The EU legislature has finally reached an agreement on the text of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D) (see here our previous client alert). The CS3D profoundly affects the ways companies active in...more
On October 16, 2023, the Committee on International Trade (INTA) and the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) of the European Parliament adopted their position (the Committee Position; see here and...more
The EU’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) was adopted in late 2022. Its stated aim is to combat the effects of competitive distortions caused by foreign subsidies in the EU internal market and thereby level the playing...more
8/9/2023
/ Competition ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Merger Control Regulation ,
Foreign Subsidies ,
Member State ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
New Regulations ,
Public Procurement Policies ,
State Aid ,
State-Owned Enterprises ,
Threshold Requirements
On May 16, the Regulation establishing an EU Carbon Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) was published in the Official Journal of the EU and entered into force the following day. Under the CBAM, importers into the EU of...more
On February 6, 2023, the European Commission (EC) published a draft Implementing Regulation (the Implementing Regulation) setting out rules and procedures for the application of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR)....more
On December 8, 2022, the European Court of Justice (ECJ), the European Union’s highest court, delivered a landmark ruling in Orde van Vlaamse Balies a.o. (the Judgment) clarifying that legal professional privilege (LPP) is...more
On November 28, 2022, the Council of the European Union (Council) gave its final approval to the proposed Regulation on Foreign Subsidies (Regulation), concluding seven months of negotiations with the EU Parliament. Under...more
On May 10, 2022, the European Commission adopted the final text of the new Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (VBER) accompanied by the new Guidelines on Vertical Restraints (the VGL), which provide detail on interpretation...more
The United States, the European Union (EU), the United Kingdom (UK), and other allies and partners are implementing wide-ranging, novel sanctions and sweeping export controls against Russia in response to its invasion of...more
2/28/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Blocked Entities ,
Blocked Person ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Embargo ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
UK ,
Ukraine
On 23 February 2022, the European Commission (“Commission”) adopted a proposal for a Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (“Proposed Directive”) laying down new obligations for large companies to ensure that their...more
The year 2021 was a prolific one for environmental, social and governance (ESG) in the EU. The year 2022 looks just as productive for the EU legislature....more
Top EU Court Rules on the EU Blocking Regulation Against US Sanctions for the First Time -
On December 21, 2021, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), sitting as a “Grand Chamber” (a formation used, among...more
On 9 December 2021, the European Commission’s (“Commission”) EU Taxonomy Climate Change Delegated Act (“DA”) was published in the Official Journal of the EU after being approved by the European Council. It will enter into...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
6/25/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
EU ,
EU Single Market ,
European Commission ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Entities ,
Foreign Subsidies ,
Mergers ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Public Procurement Policies ,
Third Country Entities (TCEs) ,
White Papers
The German federal government recently passed the 17th amendment to the Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance (Außenwirtschaftsverordnung—AWV), which considerably expands the scope of foreign direct investment (FDI) screening...more
The 10th amendment to the German Act against Restraints of Competition (ARC) - also called the “Digitalization Act” - became effective on January 19, 2021. In a previous alert, we discussed the key aspects of the...more
1/22/2021
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Digital Marketplace ,
Digital Service Providers ,
EU ,
Federal Cartel Office (the FCO) ,
Germany ,
Merger Controls ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Restraint of Trade
Europe’s first legislative proposal addressing the digital economy and related competition issues is one step closer to becoming a reality: In September 2020, the German government approved the highly anticipated 10th...more
In the week following the adoption of the Temporary Framework for EU State aid measures to counter the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on March 19, 2020,1 the European Commission (the ‘EC’) has approved twenty-one...more
The COVID-19 crisis is first and foremost a health issue, as governments around the world seek to limit and treat its effects and save lives. However, it is also an immediate economic and social issue, as companies and...more
On July 25, 2018, the Court of Justice (Court), sitting in a Grand Chamber, issued its judgment in Confédération paysanne and Others, by which it found that (a) organisms obtained by mutagenesis techniques are to be...more
This is the seventh issue of WilmerHale's 8-in-8 Recent Trends in European Law and Policy Alert Series. Our attorneys will share insights on current and emerging issues affecting companies doing business in Europe and across...more
On July 12 the German federal government adopted important amendments (the amendments) to the German Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance (the Ordinance), allowing for wider control of foreign corporate takeovers with a view...more
As the UK leaves the EU, in light of the seismic result of the United Kingdom referendum on June 23, 2016, there will be an immense amount to do, for the UK and the remaining EU, and for companies that are either based in, or...more
6/27/2016
/ Automotive Industry ,
Community Designs ,
Corporate Counsel ,
David Cameron ,
Digital Single Market ,
Electricity ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Economic Area (EEA) ,
European Patent Convention ,
European Patent Office ,
European Union Trade Mark (EUTM) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
International Data Transfers ,
IP License ,
Manufacturers ,
Member State ,
Merger Controls ,
One-Stop Shop ,
Referendums ,
Sports ,
Trade Agreements ,
Trucking Industry ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Unitary Patent ,
WTO ,
Young Lawyers
On Monday, February 29th, the European Commission and U.S. Department of Commerce released a collection of documents summarizing actions taken on both sides of the Atlantic to implement the new Privacy Shield framework. This...more
3/2/2016
/ Article 29 Working Group ,
Data Protection Authority ,
EU ,
EU-US Privacy Shield ,
European Commission ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
International Data Transfers ,
Personal Data ,
Self-Certification ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
US-EU Safe Harbor Framework
On December 15, 2015, the European Union reached an agreement on the final text of the new General Data Protection Regulation. The Regulation will replace the 1995 Data Protection Directive, which is currently the basis for...more