On 19 September 2024, the Belgian Data Protection Authority (DPA) issued new Guidance on the interplay between the recently adopted EU Regulation on Artificial Intelligence (the AI Act) and the General Data Protection...more
The rules on the employment of third-country nationals (which apply regionally) were recently amended in the Brussels Capital Region by an ordinance issued on February 1, 2024, and its implementing decree on May 16, 2024. The...more
On 31 May 2024, a new Belgian law was published transposing the EU Collective Redress Directive into national law. The new Belgian law does not introduce an entirely new framework to allow so-called class actions as, unlike...more
Last month, the Belgian Supreme Court ruled in a case concerning a former employee who, following an internal investigation, had been first dismissed by her employer for and subsequently convicted of several criminal...more
On 7 March 2024, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued a ruling (C-604/22 | IAB Europe) clarifying the concepts of personal data and controller in the context of the use of a Transparency and Consent Framework...more
Key Takeaways - - As FDI regimes proliferate and mature around the globe, governments are taking an ever-more expansive view of the concept of “national security” to include more than military and defense interests, which...more
The Belgian FDI screening regime, introduced by the Cooperation Agreement of November 30, 2022 ("Cooperation Agreement") became effective on July 1, 2023. Similar to many other European foreign direct investment ("FDI")...more
In its landmark ruling on May 14, 2019, the European Court of Justice held that the European Working Time Directive (Directive 2003/88) and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (Article 31) is opposed to...more
Following extended negotiations, the directive was endorsed with a significantly narrower scope that would reduce the number of companies affected. On 15 March 2024, EU Member States endorsed the Belgian Presidency’s...more
Good Afternoon! This is Akin’s biweekly policy newsletter on space policy and regulatory developments, providing information on major space headlines and forthcoming space-related events and hearings...more
We continue to see increased investigation and prosecution of corruption, fraud, modern slavery and workplace misconduct, especially in the construction, transportation and financial sectors. Investigations are boosted by...more
I. INTRODUCTION - (i) Our law firm - & DE BANDT is a law firm with a multidisciplinary approach and a focus on complex litigation. It addresses legal issues within the European economy that are driven by digital...more
The Belgian Competition Authority (the BCA) announced last week that it has initiated an ex officio investigation into a possible abuse of economic dependence in the agricultural sector, making this the BCA’s first formal...more
The EU Whistleblowing Directive has been implemented in Belgium and SMEs have only until 17 December to act. Here we consider some of the key details of the new Belgian legislation....more
In Short - The Development: The new Belgian foreign direct investment screening law ("FDI Regime") imposes preclosing filing requirements on non-EU investments into various industry sectors in Belgium, including energy,...more
As of July 1, 2023, Belgium has applied a new uniform screening mechanism for FDI, (Foreign Direct Investment) laid down in a Cooperation Agreement, agreed upon by all Belgian regions and the Belgian Federal State. Under...more
The past six months have seen difficult economic times in much of Europe, with governments and central banks seeking to respond to both the increases in costs of living and the need to curb inflation. Notwithstanding the...more
Advocate General Anthony Michael Collins has proposed that the European Court of Justice uphold the General Court's Altice judgment. In his Opinion, he considered that the entering into certain types of pre-closing covenants...more
Now in its seventh year of annual publication, White & Case's Foreign Direct Investment Reviews provides a comprehensive look into rapidly evolving foreign direct investment (FDI) laws and regulations in approximately 40...more
The European Commission has published a Frequently Asked Questions and Answers ("Q&A") document which aims to provide practical information with respect to the application of its recently revised Article 22 referral policy....more
On May 25th, the Belgian Supervisory Authority (“GBA”) announced that it had imposed a fine of EUR 50,000 on a Belgium-based news media company for using cookies on its websites without complying with applicable cookie law...more
On May 16, 2022, the Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) published its long-awaited notice on enforcement priorities for 2022 (Notice). The BCA explains that, with a view to making the best use of its resources, it will...more
Since the last edition of the QCC, there has been a series of dramatic developments in the criminal antitrust enforcement space in the U.S. from the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division (Division)....more
Introduction of filing fees in concentration notifications and transposition of the ECN+ Directive into Belgian law - On March 7, 2022, changes to both the Belgian Code of Economic Law (CEL) as well as the Belgian Criminal...more
On 2 February 2022 the Belgian Data Protection Authority ("Belgian DPA") ruled that IAB Europe's Transparency and Consent Framework ("TCF") does not comply with the GDPR and fined IAB Europe €250,000. While the sanctions...more