In September 2021, the European Commission put forward a legislative proposal (which took the form of an amended version of the EU’s current Radio Equipment Directive) to establish a common charging solution for certain...more
Our monthly regulatory newsletter monitors all relevant developments regarding German and European regulatory law in English language. ...more
The UK has left the EU but there remains a vast array of operational and legal issues for businesses to address. See below for our perspectives on the key challenges and opportunities that Brexit presents for different...more
The European Commission has published a far-reaching proposal for a regulation to tackle foreign subsidies affecting the EU internal market. This proposal appears as a game changer for foreign direct investment. If adopted,...more
The European Commission would gain extensive new powers to counteract alleged distortive effects of foreign subsidies in the EU Single Market—combining elements from EU rules on state aid, trade defence, merger control, and...more
This Alert gives a high level overview of the new trading relationship between the European Union (‘EU’) and the United Kingdom (‘UK’) for goods and service supply. The EU and the UK reached provisional agreement on a...more
The Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) does not provide a comprehensive free trade arrangement for financial services between the EU and the UK. In particular, the TCA contains no measures to offset the loss of the EU-wide...more
Financial services, including insurance and reinsurance (together, (re)insurance), have effectively been omitted from the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), resulting in arguably the “hardest” Brexit for any key UK...more
This 1970 hit by Simon & Garfunkel is a beautiful song about giving a helping hand to someone caught in a situation of distress. And there is also broad consensus around the world that the digital platform markets are caught...more
With the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement of 24 December 2020 ("Agreement"), the UK and the EU have fundamentally changed market access for financial services firms. As of 1 January 2021, UK financial services firms...more
On 31 January 2020, the UK left the European Union and entered a transition period that is due to end at 11:00 pm GMT on 31 December 2020. At this point, it is still uncertain whether a new EU/UK deal will be reached. To...more
Court ruling confirms that online sales restrictions can amount to a serious infringement of competition law. On 21 January 2020, the UK’s Court of Appeal ruled that the online sales restrictions contained in Ping’s...more
An advisory committee to EU institutions has issued an opinion on blockchain and the EU single market, advising the European Commission on potential next steps, including launching a "comprehensive" blockchain initiative,...more
Now that the UK Government has a majority in Parliament to pass the EU (Withdrawal) Act before its invocation of Article 50 of the Treaty of European Union expires on 31 January 2020, the threat of the UK leaving the EU...more
Current rules fall short of providing a clear framework for a single European market for fintech companies. The development of a single market for fintech has recently been placed at the center of the EU financial...more
With the UK General Election on 12 December 2019 only days away, both of the leading parties are promising policies that in different ways may impact inward investors into the UK. Whether this is the rapid Brexit promised by...more
The EU-UK agreement reached on 17 October 2019 ("Agreement") revises the Irish backstop with a new protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland ("NI protocol")....more
The European Central Bank, together with those national central banks that have adopted the Euro (collectively known as the Eurosystem), has launched a consultation on proposals for a harmonized European system for issuing...more
The "PACTE" Law was published in the Official Journal on 23rd May 2019 and contains many provisions of interest to businesses. Among other things, it broadens the notion of what is in a company’s interest, takes into account...more
José Manuel Campa, the former Global Head of Regulatory Affairs at Santander, commenced his new role as Chairperson of the European Banking Authority. He will retain the role for a renewable term of five years....more
Brexit has been postponed again, until at least 31 October 2019, but with the possibility that it may occur sooner, maybe even within a few weeks....more
As the approach of Brexit draws inexorably closer, the continued lack of certainty around what any Brexit withdrawal deal will look like, or indeed whether a deal will be agreed at all, is causing increasing concern among the...more
The U.K. Prudential Regulation Authority has published a "Dear CEO" letter that it has sent to the Chief Executive Officers of all firms authorized and regulated by the PRA, as well as EEA firms undertaking cross-border...more
On 29 March 2019, the UK is set to leave the EU (a process most commonly referred to as "Brexit"). The UK and EU are currently in negotiations to agree upon a transitional period which is proposed to run from 29 March 2019...more
UK regulators expand on plans to smooth the transition for inbound passporting firms in the event of a “no deal” Brexit. Overview - HM Treasury published draft legislation on 24 July 2018 to establish a temporary...more