http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?home The Global Legal Monitor is an online publication from the Law Library of Congress covering legal news and developments worldwide. It is updated frequently and draws on information from the Global Legal Information Network, official national legal publications, and reliable press sources. You can search previous news by searching the archive. en-us http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403615_text Government finance - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Fri, 14 Jun 2013 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403615_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403611_text Corporations; Government ethics; Mining and mineral resources; Natural resources - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments.... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Fri, 07 Jun 2013 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403611_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403598_text Labor - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Tue, 21 May 2013 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403598_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403586_text Refugees and asylum - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Wed, 08 May 2013 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403586_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403539_text Banks and financial institutions - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Tue, 09 Apr 2013 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403539_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403525_text Banks and financial institutions - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements.... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Wed, 20 Mar 2013 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403525_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403512_text Immigration - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Mon, 11 Mar 2013 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403512_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403472_text Executive power - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Thu, 31 Jan 2013 12:00:00 EST http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403472_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403457_text Police - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Mon, 14 Jan 2013 12:00:00 EST http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403457_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403447_text Banks and financial institutions - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Mon, 07 Jan 2013 12:00:00 EST http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403447_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403432_text Communications and electronic information - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Tue, 18 Dec 2012 12:00:00 EST http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403432_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403434_text Intellectual property - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Fri, 14 Dec 2012 12:00:00 EST http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403434_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403421_text Government finance - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Tue, 04 Dec 2012 12:00:00 EST http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403421_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403384_text Natural resources - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Wed, 07 Nov 2012 12:00:00 EST http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403384_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403375_text Criminal law and procedure - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012,... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Fri, 19 Oct 2012 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403375_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403259_text Customs - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Wed, 01 Aug 2012 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403259_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403262_text Communications and electronic information - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Wed, 01 Aug 2012 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403262_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403253_text Trade and commerce - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Wed, 25 Jul 2012 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403253_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403229_text Intellectual property - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand,... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Fri, 13 Jul 2012 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403229_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403228_text Politics and government - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Fri, 06 Jul 2012 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403228_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403224_text Taxation - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Mon, 02 Jul 2012 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403224_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403218_text Criminal law and procedure - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Wed, 27 Jun 2012 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403218_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403175_text International law - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Mon, 04 Jun 2012 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403175_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403137_text Terrorism - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Wed, 09 May 2012 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403137_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403108_text Intellectual property - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Fri, 20 Apr 2012 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403108_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403079_text Taxation - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted,... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Thu, 12 Apr 2012 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403079_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403081_text Criminal law and procedure - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission,... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Mon, 09 Apr 2012 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403081_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403074_text Family - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Wed, 04 Apr 2012 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403074_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403073_text Intellectual property - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Wed, 04 Apr 2012 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403073_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403060_text Firearms - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Fri, 30 Mar 2012 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403060_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403056_text Elections - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Tue, 27 Mar 2012 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205403056_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402999_text Disasters - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Fri, 24 Feb 2012 12:00:00 EST http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402999_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402976_text Intellectual property - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:00:00 EST http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402976_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402973_text Budget - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:00:00 EST http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402973_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402953_text Constitutional law - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402953_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402939_text International cultural relations - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402939_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402923_text Intellectual property - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Tue, 20 Dec 2011 12:00:00 EST http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402923_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402913_text Treaties and agreements - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Wed, 14 Dec 2011 12:00:00 EST http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402913_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402909_text Trade and commerce - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:00:00 EST http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402909_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402904_text Cultural property - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:00:00 EST http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402904_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402897_text Natural resources - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Mon, 28 Nov 2011 12:00:00 EST http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402897_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402881_text Consumer protection - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Wed, 16 Nov 2011 12:00:00 EST http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402881_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402884_text Boundaries - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Wed, 16 Nov 2011 12:00:00 EST http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402884_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402875_text Intellectual property - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Mon, 07 Nov 2011 12:00:00 EST http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402875_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402817_text Criminal law and procedure - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism,... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Mon, 26 Sep 2011 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402817_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402810_text Gambling - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Mon, 19 Sep 2011 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402810_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402789_text National security - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Tue, 30 Aug 2011 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402789_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402782_text Immigration - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Wed, 17 Aug 2011 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402782_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402772_text Human rights - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF).... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Mon, 08 Aug 2011 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402772_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402760_text Consumer protection - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Thu, 28 Jul 2011 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402760_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402743_text Budget - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Mon, 11 Jul 2011 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402743_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402698_text Taxation - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Fri, 03 Jun 2011 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402698_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402675_text Courts - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Tue, 17 May 2011 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402675_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402650_text Communications and electronic information - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Thu, 28 Apr 2011 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402650_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402651_text Trafficking in persons - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Thu, 28 Apr 2011 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402651_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402629_text Government finance - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Mon, 18 Apr 2011 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402629_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402620_text Communications and electronic information - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU Radio Frequency Identifications (RFIDs), or smart tags, are small, affordable circuits that communicate with a portable device (the reader) and are attached to goods and other consumer products. Smart tags have certain practical applications including their... