Tag: EU
Financial guidance: the missing tool!
When you’re sick, you go to see a doctor. They usually provide a medical diagnosis and a resulting course of action. It’s the same for legal situations, where you go see your lawyer or notary. But who do you consult...
Fuzzy maths or how the Commission solves ‘costly’ chemicals laws
The European Commission is running EU chemicals laws through its REFIT machine. REFIT sounds like a strenuous fitness regime for overweight risk managers, right!? It’s not. Instead, it is a Commission programme that looks to streamline EU laws – a...
A trans fat-free future
You’ve probably heard of saturated fats in butter, omega 3 in fish, healthy fats in olive oil. But have you ever heard of trans fatty acids (TFAs)? Also called ‘trans fats’ [1], they can hide in processed foods such as...
Chaos and disorder in copyright law – happy #WorldIPDay!
Many of us are mourning the loss of Prince, one of the world’s great music talents. What most of us don’t know is that he was also a champion of copyright enforcement. On the 16th edition of World Intellectual Property...
Whipping up a transatlantic trade agreement? Shop wisely.
The EU and US negotiators of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) meet in New York this week for the 13th round of negotiations. In the media storm that accompanies TTIP it is not easy to keep a bird’s-eye...
Regulators and consumer organisations – less me and more we
Without rules, consumers are at the mercy of traders. The same applies if the rules aren’t enforced. European Commissioner Věra Jourová, in charge of justice and consumer affairs, wants to see a big change in this area calling for proper...
A regulatory tsunami – really?
Memory in politics is often short. Less than a decade after a devastating financial crash caused by a lack of regulation in the financial sector, the gates to deregulation seem to be opening again. Banks like to refer to the...
Will the EU get out of first gear on emissions cheating?
It’s now over half a year since a US agency discovered ‘defeat devices’ in Volkswagen cars to get around air pollution rules. Following the revelations, European decision makers scrambled to act. Now the question is whether long overdue EU measures will...
Will regulatory cooperation in TTIP become a straight-jacket for EU law making?
Regulatory cooperation might sound like a relatively benign and straightforward part of trade agreements. It is actually at the very core of TTIP, a trade deal being negotiated between the US and the EU which would be the world’s largest....
Why reassurances that TTIP will not affect the right to regulate miss the point
At a recent debate on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), advocates for TTIP once again repeated the mantra that nothing in TTIP, not even the section on regulatory cooperation, will affect the right of the parties (the EU,...