The European Commission has published a proposal to revise the EU's Aarhus Regulation that, if adopted, would expand the possibilities for NGOs to challenge EU administrative acts and omissions on the basis that they...more
The European Commission and the EU's Foreign Policy High Representative have put forward a proposal for a new, non-country-based sanctions programme to address human rights violations and abuses with asset freezes and travel...more
On 14 October 2020, the EU designated under its asset freeze six Russian officials and one research institute, in response to the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in August 2020. Separately, it also...more
On 2 October 2020, the EU adopted sanctions against Belarus in response to the repression and intimidation against peaceful demonstrators, opposition members and journalists in the wake of the 9 August 2020 presidential...more
On 30 July 2020, the EU designated the first individuals and entities under its 2019 sanctions framework targeting parties involved in cyber-attacks that undermine the EU’s integrity, security and economic competitiveness....more
8/10/2020
/ Asset Freeze ,
China ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Threats ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
List of Specified Persons (LSP) ,
Member State ,
Misappropriation ,
Russia ,
Travel Ban
The General Court has upheld a challenge to a 2016 Commission decision that had required Ireland to recover €13.2 billion in illegal State aid from Apple, on account of alleged preferential tax treatment for the...more
7/20/2020
/ Annulment ,
Apple ,
Corporate Taxes ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Illegal State Aid ,
IP License ,
Ireland ,
Multinationals ,
Popular ,
Refunds ,
Reversal ,
State Aid ,
Subsidiaries
On 6 July 2020, the UK adopted its first autonomous sanctions regime, imposing asset freezes and travel bans on 47 individuals and two entities across the world accused of serious human rights violations. The new regime marks...more
On 17 June 2020, the European Commission published a White Paper seeking views on three powerful new tools to control the acquisitions and activities of foreign subsidised companies in the EU:1 (i) a general ex post control...more
6/19/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
Foreign Subsidiaries ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Public Consultations ,
Screening Procedures ,
WTO
In anticipation of the wave of requests from stricken companies due to the COVID-19 outbreak for more long-term State support, on 8 May, the Commission extended the scope of its State aid Temporary Framework to allow Member...more
The UK sanctions authority, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), has announced its first multi million pound fine since its establishment in 2016. The fine confirms OFSI’s increasing enforcement activity...more
On 3 April, the Commission adopted an Amendment to extend the Temporary Framework for State aid measures to support the economy in the COVID-19 outbreak adopted on 19 March (covered in our previous alert: European Commission...more
This document provides an overview of the main measures taken by European, Middle Eastern and Asian countries to mitigate the negative effects of the Coronavirus crisis on the economy. It is prepared for the general...more
On 31 March 2020, the Governments of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom (the so-called "E3") confirmed that the first transaction was completed through the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges ("INSTEX"),...more
4/3/2020
/ Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Exports ,
Food Supply ,
Imports ,
INSTEX ,
Instrument for Supporting Trade Exchanges (INSTEX SAS) ,
Iran ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Medical Supplies ,
Payment Systems ,
Swiss Banks ,
United States
On 25 March 2020, the European Commission issued guidelines to coordinate the EU's approach to investment screening in light of the COVID-19 crisis and to protect the EU's critical assets and technologies from potential...more
The European Commission has now adopted a Framework of temporary State aid rules enabling Member States to adopt measures to support the growing number of businesses suffering because of the COVID-19 outbreak. This is the...more
3/25/2020
/ Banks ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Response ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Grants ,
Federal Loans ,
Financial Distress ,
Interest Rates ,
Member State ,
Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) ,
State Aid ,
State of Emergency ,
Subsidies ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Deferral ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)
As the number of businesses around the EU affected by the COVID-19 outbreak grows, many Member States are considering or have announced substantial supporting packages in an effort to limit the impact of the outbreak on the...more
France, Germany and the United Kingdom, known as the “E3”, announced on 14 January 2020 that they had triggered the dispute resolution mechanism under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA”) due to concerns about...more
1/17/2020
/ China ,
Dispute Resolution ,
E3+3 ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Failure to Perform ,
France ,
Germany ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Russia ,
UK ,
UN Security Council ,
United Nations ,
Winding Down
On 17 May 2019, the EU put in place a new legal framework for sanctions targeting malicious cyber activities from outside the EU that threaten the Union or its Member States. The aim is to enhance the EU's cyber resilience...more
On May 8, 2019, following Iran's announcement that it intends to suspend certain nuclear proliferation-related commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the United States issued a new Executive order...more
5/14/2019
/ Blocking Sanctions ,
Blocking Statutes ,
CAPTA List ,
China ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
France ,
Germany ,
IFCA ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Metals ,
Nuclear Power ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
SDN List ,
Steel Industry ,
Suspensions ,
Trump Administration ,
UK ,
Waivers
On May 2, 2019, claimants began filing lawsuits for the first time under Title III of the Helms-Burton Act against third parties alleged to be "trafficking" in property of US nationals confiscated by the Cuban Government...more
5/9/2019
/ Blocking Statutes ,
Canada ,
Confiscated Property ,
Cuba ,
EU ,
FSCS ,
Helms-Burton Act ,
Orders of Prohibition ,
Personal Remittance Caps ,
Sanction Suspensions ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Third-Party ,
Title III ,
Trafficking ,
Travel Restrictions ,
Trump Administration ,
UK ,
US Department of State
With Brexit looming, the UK's autonomous sanctions policy is slowly taking shape. This month saw the publication of regulations setting out the post-Brexit UK sanctions regimes for Iran, Burma and Venezuela, which will come...more
3/4/2019
/ Asset Freeze ,
Blocking Statutes ,
Burma ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
General Licenses ,
Information Sharing ,
Iran ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
No-Deal Brexit ,
Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) ,
Ownership Rules ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Right to Control ,
Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 (SAMLA) ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Venezuela
On 31 January 2019, France, Germany and the United Kingdom (the "E3") announced the registration in France of INSTEX SAS ("Instrument for Supporting Trade Exchanges"), which is a special purpose vehicle aimed at facilitating...more
2/14/2019
/ AML/CFT ,
Blocking Statutes ,
EU ,
FATF ,
France ,
Germany ,
INSTEX ,
International Atomic Energy Agency ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Special Purpose Vehicles ,
UK ,
United Nations
On 21 January 2019, the EU adopted the first sanctions measures under its new sanctions framework targeting parties involved in the use and proliferation of chemical weapons introduced in October 2018...more
The EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018 requires Parliament to pass a motion approving the withdrawal agreement and the framework for the future relationship between the UK and the EU. This so-called 'meaningful vote' was due to take...more
Following completion of the Trilogue process, the three main EU institutions have agreed on a compromise for a new Regulation that gives the EU a largely procedural and coordinating function in connection with foreign direct...more
1/8/2019
/ CFIUS ,
Cooperation ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
Harmonization Rules ,
Member State ,
National Security ,
National Security Review Proceedings ,
New Regulations ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Screening Procedures ,
Technology Sector