Member News

Brexit News, Member News

Blacklines Comparison of the New UK / EU Withdrawal Agreement Terms

By Thomas Donegan, Barnabas Reynolds, James Webber | Shearman & Sterling LLP The EU and U.K. in principle agreed new terms for the withdrawal agreement giving effect to the U.K.’s exit from the European Union. These include a revised political declaration and protocol concerning Northern Ireland replacing the controversial backstop. An amended unilateral declaration on consent in Northern Ireland by the U.K. was also published. Attached to this client note are comparison documents showing the changes from the previous set...

Read more

Brexit News, Member News

British government makes new proposals on border regime in Ireland – cautious reactions

By Giovanna Ventura & Dr. Max Helleberg |  Noerr On Wednesday 02 October 2019, Prime Minister Johnson sent proposals to the EU on the future border regime in Ireland. These proposals initially continue to require the UK to leave the EU on 31 October 2019, with the result that customs controls would be reintroduced at the Irish border. However, these would not be physically carried out at or near the border, but would be carried out locally at traders' premises...

Read more

Member News

European Union: Work-life Balance Directive takes effect

The EU has introduced a new Work-life Balance Directive. The Directive aims to improve access to family leave and flexible work arrangements in all EU Member States. Specifically, the new legislation intends to accomplish the following: Support better work-life balance for parents and carers Encourage a more equal sharing of parental leave between men and women Address women’s underrepresentation in the labour market Measures under the Directive include: Paternity leave According to the Directive, new fathers are entitled to ten days’ of...

Read more

Member News

Wise Persons: Europe needs a dedicated development bank

EIB President Werner Hoyer addressed the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN), composed of the economics and finance ministers from all member states, following the conclusions of the Wise Persons Group assessment on current European financial architecture for development. President Hoyer explained the key role that the EIB can play to address global challenges and strengthen Europe’s development finance efficiency. He acknowledged the call from the Wise Persons Group to better organise and streamline EU development financing. As a response to...

Read more

Member News

Are Camera Apps Taking More than Your Photo? Data Privacy Concerns You Should Know

Scrolling through your social media feeds, you likely noticed the surge of friends and public figures sharing posts of their future selves using the widely popular FaceApp. However, like most things, the devil is in the details. It’s only after combing through the Russian-affiliated application that cybersecurity experts began to question its user data privacy and practices—raising larger questions about user security regarding social media applications. We sat with CyZen’s Will Mendez about the mounting concerns about user data privacy...

Read more

Member News

Legal Updates on Anti-Money Laundering in Italy

On October 3, 2019, the Italian Government enacted a Legislative Decree (“Law”) aimed at implementing the EU Directive 2018/843 regarding anti-money laundering matters in EU state members. While the content of the Law is still unknown, the Law should introduce the following changes to the current Italian anti-money laundering framework. In particular, in accordance to the press release published on the website of the Italian Government, the Law aims at:  defining some categories of entities covered by the Law, including...

Read more

Member News

Navigating the Recent U.S. Sanctions on COSCO (Dalian) and Other Chinese Companies

By Jonathan M. Epstein | Holland & Knight  The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Sept. 25, 2019, designated COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian) Co. Ltd. (COSCO Dalian), Kunlun Shipping Company Ltd., and certain other entities and individuals as Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs) under Executive Order 13846 for transporting Iranian oil and petroleum products contrary to U.S. sanctions. Notwithstanding the long lead-up to this action, the designations took many in the maritime industry by surprise. In late 2018, as part of...

Read more

Brexit News, Member News

Vulcan Insight | Analysis of the latest EU Developments 4 – 11 Oct 2019

Key Events This Week A path to progress? With one week to go before the crucial European Council summit on 17th October, there is still no clear agreement between the UK and EU on a way forward. On Thursday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar met in Cheshire for what many saw as a last-ditch attempt to break the impasse in the Brexit talks. While officials on both sides had played down the chances of any breakthrough, the...

Read more

Member News

Andersen Tax Is Now Andersen

Hearkening the legacy and values of the Andersen name, Andersen Tax, one of the nation’s largest independent tax firms, will now operate under the brand “Andersen.” The Andersen name reflects the full scope of services available to clients in the U.S. and internationally.  Andersen Tax was founded in 2002 as a tax-only firm focused on private clients. Today the firm serves some of the largest companies in the world providing not only tax services but also valuation, transfer pricing and,...

Read more

Member News

EY UK Attractiveness Survey 2019: Economic disparity between the UK’s cities and towns deepens

EY's regional UK Attractiveness Survey report, in association with the Centre For Towns, reveals the stark and deepening disparity of foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into the UK, with its largest cities attracting an ever-greater share of inward investment and little signs of spillover benefit for the areas surrounding them. This joint report, which captures detailed analysis on where FDI has located across the UK’s cities, towns, communities and villages over the last twenty-one years, also points to a continued...

Read more