Thu. Oct 10th, 2024

LEGAL AFFAIRS

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A European judge sitting in a courtroo, using artificial-intelligence technology to-assist in decision-making

Artificial Intelligence: The strategy of the EU Court of Justice

Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) has been around since the 1950s, but its recent exponential growth can be attributed to two factors: first, the availability of larger datasets for training and second, increased computational power. It holds significant potential for the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ), on the one hand by enabling automation of simple tasks, on the other hand, by offering new possibilities in legal research, translation, interpretation,

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30/09/2024

Legal migration: EU Council and Parliament reach deal on a single permit directive

Today member states’ representatives to the Council (Coreper) confirmed the provisional agreement between the Spanish presidency of the Council and the European Parliament on an update of an EU law that deals with legal migration to the EU labour market. The updated rules streamline the procedure to apply for a permit to reside for the purpose of work in the territory of a member state. This will give a boost

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21/12/2023

EU Court of Justice: Judgment in Case C-680/21 (UEFA and Royal Antwerp Football Club)

UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) requires football clubs to have a minimum number of ‘home-grown players’ in their teams. The Belgian football association (URBSFA) has adopted similar rules. In both cases, those rules define ‘home-grown players’ as players who are trained at national level, although UEFA’s rules also refer to players trained within a given club. A professional player and a Belgian club (Royal Antwerp) are contesting those rules

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21/12/2023

EU Court of Justice: Judgment in Case C-124/21 P (International Skating Union v Commission)

By today’s judgment, the Court of Justice dismisses the appeal lodged by the ISU against the judgment of the General Court and thereby further confirms that the rules of the ISU are unlawful. However, the Court of Justice holds, in contrast to the General Court, that the Commission had correctly called in question the arbitration rules. The Court of Justice observes, first of all, that the organisation of sporting competitions

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21/12/2023

PayPal commits to amending terms & conditions to meet EU consumer rules

The Consumer Protection Cooperation Network (CPC), coordinated by the European Commission and led by the German authority Umweltbundesamt (German Environment Agency), started a dialogue with PayPal in May 2023. The network considered the company’s terms and conditions unreasonably difficult to understand and unfair for consumers. PayPal has agreed to address the issues raised by the consumer protection authorities and to amend the problematic clauses of its User Agreement to better

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20/12/2023

Very Large Online Platforms: EU Commission adds Pornhub, Stripchat, and Xvideo

The designation is the result of Commission investigations concluding that the three services fulfil the threshold of 45 million average monthly users in the EU. Today’s designations follow a first set of designation decisions of 19 Very Large Online Platforms and Search Engines on 25 April 2023, of which the Commission published the non-confidential versions today.

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20/12/2023

Benchmarks: EU Council agrees its negotiating mandate

This proposal forms part of a package of measures to rationalise reporting requirements. It aims to rationalise benchmark authorisation and registration and alleviate the burden on EU companies, in particular SMEs. Market participants have called for a revision of the framework of benchmarks regulation and for making regulatory requirements dependent on the systemic relevance of a benchmark or the significance of the role that a benchmark plays for the operation

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20/12/2023

Cyber Solidarity act: Member States unite for EU security

To detect major cyber threats quickly and effectively, the draft regulation establishment a ‘European cyber shield’, which is a pan-European infrastructure composed of national and cross-border security operations centres (SOCs) across the EU. These are entities in charge of sharing information and tasked with detecting and acting on cyber threats. They will use state-of-the-art technology, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced data analytics, to detect and share timely warnings

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20/12/2023

EU Commission wants to change status of wolves from ‘strictly protected’ to ‘protected’ 

Today, the Commission is tabling a proposal for a Council Decision to adapt the protection status of the wolf under the international Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, to which the EU and its Member States are parties. The wolf’s protection status under the Convention was established based on the available scientific data at the time of negotiation of the Convention in 1979. On the

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20/12/2023

EU Judgment of the General Court in Case T-233/22 (Islentyeva v Council)

The European Commission and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) interpret the latter prohibition as meaning that it also prohibits any person with Russian nationality from flying on a private basis as a pilot, since he or she controls when and where the aeroplane flies. The Directorate for Civil Aviation of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg referred to that interpretation in a response sent to the applicant. The applicant, a

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20/12/2023

EU General Court: Judgments in Cases T-216/21 and T-494/21

In both cases, the Commission decided not to raise objections: in its view, those measures constitute aid compatible with the internal market. Ryanair and Malta Air contest those decisions and submit, in essence, that the measures at issue are contrary to EU law. In their view, the Commission incorrectly defined the beneficiaries of that aid by deciding that neither the Air France-KLM holding (in the decision being contested in Case

