The EU Listing Act and UK Prospectus Reform are two different legislative reforms with a common goal: making public capital markets in the UK and EU more accessible and attractive for companies of all sizes, including small- and medium-sized enterprises, seeking to raise capital and list on a stock exchange by reducing the costs and administrative burden of a public listing, whilst maintaining market integrity. A consistent theme in both sets of reforms is the need to create a pragmatic and commercial listing environment which will benefit public companies that nonetheless builds – and maintai ..read more

In our earlier GT Alert, we highlighted that on 1 June 2023 the European Commission adopted the revised Research and Development Block Exemption Regulation (R&D BER) and Specialization Block Exemption Regulation (SBER), together referred to as the Horizontal Block Exemption Regulations (HBER), and accompanying Horizontal Guidelines (Guidelines). The HBER entered into force on 1 July 2023 and is valid for 12 years. It allows for a two-year transitional period for existing agreements to align with the new legislation. After publication in the Official Journal of the EU on 21 July 2023 ..read more

On June 23, 2023, the Council of the European Union adopted a new, eleventh package of restrictive measures (Package) to ensure that EU sanctions against Russia are better enforced and implemented. The Package is informed by the lessons learned from implementation over the past year. The Package consists, inter alia, of new prohibitions, a new anti-circumvention tool, and over 100 additional persons/entities subject to a so-called asset freeze.  ..read more

Companies often point out that there is a tension between sustainability and antitrust/competition. They argue that European Union (EU) – and EU Member States’ national – competition rules hamper competitor cooperation and innovation regarding sustainability because such rules prohibit arrangements that companies believe are necessary. On June 1, 2023, the European Commission (EC) adopted new Horizontal Block Exemption Regulations (HBERs) and accompanying Horizontal Guidelines (Guidelines). The HBERs exempt certain research and development and specialization agreements from the EU cartel prohi ..read more

Claiming to be “green” and “sustainable” has become a competitiveness perimeter in the EU, with green products registering greater growth than other products. However, not all products on the EU market are as environmentally friendly as presented by the companies and thus may be misleading to the consumers in relation to their environmental impact. Such practices, known as “greenwashing”, may hamper the reduction of negative environmental impact and ultimately thwart the green transition. An EU Commission study dating from 2020 found that approx. 53% of the claims examined were vague, misleadi ..read more

“Green bonds”[1] have seen a steady increase in recent years, with over $500 billion in green bonds issued in 2022. However, there is some debate over whether all of these bonds were issued for activities that were in fact “green”. To prevent “greenwashing”,[2] the EU Commission proposed a new regulation that creates standards for EU Green Bonds (EuGBs). On 28 February 2023, the EU Council and Parliament reached a provisional agreement on the requirements for EuGBs. Under the agreement, the proceeds of these bonds must be invested in economic activities in line with the EU Taxonomy Regulation ..read more

The March 2023 issue of Greenberg Traurig’s Competition Currents is out, highlighting significant developments in global antitrust and competition law for clients and colleagues. Click here to read the full newsletter ..read more

On Feb. 20, 2023, Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Wopke Hoekstra gave a speech titled “Building a secure European future” at the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium where he made a plea to “(…) sail to the next horizon where sanctions are concerned.” The Dutch Foreign Minister said European Union (EU) “(…) sanctions are hurting the Russians like hell (…)” but at the same time the measures “(…) are being evaded on a massive scale.” Click here to read the full GT Alert ..read more

The February issue of Greenberg Traurig’s Competition Currents is out, highlighting significant developments in global antitrust and competition law for clients and colleagues. Click here to read the full newsletter ..read more

On Nov. 28, 2022, the Council of the European Union adopted a decision to add the violation of restrictive measures to the list of so-called “EU crimes” set out in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Click here to continue reading the full GT Alert ..read more