Chapter News

Antitrust: EU Commission carries out unannounced inspections in the energy drinks sector

On 20 March 2023, the European Commission has started unannounced inspections at the premises of a company active in the energy drinks sector in various Member States. The Commission has concerns that the inspected company may have violated EU antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices (Article 101 of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union (‘TFEU') and Article 53 of the European Economic Area Agreement (‘EEA')). The inspected company may also have violated EU antitrust...

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Chapter News

FTC | Chatbots, deepfakes, and voice clones: AI deception for sale

You may have heard of simulation theory, the notion that nothing is real and we’re all part of a giant computer program. Let’s assume at least for the length of this blog post that this notion is untrue. Nonetheless, we may be heading for a future in which a substantial portion of what we see, hear, and read is a computer-generated simulation. We always keep it real here at the FTC, but what happens when none of us can...

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Member News

IPTI | Update on U.S. & EU Property Tax Issues: March 2023

The EACC, in partnership with the International Property Tax Institute (IPTI), wants to keep its members up to date with the latest developments in property taxes in the USA and Europe. IPTI has put together below a selection of articles from IPTI Xtracts; more articles can be found on its website (www.ipti.org). United States North Carolina: Post-COVID, revaluation shows malls are worth less in Mecklenburg The assessed value of some of Mecklenburg County’s most high-profile shopping centers and malls declined or was...

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Member News

BBGFX | Terms of UBS Acquisition Wipes out Additional Tier 1 Capital and Spurs Fresh Concerns

Overview: UBS takeover of Credit Suisse, the sale of Signature bank assets, and the daily dollar swaps could have helped stabilize the budding banking crisis. However, the wipeout of the additional tier 1 capital cushion (16 bln Swiss francs) at Credit Suisse has raised concern about the vulnerability of other such assets, which post-GFC is a $275 bln market in Europe. Asia Pacific equities was a sea of red, led by a 2.65% drop in the Hang Seng and...

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Chapter News

Launch of the EU-NATO Task Force: Strengthening our resilience and protection of critical infrastructure

The challenges to the European Union's security and resilience are becoming increasingly complex and dynamic. A range of actors constantly test our resilience, seeking to exploit the openness, interdependence and connectivity of our societies and economies. The weaponisation of energy and the acts of sabotage against the Nord Stream gas pipelines have led to heightened attention to ensure the resilience of our critical infrastructure. Against this background, it is crucial for both the EU and NATO to support efforts to...

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Member News

Vulcan Insight | EU Commission seeks revision of the EU’s Energy Market Design

On 14 March, the Commission proposed to reform the EU’s electricity market design as part of the Green Deal Industrial Plan. Throughout the energy crisis, the EU’s electricity market design has shown various shortcomings, including unsustainably high electricity bills for consumers and the EU’s inability to sufficiently support industry. The proposed reform focuses on aspects requiring urgent adjustments to make the market more resilient and to reduce the impact of gas prices on electricity bills. The EU’s Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson marked that the proposal will not alter the...

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Member News

AlixPartners | Industry 4.0: Seek the reward, mind the risks

Industry 4.0 offers great promise, but with this promise comes risk. A host of cybersecurity vulnerabilities require careful attention. In this series, we have explained the Industry 4.0 transformation and highlighted the opportunity to harness innovative technologies that weave together physical and digital worlds across disciplines, industries, and economies. Those who effectively harness Industry 4.0 have the power to connect to potentially billions of people and endless resources virtually, vastly improving efficiency along the way. There is a clear business case...

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Member News

OCO Global | Silicon Valley Bank: Banks to the future

What a week it has been for tech investment. On Thursday 9th March, most of the world had never heard of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). By Friday, the second-largest bank failure in US history was all over the news, everywhere. By Sunday, US regulators were using emergency measures to prevent contagion across the banking system. By Monday HSBC had bought the UK arm of SVB for £1. Now, as the digital frenzy unleashed starts to settle, it seems that the...

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Chapter News

Net-Zero Industry Act: Making the EU the home of clean technologies manufacturing and green jobs

Today, the Commission proposed the Net-Zero Industry Act to scale up manufacturing of clean technologies in the EU and make sure the Union is well-equipped for the clean-energy transition. This initiative was announced by President von der Leyen as a part of the Green Deal Industrial Plan. The Act will strengthen the resilience and competitiveness of net-zero technologies manufacturing in the EU, and make our energy system more secure and sustainable. It will create better conditions to set up net-zero...

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Chapter News

Critical Raw Materials: ensuring secure and sustainable supply chains for EU’s green and digital future

Today, the EU Commission proposes a comprehensive set of actions to ensure the EU's access to a secure, diversified, affordable and sustainable supply of critical raw materials. Critical raw materials are indispensable for a wide set of strategic sectors including the net zero industry, the digital industry, aerospace, and defence sectors. While demand for critical raw materials is projected to increase drastically, Europe heavily relies on imports, often from quasi-monopolistic third country suppliers. The EU needs to mitigate the risks...

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