07 Jul
Chapter News

Protecting European Consumers: follow-up action on dangerous product alerts increased significantly in 2019

Today, the European Commission published its latest report on the Commission's system to prevent or restrict the selling of dangerous products on the market, the so-called ‘Rapid Alert System'. The report shows that the number of actions taken by authorities following an alert is growing year on year, reaching 4,477 in 2019 compared to 4050 in 2018. Didier Reynders, Commissioner for Justice, said: “The Rapid Alert System is available 24 hours, 7 days a week, keeping information flowing and our single market safe. As...

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07 Jul
Chapter News

Summer 2020 Economic Forecast: An even deeper recession with wider divergences

The EU economy will experience a deep recession this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, despite the swift and comprehensive policy response at both EU and national levels. Because the lifting of lockdown measures is proceeding at a more gradual pace than assumed in our Spring Forecast, the impact on economic activity in 2020 will be more significant than anticipated. The Summer 2020 Economic Forecast projects that the euro area economy will contract by 8.7% in 2020 and grow by 6.1% in...

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07 Jul
COVID-19 News, Member News

H&K: New Employer Obligations in the Age of COVID-19: Safety Policies, PPE, and Deep Cleaning

Employment Attorneys David Santeusanio, Howard Sokol and Matthew Sloane co-authored an article in the Employee Relations Law Journal addressing practical considerations and obligations for employers when establishing safety plans to reopen the workplace. COVID-19 has altered the reality of workplace safety and corresponding industry standards. Employers face dramatically different workplace challenges and resulting new obligations regarding safety precautions and worker protections. Throughout the pandemic, federal agencies such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) and the Centers for Disease Control and...

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07 Jul
Member News

Loyens&Loeff: EU Parliament adopts Taxonomy Regulation

In recent years the European Union has paid increasing attention to sustainability in its policy- making particularly in the financial sector. In March 2018 the European Commission published its Action Plan on Financing for Sustainable Growth. The Action Plan has three main objectives: to redirect capital flows towards sustainable investment in order to achieve sustainable and inclusive growth; to manage financial risks arising from climate change, resource depletion, environmental degradation and social issues; and to promote transparency and long-term sustainability in financial and...

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07 Jul
Member News

Houthoff: News Update Financial Regulatory

Recent developments in financial supervision EBA - DISCUSSION PAPER ON FURTHER ENHANCING SUPERVISORY POWERS OF COMPETENT AUTHORITIES On 26 June 2020, the European Banking Authority ("EBA") published a discussion paper exploring ways to enhance the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive ("BRRD") framework on early intervention measures. This seeks to further enhance the crisis management tools available for competent authorities in addition to the supervisory powers laid down in the Capital Requirements Directive ("CRD") and in the Single Supervisory Mechanism Regulation ("SSMR"). The BRRD introduced...

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06 Jul
Chapter News

“Climate transition, transformation and convergence: Europe’s path towards robust resilience” – Speech of President Charles Michel

Speech by President Charles Michel | First of all, I would like to thank you for inviting me to speak at this 20th edition of your economic forum. This year, by way of exception, the forum will be conducted virtually. And it is the exceptional nature of this COVID-19 crisis that I wish to address first, setting the context for the action we are endeavouring to take at EU level. It is a simple yet astonishing fact: leaders throughout the world – regardless...

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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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