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Mon, 11 Apr 2011 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402620_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402621_text Corporations - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU Radio Frequency Identifications (RFIDs), or smart tags, are small, affordable circuits that communicate with a portable device (the reader) and are attached to goods and other consumer products. Smart tags have certain practical applications including their On March 31, 2011, the U.S.-based Microsoft Corporation filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission alleging violation of European Union competition rules by Google, on the ground that Google's "pattern of actions" inhibits competition. Google... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Mon, 11 Apr 2011 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402621_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402595_text Disasters - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU Radio Frequency Identifications (RFIDs), or smart tags, are small, affordable circuits that communicate with a portable device (the reader) and are attached to goods and other consumer products. Smart tags have certain practical applications including their On March 31, 2011, the U.S.-based Microsoft Corporation filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission alleging violation of European Union competition rules by Google, on the ground that Google's "pattern of actions" inhibits competition. Google In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the European Union set in motion a number of measures in an effort to assist the Japanese government to deal with the unfolding... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Thu, 31 Mar 2011 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402595_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402575_text Freedom of the press - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU Radio Frequency Identifications (RFIDs), or smart tags, are small, affordable circuits that communicate with a portable device (the reader) and are attached to goods and other consumer products. Smart tags have certain practical applications including their On March 31, 2011, the U.S.-based Microsoft Corporation filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission alleging violation of European Union competition rules by Google, on the ground that Google's "pattern of actions" inhibits competition. Google In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the European Union set in motion a number of measures in an effort to assist the Japanese government to deal with the unfolding Although the threat of the European Union taking legal action against Member State Hungary for its controversial new Media Law has subsided, the European Parliament passed a resolution on March 10, 2011, that criticizes the Law... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Wed, 16 Mar 2011 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402575_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402568_text Trade and commerce - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU Radio Frequency Identifications (RFIDs), or smart tags, are small, affordable circuits that communicate with a portable device (the reader) and are attached to goods and other consumer products. Smart tags have certain practical applications including their On March 31, 2011, the U.S.-based Microsoft Corporation filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission alleging violation of European Union competition rules by Google, on the ground that Google's "pattern of actions" inhibits competition. Google In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the European Union set in motion a number of measures in an effort to assist the Japanese government to deal with the unfolding Although the threat of the European Union taking legal action against Member State Hungary for its controversial new Media Law has subsided, the European Parliament passed a resolution on March 10, 2011, that criticizes the Law On March 10, 2011, the European Commission published its first Report on Trade and Investment Barriers; it is designed to generate opportunities in exports and investment for European companies and individuals. The economic partners concerned include... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Mon, 14 Mar 2011 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402568_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402552_text Health and safety - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU Radio Frequency Identifications (RFIDs), or smart tags, are small, affordable circuits that communicate with a portable device (the reader) and are attached to goods and other consumer products. Smart tags have certain practical applications including their On March 31, 2011, the U.S.-based Microsoft Corporation filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission alleging violation of European Union competition rules by Google, on the ground that Google's "pattern of actions" inhibits competition. Google In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the European Union set in motion a number of measures in an effort to assist the Japanese government to deal with the unfolding Although the threat of the European Union taking legal action against Member State Hungary for its controversial new Media Law has subsided, the European Parliament passed a resolution on March 10, 2011, that criticizes the Law On March 10, 2011, the European Commission published its first Report on Trade and Investment Barriers; it is designed to generate opportunities in exports and investment for European companies and individuals. The economic partners concerned include The European Union Directive 2011/8/EU enters into force on March 1, 2011. It contains an important provision for protecting the health of the most vulnerable group of consumer, infants, because it prohibits the manufacturing of baby... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Thu, 03 Mar 2011 12:00:00 EST http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402552_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402505_text Terrorism - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU Radio Frequency Identifications (RFIDs), or smart tags, are small, affordable circuits that communicate with a portable device (the reader) and are attached to goods and other consumer products. Smart tags have certain practical applications including their On March 31, 2011, the U.S.-based Microsoft Corporation filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission alleging violation of European Union competition rules by Google, on the ground that Google's "pattern of actions" inhibits competition. Google In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the European Union set in motion a number of measures in an effort to assist the Japanese government to deal with the unfolding Although the threat of the European Union taking legal action against Member State Hungary for its controversial new Media Law has subsided, the European Parliament passed a resolution on March 10, 2011, that criticizes the Law On March 10, 2011, the European Commission published its first Report on Trade and Investment Barriers; it is designed to generate opportunities in exports and investment for European companies and individuals. The economic partners concerned include The European Union Directive 2011/8/EU enters into force on March 1, 2011. It contains an important provision for protecting the health of the most vulnerable group of consumer, infants, because it prohibits the manufacturing of baby On February 2, 2011, the European Commission made public a proposal for a new European Union directive aimed at fighting serious crime and terrorism through uniform regulation of Passenger Name Record (PNR) sharing between airline carriers... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Mon, 07 Feb 2011 12:00:00 EST http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402505_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402480_text Disability - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU Radio Frequency Identifications (RFIDs), or smart tags, are small, affordable circuits that communicate with a portable device (the reader) and are attached to goods and other consumer products. Smart tags have certain practical applications including their On March 31, 2011, the U.S.-based Microsoft Corporation filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission alleging violation of European Union competition rules by Google, on the ground that Google's "pattern of actions" inhibits competition. Google In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the European Union set in motion a number of measures in an effort to assist the Japanese government to deal with the unfolding Although the threat of the European Union taking legal action against Member State Hungary for its controversial new Media Law has subsided, the European Parliament passed a resolution on March 10, 2011, that criticizes the Law On March 10, 2011, the European Commission published its first Report on Trade and Investment Barriers; it is designed to generate opportunities in exports and investment for European companies and individuals. The economic partners concerned include The European Union Directive 2011/8/EU enters into force on March 1, 2011. It contains an important provision for protecting the health of the most vulnerable group of consumer, infants, because it prohibits the manufacturing of baby On February 2, 2011, the European Commission made public a proposal for a new European Union directive aimed at fighting serious crime and terrorism through uniform regulation of Passenger Name Record (PNR) sharing between airline carriers The European Union recently announced its ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (adopted on Dec. 13, 2006), United Nations... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Thu, 20 Jan 2011 12:00:00 EST http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402480_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402447_text Trafficking in persons - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU Radio Frequency Identifications (RFIDs), or smart tags, are small, affordable circuits that communicate with a portable device (the reader) and are attached to goods and other consumer products. Smart tags have certain practical applications including their On March 31, 2011, the U.S.-based Microsoft Corporation filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission alleging violation of European Union competition rules by Google, on the ground that Google's "pattern of actions" inhibits competition. Google In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the European Union set in motion a number of measures in an effort to assist the Japanese government to deal with the unfolding Although the threat of the European Union taking legal action against Member State Hungary for its controversial new Media Law has subsided, the European Parliament passed a resolution on March 10, 2011, that criticizes the Law On March 10, 2011, the European Commission published its first Report on Trade and Investment Barriers; it is designed to generate opportunities in exports and investment for European companies and individuals. The economic partners concerned include The European Union Directive 2011/8/EU enters into force on March 1, 2011. It contains an important provision for protecting the health of the most vulnerable group of consumer, infants, because it prohibits the manufacturing of baby On February 2, 2011, the European Commission made public a proposal for a new European Union directive aimed at fighting serious crime and terrorism through uniform regulation of Passenger Name Record (PNR) sharing between airline carriers The European Union recently announced its ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (adopted on Dec. 13, 2006), United Nations On December 21, 2010, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs launched a new website devoted to combating trafficking in human beings. According to a press release on the event,... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Thu, 30 Dec 2010 12:00:00 EST http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402447_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402448_text Human rights - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU Radio Frequency Identifications (RFIDs), or smart tags, are small, affordable circuits that communicate with a portable device (the reader) and are attached to goods and other consumer products. Smart tags have certain practical applications including their On March 31, 2011, the U.S.