By Debora Revoltella, Head of the EIB Economics Department An EU technology transformation is needed to boost the economy through innovative finance, better regulation and a stronger single market Over the last year, concerns re-emerged about the long-term economic outlook in Europe. Investment has been clearly recovering in Europe, thanks to improved access to finance and to monetary policy that has kept interest rates low, but our latest Investment Survey shows that many companies have concerns about the future regarding regulatory issues,...

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By  Brahim Benichou,  Annemarie Bloemen - Patberg, Terrence Dom, Jacqueline van Essen,  Anne Sophie Morvan, Carmen Schellekens, Vincent Wellens  The European Data Protection Board ("EDPB", a cooperation between the EU's data protection authorities and the European Data Protection Supervisor) has published an information note on data transfers under the General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR") in the event of a no-deal Brexit. The Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens) has published a Dutch translation and summary on its website. For Luxembourg, this EDPB information may be read in conjunction...

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By Richard J Keery & Michal Mrozek | HSBC Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is today very much open for business. The transitioning economies of Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania in particular have attractive long-term growth prospects which make this region an ideal international base. CEE can also count on political stability, improving infrastructure and a highly-skilled workforce. Combined with its freemarket economic principles, and wide geographical spread, this is a prime location for international investment. HSBC has a distinct presence in...

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By Barbara Timková and Jan Gerych of Wolf Theiss and Roger James of Ogletree Deakins The status of employment contracts concluded between board members and companies has been clarified by a decision by the Supreme Court of the Czech Republic after many years of twists and turns in case law and legal interpretation. The Court has held that board members and companies may, under certain conditions, agree that their relationship should be governed by rules of the Czech Labour Code,...

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By Adam Kalbfleisch, Kyle Donnelly and Alysha Pannu | Bennett Jones On January 31, 2019, the Competition Bureau announced the 2019 size of transaction pre-merger notification threshold under the Competition Act would increase to $96 million (the 2018 threshold was $92 million). Acquisitions may be subject to mandatory pre-notification where the aggregate value of the target firm's assets in Canada, or the gross revenues from sales in or from Canada generated from those assets, exceeds the size of transaction threshold. The size...

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As the threat of additional tariffs on Chinese imports looms with the U.S.-China “tariff truce” scheduled to end on March 1, last week The Toy Association co-led a special Washington, DC fly-in event with the Americans for Free Trade Coalition. Over the course of two days, nearly two dozen toy industry executives joined other industry participants to urge government officials to oppose tariffs on Chinese imports and help small businesses across the country. Representatives from member companies including LEGO Systems Inc.,...

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We have gathered some of the most exciting recent applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Launched in India, Child Growth Monitor is an AI-powered smartphone app that detects malnutrition in children. The app uses an infrared sensor to capture the child’s measurements (height, body volume and weight, and limb circumference) to succesfully diagnose malnutrition. Unity Technology has developed Obstacle Towers, a video game designed to test the strengths and weaknesses of AI’s. They hope to develop a standardized benchmarking tool to evaluate...

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