The European Commission has updated its list of high-risk jurisdictions presenting strategic deficiencies in their national anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regimes. EU entities covered by the AML framework are required to apply enhanced vigilance in transactions involving these countries. This is important to protect the EU financial system. A number […]
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Commission welcomes deal on compulsory licensing to boost EU crisis readiness.
The European Commission welcomes the political agreement between the European Parliament and the EU Member States on new rules for compulsory licensing, an important intellectual property tool to the existing EU crisis response toolkit. The new Regulation establishes an EU-level framework to efficiently grant a compulsory licence in clearly defined cross-border crisis or emergency situations. […]
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A provisional agreement on new rules for driving licences
Last March 25th, the Council and the European Parliament reached a provisional political agreement on the update of the driving licence directive. This update of the directive will have an important impact on the issuing of driving permits throughout the EU, updating the minimum requirements related to fitness of drivers across the EU, harmonising rules […]
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The Commission decides to take SPAIN and other countries to the Court of Justice of the EU.
The European Commission decided to refer Bulgaria, Spain, Hungary, Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Finland to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to transpose the Directive on Non-Performing Loans (Directive(EU) 2021/2167). The Directive aims to foster the development of a well-functioning secondary market for non-performing loans by establishing rules for the authorisation and supervision of credit purchasers and servicers. […]
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Spain transposes an EU directive that applies a tax on multinationals and another that strengthens consumer protection.
At the last plenary session of the Congress of Deputies, the Organic Law on Measures for the Efficiency of the Public Justice Service and theLaw establishing a Supplementary Tax to guarantee an overall minimum level of taxation for multinational groups and large national groups, a Tax on the interest and commission margins of certain financial […]
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Booking must now comply with the Digital Markets Act
As of today, Booking Holdings Inc. (BHI), designated as gatekeeper on 13 May 2024, must ensure that its online intermediation service, Booking.com, complies with all relevant obligations of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Concretely, this means hotels, car rental companies, and other providers of travel services that depend on Booking.com to reach their customers can begin to […]
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EU adopts rules to better measure the environment’s contribution to the economy
On 5 November, the Council formally adopted the amended regulation on European environmental economic accounts, the EU’s common statistical system which brings together economic and environmental information. The new rules extend the scope of the European environmental economic accounts, introducing forest accounts, ecosystem accounts, and environmental subsidies accounts. The amended regulation aims to provide better information for the […]
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Council adopts law for clean and smart construction products
The Council has adopted the construction products regulation (CPR), which harmonises the EU rules for marketing of those products, facilitates their free movement in the single market, reduces administrative burdens and promotes the circular economy and technological development in that sector. This is the last step in the decision-making procedure. The CPR updates the existing […]
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Why are the caps attached to the bottles?
The changes we are seeing to plastic bottle caps are part of a wide-ranging effort to combat the increasing plastic pollution affecting our seas and oceans and their wildlife. Have you noticed any changes in plastic bottle caps lately? It takes some time to get used to the fact that plastic caps are now attached […]
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