-based Microsoft Corporation filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission alleging violation of European Union competition rules by Google, on the ground that Google's "pattern of actions" inhibits competition. Google In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the European Union set in motion a number of measures in an effort to assist the Japanese government to deal with the unfolding Although the threat of the European Union taking legal action against Member State Hungary for its controversial new Media Law has subsided, the European Parliament passed a resolution on March 10, 2011, that criticizes the Law On March 10, 2011, the European Commission published its first Report on Trade and Investment Barriers; it is designed to generate opportunities in exports and investment for European companies and individuals. The economic partners concerned include The European Union Directive 2011/8/EU enters into force on March 1, 2011. It contains an important provision for protecting the health of the most vulnerable group of consumer, infants, because it prohibits the manufacturing of baby On February 2, 2011, the European Commission made public a proposal for a new European Union directive aimed at fighting serious crime and terrorism through uniform regulation of Passenger Name Record (PNR) sharing between airline carriers The European Union recently announced its ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (adopted on Dec. 13, 2006), United Nations On December 21, 2010, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs launched a new website devoted to combating trafficking in human beings. According to a press release on the event, On December 22, 2010, it was reported that the European Commission had turned down a request from six Eastern European states to treat Soviet crimes "according to the same standards" as those of Nazi regimes and... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Thu, 30 Dec 2010 12:00:00 EST http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402448_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402426_text Terrorism - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU Radio Frequency Identifications (RFIDs), or smart tags, are small, affordable circuits that communicate with a portable device (the reader) and are attached to goods and other consumer products. Smart tags have certain practical applications including their On March 31, 2011, the U.S.-based Microsoft Corporation filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission alleging violation of European Union competition rules by Google, on the ground that Google's "pattern of actions" inhibits competition. Google In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the European Union set in motion a number of measures in an effort to assist the Japanese government to deal with the unfolding Although the threat of the European Union taking legal action against Member State Hungary for its controversial new Media Law has subsided, the European Parliament passed a resolution on March 10, 2011, that criticizes the Law On March 10, 2011, the European Commission published its first Report on Trade and Investment Barriers; it is designed to generate opportunities in exports and investment for European companies and individuals. The economic partners concerned include The European Union Directive 2011/8/EU enters into force on March 1, 2011. It contains an important provision for protecting the health of the most vulnerable group of consumer, infants, because it prohibits the manufacturing of baby On February 2, 2011, the European Commission made public a proposal for a new European Union directive aimed at fighting serious crime and terrorism through uniform regulation of Passenger Name Record (PNR) sharing between airline carriers The European Union recently announced its ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (adopted on Dec. 13, 2006), United Nations On December 21, 2010, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs launched a new website devoted to combating trafficking in human beings. According to a press release on the event, On December 22, 2010, it was reported that the European Commission had turned down a request from six Eastern European states to treat Soviet crimes "according to the same standards" as those of Nazi regimes and On December 10, 2010, the European Union and India agreed to enhance cooperation against terrorism, in order to deny safe havens to members of extremist groups, among other measures. Western countries are bracing for Islamist extremist... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Wed, 15 Dec 2010 12:00:00 EST http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402426_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402405_text Aviation - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU Radio Frequency Identifications (RFIDs), or smart tags, are small, affordable circuits that communicate with a portable device (the reader) and are attached to goods and other consumer products. Smart tags have certain practical applications including their On March 31, 2011, the U.S.-based Microsoft Corporation filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission alleging violation of European Union competition rules by Google, on the ground that Google's "pattern of actions" inhibits competition. Google In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the European Union set in motion a number of measures in an effort to assist the Japanese government to deal with the unfolding Although the threat of the European Union taking legal action against Member State Hungary for its controversial new Media Law has subsided, the European Parliament passed a resolution on March 10, 2011, that criticizes the Law On March 10, 2011, the European Commission published its first Report on Trade and Investment Barriers; it is designed to generate opportunities in exports and investment for European companies and individuals. The economic partners concerned include The European Union Directive 2011/8/EU enters into force on March 1, 2011. It contains an important provision for protecting the health of the most vulnerable group of consumer, infants, because it prohibits the manufacturing of baby On February 2, 2011, the European Commission made public a proposal for a new European Union directive aimed at fighting serious crime and terrorism through uniform regulation of Passenger Name Record (PNR) sharing between airline carriers The European Union recently announced its ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (adopted on Dec. 13, 2006), United Nations On December 21, 2010, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs launched a new website devoted to combating trafficking in human beings. According to a press release on the event, On December 22, 2010, it was reported that the European Commission had turned down a request from six Eastern European states to treat Soviet crimes "according to the same standards" as those of Nazi regimes and On December 10, 2010, the European Union and India agreed to enhance cooperation against terrorism, in order to deny safe havens to members of extremist groups, among other measures. Western countries are bracing for Islamist extremist On November 9, 2010, 11 air cargo carriers were fined by the European Commission for maintaining a six-year cartel over surcharges for fuel and security costs. The airlines involved, Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, Cathay... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Wed, 01 Dec 2010 12:00:00 EST http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402405_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402399_text National security - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU Radio Frequency Identifications (RFIDs), or smart tags, are small, affordable circuits that communicate with a portable device (the reader) and are attached to goods and other consumer products. Smart tags have certain practical applications including their On March 31, 2011, the U.S.-based Microsoft Corporation filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission alleging violation of European Union competition rules by Google, on the ground that Google's "pattern of actions" inhibits competition. Google In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the European Union set in motion a number of measures in an effort to assist the Japanese government to deal with the unfolding Although the threat of the European Union taking legal action against Member State Hungary for its controversial new Media Law has subsided, the European Parliament passed a resolution on March 10, 2011, that criticizes the Law On March 10, 2011, the European Commission published its first Report on Trade and Investment Barriers; it is designed to generate opportunities in exports and investment for European companies and individuals. The economic partners concerned include The European Union Directive 2011/8/EU enters into force on March 1, 2011. It contains an important provision for protecting the health of the most vulnerable group of consumer, infants, because it prohibits the manufacturing of baby On February 2, 2011, the European Commission made public a proposal for a new European Union directive aimed at fighting serious crime and terrorism through uniform regulation of Passenger Name Record (PNR) sharing between airline carriers The European Union recently announced its ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (adopted on Dec. 13, 2006), United Nations On December 21, 2010, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs launched a new website devoted to combating trafficking in human beings. According to a press release on the event, On December 22, 2010, it was reported that the European Commission had turned down a request from six Eastern European states to treat Soviet crimes "according to the same standards" as those of Nazi regimes and On December 10, 2010, the European Union and India agreed to enhance cooperation against terrorism, in order to deny safe havens to members of extremist groups, among other measures. Western countries are bracing for Islamist extremist On November 9, 2010, 11 air cargo carriers were fined by the European Commission for maintaining a six-year cartel over surcharges for fuel and security costs. The airlines involved, Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, Cathay On November 18, 2010, the European Union and the United States concluded the Implementing Arrangement for Cooperative Activities in the Field of Homeland/Civil Security Research. The plan was signed by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Mon, 29 Nov 2010 12:00:00 EST http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402399_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402387_text Government ethics - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU Radio Frequency Identifications (RFIDs), or smart tags, are small, affordable circuits that communicate with a portable device (the reader) and are attached to goods and other consumer products. Smart tags have certain practical applications including their On March 31, 2011, the U.S.-based Microsoft Corporation filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission alleging violation of European Union competition rules by Google, on the ground that Google's "pattern of actions" inhibits competition. Google In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the European Union set in motion a number of measures in an effort to assist the Japanese government to deal with the unfolding Although the threat of the European Union taking legal action against Member State Hungary for its controversial new Media Law has subsided, the European Parliament passed a resolution on March 10, 2011, that criticizes the Law On March 10, 2011, the European Commission published its first Report on Trade and Investment Barriers; it is designed to generate opportunities in exports and investment for European companies and individuals. The economic partners concerned include The European Union Directive 2011/8/EU enters into force on March 1, 2011. It contains an important provision for protecting the health of the most vulnerable group of consumer, infants, because it prohibits the manufacturing of baby On February 2, 2011, the European Commission made public a proposal for a new European Union directive aimed at fighting serious crime and terrorism through uniform regulation of Passenger Name Record (PNR) sharing between airline carriers The European Union recently announced its ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (adopted on Dec. 13, 2006), United Nations On December 21, 2010, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs launched a new website devoted to combating trafficking in human beings. According to a press release on the event, On December 22, 2010, it was reported that the European Commission had turned down a request from six Eastern European states to treat Soviet crimes "according to the same standards" as those of Nazi regimes and On December 10, 2010, the European Union and India agreed to enhance cooperation against terrorism, in order to deny safe havens to members of extremist groups, among other measures. Western countries are bracing for Islamist extremist On November 9, 2010, 11 air cargo carriers were fined by the European Commission for maintaining a six-year cartel over surcharges for fuel and security costs. The airlines involved, Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, Cathay On November 18, 2010, the European Union and the United States concluded the Implementing Arrangement for Cooperative Activities in the Field of Homeland/Civil Security Research. The plan was signed by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano In a November 9, 2010, report on the progress made by nations applying for European Union membership, the European Commission praised Iceland's recent reforms. The report was a follow-up to the February 2010 recommendation by the... