EU to unionize cross-border payments
Earlier this year, the European Commission published the Consumer Financial Service Action Plan. Its objective is to improve transparency, and to address price inequalities in cross–border payments in currencies other than the Euro. Currently, the Single Euro Payment Area (“SEPA”) Regulation harmonizes all cross–border electronic payments, and ensures that all bank transfers denominated in Euro […]
EU to improve road safety
The European Commission is in the preparatory phase to present new legislative proposals to support technological progress of road vehicles. The aim is to minimize the risk of injury to the vehicle occupants and other road users. A recent Inception Impact Assessment presented options for a possible update of the 2009 General Safety Regulations as […]
EU to revise agricultural polices
The EU is determined to simplify and modernize the Common Agricultural Policy (“CAP”). This follows the 2016 findings of the Agricultural Markets Task Force and the Inception Impact Assessment, which was recently concluded. Overall the aim of the review is to strengthen the position of European farmers and producers. More concretely, the revision will single […]
EU to regulate telecoms
Members of the European Parliament are pushing for a broader telecom reform to boost competition in the EU. The European Parliament wants to give national regulators new control powers in EU countries which are dominated by very few companies. It differs from the initial Commission proposal from September 2016, which didn’t mention the necessity to […]
EU to regulate drones
The EU institutions and Member States governments are considering various options and regulatory tools to propose suitable rules for drone operation in the European Union. The European Commission, the body responsible for issuing the formal proposal, has recently confirmed that a drone regulation is necessary and would be up and running as 2019. The proposal […]
EU access to encrypted data
At the turn of the year, the European Commission made a proposal for a regulation focusing on the protection of personal data in electronic communication, the so-called ePrivacy Regulation. Currently, the ePrivacy Directive ensures the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector, especially the protection of confidentiality of communications, in line also with the […]
EU to block foreign investments
In February 2017, three Member States (France, Germany and Italy) sent a letter to the European Commission demanding greater EU powers to control, and if necessary block, third country takeovers. This because many European companies face restriction to buy foreign companies. But this is not the case with foreign firms. On the contrary, they are […]
EU considers food labelling
Back in 2008, the European Commission issued a proposal for legislation on providing food information to consumers. The proposal was approved. It included food labelling rules and nutritional information. But Members of the European Parliament rejected a mandatory system that would have labelled food based on the traffic light system. The idea is now gaining […]
EU bans pesticides
On June 14, the European Parliament decided to support the European Commission’s proposal for an outright ban on the use of pesticides in nature conservation areas. Under the new rules, farmers will no longer be allowed to use pesticides in areas that have been determined to have an ecological focus. Member States will decide what […]
EU to reduce the use of microplastics
Following the Circular Economy Package, the European Commission is also working towards an over-arching strategy on plastics. In that framework, it is also considering legislation that is aimed at reducing microplastics that are emitted by various products at the end of their lifecycle, or during production and transport. Bans on the use of microplastics in […]