The Council of the European Union (Council) has updated its EU Best Practices for the Effective Implementation of Restrictive Measures. Published on 3 July 2024, the new version clarifies the threshold for the ownership test...more
On 24 June 2024, the European Union (EU) adopted its 14th sanctions package directed against Russia, imposing an asset freeze against an additional 116 individuals and entities and expanding sectoral sanctions targeting key...more
7/26/2024
/ Asset Freeze ,
Compensation ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement ,
EU ,
Exit Transactions ,
Export Controls ,
Federal Bans ,
Financial Institutions ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Investment ,
Liability ,
Liquid Natural Gas ,
Risk Assessment ,
Russia ,
Trade Policy ,
Trade Secrets ,
Voluntary Disclosure
On 23 February 2024, the European Union (EU) adopted a 13th package of sanctions against Russia, imposing asset freezes on additional individuals and entities, expanding existing sectoral sanctions and further limiting...more
3/11/2024
/ Asset Freeze ,
Blocking Sanctions ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Transactions ,
New Guidance ,
Russia ,
Technology Sector ,
Trade Restrictions ,
Ukraine
The oversight obligations of boards continue to expand. Recent enforcement actions and new laws in areas such as cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and supply chains create new challenges for boards, as we explain in this...more
2/19/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Activist ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Board of Directors ,
Canada ,
China ,
Competition ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cyber Incident Reporting ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
EU ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Forced Labor ,
Germany ,
International Labor Laws ,
Life Sciences ,
Machine Learning ,
Manufacturers ,
Mergers ,
NGOs ,
Political Campaigns ,
Political Contributions ,
Political Conventions ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Activism ,
Shareholders ,
Technology Sector ,
UK ,
Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA)
Key Points -
- The number of activist campaigns launched against European companies rose again in 2023, with a new focus on German targets.
- Many activists surveyed believe that France offers them good opportunities.
-...more
2/15/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Board of Directors ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
EU ,
Foreign Corporations ,
France ,
Germany ,
Mergers ,
Shareholder Activism ,
Shareholders
On 18 December 2023, the European Union adopted a 12th package of sanctions against Russia. The sanctions impose an asset freeze on more than 140 individuals and entities pursuant to Council Regulation (EU) 269/2014...more
1/9/2024
/ Asset Freeze ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Energy Sector ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Imports ,
Oil & Gas ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Trade Restrictions
On 7 September 2023, the European Commission (Commission) published a guidance note (the Guidance) for EU businesses on the circumvention of sanctions. The Guidance outlines the essential components for a company’s compliance...more
9/29/2023
/ Best Practices ,
Compliance ,
Due Diligence ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Financial Institutions ,
New Guidance ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Risk Assessment ,
Russia ,
Sanctions
The new sanctions focus particularly on preventing the circumvention of EU sanctions rules through the jurisdictions of third countries. The EU has published lists of dual-use goods and advanced technology items (so-called...more
The European Union (EU)’s tenth package of sanctions against Russia, adopted 25 February 2023, imposed an asset freeze against 121 individuals and entities and expanded the scope of sectoral sanctions....more
On 23 December 2022, the French government issued decree number 2022-1622, which extended to 31 December 2023 the interim rule, in effect for two years now, that lowered the threshold that triggers foreign investment review...more
On 16 December 2022, the European Union (EU) adopted a ninth package of sanctions against Russia. These impose an asset freeze on almost 200 additional individuals and entities pursuant to Council Regulation No. 269/20141...more
12/23/2022
/ Asset Freeze ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Entities ,
Investment ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Trade Restrictions ,
UK
On 5 December 2022 the $60 per barrel price cap on Russian crude oil announced by the G-7 finance ministers in September 2022 came into effect in the United States, European Union and United Kingdom. The price cap is...more
12/22/2022
/ Crude Oil ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
G7 ,
General Licenses ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oil Prices ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
UK
On September 8, 2022, the French Ministry of the Economy’s (MOE) General Treasury Department published its first set of guidelines on French foreign direct investment (FDI) control....more
In light of the recent referendums and purported annexation by Russia of four territories of Ukraine on September 30, 2022, the United States, United Kingdom and European Union have expanded measures and provided additional...more
10/14/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Russia ,
UK ,
Ukraine
In recent months, the European Union and United Kingdom have adopted additional measures targeting key elements of the Russian economy in response to the invasion of Ukraine. Specifically, the EU and UK continue to expand the...more
8/5/2022
/ Asset Freeze ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Oil & Gas ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
UK
Since the publication of our March 24, 2022, and March 17, 2022, client alerts, the U.S., U.K. and European Union, among other allied nations, have imposed additional sanctions and export controls on key elements of the...more
5/2/2022
/ Blocking Sanctions ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
General Licenses ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
UK
Since the publication of our 9 March 2022 client alert, the US, UK and EU and other allied nations have imposed additional sanctions and export controls on key elements of the Russian economy. This client alert summarizes the...more
3/25/2022
/ Asset Freeze ,
Belarus ,
Blocking Sanctions ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Export Controls ,
Russia ,
Tariffs ,
UK ,
Ukraine
Takeaways -
Since 2018, the U.S. and several other countries have revised or installed national security-related screening of foreign direct investments.
