Category: company law

Alber & Geiger has been recognised for the fourth consecutive year as one of the top lobbying firms in Europe. The firm was shortlisted in four categories, including Lobbying the European Parliament, Consultancy Campaign of the Year and Consultancy of the Year by the Public Affairs Awards Europe 2018. Alber & Geiger picked up the award for the second year in a row in the Lobbying Member States category for its ability to generate Member State support at the EU level as well as work at national and local level in particular Member States.

Alber & Geiger’s team has decades of experience in representing clients in Europe through a broad range of activity. Our team is involved in many EU policy issues and regulatory matters, as well as active before all EU institutions and agencies, in addition to special national and local officials at the Member State level in Europe. Many of Alber & Geiger’s practitioners have a deep understanding of EU legislative and administrative procedures.

In 2014, following threats to the rule of law in several Member States, the European Commission decided to launch a framework to address such systemic threats through dialogue with the concerned countries. Until now the process consists of an assessment of the problems, followed by concrete recommendations and a monitoring mechanism.

Building on the existing framework, the European Commission has set out to strengthening the capacity of the EU to ensure effective and equal protection of the rule of law in all Member States. It is expected that a panel of experts would assess the rule of law situation in each Member State and make a public summary of the findings. The strengthened requirement for rule of law compliance raise the risk of concerned countries being stripped of EU funding through suspension or reduction of payments.

Member States, and all countries that rely on EU funding, must pay close attention to how they are meeting their rule of law commitments and communicate this effectively to the European institutions.

The European Commission is planning a regulation, which will tighten the limits on the use of facial recognition technology. The regulation would give EU citizens’ rights over the use of their facial recognition data, marking a precedent in how the EU regulates artificial intelligence.

The European Commission wishes to reinforce European citizens’ protection, which is currently mandated under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The existing GDPR already prohibits the collection of biometric information used to identify individuals, unless the person gives explicit consent.

The new regulation is anticipated to require the reclassification of facial recognition data, as biometric data under GDPR, therefore explicit consent from the person in question will be necessary. Thus, the regulation will limit private companies’ and public authorities’ use of facial recognition technology and wider AI technology.

After the failure of the negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) in 2016, the EU has decided to engage again in new trade discussions with Trump administration. According to the EU negotiating directives, the new agreement should address only trade in goods and the related tariffs, excluding the contentious area of agriculture and food standards. However, President Trump has been very vocal on the need for the EU to liberalise its agricultural market and, among other things, to lift the long-standing ban on American hormone-treated beef.

The benefits of an EU-US agreement have been highlighted by several economic studies. According to the economic analysis drafted by the European Commission, the elimination of tariffs would lead to cost reductions for economic operators and an increase of bilateral EU and US exports of 8% and 9% respectively.

The following months will be crucial to test how serious is the engagement of both parties. European stakeholders are expected to contribute with their views, in order to ensure that their concerns are taken into consideration during the bilateral talks.

The Mobility Package proposed by the European Commission risks to paralyse Europe. In April 2019, the European Parliament has approved its position to negotiate with the Council of the European Union on new rules concerning posting of drivers, rest times and cabotage. According to the European Commission, the new rules are expected to boost competitiveness and to improve social rights and working conditions of European drivers.

The newly proposed reforms have met with widespread opposition in Central and Eastern European Member States. The local syndicates have blamed the new norms to create disparity between rich and poor countries, and to advantage investments and business in targeted States.

The new Parliament will need to face this challenge and to make sure that Europe moves all together.

Alber & Geiger has been shortlisted in two categories by the prestigious The Lawyer European Awards 2019, namely: Law Firm of the Year Benelux and the European Energy and Infrastructure Deal of the Year.

We are among the leading law firms in the exceptionally competitive Benelux category, particularly due to strategic detail, client satisfaction and outright quality. We were also highly commended for our niche – government relations law firm – with focus on lobbying before the EU institutions and Member States governments.

The Alber & Geiger team is also proud to have been recognised for its achievement in the field of EU energy and infrastructure, especially for helping clients overcome EU regulatory hurdles in relation to competition and energy policy.

 The European Commission has initiated a public consultation to collect stakeholders’ evidence on the legal protection of design in the EU. The objective of this process is to evaluate if existing rules are still fit for purpose. The result may feed into an impact assessment and possible amendment to the current legislation.

There are currently two set of legislations that regulate design protection in the EU. The Design Directive deals with the legal protection of designs. The Community Design Regulation focuses on community design. Both are vital for design protection and encourage innovation and development.

Due to this important role, the European Commission is considering the need for improvements modernisation and deeper harmonisation at the EU level. Industry, business and individuals should participate in the call that will stay open till the end of March 2019.