On 20 May 2025, the Council of the EU adopted its seventeenth package of restrictive measures against Russia, which supplements those detailed in our previous newsflashes. This package significantly intensifies the restrictions on Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’ and strengthens the EU’s efforts to prevent the circumvention of sanctions. The Council has adopted seven regulations, which entered into force on 21 May 2025: Council Regulation (EU) 2025/932 of 20 May 2025 amending Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia’s actions...

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European Commission unveils new EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy On Wednesday, 28 May, the European Commission launched an EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy to “make Europe a great place for starting and growing global technology-driven companies.” Startups and scaleups drive competitiveness by sparking innovation and sustainable growth, creating high-quality jobs, attracting investment, and reducing strategic dependencies. The initiative focuses on the science component, promoted by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, to promote a unified European approach to attract and retain talent, thereby...

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Welcome to our quarterly Global AI Regulatory Update brought to you by our Knowledge team, summarizing key developments from around the world. In this edition of our global AI bulletin, we will be looking at: Global – Report published on AI governance in central banks. Asia – Hong Kong: Report highlights responsible AI adoption in finance; Privacy Commissioner publishes generative AI use checklist. Europe – Commission updates guidelines for responsible AI use in research; Report published on AI privacy risks and large language...

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Background After more than 20 years, the time has come for a thorough review of how to interpret and apply EU merger control law. On 8 May 2025, the European Commission launched a public consultation on the revision of the guidelines for applying the EU Merger Regulation to mergers and acquisitions involving competitors (2004 Horizontal Merger Guidelines) and involving companies which are not direct competitors (2008 Non-Horizontal Merger Guidelines) (collectively known as the “Merger Guidelines”). The Merger Guidelines are not legal provisions. However,...

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Tradewind Finance, an international trade finance provider, is excited to be celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. This milestone commemorates twenty-five years of serving exporters, importers, manufacturers and more with innovative liquidity solutions to grow and succeed. Tradewind was founded in 2000 in Germany with the mission to help suppliers bridge cash flow and equip them with the tools to trade securely.  It first began delivering receivables-based financing to textile suppliers in Turkey selling to European importers. Like today, Tradewind replenished...

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This Citi GPS report focuses on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the U.S. and how the rapidly shifting dynamics of global capital movements might affect it. Whereas most other regions saw declines in 2024 vs 2023, the U.S. enjoyed a double-digit growth of 13%, while also recording the highest growth in greenfield projects. It is also worth noting that while the U.S. was the largest recipient country of the global FDI inflows, it was also the biggest giver by far...

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What the Working Plan means for your business Why should I read this? On April 16, 2025, the European Commission adopted its first 2025–2030 Working Plan for the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), a major step towards reshaping how products are designed, produced, and sold in the EU. The ESPR aims to improve the environmental performance of a wide range of products throughout their life cycle. It introduces new rules covering both product performance - such as durability, availability of spare parts, and...

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