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Mon, 22 Nov 2010 12:00:00 EST http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402387_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402383_text Aviation - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU Radio Frequency Identifications (RFIDs), or smart tags, are small, affordable circuits that communicate with a portable device (the reader) and are attached to goods and other consumer products. Smart tags have certain practical applications including their On March 31, 2011, the U.S.-based Microsoft Corporation filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission alleging violation of European Union competition rules by Google, on the ground that Google's "pattern of actions" inhibits competition. Google In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the European Union set in motion a number of measures in an effort to assist the Japanese government to deal with the unfolding Although the threat of the European Union taking legal action against Member State Hungary for its controversial new Media Law has subsided, the European Parliament passed a resolution on March 10, 2011, that criticizes the Law On March 10, 2011, the European Commission published its first Report on Trade and Investment Barriers; it is designed to generate opportunities in exports and investment for European companies and individuals. The economic partners concerned include The European Union Directive 2011/8/EU enters into force on March 1, 2011. It contains an important provision for protecting the health of the most vulnerable group of consumer, infants, because it prohibits the manufacturing of baby On February 2, 2011, the European Commission made public a proposal for a new European Union directive aimed at fighting serious crime and terrorism through uniform regulation of Passenger Name Record (PNR) sharing between airline carriers The European Union recently announced its ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (adopted on Dec. 13, 2006), United Nations On December 21, 2010, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs launched a new website devoted to combating trafficking in human beings. According to a press release on the event, On December 22, 2010, it was reported that the European Commission had turned down a request from six Eastern European states to treat Soviet crimes "according to the same standards" as those of Nazi regimes and On December 10, 2010, the European Union and India agreed to enhance cooperation against terrorism, in order to deny safe havens to members of extremist groups, among other measures. Western countries are bracing for Islamist extremist On November 9, 2010, 11 air cargo carriers were fined by the European Commission for maintaining a six-year cartel over surcharges for fuel and security costs. The airlines involved, Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, Cathay On November 18, 2010, the European Union and the United States concluded the Implementing Arrangement for Cooperative Activities in the Field of Homeland/Civil Security Research. The plan was signed by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano In a November 9, 2010, report on the progress made by nations applying for European Union membership, the European Commission praised Iceland's recent reforms. The report was a follow-up to the February 2010 recommendation by the On November 9, 2010, the European Union's Directorates-General for Justice and Home Affairs decided to enhance existing air cargo security rules. The decision was in response to recent events involving the discovery of two package-bombs in... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Fri, 19 Nov 2010 12:00:00 EST http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402383_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402380_text Communications and electronic information - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU Radio Frequency Identifications (RFIDs), or smart tags, are small, affordable circuits that communicate with a portable device (the reader) and are attached to goods and other consumer products. Smart tags have certain practical applications including their On March 31, 2011, the U.S.-based Microsoft Corporation filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission alleging violation of European Union competition rules by Google, on the ground that Google's "pattern of actions" inhibits competition. Google In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the European Union set in motion a number of measures in an effort to assist the Japanese government to deal with the unfolding Although the threat of the European Union taking legal action against Member State Hungary for its controversial new Media Law has subsided, the European Parliament passed a resolution on March 10, 2011, that criticizes the Law On March 10, 2011, the European Commission published its first Report on Trade and Investment Barriers; it is designed to generate opportunities in exports and investment for European companies and individuals. The economic partners concerned include The European Union Directive 2011/8/EU enters into force on March 1, 2011. It contains an important provision for protecting the health of the most vulnerable group of consumer, infants, because it prohibits the manufacturing of baby On February 2, 2011, the European Commission made public a proposal for a new European Union directive aimed at fighting serious crime and terrorism through uniform regulation of Passenger Name Record (PNR) sharing between airline carriers The European Union recently announced its ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (adopted on Dec. 13, 2006), United Nations On December 21, 2010, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs launched a new website devoted to combating trafficking in human beings. According to a press release on the event, On December 22, 2010, it was reported that the European Commission had turned down a request from six Eastern European states to treat Soviet crimes "according to the same standards" as those of Nazi regimes and On December 10, 2010, the European Union and India agreed to enhance cooperation against terrorism, in order to deny safe havens to members of extremist groups, among other measures. Western countries are bracing for Islamist extremist On November 9, 2010, 11 air cargo carriers were fined by the European Commission for maintaining a six-year cartel over surcharges for fuel and security costs. The airlines involved, Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, Cathay On November 18, 2010, the European Union and the United States concluded the Implementing Arrangement for Cooperative Activities in the Field of Homeland/Civil Security Research. The plan was signed by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano In a November 9, 2010, report on the progress made by nations applying for European Union membership, the European Commission praised Iceland's recent reforms. The report was a follow-up to the February 2010 recommendation by the On November 9, 2010, the European Union's Directorates-General for Justice and Home Affairs decided to enhance existing air cargo security rules. The decision was in response to recent events involving the discovery of two package-bombs in On November 8, 2010, the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee of the European Parliament adopted a report on the impact of advertising on the behavior of consumers. Philippe Juvin, the French Member of the European... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Thu, 18 Nov 2010 12:00:00 EST http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402380_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402360_text Environment - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU Radio Frequency Identifications (RFIDs), or smart tags, are small, affordable circuits that communicate with a portable device (the reader) and are attached to goods and other consumer products. Smart tags have certain practical applications including their On March 31, 2011, the U.S.-based Microsoft Corporation filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission alleging violation of European Union competition rules by Google, on the ground that Google's "pattern of actions" inhibits competition. Google In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the European Union set in motion a number of measures in an effort to assist the Japanese government to deal with the unfolding Although the threat of the European Union taking legal action against Member State Hungary for its controversial new Media Law has subsided, the European Parliament passed a resolution on March 10, 2011, that criticizes the Law On March 10, 2011, the European Commission published its first Report on Trade and Investment Barriers; it is designed to generate opportunities in exports and investment for European companies and individuals. The economic partners concerned include The European Union Directive 2011/8/EU enters into force on March 1, 2011. It contains an important provision for protecting the health of the most vulnerable group of consumer, infants, because it prohibits the manufacturing of baby On February 2, 2011, the European Commission made public a proposal for a new European Union directive aimed at fighting serious crime and terrorism through uniform regulation of Passenger Name Record (PNR) sharing between airline carriers The European Union recently announced its ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (adopted on Dec. 13, 2006), United Nations On December 21, 2010, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs launched a new website devoted to combating trafficking in human beings. According to a press release on the event, On December 22, 2010, it was reported that the European Commission had turned down a request from six Eastern European states to treat Soviet crimes "according to the same standards" as those of Nazi regimes and On December 10, 2010, the European Union and India agreed to enhance cooperation against terrorism, in order to deny safe havens to members of extremist groups, among other measures. Western countries are bracing for Islamist extremist On November 9, 2010, 11 air cargo carriers were fined by the European Commission for maintaining a six-year cartel over surcharges for fuel and security costs. The airlines involved, Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, Cathay On November 18, 2010, the European Union and the United States concluded the Implementing Arrangement for Cooperative Activities in the Field of Homeland/Civil Security Research. The plan was signed by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano In a November 9, 2010, report on the progress made by nations applying for European Union membership, the European Commission praised Iceland's recent reforms. The report was a follow-up to the February 2010 recommendation by the On November 9, 2010, the European Union's Directorates-General for Justice and Home Affairs decided to enhance existing air cargo security rules. The decision was in response to recent events involving the discovery of two package-bombs in On November 8, 2010, the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee of the European Parliament adopted a report on the impact of advertising on the behavior of consumers. Philippe Juvin, the French Member of the European On November 4, 2010, the European Commission made public a proposal for a regulation to introduce a ban on the use of phosphates and phosphate compounds in laundry detergents, in order to limit the amount of... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Mon, 08 Nov 2010 12:00:00 EST http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402360_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402361_text Border security - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU Radio Frequency Identifications (RFIDs), or smart tags, are small, affordable circuits that communicate with a portable device (the reader) and are attached to goods and other consumer products. Smart tags have certain practical applications including their On March 31, 2011, the U.S.