Chapter News

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross Names Siemens USA CEO Judy Marks to U.S. Investment Advisory Council

Today, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur L. Ross, Jr. announced the appointment of Judy Marks, CEO of Siemens USA to the U.S. Investment Advisory Council.  Marks will work with the 15 other members of the council to develop and implement strategies and programs that attract and retain investment in the United States. “Judy has an extraordinary history of leadership that goes back decades and it is my honor to appoint her to the Council while in the midst of Women’s History...

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Chapter News

Successful launch of a new Copernicus satellite

Latest Copernicus satellite launch will improve services for farmers, fishermen and other users of land and sea maps. In the night from 6 to 7 March, a 5th satellite of Europe's Earth observation programme Copernicus was successfully sent into orbit. Copernicus already helps save lives at sea, improves our response to natural disasters such as earthquakes, forest fires or floods, and allows farmers to better manage their crops. For example, the European Commission's Emergency Response Coordination Centre activated the EU Copernicus...

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Member News

ING announces changes to Executive Board, Management Board Banking, and senior management

ING will propose to the 2017 Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 8 May 2017 to appoint Koos Timmermans and Steven van Rijswijk as members of the Executive Board. Upon appointment they will also become members of the Management Board Banking of ING. Koos Timmermans will become chief financial officer as of the date of the AGM, succeeding Patrick Flynn who has decided to pursue his career outside of ING. Steven van Rijswijk will become chief risk officer as of...

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Member News

Private Equity Group utilizes DS-Concept to Facilitate Significant Growth

DS-Concept USA provides $3,500,000 non-recourse factoring facility to a niche manufacturer of officially licensed consumer products in the gaming industry. Rather than injecting more equity to support their portfolio company’s growth, the PE group is using DS-Concept to free up an additional $3,500,000 in working capital by financing the company’s domestic and foreign AR. In addition to increasing  the company’s working capital, DS-Concept’s global footprint strengthens the company’s credit and collections capabilities overseas, ultimately allowing them to be more aggressive in foreign...

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Chapter News

The European Economic and Social Committee celebrates sixty years of Europe with its sights set on the future

On 13 March 2017, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) held a high-level conference in Rome to mark the sixty-year anniversary of the founding treaties of Europe, signed in Rome itself on 25 March 1957. Rather than celebrating the occasion in pomp, the EESC preferred to focus on the important milestones achieved and, above all, explore three issues that are crucial if we are to overcome the current crisis and guarantee a better future for Europe: tackling growing...

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Member News

Cybersecurity: Yes, They Will Hack Your Car

Auto manufacturers are increasingly equipping vehicles with rapidly advancing technologies, raising concerns regarding how the public will be affected by these changes. Manufacturers are beginning to implement automated driving and vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication capabilities into their cars, extending potential cybersecurity threats and associated safety issues to road users. As consumers, we already see cybersecurity threats and breaches in many areas of our day-to-day lives. With the spike of auto-driven and connected cars across the auto industry, these same threats and...

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Member News

U.S. Announces Suspension of Premium Processing for all H-1B Petitions

On Friday, March 3, 2017, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that effective April 3, 2017, it will temporarily suspend premium processing for H-1B petitions.  This suspension may last for up to six months. The temporary suspension will apply to all H-1B applications filed on or after April 3, 2017. Therefore, because the current cap-subject H-1B petitions will not be filed before April 3, 2017, the suspension applies to all regular-cap and master's-advanced-degree-cap petitions.  The cap filings...

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Member News

Data Protection and Privacy Update the Netherlands – February 2017

The month of February has brought the following interesting data protection developments: Dutch developments Dutch Data Protection Authority’s focus areas for 2017 Traditionally, the Dutch Data Protection Authority (the Dutch DPA) starts each new year by publishing an agenda setting out its focus areas for the respective year. The Dutch DPA Annual Agenda 2017 was published on 27 January 2017. Readers of our monthly data protection and privacy update will be aware that as per 25 May 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (EU/2016/679,...

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Chapter News

Tajani: “Europe needs to be changed not weakened”

Antonio Tajani made the case for European unity in his first speech as Parliament President at the start of a Council summit. “Today more than ever we can see how important European unity is,” he told political leaders at the summit in Brussels on 9 March. “Europe needs to be changed not weakened. All the institutions need to work harder to find the answers which ordinary Europeans are looking to us to provide.” The summit is dedicated to issues such...

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Chapter News

March European Council: Delivering where it matters

EU leaders reviewed progress in a number of priority areas, reaffirmed the unity of the EU-27 and continued the debate on the future of the European Union. Prior to the main agenda, President Juncker welcomed the re-election of Donald Tusk as President of the European Council for a second two-and-a-half year mandate. Jobs, growth and competitiveness Leaders welcomed the encouraging economic situation across Europe. The March European Council is the first meeting in almost a decade where all 28 economies are expected...

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