The European Union (EU) announced on July 10 that it had formally adopted the adequacy decision for the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, which goes into effect on July 11. U.S. organizations have been without a self-certification mechanism to allow for the legal transfer of personal data from the EU to the U.S. since the Schrems II decision by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) striking down the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Program in July 2020. The new EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework puts...

Key insights By leveraging clean energy tax credits, companies can proactively align their tax strategies with their ESG objectives. Clean energy credits can generate cash tax savings to help finance capital investments. Integrating ESG principles and transparent tax practices can help you build trust with stakeholders and attract socially conscious investors and customers. Proactively disclosing tax-related information can help your organization adhere to regulatory requirements and leverage transparency as a strategic tool. The business landscape has evolved with an increased...

The monthly newsletter gives you an overview of recent notable changes in Canadian and American immigration. Here is an overview of the most recent news as of July 3, 2023. CANADA Addition of 13 new countries to the Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) program With the intention of fostering cultural exchanges and promoting tourism, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Sean Fraser, announced on June 6 that travelers from these countries who have had a Canadian visa within the past 10 years...

Welcome to our little Swiss Dish. Where we highlight several interesting news stories in Switzerland in a cheesy way. Chef’s choice: Summer is here and people are eager to be outside with their friends, enjoying their favorite beverage, singing and dancing to the music playing by the bands on stage at an open air. End of June to August music connoisseurs can pick almost every weekend a festival they would like to attend. All genres are represented and spread throughout Switzerland....

Midnight on July 3, 2023, heralded the deadline for potential gatekeepers to notify the European Commission (EC) as to whether they meet the thresholds for gatekeepers set out in Article 3 of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). By the morning of the U.S.’s Independence Day, five U.S. companies and two Asian companies—but no European—had submitted their notifications: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, ByteDance, and Samsung. Booking.com, a European travel booking platform, stated that the impact of COVID-19 meant it did...

Following the Swedish term, the European Council has welcomed Spain for their Presidency on 1 July. During this process, Spain will chair the Council meetings whilst ensuring the external representation of the EU with regards to common foreign and security policy. This remains an important process as this mandate will determine how the EU will handle certain oncoming issues and how they will address them. Earlier this week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made a statement at a...

On 23 June 2023, the Council of the European Union adopted its eleventh package of restrictive measures against Russia, which supplements those discussed in our previous newsflashes_. This latest package aims to tackle the circumvention of previously adopted sanctions and also adds additional restrictions. The Council has adopted three regulations: Council Regulation (EU) 2023/1214 of 23 June 2023 amending Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia’s actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine. Council Regulation (EU) 2023/1215...

Wind power and hydroelectricity supplied 25% and 23%, respectively, of the electricity consumption in the first half of the year, said REN. Renewable production supplied 61% of Portugal’s electricity consumption in the first half of the year, especially wind power at 25% and hydroelectricity at 23%, Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN) reported on Tuesday. According to REN, photovoltaic production supplied 7% of electricity consumption and biomass 6%, while natural gas production accounted for 19%, and the remaining 20% corresponded to the import...