EU Law
Latest business news about EU law, legal issues and the European Court of Justice
Annual Report on the Protection of the EU's Financial Interests
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
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
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
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)
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.
Tackling smuggling and fraud in excise goods: EU report
Around 816 million cigarettes and 240,000 litres of alcohol were seized by EU customs over a 10 month period in 2013, a report published by the Commission on 16 June reveals.
Reform of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)
The European Commission has proposed measures to further safeguard procedural guarantees in OLAF investigations, in order to complete the already comprehensive reform of the EU's anti-fraud office. The proposal foresees the creation of a new Controller of Procedural Guarantees, who would have two main functions. First, he would be responsible for reviewing and providing recommendations on complaints that might be lodged by anyone implicated in an OLAF investigation. Second, OLAF will have to get authorisation from the Controller before inspecting the offices of members of EU institutions, or taking any documents or data from these offices. Today's proposal is another step to ensure that OLAF can continue to work efficiently and independently in protecting EU financial interests, while also guaranteeing the effective protection of fundamental rights. It complements the proposal for the European Public Prosecutor's Office and the overall improvement of the EU anti-fraud framework in recent years.
2014 EU Justice Scoreboard
The European Commission today released the second edition of the EU Justice Scoreboard to promote the quality, independence and efficiency of justice systems in the European Union. The EU Justice Scoreboard is an information tool that presents objective, reliable and comparable data on the justice systems in the Member States. Following the first edition in 2013, the 2014 European Justice Scoreboard will continue to assist Member States and the EU in achieving more effective justice systems, and hence contribute to fostering economic growth in the Union. It will do so by contributing to the European Semester, the EU’s annual economic policy coordination process that aims to boost Member States' economic performance and competitiveness through a set of country-specific recommendations.
New framework for EU justice policy
The European Commission has today outlined its vision for the future EU justice policy which aims at making further progress towards a fully functioning common European area of justice based on trust, mobility and growth by 2020. On the same occasion, the Commission has also adopted a new framework for addressing systemic threats to the rule of law in any of the EU's 28 Member States. The initiative comes after the College of Commissioners held two orientation debates on the rule of law on 28 August 2013 and on 25 February 2014, which concluded that there is a need to develop a tool to deal, at EU level, with systemic threats to the rule of law.
European Cybercrime Center EC³
What are the main future cybercrime threats on the horizon? And how has the European Cybercrime Center (EC3) contributed to protect European citizens and businesses since its launch in January 2013? These questions are at the core of an EC3 report presented on 10 February, and discussed at a conference organised by the European Commission, with participants from law enforcement authorities, national and EU institutions and the private sector.
Cooperating against VAT Fraud
As part of an intensified battle against tax fraud, the European Commission on 6 February 2014 launched the process to start negotiations with Russia and Norway on administrative cooperation agreements in the area of Value Added Tax (VAT). The broad goal of these agreements would be to establish a framework of mutual assistance in combating cross-border VAT fraud and in helping each country recover the VAT it is due. VAT fraud involving third-country operators is particularly a risk in the telecoms and e-services sectors. Given the growth of these sectors, more effective tools to fight such fraud are essential to protect public budgets. Cooperation agreements with the EU's neighbours and trading partners would improve Member States' chances of identifying and clamping down on VAT fraud, and would stem the financial losses this causes. The Commission is therefore asking Member States for a mandate to start such negotiations with Russia and Norway, while continuing exploratory talks with a number of other important international partners.
Directive on criminal sanctions for market abuse
Judges imposing their countries’ maximum penalties for serious offences such as manipulating the LIBOR benchmark interest rate would have to stipulate at least four years in jail under draft rules approved by the European Parliament on 4 February 2014. These rules, which aim to restore confidence in the EU's financial markets and improve investor protection, now have to be formally approved by EU Member States.
Joint Customs Operations (JCO)
The customs authorities of EU countries as well as some non-EU countries, in cooperation with OLAF, carry out regular joint customs operations with specific checks at European level. These operations are coordinated and targeted actions of a limited duration with the aim of combating the smuggling of sensitive goods and fraud in certain risky areas and/or on identified trade routes.
Operation Warehouse Customs Operation
Almost 45 million smuggled cigarettes, nearly 140,000 litres of diesel fuel and about 14,000 litres of vodka were seized during a major Joint Customs Operation (JCO). The Operation code-named "Warehouse" was carried-out in October 2013 by the Lithuanian Customs Service and the Lithuanian Tax Inspectorate in close cooperation with the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), and with the participation of all 28 EU member states. As a result of Operation "Warehouse", a significant potential loss to the budgets of the European Union and its Member States was prevented. According to preliminary estimates, this would have amounted to about € 9 million in the form of evaded customs duties and taxes. The final results of the Operation were discussed by the participants last week at a debriefing meeting in Vilnius and were made public today across Europe.
Protection against unlawful acquisition of undisclosed know-how and business information (trade secrets)
The European Commission has today proposed new rules on the protection of undisclosed know-how and business information (trade secrets) against their unlawful acquisition, use and disclosure. The draft directive introduces a common definition of trade secrets, as well as means through which victims of trade secret misappropriation can obtain redress. It will make it easier for national courts to deal with the misappropriation of confidential business information, to remove the trade secret infringing products from the market and make it easier for victims to receive damages for illegal actions.
Fair Trial Rights
The European Commission has today presented a package of proposals to further strengthen procedural safeguards for citizens in criminal proceedings. The aim is to guarantee fair trial rights for all citizens, wherever they are in the European Union. Today's proposals aim to guarantee the respect for the presumption of innocence and the right to be present at trial; make sure children have special safeguards when facing criminal proceedings; guarantee access of suspects and accused to provisional legal aid at the early stages of proceedings and especially for people subject to a European Arrest Warrant. The new proposals are another milestone down the road of procedural rights and complement a set of three other EU laws agreed since 2010: on the right to translation and interpretation (IP/13/995), the right to information (IP/12/575), and the right to access a lawyer (IP/13/921). These proposals promote the principle of equality of arms to provide all parties with the protection of a fair trial. Once adopted, the proposals will help to increase mutual trust in Member States' judicial systems and therefore ensure a smooth functioning of the European area of justice.
Parent Subsidiary Directive - tightening EU corporate tax rules
The European Commission has proposed amendments to key EU corporate tax legislation, with the aim of significantly reducing tax avoidance in Europe. The proposal will close loopholes in the Parent-Subsidiary Directive, which it says some companies have been using to escape taxation. In particular, companies will no longer be able to exploit differences in the way intra-group payments are taxed across the EU to avoid paying any tax at all. The result will be that the Parent-Subsidiary Directive can continue to ensure a level-playing field for honest businesses in the Single Market without opening opportunities for aggressive tax planning. Today's proposal was foreseen in the Commission's Action Plan against tax evasion last year and will be an important contribution to the on-going battle against corporate tax avoidance at both EU and global level.
How EU decisions are made
The EU’s standard decision-making procedure is known as 'codecision'. This means that the directly elected European Parliament has to approve EU legislation together with the Council (the governments of the 28 EU countries).
Regulations, Directives and other acts
The aims set out in the EU treaties are achieved by several types of legal act. Some are binding, others are not. Some apply to all EU countries, others to just a few.
EU action against gun violence - Communication
The European Commission has presented suggestions on how to reduce gun related violence in Europe. It identifies actions at EU level, through legislation, operational activities, training and EU funding, to address the threats posed by the illegal use of firearms. The ideas address weaknesses in the EU across the whole lifecycle of weapons, including production, sale, possession, trade, storage and deactivation, while respecting strong traditions of lawful gun use, such as sports shooting and hunting for example.