The European Commission sent the United Kingdom a letter of formal notice for breaching its obligations under the Withdrawal Agreement. This marks the beginning of a formal infringement process against the United Kingdom. It has one month to reply to today’s letter. Article 5 of the Withdrawal Agreement states that the European Union and the […]
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First Annual Report on the Rule of Law situation across the European Union
The European Commission has today published the first EU-wide report on the rule of law. This report includes input from every Member State and covers both positive and negative developments across the EU. It shows that many Member States have high rule of law standards, but important challenges to the rule of law exist in the EU. It […]
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The TJUE agrees with Messi and endorses the registration of his trademark
The Court of Justice dismisses the appeals brought by EUIPO and a Spanish company against the judgment of the General Court authorising football player Lionel Messi to register the trade mark ‘MESSI’ for sports equipment and clothing In August 2011, the footballer Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini filed an application with the European Union Intellectual Property […]
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The CJEU rules against the Italian law which prevents Vivendi from acquiring 28% of the capital of Mediaset
That provision constitutes a prohibited impediment to the right of establishment as it is not appropriate for achieving the objective of protecting pluralism of information In 2016, the French company Vivendi SA, which is the parent company of a group active in the media sector and in the creation and distribution of audiovisual content, launched […]
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Data Protection requirements must go hand in hand with the prevention of money laundering and terrorism financing
In its Opinion, the EDPS reacted to the European Commission’s action plan for a comprehensive Union policy on preventing money laundering and terrorism financing (C(2020)2800 final), published on 7 May 2020. The EDPS believes that the Commission should make data protection a golden standard in the context of AML/CFT compliance processes. The EDPS highlights the importance […]
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The CJEU invalidates Decision 2016/1250 on the adequacy of the protection provided by the EU-US Data Protection Shield
However, it considers that Commission Decision 2010/87 on standard contractual clauses for the transfer of personal data to processors established in third countries is valid. GDPR and the transfer of data The General Data Protection Regulation (‘the GDPR’) provides that the transfer of such data to a third country may, in principle, take place only […]
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The General Court of the European Union annuls the decision taken by the Commission regarding the Irish tax rulings in favour of Apple
The General Court annuls the contested decision because the Commission did not succeed in showing to the requisite legal standard that there was an advantage for the purposes of Article 107 TFEU. In 2016 the Commission adopted a decision concerning two tax rulings issued by the Irish tax authorities (Irish Revenue) on 29 January 1991 […]
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Judgment of the CJEU on the sale of vehicles unlawfully manipulated by the manufacturer
A motor vehicle manufacturer whose unlawfully manipulated vehicles are resold in other Member States may be sued in the courts of those States The damage suffered by the purchaser occurs in the Member State in which he purchases the vehicle for a price higher than its actual value The Verein für Konsumenteninformation (VKI), an Austrian […]
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Deal on digitalisation of access to justice will benefit citizens
On 30th June, Parliament and Council negotiators reached an agreement to make access to justice faster, cheaper and more user-friendly for EU citizens and businesses. The two pieces of legislation under negotiation between the two EU legislators, respectively on taking evidence and on service of documents, aim to make judicial cross-border cooperation between national courts […]
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