The European Commission continues to take rapid steps towards ending its vulnerable overreliance on Russian energy imports, particularly regarding gas. Following on the heels of the Commission’s REPowerEU Communication and the Versailles Declaration, the Commission this week proposed new measures for joint EU purchases of gas and minimum storage quotas. The aim, according to Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson, is to provide “swift action to ensure our energy supply for next winter, and to alleviate the pressure of high energy bills on...

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After the various measures taken by countries, international organizations and companies to pressure Russia to stop its aggression against Ukraine, it is now the turn of the antitrust enforcers of the European Competition Network (ECN) to make their contribution. They did so by publishing a joint statement on 22 March, in which they indicated that they would be pragmatic, if not flexible, in assessing the behaviour adopted by companies in response to the severe difficulties encountered in connection with the war....

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Are antitrust concerns a built-in feature of the Metaverse? In two popular science-fiction novels, Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash and Ernest Cline's Ready Player One, the Metaverse is run by single companies, or "monopolists," as antitrust lawyers might put it.1 In Ready Player One, a company called IOI even tries to get control of the monopoly to impose monthly fees on users and introduce advertising. Real-life antitrust regulators, sensitized by a perceived accumulation of market power in today's online world,...

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On March 21, 2022, the SEC released its long-awaited climate disclosure proposal, which is modeled, in part, on the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework. Among other things, the proposed rules would require a company to disclose in its annual report on Form 10-K information regarding: • Climate-related risks; • Direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (Scope 1 emissions), indirect GHG emissions resulting from purchased energy (Scope 2 emissions), and, if material or if the company has set a target...

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The ECJ ruling in Bank Melli Iran v Telekom Deutschland GmbH (C-124/20) Background After receiving Advocate General Hogan’s Opinion in May 2021, the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) handed down its highly anticipated ruling in the Bank Melli Iran case (C-124/20) on 21 December 2021. The Court of Justice was faced with the difficult question of whether companies are permitted, in response to impending US secondary sanctions, to give regular notice of termination of contracts to companies subject...

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Editor's Note: It may be the shortest month of the year, but February 2022 saw a flurry of privacy — especially biometric — legislation move closer to enactment. Kentucky, California, Maryland, and New York state introduced biometric-focused laws, each largely mirroring Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) and each containing a private right of action. Maine, Utah, and Florida introduced comprehensive privacy bills, and Iowa's and Oklahoma's inched closer to enactment by passing committees. On the litigation front, Texas...

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Economists and policymakers generally recognize that growth will be weaker than was anticipated at the end of last year. Price pressures are going to be stronger and last longer than previously projected. The supply shock has been exacerbated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the social restrictions in China stemming from Covid. With the major central bank meetings past, the highlight in the week ahead will be the flash PMI readings. The risks are on the downside.   And if those risks...

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On 9 and 15 March 2022, the Council of the European Union adopted new restrictive measures against Russia and Belarus due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. On 9 and 15 March 2022, the Council of the European Union (the “Council”) adopted new restrictive measures against Russia and Belarus due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. These new restrictive measures complement those adopted up until 2 March 2022, which we discussed in a previous newsflash. Restrictive measures against individuals in Russia The...

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“Non-Fungible Tokens” (“NFTs”) came on to the scene in 2014 and are a public digital record maintained on a blockchain (digital ledger that stores data) typically associated with a digital file.  Previously, blockchains were typically used in connection with cryptocurrency transactions, but they are now being used for NFTs; the new kid on the block in the cryptocurrency world.  However, NFTs are more like original paintings because they are unique and irreplaceable making NFTs non-fungible, such that an NFT...

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A total of 78% of American companies anticipate new investments on Portuguese soil, according to the most recent study from the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Portugal. The pandemic, the rise in inflation and more recently the war in Ukraine have brought new challenges to the business fabric. Despite the current context, most US companies present in Portugal foresee an increase in business volume and even consider making new investments in 2022, according to a study from the American...

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