COVID-19 News, Member News

Offit Kurman | DOL Changes and Clarifies COVID-19 Sick and Family Leave Federal Regulations

On September 11, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) promulgated revisions and clarifications to its April 1 regulations interpreting the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”).  That Act, applicable to most employers with under 500 employees, provides paid sick leave of up to 80 hours and two weeks of unpaid time off followed by 10 weeks at partial pay to workers who can’t work because their child’s school or daycare provider has closed.  The DOL stated that the changes...

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Member News

Faegre Drinker | Employment-Based Immigration Updates: The October Visa Bulletin and Public Charge Rule

On the eve of the U.S. government’s new fiscal year, immigration developments continue to cascade. The U.S. Department of State published its October Visa Bulletin, which showed notable advancements for most employment-based visa categories. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services confirmed it will use the “Dates for Filing” chart, which will allow certain applicants to apply for their green cards earlier in the process. For FY 2021, the State Department anticipates record-breaking employment-based visa numbers. At the same time, the U.S....

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Chapter News

ECB publishes statement of compliance of €STR with IOSCO Principles for Financial Benchmarks

Statement explaining how ECB administers €STR Compliance of the ECB with IOSCO Principles, and therefore with international best practice, in its administration of €STR Independent assurance by external auditor The European Central Bank (ECB) today published its statement of compliance with the Principles for Financial Benchmarks developed by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). This statement shows how the ECB complies with these principles, and therefore with international best practice, in its administration of the €STR. The statement...

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Chapter News

EU Competitiveness Council (Research and innovation), 29 September 2020

Main results The Council adopted general approaches regarding the draft regulation establishing Horizon Europe, the EU's framework programme for research and innovation for the years 2021-2027, and the draft decision establishing the specific programme implementing Horizon Europe. Today’s agreement is an important step forward towards final adoption of Horizon Europe. We now need to make sure with the European Parliament and the Commission that our forward-looking EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation can enter into force in the beginning of...

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Chapter News

Rule of law: First Annual Report on the Rule of Law situation across the European Union

The European Commission has today published the first EU-wide report on the rule of law. Today's report includes input from every Member State and covers both positive and negative developments across the EU. It shows that many Member States have high rule of law standards, but important challenges to the rule of law exist in the EU. It also reflects relevant developments stemming from the emergency measures taken by Member States due to the coronavirus crisis. The report covers four main pillars with a...

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Member News

EIB welcomes launch of European Raw Materials Alliance

On 29 September, European Investment Bank (EIB) Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle took part in the launch of the European Raw Materials Alliance. The creation of this industry-driven alliance is part of the European Commission’s Action Plan on Critical Raw Materials to reduce Europe’s dependency for non-energy raw materials used in industrial value chains through exploration, resource efficiency and improved recycling, and was presented on 3 September 2020. The European Raw Materials Alliance, open to relevant stakeholders, will identify barriers, opportunities and investment cases and aims...

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Chapter News

‘Strategic autonomy for Europe – the aim of our generation’ – speech by President Charles Michel to the Bruegel think tank

It is a pleasure and a privilege to speak to you today under the aegis of the Bruegel Institute. Your contributions to the debate on Europe do not go unnoticed; they have an impact. European strategic autonomy. Or sovereignty? Or strength? We all know that concepts and words can take on different connotations depending on the context. Today I’d like to concentrate on the substance behind the words. But first of all, I’d like to avoid laying myself open to...

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Member News

WSGR | Draft EDPB Guidelines Clarify the Roles of Parties Processing Personal Data and Call for Detailed Data Processing Agreements

On September 7, 2020, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) published draft guidelines (Guidelines) intended to clarify the roles of the parties processing personal data and when they are operating as controllers, joint controllers, or processors under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The concepts of controller, joint controller, and processor are critical under EU data protection law, as they define the roles and responsibilities of the parties. The Guidelines confirm the EU courts' broad interpretation of joint controllers...

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Chapter News

Federal Reserve issues FOMC statement

The Federal Reserve is committed to using its full range of tools to support the U.S. economy in this challenging time, thereby promoting its maximum employment and price stability goals. The COVID-19 pandemic is causing tremendous human and economic hardship across the United States and around the world. Economic activity and employment have picked up in recent months but remain well below their levels at the beginning of the year. Weaker demand and significantly lower oil prices are holding down...

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COVID-19 News, Member News

COVID-19 & Manufacturing

1/ Introduction, Management summary: Unfortunately, as we understand now, COVID-19 will not go away in a matter of weeks or months. Even with a vaccine, scientists have doubts about a prompt turnaround of the situation we are in. It is to be considered as a major disruption on top of others, as the world trade rebalancing with the ongoing trade wars, global warming concerns, and the geopolitical instability that will contribute to profound structural evolutions of our economies for the...

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