06 Jul
Chapter News

ECB welcomes initiative to launch new European payment solution

ECB supportive of banks’ European Payments Initiative Pan-European card and digital wallet to complete European retail payments market The European Central Bank (ECB) welcomes the decision by 16 European banks to launch the European Payments Initiative. This initiative aims to create a unified payment solution for consumers and merchants across Europe, encompassing a payment card and a digital wallet and covering in-store, online and person-to-person payments as well as cash withdrawals. In recent years, significant progress has been made towards...

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06 Jul
Chapter News

Boosting the EU’s green recovery: Commission invests €1 billion in innovative clean technology projects

The Commission is launching today the first call for proposals under the Innovation Fund , one of the world's largest programmes for the demonstration of innovative low-carbon technologies, financed by revenues from the auction of emission allowances from the EU's Emissions Trading System. The Innovation Fund will finance breakthrough technologies for renewable energy, energy-intensive industries, energy storage, and carbon capture, use and storage. It will provide a boost to the green recovery by creating local future-proof jobs, paving the way to...

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06 Jul
Brexit News, Member News

Vulcan Insight: Post-Brexit Negotiations: Divergences Remain

With less than 6 months until the United Kingdom is due to leave the European Union’s economic remit, “serious divergences” between the two parties remain. Spurred on by the limited progress so far and Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s official confirmation that the UK would, in fact, not request an extension to the transition period beyond the end of the year, chief negotiators Michel Barnier and David Frost agreed at the beginning of June to “intensify” negotiations, in person, on a...

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06 Jul
Member News

Arendt: The BlackRock VAT case, an impossible combination of artificial intelligence and the VAT exemption?

On 2 July 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) ruled in the case of BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Ltd (C-231/19) that a “single supply” of management services, provided by a third-party supplier via a software platform for the benefit of a fund management company managing both special investment funds and other funds, does not fall within the VAT exemption provision. Background BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Ltd (“BlackRock”) was a company responsible for the management of funds: mainly...

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02 Jul
Member News

Worst Economy versus Best Stock Market

Previously published in Medium | The quarter with the worst economy since 1929 and the best-performing markets since 1998. Image courtesy of Medium; Source: IMF The worsening forecasts of the International Monetary Fund, the statements by the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell should leave no illusion on the depth of the recession. Wall Street ignores the economy The contrast could not be more striking between Wall Street and Main Street. The real economy succumbs to bankruptcies and unemployment. The United States will probably...

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02 Jul
Member News

MHC: Privacy and Security: The Risks of Working From Home

In a recent article, we discussed the exploitation by hackers of the current COVID-19 crisis by using techniques such as phishing and malware technology, in order to conduct cyber-attacks on businesses and their workers. Only recently, a group of hackers-for-hire called Dark Basin was exposed for targeting thousands of businesses and individuals with a view to obtaining private data. Similarly, the vehicle manufacturing company Honda recently reported a cyber-attack. Honda maintains that the attack did not involve a data breach but affected its...

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02 Jul
Chapter News, Trade & TTIP Related

Extracts from Commissioner Phil Hogan’s remarks at European-American Chamber of Commerce event on Transatlantic Leadership Post-Covid

From EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan | Introduction I spent the lockdown at the heart of the EU, where all the action is. I worked every day in Brussels, to keep the bays moving. Right now everyone, be it companies or otherwise is evaluating his or her Trade Policy. It will not be business as usual. Major changes are taking place. Fundamentally, every company will have to look at their mission statements to adapt to the reality ahead. For the...

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02 Jul
Chapter News

Strategic Plan 2025 launched

The EUIPO begins its next strategic cycle with the launch of its Strategic Plan 2025 on 1 July 2020. After two rounds of consultation with stakeholders, the Strategic Plan was adopted by the Office’s Management Board in 2019, and begins its implementation period today. The Strategic Plan 2025 consists of projects and activities grouped under three strategic drivers, linked to an overarching vision of ‘delivering IP value for businesses and citizens in Europe.’ The first strategic driver centres on the Office’s cooperation activities both...

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01 Jul
Member News

The Center for Financial Stability Names William R. Rhodes Chairman of Advisory Board

The Center for Financial Stability ("CFS"), today, announced the appointment of William R. Rhodes as the first Chairman of the Organization's distinguished Advisory Board. CFS is an independent, nonpartisan think tank focused on financial markets - with business lines presently segmented into the future of finance, data and analytics, policy, and technology. "CFS' innovative and practical approach, programs, and research position the organization as one of the world's leading think tanks and a vital resource for the New York and international...

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01 Jul
Member News

ThompsonHine: Landmark Supreme Court Ruling, CFPB’s Leadership Structure Is Unconstitutional

On June 29, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision in Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Slip Op. 591 U. S.         (2020), holding that the provision in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act limiting the president’s ability to fire the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) only for “inefficiency, neglect, or malfeasance” violated the Constitution’s separation of powers. While the remainder of the CFPB’s structure and regulatory body remains...

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