits of this deal as of day one.  The provisional application of the ITA will create new opportunities, supporting the exports of industrial goods, services, and agri-food products to Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. It will immediately remove or drastically reduce tariffs on key exports such as cars, pharmaceuticals, and foresee a first tariff...

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Member News, News, Trade & TTIP Related

Thompson Hine | Commerce Adds Duty-Free Tariff Code for Section 232 Goods Containing No Aluminum, Steel, or Copper

On April 27, 2026, the Department of Commerce (“Commerce”) published a Federal Register notice adding a duty-free code in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”) with retroactive effect to cover goods subject to the Section 232 aluminum, steel, or copper tariff regimes that do not, in fact, contain these metals.  This new provision, subheading 9903.82.01, applies retroactively to April 6, 2026, the effective date of Proclamation 11021, which overhauled the Section 232 aluminum, steel, and copper tariff regimes (see Update of...

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Member News, News

A&L Goodbody | PSD 3/PSR: Final Compromise Texts Published

On 23 April 2026, the Council of the EU published final compromise texts of the legislative proposals for a Third Payment Services Directive (PSD 3) and Payment Services Regulation (PSR). On 23 April 2026, the Council of the EU published final compromise texts of the legislative proposals for a Third Payment Services Directive (PSD 3) and Payment Services Regulation (PSR) (see the final compromise texts here and here). The release of the texts now provide welcome certainty after months of anticipation since it...

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