The UK Government announced on 15 December 2021 that the Rt Hon Baroness Heather Hallett DBE will be Chair of the upcoming public inquiry into the Covid-19 pandemic. In the New Year, the panelists to sit alongside Baroness Hallett are due to be appointed.
Health Technology Assessment is a scientific evidence-based process that allows competent authorities to determine the relative effectiveness of new or existing health technologies. This multidisciplinary process evaluates the medical, social, economic and ethical issues related to the use of a health technology. Health technologies encompass medicines, medical devices, in vitro diagnostic medical devices and medical procedures, as well as measures for disease prevention, diagnosis or treatment.
On 26 November 2021, the FCA published Policy Statement 21/16 “Issuing statutory notices — a new approach to decision-makers” (“PS21/16”). In PS21/16, the FCA sets out the final changes to the Decisions Procedure and Penalties Manual and the Enforcement Guide as proposed in the Consultation Paper (CP21/25) published in July 2021. This transfers decision-making from the Regulatory Decisions Committee to the FCA in certain authorisation, intervention and straightforward cancellation cases and in respect of decisions on whether to commence civil and criminal proceedings from 26 November 2021.
Considering the cross-border component inherent to most Luxembourg transactions, dealmakers must carefully assess the risks of a merger control review even if the national merger thresholds are not met. To shed more certainty on the applicable procedure and timeline, the local M&A market may opt to insert detailed contractual remedies in the M&A documentation.
Please be sure to sign up for our webinar on Financial Services – Fit for 2022 on 26 January 2022. This webinar will be held in German only.
The FCA has published a consultation (CP21/34) proposing changes to the Appointed Representatives (AR) regime. In parallel, HM Treasury (HMT) has published a Call for Evidence on possible legislative reforms to the AR regime. These papers present significant, wide-ranging changes that have the potential to seriously impact the way that AR arrangements operate, and the burdens placed on principals in particular.
On 7 December 2021, the FCA published its second consultation on the Consumer Duty, setting out more developed proposals for rules and guidance following feedback from its first consultation. The proposals set out in the first consultation have been mostly carried forward, though the FCA has made some important amendments and clarifications in response to feedback received. For more detail on the first consultation, including background to the introduction of a Consumer Duty.
The Baker McKenzie International Commercial and Trade team is delighted to invite you to watch our pre-recorded webinar on the latest developments in relation to sanctions against Belarus, as at 10 December 2021. The webinar covers sanctions measures imposed against Belarus by the US, the EU, the UK, Canada and Switzerland, with a particular focus on the most recent measures announced in December 2021, in response to the migration crisis on the Belarus/EU border. The webinar lasts just over 30 minutes, and is intended to give you an overview of the developments, and the key takeaways to ensure compliance by your business
On December 2, 2021, the EU, UK, US, and Canada all imposed additional coordinated sanctions on Belarus as a punitive action against the government led by President Alexander Lukashenko, which has been accused of human rights violations and creating a migrant crisis at Belarusian borders. As further described below, the sanctions included the designation of a number of parties (individuals and entities), whilst certain individuals will also be subject to travel bans preventing them entering or transiting the EU and UK. The US has also introduced financial sectoral sanctions, similar to those already imposed by the EU, UK and Canada.
New Intrastat requirements will enter into force as of January 2022. Intrastat is the EU’s system to track the movement of goods between countries of the EU. Authorities use the statistical data on international trade obtained with Intrastat for example when negotiating trade agreements and to monitoring of the functioning of the internal market.