EU Law

Latest business news about EU law, legal issues and the European Court of Justice

EU Directive on Victims' Rights — 16 November 2015, 23:53 CET

New EU rules on victims' rights that apply as of 16 November 2015 will bring major changes in the way victims of crime are treated in Europe.

TTIP: proposal for investment protection and Court System — 12 November 2015, 16:22 CET

The EU formally presented to the US on 12 November its proposal for a reformed approach on investment protection and a new and more transparent system for resolving disputes between investors and states: the Investment Court System.

Ketenci & Ketenci — 29 July 2015, 11:27 CET

Ketenci & Ketenci is a team of international lawyers, with a top-tier global reputation in both advisory and contentious matters.

Company Formation in Turkey — 29 July 2015, 11:36 CET

At Ketenci&Ketenci we regularly assist foreign corporations and investors to form new companies and branches in Turkey. Thanks to the Turkish Direct Foreign Investment regulation; foreign investors can incorporate or participate in all types of companies in Turkey which are available for local investors in accordance with the equal treatment principle.

Mergers and Acquisitions in Turkey — 29 July 2015, 11:35 CET

Mergers and Acquisitions (“M&A”) is defined as the combining of two or more companies or buying-selling or dividing of two or more companies as a part of corporate finance in order to grow rapidly in business field of activity.

Joint Ventures in Turkey — 29 July 2015, 11:35 CET

Joint ventures with the participation of foreign shareholders became very popular in Turkey, especially after the late 1980s. The major reasons behind this popularity were the necessity to attract foreign investment, and the significant improvement in the Turkish economy.

REFIT - making EU law lighter, simpler and less costly — 19 May 2015, 18:00 CET

REFIT is the European Commission's Regulatory Fitness and Performance programme. Action is taken to make EU law simpler and to reduce regulatory costs, thus contributing to a clear, stable and predictable regulatory framework supporting growth and jobs.

Better regulation - European Commission webpage — 19 May 2015, 18:00 CET

Better Regulation is about designing EU policies and laws so that they achieve their objectives in the most efficient and effective way possible. It is a way of working to ensure: when preparing, implementing and reviewing policy; always informs policy-making; stakeholders are involved. To ensure that EU action is - and remains - effective, the Commission assesses the expected and actual impact of policies and legislation and other important measures at every stage – from planning to implementation, review and revision. Meanwhile, the existing body of Union legislation is being managed more actively. Initiatives will be evaluated to check their performance once sufficient time has elapsed. This will be partly done through the REFIT Programme.

Better Regulation Agenda — 19 May 2015, 18:01 CET

The European Commission adopted on 19 May its Better Regulation Agenda. This comprehensive package of reforms covering the entire policy cycle will boost openness and transparency in the EU decision-making process, improve the quality of new laws through better impact assessments of draft legislation and amendments, and promote constant and consistent review of existing EU laws, so that EU policies achieve their objectives in the most effective and efficient way.

European Agenda on Security — 28 April 2015, 17:15 CET

The European Commission set out on 28 April a European Agenda on Security for the period 2015-2020 to support EU Member States' cooperation in tackling security threats and step up Europe's common efforts in the fight against terrorism, organised crime and cybercrime. The Agenda sets out the concrete tools and measures which will be used in this joint work to ensure security and tackle these three most pressing threats more effectively.

Eurojust — 25 April 2015, 14:32 CET

Eurojust stimulates and improves the coordination of investigations and prosecutions between the competent authorities in the Member States and improves the cooperation between the competent authorities of the Member States, in particular by facilitating the execution of international mutual legal assistance and the implementation of extradition requests. Eurojust supports in any way possible the competent authorities of the Member States to render their investigations and prosecutions more effective when dealing with cross-border crime.

EU consular protection rules — 21 April 2015, 12:37 CET

EU Member States have adopted - after three years of negotiations - the Directive on consular protection for European citizens living or travelling outside the EU. The agreement by the Council clarifies when and how EU citizens in distress in a country outside the EU have the right to receive assistance from other EU countries' embassies or consulates. The aim is to ease cooperation between consular authorities and strengthen European citizens' right to consular protection.

March infringements package: main decisions — 26 March 2015, 23:05 CET

In its monthly package of infringement decisions, the European Commission is pursuing several legal actions against Member States for failing to comply properly with their obligations under EU law. These decisions covering many sectors aim to ensure proper application of EU law for the benefit of citizens and businesses.

2015 EU Justice Scoreboard - guide — 10 March 2015, 01:22 CET

The European Commission released on 9 March the 2015 EU Justice Scoreboard, which gives an overview of the quality, independence and efficiency of the justice systems of Member States.

Commission February infringements package: referrals to European Court of Justice — 26 February 2015, 14:57 CET

The European Commission on 25 February announced its monthly package of infringement decisions, legal actions it is pursuing against EU Member States for failing to comply properly with their obligations under EU law. The Commission took 276 decisions, which include 44 reasoned opinions and 9 referrals to the European Union's Court of Justice. The Commission also closed a number of cases where the issues with the Member States concerned have been solved without the Commission needing to pursue the procedure further.

