Labor markets have increasingly drawn the attention of the European Commission (“Commission”) and national competition authorities in the EU. As early as 2021, then-Competition Commissioner Vestager listed “no-poach”...more
6/9/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Competition Authorities ,
Corporate Governance ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
EU ,
Information Sharing ,
Mergers ,
Minority Shareholders ,
No-Poaching ,
Settlement ,
Wage-Fixing
As global economic pressures mount, the EU has armed itself with a powerful new tool to counter economic coercion. The EU Anti-Coercion Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/2675) has been fully in force for about a year...more
4/3/2025
/ Coercion ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
International Trade ,
Member State ,
New Legislation ,
New Regulations ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Strategic Planning ,
Supply Chain ,
Trade Policy ,
Trade Relations
On 26 February 2025, the European Commission (EC) unveiled a series of proposals (the Omnibus package) that could have far-reaching implications for corporate sustainability and environmental regulations....more
3/17/2025
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sustainability ,
Sustainable Business Practices
On February 26, 2025, the European Commission (the Commission) presented the Clean Industrial Deal (the Deal), an industrial strategy bringing together climate, circularity, and competitiveness. In order to foster growth and...more
3/10/2025
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Circular Economy ,
Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Sector ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Investment ,
Popular ,
Renewable Energy ,
Sustainability
On 19 November 2024, the Council of the European Union formally adopted the new ESG Ratings Regulation (the “Regulation”), following a proposal from the European Commission on 13 June 2023 and an agreement with the European...more
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