Law & Justice

UK Official: New Brexit Deal Terms Present No Clear Exit Path

March 12, 2019

UK Attorney General Geoffrey Cox has asserted that British Prime Minister Theresa May’s new Brexit deal terms would still not permit the UK to withdraw unilaterally from the EU customs union under the deal’s provisions for an Irish border “backstop” if negotiators encounter “intractable differences” in negotiating a future UK-EU deal.
Document Indicates End of EU “Digital Tax” Effort

March 07, 2019

Reuters reports that, according to a document from the presidency of the Council of the EU, EU finance ministers are set to reject a proposal for a bloc-wide “digital tax” on multinational tech companies in favor of working on tax reform on a global level at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
EU Budget Includes Development of “European Area of Justice”

March 07, 2019

An agreement reached by the European Parliament and Council of the EU on portions of the EU budget supporting the development of an integrated “European area of justice” includes “monitoring activities” to understand “obstacles to the smooth function” of legal systems across the EU.
Google Warns EU Lawmakers on Copyright Proposals

March 07, 2019

Google’s Senior Vice President of Global Affairs Kent Walker has warned EU lawmakers of potential unintended consequences of strict copyright standards placing greater responsibility on internet companies to police the content on their platforms, including the overblocking of content and reduced traffic on news websites.
EC Rejects Broad Guarantee of UK Citizens’ Rights

March 07, 2019

EurActiv reports that the European Commission (EC) has refused to match a move by the UK Parliament to guarantee EU citizens’ rights in Britain after Brexit by guaranteeing the rights of UK citizens in the EU in the case of a no-deal Brexit, asserting that the issue of citizens’ rights is not separable from the UK-EU negotiated withdrawal deal.
EC Warns Social Media on Ad Placements

March 07, 2019

AFP reports that, in a monthly review of internet companies’ efforts to combat disinformation on their platforms, the European Commission (EC) warned these companies they are doing too little to scrutinize potentially malicious advertising placements as the May European parliamentary elections approach.
ECJ Overturns Suspension of Latvian Central Bank Chief

March 05, 2019

The Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ) has set aside the decision of the Latvian Anti-Corruption Office to suspend the Governor of the country’s Central Bank from office as part of a criminal investigation of the official’s conduct because, under EU law, Latvia did not provide enough evidence of such misconduct to justify the suspension.
EU Council Supports Restrictive Online Copyright Rules

February 22, 2019

Reuters reports that national officials from a majority of EU countries backed, over the objection of five member states, new copyright rules that will require internet companies including Facebook and Google to pay publishers to reproduce news snippets and to remove copyright-protected content from their platforms.
EU Institutions Agree to Establish Central Labor Agency

February 21, 2019

The European Commission, European Parliament, and Council of the EU have come to a provisional agreement on the establishment of a European Labour Authority that would provide “technical and logistical support” to EU member states on the enforcement of EU labor rules.
EU Institutions Agree Internet Platform Disclosure Rules

February 21, 2019

The European Parliament, Council of the EU, and European Commission have agreed a new set of rules requiring “exhaustive” disclosure by internet companies regarding whether they favor their own products on sales platforms and how they use any data they collect from consumers.