-based Microsoft Corporation filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission alleging violation of European Union competition rules by Google, on the ground that Google's "pattern of actions" inhibits competition. Google In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the European Union set in motion a number of measures in an effort to assist the Japanese government to deal with the unfolding Although the threat of the European Union taking legal action against Member State Hungary for its controversial new Media Law has subsided, the European Parliament passed a resolution on March 10, 2011, that criticizes the Law On March 10, 2011, the European Commission published its first Report on Trade and Investment Barriers; it is designed to generate opportunities in exports and investment for European companies and individuals. The economic partners concerned include The European Union Directive 2011/8/EU enters into force on March 1, 2011. It contains an important provision for protecting the health of the most vulnerable group of consumer, infants, because it prohibits the manufacturing of baby On February 2, 2011, the European Commission made public a proposal for a new European Union directive aimed at fighting serious crime and terrorism through uniform regulation of Passenger Name Record (PNR) sharing between airline carriers The European Union recently announced its ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (adopted on Dec. 13, 2006), United Nations On December 21, 2010, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs launched a new website devoted to combating trafficking in human beings. According to a press release on the event, On December 22, 2010, it was reported that the European Commission had turned down a request from six Eastern European states to treat Soviet crimes "according to the same standards" as those of Nazi regimes and On December 10, 2010, the European Union and India agreed to enhance cooperation against terrorism, in order to deny safe havens to members of extremist groups, among other measures. Western countries are bracing for Islamist extremist On November 9, 2010, 11 air cargo carriers were fined by the European Commission for maintaining a six-year cartel over surcharges for fuel and security costs. The airlines involved, Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, Cathay On November 18, 2010, the European Union and the United States concluded the Implementing Arrangement for Cooperative Activities in the Field of Homeland/Civil Security Research. The plan was signed by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano In a November 9, 2010, report on the progress made by nations applying for European Union membership, the European Commission praised Iceland's recent reforms. The report was a follow-up to the February 2010 recommendation by the On November 9, 2010, the European Union's Directorates-General for Justice and Home Affairs decided to enhance existing air cargo security rules. The decision was in response to recent events involving the discovery of two package-bombs in On November 8, 2010, the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee of the European Parliament adopted a report on the impact of advertising on the behavior of consumers. Philippe Juvin, the French Member of the European On November 4, 2010, the European Commission made public a proposal for a regulation to introduce a ban on the use of phosphates and phosphate compounds in laundry detergents, in order to limit the amount of On November 2, 2010, at the request of the Greek government, the European Union border management agency (Frontex) gathered patrols from all EU Member States except Ireland and Great Britain and from two non-EU member states,... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Mon, 08 Nov 2010 12:00:00 EST http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402361_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402328_text Taxation - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU Radio Frequency Identifications (RFIDs), or smart tags, are small, affordable circuits that communicate with a portable device (the reader) and are attached to goods and other consumer products. Smart tags have certain practical applications including their On March 31, 2011, the U.S.-based Microsoft Corporation filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission alleging violation of European Union competition rules by Google, on the ground that Google's "pattern of actions" inhibits competition. Google In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the European Union set in motion a number of measures in an effort to assist the Japanese government to deal with the unfolding Although the threat of the European Union taking legal action against Member State Hungary for its controversial new Media Law has subsided, the European Parliament passed a resolution on March 10, 2011, that criticizes the Law On March 10, 2011, the European Commission published its first Report on Trade and Investment Barriers; it is designed to generate opportunities in exports and investment for European companies and individuals. The economic partners concerned include The European Union Directive 2011/8/EU enters into force on March 1, 2011. It contains an important provision for protecting the health of the most vulnerable group of consumer, infants, because it prohibits the manufacturing of baby On February 2, 2011, the European Commission made public a proposal for a new European Union directive aimed at fighting serious crime and terrorism through uniform regulation of Passenger Name Record (PNR) sharing between airline carriers The European Union recently announced its ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (adopted on Dec. 13, 2006), United Nations On December 21, 2010, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs launched a new website devoted to combating trafficking in human beings. According to a press release on the event, On December 22, 2010, it was reported that the European Commission had turned down a request from six Eastern European states to treat Soviet crimes "according to the same standards" as those of Nazi regimes and On December 10, 2010, the European Union and India agreed to enhance cooperation against terrorism, in order to deny safe havens to members of extremist groups, among other measures. Western countries are bracing for Islamist extremist On November 9, 2010, 11 air cargo carriers were fined by the European Commission for maintaining a six-year cartel over surcharges for fuel and security costs. The airlines involved, Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, Cathay On November 18, 2010, the European Union and the United States concluded the Implementing Arrangement for Cooperative Activities in the Field of Homeland/Civil Security Research. The plan was signed by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano In a November 9, 2010, report on the progress made by nations applying for European Union membership, the European Commission praised Iceland's recent reforms. The report was a follow-up to the February 2010 recommendation by the On November 9, 2010, the European Union's Directorates-General for Justice and Home Affairs decided to enhance existing air cargo security rules. The decision was in response to recent events involving the discovery of two package-bombs in On November 8, 2010, the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee of the European Parliament adopted a report on the impact of advertising on the behavior of consumers. Philippe Juvin, the French Member of the European On November 4, 2010, the European Commission made public a proposal for a regulation to introduce a ban on the use of phosphates and phosphate compounds in laundry detergents, in order to limit the amount of On November 2, 2010, at the request of the Greek government, the European Union border management agency (Frontex) gathered patrols from all EU Member States except Ireland and Great Britain and from two non-EU member states, The recent financial crisis, which unfolded in Europe and elsewhere, coupled with a variety of other emerging issues including climate change and resource efficiency which entail certain financial obligations, led the three institutions, the European Commission,... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Thu, 21 Oct 2010 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402328_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402313_text Freedom of information - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU Radio Frequency Identifications (RFIDs), or smart tags, are small, affordable circuits that communicate with a portable device (the reader) and are attached to goods and other consumer products. Smart tags have certain practical applications including their On March 31, 2011, the U.S.-based Microsoft Corporation filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission alleging violation of European Union competition rules by Google, on the ground that Google's "pattern of actions" inhibits competition. Google In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the European Union set in motion a number of measures in an effort to assist the Japanese government to deal with the unfolding Although the threat of the European Union taking legal action against Member State Hungary for its controversial new Media Law has subsided, the European Parliament passed a resolution on March 10, 2011, that criticizes the Law On March 10, 2011, the European Commission published its first Report on Trade and Investment Barriers; it is designed to generate opportunities in exports and investment for European companies and individuals. The economic partners concerned include The European Union Directive 2011/8/EU enters into force on March 1, 2011. It contains an important provision for protecting the health of the most vulnerable group of consumer, infants, because it prohibits the manufacturing of baby On February 2, 2011, the European Commission made public a proposal for a new European Union directive aimed at fighting serious crime and terrorism through uniform regulation of Passenger Name Record (PNR) sharing between airline carriers The European Union recently announced its ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (adopted on Dec. 13, 2006), United Nations On December 21, 2010, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs launched a new website devoted to combating trafficking in human beings. According to a press release on the event, On December 22, 2010, it was reported that the European Commission had turned down a request from six Eastern European states to treat Soviet crimes "according to the same standards" as those of Nazi regimes and On December 10, 2010, the European Union and India agreed to enhance cooperation against terrorism, in order to deny safe havens to members of extremist groups, among other measures. Western countries are bracing for Islamist extremist On November 9, 2010, 11 air cargo carriers were fined by the European Commission for maintaining a six-year cartel over surcharges for fuel and security costs. The airlines involved, Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, Cathay On November 18, 2010, the European Union and the United States concluded the Implementing Arrangement for Cooperative Activities in the Field of Homeland/Civil Security Research. The plan was signed by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano In a November 9, 2010, report on the progress made by nations applying for European Union membership, the European Commission praised Iceland's recent reforms. The report was a follow-up to the February 2010 recommendation by the On November 9, 2010, the European Union's Directorates-General for Justice and Home Affairs decided to enhance existing air cargo security rules. The decision was in response to recent events involving the discovery of two package-bombs in On November 8, 2010, the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee of the European Parliament adopted a report on the impact of advertising on the behavior of consumers. Philippe Juvin, the French Member of the European On November 4, 2010, the European Commission made public a proposal for a regulation to introduce a ban on the use of phosphates and phosphate compounds in laundry detergents, in order to limit the amount of On November 2, 2010, at the request of the Greek government, the European Union border management agency (Frontex) gathered patrols from all EU Member States except Ireland and Great Britain and from two non-EU member states, The recent financial crisis, which unfolded in Europe and elsewhere, coupled with a variety of other emerging issues including climate change and resource efficiency which entail certain financial obligations, led the three institutions, the European Commission, Under European Union legislation, access to documents issued by the EU institutions, the European Commission, the Parliament, and the Council, is a basic right of EU citizens. While the European Parliament has urged that access to... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Wed, 13 Oct 2010 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402313_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402292_text Terrorism - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU Radio Frequency Identifications (RFIDs), or smart tags, are small, affordable circuits that communicate with a portable device (the reader) and are attached to goods and other consumer products. Smart tags have certain practical applications including their On March 31, 2011, the U.S.