Law & Justice

EU Institutions Agree Restrictions on Truck Emissions

February 20, 2019

The European Parliament and Council have reached an agreement on EU legislation imposing new restrictions on truck and bus manufacturers seeking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from heavy-duty vehicles by 30 percent by 2030 in line with the bloc’s Paris climate accord pledges.
EU Agrees Stricter Copyright Rules for Online Content

February 20, 2019

The Financial Express reports that EU institutions have reached a deal on copyright legislation that will impose new liability on internet companies for hosting unlicensed content uploaded by users on their platforms.
EU Law Requires Internet Platforms to Pay for Content

February 15, 2019

Bloomberg reports that EU institutions have agreed to a new copyright law that will require online platforms to pay creators of protected content that appears on their websites, including long fragments of news articles appearing as previews in search results, or remove it.
ECJ Allows Child Benefits for EU Migrants Not Pursuing Jobs

February 13, 2019

The Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ) has ruled that EU migrants are not required to pursue employment in the EU member state in which they live to receive family benefits for children living in another member state.
EU Official Faces Criticism over Blocked Railroad Merger

February 07, 2019

AP reports that European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager’s decision to block a merger between French and German railroad companies has prompted criticism from both countries and calls from officials for a revision of EU antitrust rules to help European businesses compete with external companies, especially in China.
EC Report Pushes back on “Investor Citizenship” Policies

January 31, 2019

The European Commission (EC) has produced a report warning of the risks involved with practices in EU member states of awarding citizenship in return for financial investments and threatening countries with legal action on the basis of failure to comply with common EU rules on scrutinizing visa and citizenship applications.
EC Advances Sanctions Process on Hungary’s Refugee Laws

January 31, 2019

The European Commission (EC) has sent a “reasoned opinion” to Hungary demanding changes to the country’s laws restricting applications from asylum seekers and criminalizing those who help with such applications as the second step in the bloc’s sanctions process for alleged violations of EU law.
EC Fines MasterCard over Competition Restrictions

January 31, 2019

The Irish Times reports that the European Commission (EC) has fined MasterCard nearly $650 million over allegations that the American credit card company imposed unfair restrictions on retailers, as part of a broader trend of EC investigations of potential EU competition law violations by credit card providers.
ECJ: Austrian Law on Good Friday Observance Violates EU Law

January 25, 2019

The Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ) has held that an Austrian law permitting only employees who belong to certain churches to treat Good Friday as a paid public holiday discriminates on the ground of religion in violation of EU law.
French Agency Fines Google Under EU Privacy Regime

January 22, 2019

The French National Data Protection Commission has fined US tech giant Google $57 million over allegations that the company failed to sufficiently inform users about its use of data to personalize ads as required by the EU’s new General Data Protection Regulation.