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Anahita Thoms LL.M.

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Anahita Thoms heads Baker McKenzie's International Trade Practice in Germany and is a member of our EMEA Steering Committee for Compliance & Investigations. Anahita is Global Lead Sustainability Partner for our Industrials, Manufacturing and Transportation Industry Group. She serves as an Advisory Board Member in profit and non-profit organizations, such as Atlantik-Brücke, and is an elected National Committee Member at UNICEF Germany. She has served for three consecutive terms as the ABA Co-chair of the Export Controls and Economic Sanctions Committee and as the ABA Vice-Chair of the International Human Rights Committee. Anahita has also been an Advisory Board Member (Beirätin) of the Sustainable Finance Advisory Council of the German Government.

Anahita has won various accolades for her work, including 100 Most Influential Women in German Business (manager magazin), Top Lawyer (Wirtschaftswoche), Winner of the Strive Awards in the category Sustainability, Pioneer in the area of sustainability (Juve), International Trade Lawyer of the Year (Germany) 2020 ILO Client Choice Awards, Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum, Capital 40 under 40, International Trade Lawyer of the Year (New York) 2016 ILO Client Choice Awards. In 2023, Handelsblatt recognized her as one of Germany’s Dealmaker and “most sought after advisors of the country” in the field of sustainability.

On 12 June 2025, the representatives of the EU Member States in the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) approved the Council’s negotiating mandate to revise Regulation (EU) 2019/452 (EU FDI Screening Regulation) on the screening of foreign direct investment (FDI). This clears the way for the so-called trialogue negotiations with the European Parliament and the European Commission. The aim of the reform is to strengthen the EU’s ability to respond to security-related risks of foreign investments and forms part of the EU Commission’s agenda of an ‘open strategic autonomy’ – while at the same time maintaining an open and investment-friendly environment.

Our popular Annual Compliance Conference, which attracts senior in-house legal and compliance professionals every year from across the world, will be held virtually from 3 to 12 June 2025.

The conference will provide you with valuable insights from our international trade, compliance and investigations, regulatory and antitrust lawyers. We will delve into critical topics shaping the future of global businesses such as sanctions, export controls, customs and tariffs, national security laws, antitrust, product regulation, ESG and related enforcement trends.

In February 2025, the EU Commission introduced the Omnibus Simplification Package to streamline sustainability regulations. This package includes two proposed Directives: the “Stop-the-clock” Directive, which proposes delaying the CSRD and CSDDD compliance timelines, and a second Directive that suggests substantive changes to both the CSRD and CSDDD. The “Stop-the-clock” Directive is now close to being approved, giving businesses more certainty on the timeline for compliance.

On 26 February 2025, the European Commission published multiple policy documents and legislative proposals, following through on its commitment to improve the EU’s competitiveness under the European Commission’s Competitiveness Compass published on 29 January 2025.

On 23 May 2024, the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), published as Regulation (EU) 2024/1252, entered into force following its adoption by the Council of the EU and European Parliament on 11 April 2024 and its publication in the EU’s Official Journal earlier this month. We are pleased to provide you with an assessment of the relevance of the CRMA and the implications it will have.

In a major shakeup to businesses’ obligations relating to human rights, environmental standards and climate change, the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D) is set to become law. In this article, we focus on the climate-related obligations enshrined in the CS3D: the obligation imposed on companies to adopt and put into effect climate transition plans.

On 21 March 2024, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution A/78/L.49 on “Seizing the opportunities of safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence systems for sustainable development”. This marks the first-ever resolution adopted by the United Nations (UN) on the matter of artificial intelligence (AI) and is therefore a milestone in its governance. Although the resolution has no immediate binding effect, its content will further guide the regulatory development of AI technologies on the national and international level in the years to come and marks a step in the “race to AI regulation”.

In a major shakeup to businesses’ obligations relating to human rights, environmental standards and climate change, the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive is set to become law.
In this article, we focus on the nature of the due diligence obligations: what is required in terms of diligence, what types of impacts are covered, etc.

After long and tough discussions, EU ambassadors adopted a new compromise proposal on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) in Brussels on 15 March 2024. Now the measures are likely to pass into law. The next step is for the Parliament to give its approval.