07 Jan
Chapter News

New EU Research Grants Worth $28 Million Benefit 13 US Scientists

On 10 December 2019, the EU's European Research Council (ERC) announced the winners of its latest Consolidator Grant competition: 301 top scientists and scholars across Europe. Funding for these researchers, part of the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, is worth in total €600 million. With this support, the new grantees will have a chance to build up their teams and have far-reaching impact. The grantees will carry out their projects at universities and research centres in 24 different countries across Europe,...

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07 Jan
Chapter News

ESMA Assesses EU Financial Market Impact of Circuit Breakers

The European Securities and Markets Regulator (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, today publishes a study on the market impacts of circuit breakers. Sudden and drastic price swings in financial markets can be a source of market instability and are a concern for market participants, supervisors and regulators. Circuit breakers are key instruments used by trading venues to regulate markets and interrupt excessive price movements. Based on Morningstar Real Time data ESMA has created a unique database of circuit breakers triggered between 1...

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07 Jan
Member News

President Trump Signs Further Consolidated Appropriations Act into Law

By Magdalena M. Czerniawski and Robert Lyons of Marks Paneth As expected, President Trump signed into law H.R. 1865 (The Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020) on Friday, December 20, 2019. The bill was primarily designed as a government funding bill. Like most bills, it contained various “tag-along” provisions not associated with federal funding. Two of the provisions signed into law have a significant impact on non-profit organizations. Parking and Transit Pass Tax Repeal H.R. 1865, as signed into law, repealed Code section 512(a)(7) that taxed qualified transportation...

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07 Jan
Member News

European Directive on Cross-Border Conversions, Mergers and Divisions Has Been Adopted

On 27 November 2019, the Directive on cross-border conversions, mergers and divisions was adopted by the European Parliament and the Council (Directive (EU) 2019/2121) (Directive). The Directive clarifies the existing rules on cross-border mergers in the EU and, for the first time, introduces rules on cross-border conversion and division for all Member States. For example, the Netherlands, like most other Member States, does currently not have any legislation on cross-border conversions and divisions. A regulation for cross-border mergers of...

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06 Jan
Member News

Update: USTR Announces Additional Exclusions Granted to Sec. 301 List 3 Products

On December 31, 2019, the U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”) announced that 68 additional HTS provisions and product descriptions will be excluded from the Section 301 trade remedies imposed on Chinese-origin products. The newly announced exclusions all relate to items on China 301 List 3 (the $200 billion trade action) which, unless excluded, are subject to an additional tariff of 25% ad valorem. The list of newly-excluded items (which supplements the exclusions previously granted by the USTR) is provided below. The exclusions...

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31 Dec
Member News

IRS: Most Price Protection Payments Received by ESOP Participants Are Currently Taxable

The IRS Office of Chief Counsel on Dec. 20, 2019, released a so-called Generic Legal Advice Memorandum (GLAM) that had been issued to Division Counsel within the IRS Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division. A GLAM is not binding authority and cannot be used or cited as precedent, but it does provide important insight as to how the IRS views a particular issue, as well as how that issue is likely to be analyzed by an IRS auditor. In GLAM 2019-003,...

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30 Dec
Member News

ING to Appoint Pinar Abay as Head of Market Leaders and Member of the Management Board Banking

ING announced today that Pinar Abay will be appointed member of the Management Board Banking and head of Market Leaders, taking up the responsibility for ING’s operations in the Benelux. She will take up her new position per 1 January 2020. Pinar Abay (Turkish, 1977) currently is country manager of ING in Turkey, a role she has held since joining ING in 2011. Before that Pinar was a partner at McKinsey & Company in Turkey, in charge of consultancy for...

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19 Dec
Member News

EIB at the UN Climate Change Conference – COP 25

As one of the world's biggest providers of climate finance, the European Investment Bank, the EU’s climate bank, took part in the UN Climate Change Conference (COP25), the annual meeting of global leaders and climate action experts. During COP 25, governments came together to discuss the next crucial steps in the UN climate change process. Following agreement on the implementation guidelines of the Paris Agreement at COP 24 in Poland last year, a key objective is to complete several matters with respect...

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19 Dec
Chapter News

EIOPA Identifies Areas where Risks for Consumers Remain High, Notably with Unit-Linked, Credit Life/Credit Protection, and Add-on Insurance Products

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) published, today, its 2019 Consumer Trends Report outlining major developments in the insurance and pensions sectors affecting European consumers. Improvements in disclosure practices have been seen and digitalisation remains a broadly noteworthy trend, showing that financial innovations can bring benefits for both insurers and consumers, so long as they are adequately designed and properly implemented. Accident and health insurance products continue being 'good value-for-money', with the medical expense line of business having the highest claims...

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19 Dec
Member News

New European Guidance on the Qualification and Classification of Software as Medical Devices

By Irene Picciano and Elisa Stefanini of Portolano Cavallo Studio Legale In October 2019, the European Commission’s Medical Devices Coordination Group (MDCG) published a new guidance on the qualification and classification of software as medical devices (MDSW) under the new Medical Devices Regulation (MDR) and In Vitro Diagnostic Regulations (IVDR) (the “Guidance”). The Guidance aims at providing clarification to medical software manufacturers with respect to (i) qualification issues (when software is considered a device); and (ii) classification issues, depending on...

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