On March 30, the European Security Markets Authority (ESMA) published draft regulatory and implementing technical standards relating to EU Regulation 236/2012 on Short Selling and Certain Aspects of Credit Default Swaps passed by the European Council on February 12 (see the February 24, 2012 edition of Corporate and Financial Weekly Digest). Full Story
The Article 29 Working Party released on March 29, 2012 its opinion on the European Commission’s proposed new data protection Regulation and Directive (WP191 – Opinion 01/2012 on the data protection reform proposals, the “Opinion” available at http://bit.ly/HqKH8z). Full Story
Following the February 9 announcement that the European Parliament Council and Commission had reached agreement on the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) on over-the-counter (OTC) derivative transactions, central counterparties (CCPs) and trade repositories, as reported in the February 24, 2012, edition of Corporate and Financial Weekly Digest, the European Parliament adopted EMIR on March 29. Full Story
Since 1999, the French Supreme Court has ruled that, under the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights and the French Labour Code, everyone has the right to “respect for his home”. A free choice as regards the place of residence for self and family is one of the elements of that right. Full Story
If companies are fined for antitrust infringements, the question arises whether the fines are tax-deductible. Given the high amounts of fines imposed by the European Commission and the competition authorities of European Union (EU) Member States, the importance of the question is obvious. Full Story
The World Radiocommunication Conference finished in Geneva in mid-February, after four laborious weeks of debate among more than 3,000 participants from over 150 countries. Now the job comes of interpreting what was decided at the WRC-12 and how it affects different sectors. Participants and officials were looking at these issues in Brussels in the last few weeks. Full Story
Google’s new cross-service privacy policy is supposed to come into effect on March 1. The US Federal Trade Commission has already expressed concerns, and now European data protection authorities have weighed in with the assertion that a “preliminary analysis” indicates that the policy does not satisfy national laws based on the EU Data Protection Directive. Full Story
The European Union (EU) has been in the news lately for all the wrong reasons. Italy was hit hard by the recent recession period and is still working to reduce its public debt, and Greece just received its second bailout in two years; this in the form of a $172 billion loan (that’s €130 billion). However, while the EU struggles with maintaining the stability of a multinational currency and holding together 27 different economies, great strides are being made in other areas of governance.
Earlier this year, as United States Congressmen scrambled to respond to the public backlash against SOPA/PIPA, the EU was busy overhauling their Data Protection Directive. As the lawyers on Reed Smith‘s Global Regulatory Enforcement Law Blog noted, this Directive (officially released on January 25, 2012) was designed to give more control to internet users over personal data Full Story
On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice held in the SABAM vs. Netlog case (C-360/10) that imposing an obligation on social networks to install a “general filtering system” to prevent all users from sharing copyrighted music is disproportionate to the extent that such filters may infringe on user privacy rights or block lawful communications. Full Story
Group Sues Treasury and IRS to Amend 501(c)(4) Regulations http://t.co/61IW6xxQQO - @CovPoliticalLaw Beeting b/t Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals and SEC provides insight http://t.co/YceCGLRxFu @@SECCorpGovLaw US Supreme Court Ruling May Hinder Ability to Challenge Agency Authority http://t.co/a2uKrrmFVr - @Squire_Sanders NLRB Reverses ALJ, Orders Deferral of Charge Against Union to Arbitration http://t.co/V2jgcvsTJQ - @seyfarthshawLLP House Subcommittee Questions Recent EEOC Activities http://t.co/JadzjkYf6l - @littlerasaps