News
6th EJSF plenary 2022 – Climate & Mandatory Due Diligence
Today, much of EU policy and law making is focused on recovery, resilience, sustainability and tackling climate change. COP26 is likely to spur even more regulation [...]
EU priorities 2022
On 19th October, the European Commission published its ambitious work programme for 2022. This includes 42 new policy initiatives across 6 key priorities outlined by Commission President von der Leyen in her State of [...]
Rule of law
Safeguarding the rule of law, democracy and EU values such as media freedom were among the priorities highlighted by Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen on 19th October in response [...]
EU Global Gateway Strategy – Strengthening Global Partnerships
As a key feature of its external focus, the EU is stepping up global engagement with partners who share its values. Commission President von der Leyen identified the recently [...]
New EU Chips Act
"Creating links, not dependencies" said Commission President von der Leyen during her SOTEU speech, emphasizing the EU’s ambition to reduce reliance on external supplies of core products and parts. [...]
Inaugural EU-US Trade & Technology Council
Semiconductor (chip) supply chains were one of the key points discussed at the first meeting of the new EU-US Trade & Technology Council meeting in Pittsburgh on 29th September. The [...]
Rule of law
As part of its continued efforts to strengthen the rule of law in Europe, the Portuguese Presidency of the EU Council will host the first annual high-level conference on [...]
Democracy and press freedom
The EP has also been vocal on rising challenges to press freedom in Europe. MEPs condemned attacks on the media in Poland, Hungary and Slovenia and called on the [...]
Sustainability
In March 2021, the EP adopted an Own Initiative Report calling for a binding EU law to ensure companies are held accountable and liable for human rights and environment [...]
Consumer financial services
The EC has launched a public consultation on instant payments. The broad aims of the consultation are to identify obstacles to the availability and use of instant payments and [...]
Brexit and financial services
During March 2021, the UK and EU completed technical discussions on a Memorandum of Understanding on financial services. The MoU sets out a framework for regulatory cooperation and establishes [...]
Artificial Intelligence
One area which poses many challenges to fundamental rights is artificial intelligence (AI). On 21st April 2021, the European Commission will present a horizontal legislative proposal for trustworthy AI. [...]
5th EJSF plenary December 2020
'A global standard for Mandatory Due Diligence: EU leadership towards a more sustainable world’ was the theme of the 5th annual EJSF online plenary on 3rd December 2020. EU policymakers and representatives from [...]
5th EJSF plenary on Mandatory Due Diligence, 3rd December 2020
The 5th annual EJSF plenary will take place on Thursday 3rd December 2020, 14h – 16h00 CET (online). This year’s topic will be ‘A global standard for Mandatory Due [...]
Rule of law: First EC Rule of Law report, EU budget & rule of law
The European Commission (EC) has published its first ever report on the state of the rule of law in the EU 27 Member States (MSs). The report provides an [...]
Sustainable Corporate Governance: mandatory due diligence legislation, cocoa sector
The EC has launched a consultation, until 8 October, on sustainable corporate governance (SCG) including future legislation on mandatory due diligence (MDD). The consultation draws on two EC studies [...]
State of the European Union address: climate, health, digitalisation
Delivering her first State of the (European) Union address on 16th September, EC President Ursula von der Leyen set out her priorities for the coming year. These include a [...]
New EC Digital Finance and CMU packages
The EC has launched two major initiatives to help support the financial sector, including consumers, towards recovery. A digital finance package, including a strategy on retail payments, aims to [...]
New EC fair tax package
As part of the EU recovery agenda, the EC has adopted a comprehensive new tax package. The overall aim is to boost tax fairness, protect against unfair competition and [...]
European Justice Stakeholders Forum news
COVID-19 continues to present many challenges to rule of law and fundamental rights. Responsible Business Conduct (RBC) is to be a major focus of the EU’s recovery plan. European [...]
Trade review & foreign subsidies
In June, the EC launched a public consultation (until 15th September) on a comprehensive review of EU trade policy. Topics include WTO reform and how to maximise the contribution [...]