The European Commission has put forward a proposal to harmonize criminal offences and penalties for the violation of EU sanctions. The proposal follows a decision by the Council which identified the violation of EU sanctions as an EU crime and sets out common EU rules which will make it easier to investigate, prosecute and punish violations of EU sanctions in all Member States alike.
Latest Customs Audit and Enforcement Trends in Europe and the United Kingdom
In this session, our speakers discuss the legal framework and practical issues related to customs audits in Europe and the United Kingdom, areas of importance for EU and UK customs authorities during audits, and how to effectively prepare for and navigate customs audits. They also share key EU and UK customs enforcement updates and priorities, to include the latest developments relating to forced labor laws.
The EU Council has unanimously decided to add the violation of restrictive measures to the list of ‘EU crimes’. Currently Member States have different definitions of what constitutes a violation of EU sanctions and what penalties should be applied in the event of a violation. In a related development, the Justice ministers of France and Germany have jointly published an article which argues that the European Public Prosecutor’s Office should be given the competence to prosecute and punish violations of EU sanctions.
On 28 November 2022, the EU published legislation which allows for restrictive measures against gang leaders in Haiti and their financiers. So far, only one person has been designated. This is the first time that the EU has imposed sanctions against Haiti.
The European Union is on the verge of adopting the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) following a vote in the European Parliament on 10 November 2022. Compared to its predecessor, the CSRD expands the scope of companies required to disclose more detailed information regarding the impact of their activities on sustainability matters in their management report. The goal of the CSRD is to provide more transparency to the public on companies’ sustainability motives and efforts and to help investors and other stakeholders evaluate the non-financial performance of companies.
At COP 27 in November 2022, South Africa launched its new Just Energy Transition Investment Plan and announced a five-year investment plan for the USD 8.5 billion financing package, which was announced as part of the country’s Just Energy Transition Partnership with France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union at COP 26. The JET IP is aligned with the Cabinet-approved National Just Transition Framework and outlines the investments required to achieve the country’s decarbonization commitments, while promoting sustainable development, and ensuring a just transition for affected workers and communities.
In October 2022, the Council of the EU published the long-awaited compromise text of the proposed Regulation on Markets in Cryptoassets (MiCA), a “landmark regulation” that, according to the Council, will “put an end to the crypto wild west”. Once in force, MiCA will establish the first comprehensive, pan-EU regulatory regime for the regulation of cryptoassets, including the regulation of (i) cryptoassets issuance activities and (ii) cryptoasset service providers (who will be held to similar regulatory standards to those imposed on investment firms).
On 25 May 2018, the Council of the European Union adopted a directive on the mandatory disclosure and exchange of cross-border tax arrangements. This is the sixth update of the Directive on Administrative Cooperation, therefore referred to as ‘DAC6’ and the disclosure regime is now live.
Under the new rules, intermediaries such as lawyers, tax advisors, and accountants that design, promote or implement certain ‘arrangements’, or that provide advice in relation to such arrangements, are required to report them to tax authorities.
Regulators and courts in common law jurisdictions around the world are being given significant and increasing powers to impose financial penalties without traditional criminal law safeguards. Competition law has been particularly susceptible to arguments that traditional safeguards should be discarded to aid regulators in securing convictions. In the first competition case to go to trial in Hong Kong, the Competition Tribunal held in 2019 that in competition proceedings seeking financial penalties, the authority had the burden to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt. This article considers the approach taken in other common law jurisdictions and scope to argue for increased safeguards and human rights protections for clients facing financial penalties.
In a draft compromise text obtained by Politico, the European Council has dropped a key provision seeking to harmonize telemedicine from the draft European Health Data Space. The (now-removed) Article 8 was aimed at encouraging the cross-border provision of telemedicine services across the EU. However, the reality is that there are vast national differences between Member States on telemedicine-related laws. It is going to require a far more concerted legislative effort to harmonize this area of law across the EU.