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20/12/2023

Judgments of the General Court in Cases T-383/21, T-384/21, T-385/21, T-387/21, T-388/21, T-389/21, T-397/21

In 2021, the Single Resolution Board (SRB) determined the amount of ex ante contributions to be paid by several institutions for the 2021 contribution period. Credit institutions established in France and in Germany challenge the amount of those contributions and seek the annulment of the decision of the SRB before the General Court. They submit, inter alia, that the SRB failed to fulfil its obligation to state reasons as regards

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20/12/2023

Deal for a more effective EU single residence and work permit

Under the new rules, single permit holders will have the right to change employer, the occupation and the work sector. MEPs ensured in negotiations that a simple notification by the new employer would suffice. National authorities will have 45 days to oppose to the change. MEPs have also limited the conditions under which this authorisation can be subject to labour market tests. Member states will have the option to require

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20/12/2023
people, fence, refugees

EU Council and the Parliament reach breakthrough in reform of EU asylum and migration system

The five EU laws that the Spanish presidency and Parliament have agreed on touch upon all stages of asylum and migration management, ranging from screening irregular migrants when they arrive in the EU, taking biometric data, procedures for making and handling asylum applications that also reinforce applicants’ rights, the rules on determining which member state is responsible for handling an asylum application and cooperation and solidarity between member states and

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20/12/2023

Energy prices and security of supply: EU Council agrees to extend emergency measures

Today ministers reached a political agreement on extending the period of application of three emergency Council regulations adopted under article 122 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, designed for emergency situations. The emergency measures were adopted last year due to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, in order to enhance solidarity between member states, accelerate the deployment of renewable energy and protect EU citizens from excessively high

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19/12/2023

EU Statement on Adobe’s announcement to abandon Figma acquisition

The Commission takes note of Adobe’s and Figma’s decision to terminate their agreement according to which Adobe intended to acquire sole control over Figma. This marks the end of the Commission’s investigation into this transaction. The abandonment follows the findings of the Commission’s in-depth investigation and the sending of a Statement of Objections on 17 November 2023.

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18/12/2023

EU Council and Parliament agree on anti-money laundering authority seat

Today, the Council and the European Parliament representatives reached a common understanding on the process for selecting the seat of the future European authority for countering money laundering and terrorist financing (AMLA). The new authority is the centrepiece of the reform of the EU’s anti-money laundering framework. The authority will have direct and indirect supervisory powers over obliged entities and the power to impose sanctions and measures. Last week, the

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18/12/2023

Mergers: EU Commission clears acquisition of Viessmann Climate Solutions and its subsidiaries by Carrier

The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of sole control of Viessmann Climate Solutions of Germany and its subsidiaries by Carrier Global Corporation of the US. The transaction relates primarily to the manufacture and supply of heating, cooling and climate control solutions. The Commission concluded that the notified transaction would not raise competition concerns, given its limited impact on competition in the markets where the

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18/12/2023

EU Commission adds Italian wines from Emilia-Romagna region to PDO register

The European Commission has today added wines from the Emilia-Romagna region in Italy (covering municipalities within the provinces of Bologna, Modena and Ravenna) to the Protected Designations of Origin (PDO) register. Emilia-Romagna wines are produced in four categories: wine, sparkling wine, quality sparkling wine and semi-sparkling wine. The unique characteristics of these wines originate in the warm but breezy continental climate, in combination with soils of alluvial origin with a

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18/12/2023

Finland: EU Commission offers emergency funds for Balticconnector damage

After the damage of the Balticconnector gas pipeline, the European Commission decided to provide emergency financial support to Finland. The activity of the pipeline, linking Estonian and Finnish gas grids and providing Finland with access to Latvia’s gas storage, was disrupted by a pressure drop on 8 October 2023. Following an investigation by the Finnish authorities, it was revealed that the disruption to the pipeline was caused by an external

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18/12/2023

New EU rules for online financial services will allow consumers to withdraw from contracts with a click as of today

The new EU rules on online financial services entered into force today. The Directive on financial services sold at a distance will strengthen consumer rights and foster the cross-border provision of financial services in the single market. Consumers will now be able to withdraw from a contract with a click, thanks to a new ‘withdrawal button’ which will be introduced by service providers. In addition to an obligation to provide

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18/12/2023
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