EU to push for greater sanctions compliance with new special envoy December 12, 2022 The EU is set to put one of its top civil servants to the task of pushing for greater compliance with sanctions against Russia, in third-countries including Turkey, Serbia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). David O’Sullivan, the bloc’s former ambassador to the US, is set to take up a new role in January, in [...]
Airlines call on EU to include polluting flights in CO2 pricing scheme December 7, 2022 Airlines have called on the EU Commission to include long-haul and more polluting flights into its environmental regulation. The comments come on the heels of the Commission announcing that EU airlines will pay more for their CO2 emissions. “Yet again the Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen has abandoned the environment and Europe’s ordinary [...]
Europe’s insurance lobby welcomes overturning of EU online marketing rules October 26, 2022 Europe’s main insurance sector lobby group has welcomed the EU’s decision to overturn rules regulating the sector’s online and telecoms marketing activities. Insurance Europe, whose members include Lloyd’s and the Association of British Insurers (ABI), said it “strongly welcomes” the repeal of the EU’s consumer rights legislation, which seeks to protect consumers that sign contracts [...]
Legal sector hits back at EU calls for regulation of third-party litigation funders September 14, 2022 Lawyers and litigation funders have hit back at EU plans to regulate the third-party litigation financing industry in claiming new rules could limit access to justice. The clashes come after the EU parliament on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly in favour of adopting a report by German MEP Axel Voss calling for new regulation of Europe’s [...]
Von der Leyen sets out £120bn energy windfall plan and says Ukraine may join single market September 14, 2022 The European Union has set out plans to raise more than £120bn with a windfall tax and revenue cap on energy suppliers, as its commissioner reiterated the bloc’s backing for Ukraine. The body announced it would cap revenues for non-gas energy suppliers in a bid to reverse the fuel problem in Europe, sparked in part [...]
Russian economy shrinks by four per cent due to impacts of Western sanctions August 13, 2022 The Russian is now four per cent smaller than it was a year ago, according to new figures from the country’s state statistics agency. Russia’s gross domestic product (GDP) for Q2 2022 equals a sum equivalent to 96 per cent the value of the country’s economy in Q2 2021, the preliminary Rosstat statistics show. The [...]
UK Foreign Office to pay £423,000 to settle whistleblower’s employment claim July 4, 2022 The UK government has agreed to pay £423,000 to settle an employment lawsuit brought forward by one of its former prosecutors, over claims she was pushed out of her job at the Foreign Office, after she sought to blow the whistle on corruption involving suspected Kosovo criminals and officials from the EU. International prosecutor Mariah [...]
Britain not ‘scrapping’ the Northern Ireland protocol, but ‘fixing’ it, says foreign secretary May 18, 2022 Foreign secretary Liz Truss has insisted the UK is not looking to scrap the Northern Ireland protocol, but is looking to fix the agreement which “isn’t working” in wake of the Brexit vote. The cabinet member told Sky News this morning there needed to be “sensible pragmatic changes” to it, with a stalemate over trade [...]
EU mulls plans to ban insurers from insuring ships carrying Russian oil May 9, 2022 The European Union is considering banning insurers from insuring ships carrying Russian oil, as another means of draining Russia of the financial resources it needs to continue bankrolling its war in Ukraine. If brought into force, the new sanctions would come as another blow to Russia’s energy export industry, as the EU also weighs up [...]
EU court expands scope of flight refund policy to non-EU airlines April 12, 2022 The EU’s highest court has expanded the scope of its flight refund policy, by allowing passengers to claim refunds from non-EU airlines. The European Court of Justice ruled in favour of plaintiffs suing Chicago headquartered firm United Airlines in allowing them to claim a refund for a 223-minute delay between Brussels and San Jose, [...]