Chapter News

UN-EU strategic partnership on peace operations and crisis management: EU Council conclusions on priorities for 2022-2024

The Council approved conclusions today endorsing the new priorities for the 2022-2024 period under the UN-EU strategic partnership on peace operations and crisis management. The Council reiterates the firm commitment made by the EU and its member states to uphold the multilateral rules-based global order with the United Nations at its core, and it commends the achievements and recognises the mutually beneficial nature of the longstanding UN-EU cooperation on peacekeeping and civilian, police and military crisis management. The Council welcomes...

Read more

COVID-19 News, Member News

MPC Consultants | Covid 19: Where are we now & what have we learned: A look back

If we’ve learned one thing over the past 2 years, it’s that the only predictable thing is that this pandemic is unpredictable. Viruses mutate in nature constantly. Most mutations do not amount to anything significant, but given time and endless probabilities, an occasional mutation will make a virus different enough that it might escape a body’s natural immunity or the immunity conferred by vaccinations. The virus might be more easily transmissible or more virulent or both. The Omicron variant was...

Read more

Member News

CEA Legal | Industry and Legal Trends to Watch in 2022

2022 is here, and hopefully, it will be remembered as the year we put an end to Covid-19. Several industries are poised to complete the economic rebound or even boom. These are sectors that we at Cea Legal will be following closely: Blockchain, blockchain, blockchain! 2021 was an amazing year for the blockchain industry, as the business world better understood that the magnitude of this technology is much bigger than the pioneer, Bitcoin. Since the iconic sale of Beeple digital art...

Read more

Chapter News

NextGenerationEU: European Commission disburses €271 million in pre-financing to Finland

The European Commission has today disbursed €271 million to Finland in pre-financing, equivalent to 13% of the country's financial allocation under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). The pre-financing payment will help kick-start the implementation of the crucial investment and reform measures outlined in Finland's recovery and resilience plan. The Commission will authorise further disbursements based on the implementation of the investments and reforms outlined in Finland's recovery and resilience plan. The country is set to receive €2.1 billion in...

Read more

Chapter News, Trade & TTIP Related

EU challenges Russian export restrictions on wood at WTO

Today, the EU is requesting consultations with Russia at the World Trade Organization (WTO) concerning export restrictions placed by Russia on wood products. The export restrictions consist of significantly increased export duties on certain wood products and a drastic reduction in the number of border crossing points through which exports of wood products can take place. The Russian restrictions are highly detrimental to the EU wood processing industry, which relies on exports from Russia, and create significant uncertainty on the...

Read more

Member News

Vulcan Insight | Cryptoeconomy facing increasing regulatory hurdles

On Thursday the Russian Central Bank proposed a ban on the use and mining of cryptocurrencies in a bid to stave off increasing financial instability and safeguard monetary policy dominance. This comes just days after the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK announced it will be cracking down on the use of promotional ads and marketing strategies by cryptocurrency traders, fearing that consumers are being misled into undertaking risky investments they do not understand. This follows a move in December 2021...

Read more

Member News

Steptoe | The US Strategy on Countering Corruption: Implications for Businesses

In December 2021, the White House issued the United States Strategy on Countering Corruption (the Strategy). The Strategy was issued pursuant to a June 3, 2021 National Security Study Memorandum on Establishing the Fight Against Corruption as a Core United States National Security Interest (the NSSM). Although the issue of corruption has been linked to national security in the past, the NSSM's pronouncement that the fight against corruption represents a "core" national security interest, and the investing of responsibility for...

Read more

Member News

Troutman Pepper | More Privacy, Please – January 2022

There was no respite in privacy and cyber law in December 2021, despite the holidays and COVID-19 case surge. Domestically, U.S. regulators stepped up their efforts, signaling their focus on privacy policies (FTC) and security incident notification (federal banking agencies); meanwhile Democratic senators urged the CFPB to take a more proactive stance with consumer reporting agencies. In U.S. litigation, Illinois' biometric statute (BIPA) continued to take center stage, as did FTC settlements with companies accused of deceptive practices related...

Read more

Member News

CMS | Update on European consumer protection law: new EU rules on digital content and sale of goods

On January 1, 2022, new EU rules on digital content and on the sale of goods entered into force. Two European directives, , Directive (EU) 2019/770 on certain aspects concerning contracts for the supply of digital content and digital services (L_2019136EN.01000101.xml (europa.eu)) and Directive (EU) 2019/771 on certain aspects concerning contracts for the sale of goods (L_2019136EN.01002801.xml (europa.eu)), are intended to harmonize key consumer contract law rules across the EU. Following a two-year transposition period during which the Member States had to implement the...

Read more

Chapter News

OECD releases latest edition of the Transfer Pricing Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and Tax Administrations

Today, the OECD releases the 2022 edition of the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and Tax Administrations. The OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines provide guidance on the application of the "arm’s length principle", which represents the international consensus on the valuation, for income tax purposes, of cross-border transactions between associated enterprises. In today’s economy where multinational enterprises play an increasingly prominent role, transfer pricing continues to be high on the agenda of tax administrations and taxpayers alike. Governments need...

Read more