-based Microsoft Corporation filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission alleging violation of European Union competition rules by Google, on the ground that Google's "pattern of actions" inhibits competition. Google In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the European Union set in motion a number of measures in an effort to assist the Japanese government to deal with the unfolding Although the threat of the European Union taking legal action against Member State Hungary for its controversial new Media Law has subsided, the European Parliament passed a resolution on March 10, 2011, that criticizes the Law On March 10, 2011, the European Commission published its first Report on Trade and Investment Barriers; it is designed to generate opportunities in exports and investment for European companies and individuals. The economic partners concerned include The European Union Directive 2011/8/EU enters into force on March 1, 2011. It contains an important provision for protecting the health of the most vulnerable group of consumer, infants, because it prohibits the manufacturing of baby On February 2, 2011, the European Commission made public a proposal for a new European Union directive aimed at fighting serious crime and terrorism through uniform regulation of Passenger Name Record (PNR) sharing between airline carriers The European Union recently announced its ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (adopted on Dec. 13, 2006), United Nations On December 21, 2010, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs launched a new website devoted to combating trafficking in human beings. According to a press release on the event, On December 22, 2010, it was reported that the European Commission had turned down a request from six Eastern European states to treat Soviet crimes "according to the same standards" as those of Nazi regimes and On December 10, 2010, the European Union and India agreed to enhance cooperation against terrorism, in order to deny safe havens to members of extremist groups, among other measures. Western countries are bracing for Islamist extremist On November 9, 2010, 11 air cargo carriers were fined by the European Commission for maintaining a six-year cartel over surcharges for fuel and security costs. The airlines involved, Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, Cathay On November 18, 2010, the European Union and the United States concluded the Implementing Arrangement for Cooperative Activities in the Field of Homeland/Civil Security Research. The plan was signed by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano In a November 9, 2010, report on the progress made by nations applying for European Union membership, the European Commission praised Iceland's recent reforms. The report was a follow-up to the February 2010 recommendation by the On November 9, 2010, the European Union's Directorates-General for Justice and Home Affairs decided to enhance existing air cargo security rules. The decision was in response to recent events involving the discovery of two package-bombs in On November 8, 2010, the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee of the European Parliament adopted a report on the impact of advertising on the behavior of consumers. Philippe Juvin, the French Member of the European On November 4, 2010, the European Commission made public a proposal for a regulation to introduce a ban on the use of phosphates and phosphate compounds in laundry detergents, in order to limit the amount of On November 2, 2010, at the request of the Greek government, the European Union border management agency (Frontex) gathered patrols from all EU Member States except Ireland and Great Britain and from two non-EU member states, The recent financial crisis, which unfolded in Europe and elsewhere, coupled with a variety of other emerging issues including climate change and resource efficiency which entail certain financial obligations, led the three institutions, the European Commission, Under European Union legislation, access to documents issued by the EU institutions, the European Commission, the Parliament, and the Council, is a basic right of EU citizens. While the European Parliament has urged that access to On September 21, 2010, the European Commission adopted a Communication on exchange of data on passenger name records (PNR) with third countries. It also contains recommendations for the adoption of new PNR agreements with the United... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Wed, 06 Oct 2010 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402292_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402270_text Trade and commerce - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU Radio Frequency Identifications (RFIDs), or smart tags, are small, affordable circuits that communicate with a portable device (the reader) and are attached to goods and other consumer products. Smart tags have certain practical applications including their On March 31, 2011, the U.S.-based Microsoft Corporation filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission alleging violation of European Union competition rules by Google, on the ground that Google's "pattern of actions" inhibits competition. Google In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the European Union set in motion a number of measures in an effort to assist the Japanese government to deal with the unfolding Although the threat of the European Union taking legal action against Member State Hungary for its controversial new Media Law has subsided, the European Parliament passed a resolution on March 10, 2011, that criticizes the Law On March 10, 2011, the European Commission published its first Report on Trade and Investment Barriers; it is designed to generate opportunities in exports and investment for European companies and individuals. The economic partners concerned include The European Union Directive 2011/8/EU enters into force on March 1, 2011. It contains an important provision for protecting the health of the most vulnerable group of consumer, infants, because it prohibits the manufacturing of baby On February 2, 2011, the European Commission made public a proposal for a new European Union directive aimed at fighting serious crime and terrorism through uniform regulation of Passenger Name Record (PNR) sharing between airline carriers The European Union recently announced its ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (adopted on Dec. 13, 2006), United Nations On December 21, 2010, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs launched a new website devoted to combating trafficking in human beings. According to a press release on the event, On December 22, 2010, it was reported that the European Commission had turned down a request from six Eastern European states to treat Soviet crimes "according to the same standards" as those of Nazi regimes and On December 10, 2010, the European Union and India agreed to enhance cooperation against terrorism, in order to deny safe havens to members of extremist groups, among other measures. Western countries are bracing for Islamist extremist On November 9, 2010, 11 air cargo carriers were fined by the European Commission for maintaining a six-year cartel over surcharges for fuel and security costs. The airlines involved, Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, Cathay On November 18, 2010, the European Union and the United States concluded the Implementing Arrangement for Cooperative Activities in the Field of Homeland/Civil Security Research. The plan was signed by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano In a November 9, 2010, report on the progress made by nations applying for European Union membership, the European Commission praised Iceland's recent reforms. The report was a follow-up to the February 2010 recommendation by the On November 9, 2010, the European Union's Directorates-General for Justice and Home Affairs decided to enhance existing air cargo security rules. The decision was in response to recent events involving the discovery of two package-bombs in On November 8, 2010, the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee of the European Parliament adopted a report on the impact of advertising on the behavior of consumers. Philippe Juvin, the French Member of the European On November 4, 2010, the European Commission made public a proposal for a regulation to introduce a ban on the use of phosphates and phosphate compounds in laundry detergents, in order to limit the amount of On November 2, 2010, at the request of the Greek government, the European Union border management agency (Frontex) gathered patrols from all EU Member States except Ireland and Great Britain and from two non-EU member states, The recent financial crisis, which unfolded in Europe and elsewhere, coupled with a variety of other emerging issues including climate change and resource efficiency which entail certain financial obligations, led the three institutions, the European Commission, Under European Union legislation, access to documents issued by the EU institutions, the European Commission, the Parliament, and the Council, is a basic right of EU citizens. While the European Parliament has urged that access to On September 21, 2010, the European Commission adopted a Communication on exchange of data on passenger name records (PNR) with third countries. It also contains recommendations for the adoption of new PNR agreements with the United On September 16, 2010, the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union authorized the signing of the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and its provisional application as of July 1, 2011, provided that the European Parliament... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Mon, 27 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402270_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402249_text Maritime law - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU Radio Frequency Identifications (RFIDs), or smart tags, are small, affordable circuits that communicate with a portable device (the reader) and are attached to goods and other consumer products. Smart tags have certain practical applications including their On March 31, 2011, the U.S.-based Microsoft Corporation filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission alleging violation of European Union competition rules by Google, on the ground that Google's "pattern of actions" inhibits competition. Google In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the European Union set in motion a number of measures in an effort to assist the Japanese government to deal with the unfolding Although the threat of the European Union taking legal action against Member State Hungary for its controversial new Media Law has subsided, the European Parliament passed a resolution on March 10, 2011, that criticizes the Law On March 10, 2011, the European Commission published its first Report on Trade and Investment Barriers; it is designed to generate opportunities in exports and investment for European companies and individuals. The economic partners concerned include The European Union Directive 2011/8/EU enters into force on March 1, 2011. It contains an important provision for protecting the health of the most vulnerable group of consumer, infants, because it prohibits the manufacturing of baby On February 2, 2011, the European Commission made public a proposal for a new European Union directive aimed at fighting serious crime and terrorism through uniform regulation of Passenger Name Record (PNR) sharing between airline carriers The European Union recently announced its ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (adopted on Dec. 13, 2006), United Nations On December 21, 2010, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs launched a new website devoted to combating trafficking in human beings. According to a press release on the event, On December 22, 2010, it was reported that the European Commission had turned down a request from six Eastern European states to treat Soviet crimes "according to the same standards" as those of Nazi regimes and On December 10, 2010, the European Union and India agreed to enhance cooperation against terrorism, in order to deny safe havens to members of extremist groups, among other measures. Western countries are bracing for Islamist extremist On November 9, 2010, 11 air cargo carriers were fined by the European Commission for maintaining a six-year cartel over surcharges for fuel and security costs. The airlines involved, Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, Cathay On November 18, 2010, the European Union and the United States concluded the Implementing Arrangement for Cooperative Activities in the Field of Homeland/Civil Security Research. The plan was signed by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano In a November 9, 2010, report on the progress made by nations applying for European Union membership, the European Commission praised Iceland's recent reforms. The report was a follow-up to the February 2010 recommendation by the On November 9, 2010, the European Union's Directorates-General for Justice and Home Affairs decided to enhance existing air cargo security rules. The decision was in response to recent events involving the discovery of two package-bombs in On November 8, 2010, the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee of the European Parliament adopted a report on the impact of advertising on the behavior of consumers. Philippe Juvin, the French Member of the European On November 4, 2010, the European Commission made public a proposal for a regulation to introduce a ban on the use of phosphates and phosphate compounds in laundry detergents, in order to limit the amount of On November 2, 2010, at the request of the Greek government, the European Union border management agency (Frontex) gathered patrols from all EU Member States except Ireland and Great Britain and from two non-EU member states, The recent financial crisis, which unfolded in Europe and elsewhere, coupled with a variety of other emerging issues including climate change and resource efficiency which entail certain financial obligations, led the three institutions, the European Commission, Under European Union legislation, access to documents issued by the EU institutions, the European Commission, the Parliament, and the Council, is a basic right of EU citizens. While the European Parliament has urged that access to On September 21, 2010, the European Commission adopted a Communication on exchange of data on passenger name records (PNR) with third countries. It also contains recommendations for the adoption of new PNR agreements with the United On September 16, 2010, the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union authorized the signing of the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and its provisional application as of July 1, 2011, provided that the European Parliament On September 13, 2010, the European Commission introduced new rules to improve the safety performance of seagoing vessels. The Commission will establish and operate a public database that will publish the names of shipping companies... