All EU law and policy articles
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NewsFinland and Sweden to join NATO
In a historic shift in their defence policies, Finland and Sweden will apply to join the NATO alliance, despite warnings from Russia. The accession of the two Nordic countries will expand the alliance’s mutual security pact at a crucial time. However, Turkey may present some hurdles along the way.
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News
Ukraine: Is a chemical or biological attack likely?
Exploring key questions about chemical and biological weapons as, although large-scale use in Ukraine appears unlikely, concerns remain about targeted attacks.
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News
Consultation on proposed directive on corporate sustainability due diligence
On 23 February, the Commission has published its proposed directive to encourage sustainable and responsible corporate behaviour and to apply human rights and environmental considerations in companies’ activities and corporate governance. Those interested can feedback their views to the Commission until 23 May 2022. UK businesses are likely to be ...
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News
The Council of the EU authorises member states to sign international agreement on e-evidence
On 5 April, the Council of the EU adopted a decision authorising member states to sign, in the interests of the EU, the second additional protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime of the Council of Europe (the Budapest Convention). The protocol aims to improve cross-border access to electronic evidence -operation ...
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News
Commission publishes the recommendation on recognition of professional qualifications of people fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
On 5 April, the European Commission published a recommendation for Member States on the recognition of academic and professional qualifications for anyone fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, the process for regulated professions, such as for lawyers, is less straightforward.
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News
Could a software code change slash Bitcoin’s energy mining by 99.9%?
Bitcoin and other blockchains use an algorithm that is powered by an energy-intensive computing process to validate and secure transactions called Proof of Work (‘PoW’). However, an alternative mechanism, Proof of Stake (‘PoS’) could prove to be better for the environment, as it would reduce the amount of energy needed ...
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News
Russia threatens to challenge trade sanctions at the WTO and is preparing retaliatory restrictions of its own
In response to the war in Ukraine, the EU has agreed to suspend the Most-Favoured Nation (‘MFN’) treatment for Russia at the World Trade Organization (‘WTO’).
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News
Lessons learnt on the rule of law from COVID
As governments throughout Europe responded to the pandemic through the implementation of emergency measures, it became increasingly clear that there was a fine balance between the protection of the public from the threat of the virus and a breach of individual’s rights. As we start to see a decline in ...
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News
Commission publishes the proposal for a directive on corporate sustainability due diligence
On 23 February, the Commission published its proposal for a directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (see also here). The aim of the proposed law is to encourage sustainable and responsible corporate behaviour and to apply human rights and environmental considerations in companies’ activities and corporate governance.
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News
Commission publishes the proposal for the EU Data Act
On 23 February, the Commission published its long-awaited proposal for the regulation on fair access and use of data (EU Data Act). The Act is a key element of the European Strategy for Data published in 2019 and aims at creating a single market for data. The proposal’s main objective ...
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News
European Parliament approves its position on the Digital Services Act
On the 20th January, the European Parliament (EP) approved its position on the proposal for a Digital Services Act (DSA). The position gives green light to start negotiations, so-called trilogue, with the Council and Commission on the final shape of the new law. The Council of the EU (European Union) ...
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News
European Parliament Resolution on the assessment of the implementation of Article 50 TEU (Withdrawal of a Member State)
On 16 February, the European Parliament approved a resolution on the assessment of the implementation of Article 50 TEU
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News
Human Rights Act reforms and the UK’s relationship with the European Court of Human Rights by Hazel Blake
As the deadline (8 March) for the Ministry of Justice’s consultation on reforms to the Human Rights Act (HRA) draws closer, the Law Society is busy preparing its analysis of the proposals. The breadth and weight of the proposals make it clear that Dominic Raab is serious about his intention ...
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News
CJEU Rules against Poland and Hungary in the latest development on the rule of law
On 16 February, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) sitting as Grand Chamber delivered its ruling against Poland and Hungary who questioned the conditionality mechanism imposed by the Commission. The mechanism makes the receipt of financing from the Union budget subject to the respect by the Member ...
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Event
Ecocide: a new international crime?
The Brussels Office of the UK Law Societies held a webinar on ecocide as an international crime. The event took place on 24 February, 15:00 CET (14:00 UK) – 16:00 CET (15:00 UK). The webinar addressed questions such as how this new crime could help to reduce and prevent environmental ...
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News
Commission publishes proposals on shell entities and global minimum level of taxation
On 22 December 2021, the Commission published two proposals for directives. The first one, also known as ‘Unshell proposal’, is aimed to fight against the misuse of shell entities for improper tax purposes. The second one is to ensure a minimum effective tax rate for the global activities of large ...
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News
A overview of the key cases from the European Courts in 2021
In this article we summarise some cases we view as key in areas of state aid and taxation, Poland and the EU, competition law, the UK’s and group action litigation and the European Arrest Warrant’s application to Ireland.
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News
What are the priorities for the incoming French presidency of the Council of the EU?
Throughout 2021, French officials have been vocal about a number of areas that they are planning to address in their 6-month presidency of the Council of the EU which is due to start at the beginning of 2022. In this article, we consider a few of these areas, and touch ...
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News
What are the consequences of divergence from EU law post-Brexit?
Following Lord Frost’s speeches over the last few months of 2021 where he argued that Brexit can’t be successful without divergence from EU legislation, this article looks at some of the potential consequences increased divergence could have on a number of areas.
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News
2022: European Year of Youth
In this article, we look at the European Year of Youth 2022 initiative and consider the proposals put forward in the European Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education on how to best implement it.
