The EU’s ambitious and innovative Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (“CBAM”) was finally adopted as part of a package of other “Fit for 55” climate actions on 10 May 2023.  A first Implementing Regulation of over 100 pages was adopted on 17 August 2023 together with over 350 pages of initial guidance. CBAM is an ingenious … Read more

Introduction The European Commission has become extremely active in creating new instruments to deal with actual and impending geopolitical challenges and threats. We have previously commented on the adoption of various measures including the Foreign Subsidies Regulation, the FDI Screening Regulation, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, the Anti-Coercion Mechanism, the Critical Raw Materials Act and … Read more

The increasingly fractious geopolitical environment and a loss of faith in international adjudication has led the EU to develop a more “autonomous” approach in order defend and assert itself on the international scene.  During the legislative process for the amendment of the EU Trade Enforcement Regulation for the purpose of allowing the EU to act … Read more

The European Commission has now adopted its long-awaited Implementing Regulation in relation to the EU’s new Foreign Subsidies Regulation (“FSR”).  The Implementing Regulation includes the notification forms setting out what information must be provided in relation to concentrations and public procurements.  The information requirements have been reduced considerably compared to the drafts published earlier this … Read more

The EU’s groundbreaking Digital Markets Act (DMA) came into force on 1 November 2022 and applies from 2 May 2023. In this update we summarise key developments: the Implementing Regulation, institutional changes in DG COMP, workshops, and national proposals granting National Competition Authorities powers. The DMA aims at improving the contestability and fairness of digital … Read more

We were delighted to co-host a seminar with Oxera Consulting LLP at our Brussels office on the EU’s new Foreign Subsidies Regulation (“FSR”), which will become applicable later this year. The event took place over the course of an afternoon with a distinguished line-up of expert speakers and panellists, comprising senior officials from the European … Read more

Background On 14 September 2022, the European Commission issued a proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council “on prohibiting products made with forced labour on the Union market” (“Forced Labour Regulation“). The proposal will follow the ordinary legislative procedure in which the European Parliament and the Council of the EU … Read more

Introduction As the climate crisis intensifies and the severity of measures to reduce emissions in the EU increases, the problem of “carbon leakage” whereby the carbon intensive aspects of production move out of the EU has been subject to ever more urgent calls to “level the playing field”. As a result, the EU is introducing … Read more