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Fri, 17 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402249_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402248_text Banks and financial institutions - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU Radio Frequency Identifications (RFIDs), or smart tags, are small, affordable circuits that communicate with a portable device (the reader) and are attached to goods and other consumer products. Smart tags have certain practical applications including their On March 31, 2011, the U.S.-based Microsoft Corporation filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission alleging violation of European Union competition rules by Google, on the ground that Google's "pattern of actions" inhibits competition. Google In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the European Union set in motion a number of measures in an effort to assist the Japanese government to deal with the unfolding Although the threat of the European Union taking legal action against Member State Hungary for its controversial new Media Law has subsided, the European Parliament passed a resolution on March 10, 2011, that criticizes the Law On March 10, 2011, the European Commission published its first Report on Trade and Investment Barriers; it is designed to generate opportunities in exports and investment for European companies and individuals. The economic partners concerned include The European Union Directive 2011/8/EU enters into force on March 1, 2011. It contains an important provision for protecting the health of the most vulnerable group of consumer, infants, because it prohibits the manufacturing of baby On February 2, 2011, the European Commission made public a proposal for a new European Union directive aimed at fighting serious crime and terrorism through uniform regulation of Passenger Name Record (PNR) sharing between airline carriers The European Union recently announced its ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (adopted on Dec. 13, 2006), United Nations On December 21, 2010, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs launched a new website devoted to combating trafficking in human beings. According to a press release on the event, On December 22, 2010, it was reported that the European Commission had turned down a request from six Eastern European states to treat Soviet crimes "according to the same standards" as those of Nazi regimes and On December 10, 2010, the European Union and India agreed to enhance cooperation against terrorism, in order to deny safe havens to members of extremist groups, among other measures. Western countries are bracing for Islamist extremist On November 9, 2010, 11 air cargo carriers were fined by the European Commission for maintaining a six-year cartel over surcharges for fuel and security costs. The airlines involved, Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, Cathay On November 18, 2010, the European Union and the United States concluded the Implementing Arrangement for Cooperative Activities in the Field of Homeland/Civil Security Research. The plan was signed by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano In a November 9, 2010, report on the progress made by nations applying for European Union membership, the European Commission praised Iceland's recent reforms. The report was a follow-up to the February 2010 recommendation by the On November 9, 2010, the European Union's Directorates-General for Justice and Home Affairs decided to enhance existing air cargo security rules. The decision was in response to recent events involving the discovery of two package-bombs in On November 8, 2010, the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee of the European Parliament adopted a report on the impact of advertising on the behavior of consumers. Philippe Juvin, the French Member of the European On November 4, 2010, the European Commission made public a proposal for a regulation to introduce a ban on the use of phosphates and phosphate compounds in laundry detergents, in order to limit the amount of On November 2, 2010, at the request of the Greek government, the European Union border management agency (Frontex) gathered patrols from all EU Member States except Ireland and Great Britain and from two non-EU member states, The recent financial crisis, which unfolded in Europe and elsewhere, coupled with a variety of other emerging issues including climate change and resource efficiency which entail certain financial obligations, led the three institutions, the European Commission, Under European Union legislation, access to documents issued by the EU institutions, the European Commission, the Parliament, and the Council, is a basic right of EU citizens. While the European Parliament has urged that access to On September 21, 2010, the European Commission adopted a Communication on exchange of data on passenger name records (PNR) with third countries. It also contains recommendations for the adoption of new PNR agreements with the United On September 16, 2010, the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union authorized the signing of the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and its provisional application as of July 1, 2011, provided that the European Parliament On September 13, 2010, the European Commission introduced new rules to improve the safety performance of seagoing vessels. The Commission will establish and operate a public database that will publish the names of shipping companies On September 13, 2010, the European Commission announced its intention to follow the new rules on higher capital standards, adopted recently by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, a group of regulators from 27 countries, including... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Thu, 16 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402248_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402232_text Treatment of animals - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU Radio Frequency Identifications (RFIDs), or smart tags, are small, affordable circuits that communicate with a portable device (the reader) and are attached to goods and other consumer products. Smart tags have certain practical applications including their On March 31, 2011, the U.S.-based Microsoft Corporation filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission alleging violation of European Union competition rules by Google, on the ground that Google's "pattern of actions" inhibits competition. Google In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the European Union set in motion a number of measures in an effort to assist the Japanese government to deal with the unfolding Although the threat of the European Union taking legal action against Member State Hungary for its controversial new Media Law has subsided, the European Parliament passed a resolution on March 10, 2011, that criticizes the Law On March 10, 2011, the European Commission published its first Report on Trade and Investment Barriers; it is designed to generate opportunities in exports and investment for European companies and individuals. The economic partners concerned include The European Union Directive 2011/8/EU enters into force on March 1, 2011. It contains an important provision for protecting the health of the most vulnerable group of consumer, infants, because it prohibits the manufacturing of baby On February 2, 2011, the European Commission made public a proposal for a new European Union directive aimed at fighting serious crime and terrorism through uniform regulation of Passenger Name Record (PNR) sharing between airline carriers The European Union recently announced its ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (adopted on Dec. 13, 2006), United Nations On December 21, 2010, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs launched a new website devoted to combating trafficking in human beings. According to a press release on the event, On December 22, 2010, it was reported that the European Commission had turned down a request from six Eastern European states to treat Soviet crimes "according to the same standards" as those of Nazi regimes and On December 10, 2010, the European Union and India agreed to enhance cooperation against terrorism, in order to deny safe havens to members of extremist groups, among other measures. Western countries are bracing for Islamist extremist On November 9, 2010, 11 air cargo carriers were fined by the European Commission for maintaining a six-year cartel over surcharges for fuel and security costs. The airlines involved, Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, Cathay On November 18, 2010, the European Union and the United States concluded the Implementing Arrangement for Cooperative Activities in the Field of Homeland/Civil Security Research. The plan was signed by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano In a November 9, 2010, report on the progress made by nations applying for European Union membership, the European Commission praised Iceland's recent reforms. The report was a follow-up to the February 2010 recommendation by the On November 9, 2010, the European Union's Directorates-General for Justice and Home Affairs decided to enhance existing air cargo security rules. The decision was in response to recent events involving the discovery of two package-bombs in On November 8, 2010, the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee of the European Parliament adopted a report on the impact of advertising on the behavior of consumers. Philippe Juvin, the French Member of the European On November 4, 2010, the European Commission made public a proposal for a regulation to introduce a ban on the use of phosphates and phosphate compounds in laundry detergents, in order to limit the amount of On November 2, 2010, at the request of the Greek government, the European Union border management agency (Frontex) gathered patrols from all EU Member States except Ireland and Great Britain and from two non-EU member states, The recent financial crisis, which unfolded in Europe and elsewhere, coupled with a variety of other emerging issues including climate change and resource efficiency which entail certain financial obligations, led the three institutions, the European Commission, Under European Union legislation, access to documents issued by the EU institutions, the European Commission, the Parliament, and the Council, is a basic right of EU citizens. While the European Parliament has urged that access to On September 21, 2010, the European Commission adopted a Communication on exchange of data on passenger name records (PNR) with third countries. It also contains recommendations for the adoption of new PNR agreements with the United On September 16, 2010, the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union authorized the signing of the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and its provisional application as of July 1, 2011, provided that the European Parliament On September 13, 2010, the European Commission introduced new rules to improve the safety performance of seagoing vessels. The Commission will establish and operate a public database that will publish the names of shipping companies On September 13, 2010, the European Commission announced its intention to follow the new rules on higher capital standards, adopted recently by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, a group of regulators from 27 countries, including On September 8, 2010, the European Parliament, after lengthy negotiations, supported the adoption of revised rules on the use of animals for scientific experiments proposed by the EU Commission. The European Union institutions (the Commission, the... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Mon, 13 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402232_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402207_text Immigration - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU Radio Frequency Identifications (RFIDs), or smart tags, are small, affordable circuits that communicate with a portable device (the reader) and are attached to goods and other consumer products. Smart tags have certain practical applications including their On March 31, 2011, the U.S.