Member News

MJV | Discover the practical applications of AR and VR in various sectors

Let’s start this article with some interesting facts about Virtual Reality (VR). In 2020, Apple acquired a Virtual Reality event streaming company called NextVR. This company records events like shows and sports games in VR and develops its first headset to be launched in 2022. According to Bloomberg, this is a more ambitious augmented reality product that will present an interactive 3D digital environment for games, watching videos, and virtual communication.Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, says that both VR and AR...

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Member News

ACG Resources | Should you extend a Counter Offer to an Employee who resigns?

Most employers are increasingly concerned about the retention of key and non-key employees. When an employee leaves, it can be expensive to replace them, not to mention the loss of productivity and knowledge. A recent study has shown that many currently employed workers are unhappy in their current position. Some of the primary reasons for this unhappiness are the general feeling of being unappreciated and the thought that the grass is greener elsewhere. Given this situation, some sectors may experience a...

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Chapter News

ECB | Greening monetary policy

Blog post by Frank Elderson, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, 13 February 2021 | Climate change requires urgent action, and the window of opportunity is closing fast. The ECB must be committed to doing its part. Yet, such commitment may raise a few eyebrows: why should the ECB care about climate change and how does that square with its mandate? These are important questions that we take seriously: the European Union is underpinned by the rule of...

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Chapter News

Remarks by Paschal Donohoe following the Eurogroup video conference of 15 February 2021

Good evening to all of you. Before I debrief you on today's Eurogroup, let me mention that we had the chance to welcome two new colleagues to our meeting today - the new Italian minister, Daniele Franco, whose government was just sworn in this weekend, and indeed, it was his first day in his new role. And the new Estonian minister, Mrs. Keit Pentus-Rosimannus, who presented the policy priorities of the new Estonian government. The Commission also presented its...

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Chapter News

Winter 2021 Economic Forecast: A challenging winter, but light at the end of the tunnel

Europe remains in the grip of the coronavirus pandemic. The resurgence in the number of cases, together with the appearance of new, more contagious strains of the coronavirus, have forced many Member States to reintroduce or tighten containment measures. At the same time, the start of vaccination programmes throughout the EU provides grounds for cautious optimism. Economic growth poised to recover as containment measures ease The Winter 2021 Economic Forecast projects that the euro area economy will grow by 3.8% in both 2021...

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Member News

Littler | What to do about “Global COVID Nomads” and Other Wandering Workers Who Telecommute from Abroad for Personal Reasons

Technology facilitates remote work in ways that, years ago, just were not possible. Take telecommuting. These days, all kinds of jobs that had to be performed at an employer site are now performed remotely. Some call center workers, for example, now work from home using home telephones — no brick-and-mortar call center needed. Some secretaries now telecommute using laptops and the internet. Some teachers now teach remotely using laptops and video links. There are architects, doctors, lawyers and judges who, these...

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Member News

WSGR | EDPB Publishes New Guidance for Data Breach Notification

On January 18, 2021, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB), comprised of all national supervisory authorities (SAs) of the European Union, published draft guidelines for data breach notification1 (the Guidelines). The Guidelines provide useful insight into how regulators apply the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) personal data breach notifications rules. Specifically, they describe six common types of personal data breaches (i.e., ransomware, data exfiltration attacks, internal human risk, lost or stolen device and paper documents, misposted data, and social engineering attacks), and...

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Chapter News

VAT fraud clampdown: International scam with memory cards uncovered in The Netherlands

The criminal network defrauded Dutch tax authorities of an estimated €9 million On 10 February 2021, the investigation service of the Dutch tax authorities -FIOD (Fiscale Inlichtingen en OpsporingsDienst) busted a criminal network involved in international VAT fraud with electronic devices traded via an online company. Fraudsters established a complex trading scheme with Secure Digital (SD) memory cards for electronic devices, which is believed to have defrauded the Dutch treasury of an estimated €9 million between 2017 and 2019. The...

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Chapter News

Plenary highlights: Covid-19 recovery, vaccines, circular economy

MEPs approved the EU’s key instrument to help countries recover from Covid-19, debated the vaccines situation and called for tighter recycling rules. Covid recovery On Tuesday, MEPs approved the Recovery and Resilience Facility, designed to help EU countries recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. The impact of Covid-19 on young people and sport MEPs called on the Commission and EU countries to do more to prevent the pandemic affecting young people and the sports sector in a report adopted on Wednesday. Vaccinations In a debate on Wednesday, MEPs said...

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Member News

Vulcan Insight | With pressure mounting Commission President admits mea culpa

Following weeks of mounting pressure on herself and the institution over her vaccine strategy and the fallout of the accidental almost-triggering of Article 16, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made her way to the European Parliament to defend herself. Speaking to Members of the European Parliament during this week’s hybrid plenary session, von der Leyen defended the fundamental approach agreed between her and all EU leaders mid-last year that all vaccines for the EU27 should be procured jointly...

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