Many jurisdictions now require filings for investments in the...more
On March 19, 2019, the European Union adopted a regulation for the screening of foreign direct investments into the EU (the Regulation). The Regulation sets forth national security factors that EU member states (Member...more
7/1/2019
/ CFIUS ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Member State ,
National Security ,
New Regulations ,
Screening Procedures ,
Sensitive Business Information ,
Transitional Arrangements ,
UK Brexit
The geopolitical environment continues to drive reform of foreign investment rules in Europe, with government proposals clarifying and tightening such rules in the interest of national security. Recent foreign state-backed...more
1/18/2019
/ Anti-Monopoly ,
CFIUS ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
EU ,
European Economic Area (EEA) ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Investment ,
France ,
Germany ,
Member State ,
Merger Controls ,
National Security ,
Russia ,
State-Owned Enterprises ,
Strategic Enterprise Laws ,
UK
In large part as a response to China’s national industrial goals and subsequent Chinese acquisitions of U.S. and European companies that are technology leaders in key industries, the U.S. government and a number of European...more
Despite a year of continued global political uncertainty and increasing enforcement, shareholder activism and foreign investment control activity, the 2018 outlook for Europe is positive overall. Skadden partners in the U.K.,...more
1/26/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Antitrust Injuries ,
BaFin ,
Capital Markets ,
Cartels ,
Competition ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cybersecurity ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
EU ,
EU Market Abuse Regulation (EU MAR) ,
European Commission ,
Executive Compensation ,
Foreign Investment ,
France ,
Fraud ,
Germany ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Minority Shareholders ,
Money Laundering ,
National Security ,
Private Equity ,
Russia ,
Sapin II ,
Securities ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
Shareholder Activism ,
Shareholder Votes ,
Takeover Code ,
Trump Administration ,
UK ,
UK Bribery Act ,
UK Criminal Finances Act 2017 ,
Virtual Currency ,
White Collar Crimes
Danny Tricot (London, capital markets): Capital markets in Europe were generally positive in 2017, recovering from a mixed year in 2016. The first half of the year was particularly strong for high-yield issuances in Europe,...more
1/26/2018
/ Capital Markets ,
Capital Markets Union ,
Debt Financing ,
Debt Market ,
Equity Markets ,
EU ,
European Central Bank ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
France ,
High-Yield Markets ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) ,
UK
Katja Kaulamo (Frankfurt, capital markets): With structural and political change in Europe in 2017, the European capital markets industry was left in a state of uncertainty pending the final outcome of the Brexit...more
1/26/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Capital Markets ,
EU ,
European Banking Authority (EBA) ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Investment ,
France ,
Germany ,
Mergers ,
Multinationals ,
Private Equity ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
Skadden attorneys James A. McDonald, Elizabeth Robertson and Robert W. Stirling in London; Pascal Bine and Olivier Diaz in Paris; and Matthias Horbach and Stephan Hutter in Frankfurt provide insights on the developments...more
2/1/2017
/ Acquisitions ,
Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD) ,
Capital Markets ,
China ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Customs Unions ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
EU Single Market ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Investment ,
France ,
Germany ,
Global Economy ,
Global Market ,
Mergers ,
Passporting ,
Presidential Elections ,
Sapin II ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
Trade Agreements ,
Trump Administration ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Bribery Act