Finance & Trade

EU Adopts New Standards for International Data Transfers

June 30, 2021

The European Commission (EC) published its final Implementing Decision adopting new Standard Contractual Clauses (“SCCs”) for the transfer of personal data outside the European Economic Area (“EEA”), creating new steps to be followed by Businesses and organizations that collect, process, or otherwise handle any EEA personal data.
EU Summit Exposes Clash of Views on Russia

June 28, 2021

Politico reports that lines were clearly drawn between EU Countries on the subject of Russia this past weekend during the EU’s Summit, as French President Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel pushed for a new Russia policy which was rebuffed by leaders of Central and Eastern European Nations.
TownHall: How the EU Could Force America into the ‘Great Reset’

June 22, 2021

The Great Reset’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards that were once considered voluntary, are now becoming mandatory and due to a provision in a recent European Union (EU) resolution that requiring EU companies to adopt ESG metrics, essentially every U.S. company working with the EU must comply as well.
France Plans to Revive the Use of the French Language during EU Presidency

June 09, 2021

France will take over the EU’s rotating Council presidency this year and the French government is making plans to use the occasion to revive the use of the french language including earmarking money to offer more French classes to EU civil servants, potential French-language debates, and key meetings of the Council conducted in French.
Europe gives U.S. Ultimatum for Data-Transfer Deal

June 02, 2021

European Commission Vice President Věra Jourová has stated that the United States must pass new legislation to limit how its national security agencies access Europeans' data if Washington and Brussels are to discuss a new deal on transferring people's digital information across the Atlantic.
Italy Fines Google $123 million for Blocking an App from Android Auto

May 17, 2021

Italy's competition regulator has ordered Google to pay over €100 million ($123 million) for abuse of its dominant position, citing that Google has shut out an electric vehicle recharging app from its Android Auto infotainment platform for cars for over two years.
VOA: EU Suspends China Trade Deal over Human Rights Concerns

May 12, 2021

EU Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis announced that efforts to get the trade deal with China ratified by lawmakers in the European Parliament has been halted, citing that the EU sanctions against China and the Chinese counter-sanctions create an environment that is not conducive to the ratification of the agreement.
Politico: How will the EU Repay the Recovery Fund?

May 04, 2021

Following the €750 billion recovery fund EU leaders passed last July, discussions of repayment were limited, until recently, as the European Commission readies a proposal to raise at least three new levies at the EU level, including a digital tax, to repay the hundreds of billions over the next three decades.
EU’s Influence Over Financial Rules Eroded by Brexit

April 05, 2021

Brexit has created a shift in the EU’s rule-making power over London, the world’s second-largest financial center, weakening Brussels ability to use the influence to set global standards and pressure other countries to align with the bloc.
Facebook Business Model to Face EU Supreme Court

March 29, 2021

In a decision that will be closely watched from both sides of the Atlantic, Germany has requested that the supreme court of the European Union decide whether Facebook’s broad collection of user data is in breach of competition rules.