The CSSF issued a press release on 7 December 2020 on the management of Luxembourg AIFs by UK AIFMs and the marketing of UK UCITS and AIFs in Luxembourg. UK AIFMs or impacted funds must take certain actions by 31 December 2020 at the latest to the extent no action has been taken so far. Luxembourg investment funds managed by a UK AIFM should appoint an EU-27 manager in order to maintain the EU passporting rights. Under limited circumstances Luxembourg AIFs...

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Expectations that a Brexit deal would be done by the end of the working week have been dashed after it was reported that the French and British clashed on key elements of the agreement, pushing negotiations into the weekend. The latest optimism for a deal to be struck by today likely originated with Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney commenting on Thursday that “there is a good chance that we can get a deal across the line in the next few days”. While...

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Five weeks before the UK is set to leave the Single Market and Customs Union the European Commission still cannot tell whether there will be a post-Brexit future relationship agreement. Filling in for EU Chief negotiator Michel Barnier who continues to self-isolate after a member of his team tested positive for the coronavirus last week, European Commission President von der Leyen had a clear and sobering message when updating MEPs on the state of play of negotiations with London: “Frankly,...

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With just under six weeks until the end of the transition period, the EU-UK negotiations on the future relationship hit a familiar roadblock, as the coronavirus breached the carefully sealed bubble of negotiators.   Since the very public fallout between the parties in October, talks had, as promised by Commission President von der Leyen, been significantly intensified with in-person negotiations taking place almost daily since 22 October. In fact, considering that both chief negotiators had been very light-lipped recently, some commentators...

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Following ten days of intensified talks on the EU-UK post-Brexit future relationship following their public fall-out a few weeks ago, Michel Barnier painted a gloomy picture of the current state play. While not yet speaking publicly about the developments of his talks with David Frost in the past week, the EU’s Chief Brexit negotiator this week updated EU ambassadors as well as the European Parliament’s Brexit Coordination Group on the state of play. In his only public comments since the...

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In her most optimistic comments yet on the ongoing post-Brexit future relationship negotiations, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen acknowledged that negotiations had intensified since last week’s very public falling out and that they were making “good progress”. However, speaking to press following a videoconference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, she conceded that more progress was needed on the two remaining critical issues of the level playing field and fisheries. While she did not specifically mention governance, an agreement...

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“I have concluded that we should get ready for January 1 with arrangements that are like Australia’s based on simple principles of global free trade” – Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s statement following last week’s European Council summit kicked off what can only be described as a week of very public back and forth posturing leaving us wondering whether the post-Brexit trade talks had in fact, failed. The walkout came late on Friday afternoon, after the UK Government took issue with...

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Not everyone realizes that, in a formal sense, Brexit has actually already happened – with effect from midnight (European time) on 31 January 2020 the UK ceased to be a member of the European Union. However you will be forgiven for not noticing much difference because with immediate effect the UK entered into the transition period which runs until 11 pm UK time on 31 December 2020. The UK and EU continue to negotiate an agreement on the future...

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