European arrest warrant — 02 December 2014, 00:05 CET

The European arrest warrant adopted in 2002 replaces the extradition system by requiring each national judicial authority (the executing judicial authority) to recognise, ipso facto, and with a minimum of formalities, requests for the surrender of a person made by the judicial authority of another Member State (the issuing judicial authority). The framework decision entered into force on 1 January 2004 and replaced the existing texts in this area. However, Member States remain at liberty to apply and conclude bilateral or multilateral agreements insofar as such agreements help to simplify or facilitate the surrender procedures further. The application of such agreements should in no case affect relations with Member States that are not parties to them.

EU Platform for better prevention and deterrence of undeclared work — 20 October 2014, 22:38 CET

The EU's Council of Employment and Social Policy Ministers agreed on 16 October a so-called 'general–approach' to establish a European Platform to better prevent and deter undeclared work. The Platform seeks to bring together various national enforcement bodies involved in the fight against undeclared work, which causes serious damage to working conditions, fair competition and public budgets.

Smart Regulation — 14 October 2014, 18:18 CET

To ensure that EU action is effective, the European Commission assesses the impact of policies, legislation, trade agreements and other measures at every stage - from planning to implementation and review. Before the EU takes action: The Commission publishes roadmaps describing planned initiatives; and Commission impact assessments examine potential economic, social and environmental consequences. After EU action: following implementation, initiatives are evaluated to check their performance; and REFIT (Regulatory Fitness and Performance Programme) identifies opportunities to reduce regulatory burdens and simplify existing laws.

High Level Group on Administrative Burdens — 14 October 2014, 18:09 CET

The high-level group advises the European Commission on how to reduce administrative burdens linked to its legislation. Examples include recommendations concerning the facilitation of electronic invoicing and the exemption of micro enterprises from EU accounting rules.

Smart Regulation in the EU - making EU law lighter — 14 October 2014, 18:24 CET

The European Commission is taking stock of its efforts to make EU law lighter, simpler and less costly. Under the title "Smart Regulation in the EU – Building on a Strong Foundation" politicians, stakeholders and experts have been examining the achievements and persisting challenges in the field of smart regulation, administrative burden reduction and better implementation of EU legislation. On this occasion, Dr Edmund Stoiber, the Chairman of the independent High Level Group on Administrative Burdens advising the Commission since 2007, will hand over the group's final report to EC President José Manuel Barroso.

Annual Report on the Protection of the EU's Financial Interests — 17 July 2014, 15:45 CET

EU Member States must step up their work to prevent, detect and report fraud affecting EU funds, according to the European Commission's annual report on the protection of financial interests (PIF report). The report sets out detailed recommendations on areas that national authorities should particularly focus on in this respect. The report finds that detected fraud in EU spending accounts for less than 0.2% of all funds. Nevertheless, the Commission believes that greater efforts at national level both on combatting and detecting fraud should be deployed. The annual PIF report therefore recommends, amongst other things, that Member States review their controls to ensure they are risk-based and well-targeted. On the positive side, the report notes that good progress is being made at national level to implement new rules and policies which will strengthen the fight against fraud in the years ahead. Moreover, at EU level, the past 5 years have seen major advances in shaping a stronger anti-fraud landscape. These initiatives can have a marked impact on fraud levels, once they are fully implemented.

Interconnected insolvency registers search — 07 July 2014, 17:51 CET

The EU Insolvency Registers interconnection search is a functionality of the European e-Justice Portal which allows you to search for insolvent entities, either natural or legal persons, within the EU. This service is provided by the European Commission in cooperation with the participating Member States: Czech Republic, Germany, Estonia, Netherlands, Austria, Romania, Slovenia. Please note that participating registers may have specific national rules on the search criteria necessary, how long data is retained, etc. Please take a few moments to read more on this on our general information page.

Connecting EU insolvency registers — 07 July 2014, 17:54 CET

The European Commission launched on 7 July an EU-wide interconnection of national insolvency registers by linking up databases from seven Member States: the Czech Republic, Germany, Estonia, Netherlands, Austria, Romania and Slovenia - with more countries expected to join at a later stage.

Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights — 01 July 2014, 23:24 CET

The European Commission adopted on 1 July two communications: an Action Plan to address infringements of intellectual property rights in the EU, and a Strategy for the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) in third countries.

Regulatory Fitness and Performance Programme (REFIT) — 18 June 2014, 14:15 CET

On 18 June, the European Commission reported on the progress in implementing REFIT, its European Commission's Regulatory Fitness and Performance programme, and proposed a number of new initiatives for simplification and burden reduction, repeals of existing legislation and withdrawals of proposals pending in legislative procedure. The first edition of an annual scoreboard assesses progress made in all policy areas and for each individual initiative, including by the Council and Parliament.