On 7 November 2024 the Constitutional Court of Belgium handed down a judgment following the appeal for the annulment of the Belgian law on whistleblowers and referred questions regarding the status of in-house counsel’s legal professional privilege to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)
Romanian Elections and the EU’s Digital Services Act: TikTok and Election Subversion
According to Romania’s intelligence agency, the SRI, these accounts were likely part of a coordinated effort by foreign state actors.
Europe’s Choice – Will We Start to Properly Compete?
On 18 July, the now-re-elected President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, unveiled comprehensive proposal and vision for her 2024-2029 tenure, titled Europe’s Choice.
Another EU Antitrust Action Against Microsoft: A New Chapter in a Longstanding Saga
This move marks the latest development in the EU’s ongoing scrutiny of Microsoft’s market practices, particularly concerning its software bundling strategies, one which has ongoing for the better part of two decades.
CJEU clarifies edge cases of GDPR
The cases clarified what constitutes personal data processing under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), particularly in contexts involving the dissemination of information by public authorities and the management of consent in digital advertising.
European Commission publishes recommendations to combat online and offline counterfeiting
The Commission estimates that industries that “make intensive use of IP” contribute 47% of total EU GDP and nearly 40% of total employment within the Union.
OECD two-pillar global tax framework at risk
The US political climate and their upcoming elections however have complicated and potentially even killed any further progress on, at the very least, the first pillar, if not also for the second.
Europe remains a global leader in innovation, ability to commercialise lagging
On 14 February 2024, the European Commission published its 2024 Annual Single Market and Competitiveness Report. The report, following established KPIs that define competitiveness based on nine distinct drivers, aims to give a comprehensive overview of both positive and negative trends within the Single Market.
What will happen to the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive ?
Though there were developments in late 2023 that the Directive was on the way to being enacted, recent weeks have questioned Germany’s support for the final version.
Legal professional privilege developments: Belgian legal challenges, French reforms, and US procedures on privileged materials
In the last 5 years, the EEA has seen a major shift towards extending legal privilege and confidentiality rules to in-house counsel in direct opposition put forth by cases such as Akzo Nobel.