-based Microsoft Corporation filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission alleging violation of European Union competition rules by Google, on the ground that Google's "pattern of actions" inhibits competition. Google In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the European Union set in motion a number of measures in an effort to assist the Japanese government to deal with the unfolding Although the threat of the European Union taking legal action against Member State Hungary for its controversial new Media Law has subsided, the European Parliament passed a resolution on March 10, 2011, that criticizes the Law On March 10, 2011, the European Commission published its first Report on Trade and Investment Barriers; it is designed to generate opportunities in exports and investment for European companies and individuals. The economic partners concerned include The European Union Directive 2011/8/EU enters into force on March 1, 2011. It contains an important provision for protecting the health of the most vulnerable group of consumer, infants, because it prohibits the manufacturing of baby On February 2, 2011, the European Commission made public a proposal for a new European Union directive aimed at fighting serious crime and terrorism through uniform regulation of Passenger Name Record (PNR) sharing between airline carriers The European Union recently announced its ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (adopted on Dec. 13, 2006), United Nations On December 21, 2010, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs launched a new website devoted to combating trafficking in human beings. According to a press release on the event, On December 22, 2010, it was reported that the European Commission had turned down a request from six Eastern European states to treat Soviet crimes "according to the same standards" as those of Nazi regimes and On December 10, 2010, the European Union and India agreed to enhance cooperation against terrorism, in order to deny safe havens to members of extremist groups, among other measures. Western countries are bracing for Islamist extremist On November 9, 2010, 11 air cargo carriers were fined by the European Commission for maintaining a six-year cartel over surcharges for fuel and security costs. The airlines involved, Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, Cathay On November 18, 2010, the European Union and the United States concluded the Implementing Arrangement for Cooperative Activities in the Field of Homeland/Civil Security Research. The plan was signed by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano In a November 9, 2010, report on the progress made by nations applying for European Union membership, the European Commission praised Iceland's recent reforms. The report was a follow-up to the February 2010 recommendation by the On November 9, 2010, the European Union's Directorates-General for Justice and Home Affairs decided to enhance existing air cargo security rules. The decision was in response to recent events involving the discovery of two package-bombs in On November 8, 2010, the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee of the European Parliament adopted a report on the impact of advertising on the behavior of consumers. Philippe Juvin, the French Member of the European On November 4, 2010, the European Commission made public a proposal for a regulation to introduce a ban on the use of phosphates and phosphate compounds in laundry detergents, in order to limit the amount of On November 2, 2010, at the request of the Greek government, the European Union border management agency (Frontex) gathered patrols from all EU Member States except Ireland and Great Britain and from two non-EU member states, The recent financial crisis, which unfolded in Europe and elsewhere, coupled with a variety of other emerging issues including climate change and resource efficiency which entail certain financial obligations, led the three institutions, the European Commission, Under European Union legislation, access to documents issued by the EU institutions, the European Commission, the Parliament, and the Council, is a basic right of EU citizens. While the European Parliament has urged that access to On September 21, 2010, the European Commission adopted a Communication on exchange of data on passenger name records (PNR) with third countries. It also contains recommendations for the adoption of new PNR agreements with the United On September 16, 2010, the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union authorized the signing of the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and its provisional application as of July 1, 2011, provided that the European Parliament On September 13, 2010, the European Commission introduced new rules to improve the safety performance of seagoing vessels. The Commission will establish and operate a public database that will publish the names of shipping companies On September 13, 2010, the European Commission announced its intention to follow the new rules on higher capital standards, adopted recently by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, a group of regulators from 27 countries, including On September 8, 2010, the European Parliament, after lengthy negotiations, supported the adoption of revised rules on the use of animals for scientific experiments proposed by the EU Commission. The European Union institutions (the Commission, the On August 3, 2010, the European Commission published the 2009 annual report on the performance and activities of EURODAC. EURODAC was established to compare fingerprints in the Common Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), in furtherance of... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Thu, 02 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402207_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402164_text Government organization - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU Radio Frequency Identifications (RFIDs), or smart tags, are small, affordable circuits that communicate with a portable device (the reader) and are attached to goods and other consumer products. Smart tags have certain practical applications including their On March 31, 2011, the U.S.-based Microsoft Corporation filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission alleging violation of European Union competition rules by Google, on the ground that Google's "pattern of actions" inhibits competition. Google In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the European Union set in motion a number of measures in an effort to assist the Japanese government to deal with the unfolding Although the threat of the European Union taking legal action against Member State Hungary for its controversial new Media Law has subsided, the European Parliament passed a resolution on March 10, 2011, that criticizes the Law On March 10, 2011, the European Commission published its first Report on Trade and Investment Barriers; it is designed to generate opportunities in exports and investment for European companies and individuals. The economic partners concerned include The European Union Directive 2011/8/EU enters into force on March 1, 2011. It contains an important provision for protecting the health of the most vulnerable group of consumer, infants, because it prohibits the manufacturing of baby On February 2, 2011, the European Commission made public a proposal for a new European Union directive aimed at fighting serious crime and terrorism through uniform regulation of Passenger Name Record (PNR) sharing between airline carriers The European Union recently announced its ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (adopted on Dec. 13, 2006), United Nations On December 21, 2010, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs launched a new website devoted to combating trafficking in human beings. According to a press release on the event, On December 22, 2010, it was reported that the European Commission had turned down a request from six Eastern European states to treat Soviet crimes "according to the same standards" as those of Nazi regimes and On December 10, 2010, the European Union and India agreed to enhance cooperation against terrorism, in order to deny safe havens to members of extremist groups, among other measures. Western countries are bracing for Islamist extremist On November 9, 2010, 11 air cargo carriers were fined by the European Commission for maintaining a six-year cartel over surcharges for fuel and security costs. The airlines involved, Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, Cathay On November 18, 2010, the European Union and the United States concluded the Implementing Arrangement for Cooperative Activities in the Field of Homeland/Civil Security Research. The plan was signed by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano In a November 9, 2010, report on the progress made by nations applying for European Union membership, the European Commission praised Iceland's recent reforms. The report was a follow-up to the February 2010 recommendation by the On November 9, 2010, the European Union's Directorates-General for Justice and Home Affairs decided to enhance existing air cargo security rules. The decision was in response to recent events involving the discovery of two package-bombs in On November 8, 2010, the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee of the European Parliament adopted a report on the impact of advertising on the behavior of consumers. Philippe Juvin, the French Member of the European On November 4, 2010, the European Commission made public a proposal for a regulation to introduce a ban on the use of phosphates and phosphate compounds in laundry detergents, in order to limit the amount of On November 2, 2010, at the request of the Greek government, the European Union border management agency (Frontex) gathered patrols from all EU Member States except Ireland and Great Britain and from two non-EU member states, The recent financial crisis, which unfolded in Europe and elsewhere, coupled with a variety of other emerging issues including climate change and resource efficiency which entail certain financial obligations, led the three institutions, the European Commission, Under European Union legislation, access to documents issued by the EU institutions, the European Commission, the Parliament, and the Council, is a basic right of EU citizens. While the European Parliament has urged that access to On September 21, 2010, the European Commission adopted a Communication on exchange of data on passenger name records (PNR) with third countries. It also contains recommendations for the adoption of new PNR agreements with the United On September 16, 2010, the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union authorized the signing of the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and its provisional application as of July 1, 2011, provided that the European Parliament On September 13, 2010, the European Commission introduced new rules to improve the safety performance of seagoing vessels. The Commission will establish and operate a public database that will publish the names of shipping companies On September 13, 2010, the European Commission announced its intention to follow the new rules on higher capital standards, adopted recently by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, a group of regulators from 27 countries, including On September 8, 2010, the European Parliament, after lengthy negotiations, supported the adoption of revised rules on the use of animals for scientific experiments proposed by the EU Commission. The European Union institutions (the Commission, the On August 3, 2010, the European Commission published the 2009 annual report on the performance and activities of EURODAC. EURODAC was established to compare fingerprints in the Common Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), in furtherance of On July 26, 2010, the Council of the European Union issued a decision authorizing the establishment of the European External Action Service (EEAS) and defining its organization and functions. (Council Decision of July 26, 2010 Establishing... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Mon, 16 Aug 2010 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402164_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402146_text Sanctions - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU Radio Frequency Identifications (RFIDs), or smart tags, are small, affordable circuits that communicate with a portable device (the reader) and are attached to goods and other consumer products. Smart tags have certain practical applications including their On March 31, 2011, the U.S.-based Microsoft Corporation filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission alleging violation of European Union competition rules by Google, on the ground that Google's "pattern of actions" inhibits competition. Google In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the European Union set in motion a number of measures in an effort to assist the Japanese government to deal with the unfolding Although the threat of the European Union taking legal action against Member State Hungary for its controversial new Media Law has subsided, the European Parliament passed a resolution on March 10, 2011, that criticizes the Law On March 10, 2011, the European Commission published its first Report on Trade and Investment Barriers; it is designed to generate opportunities in exports and investment for European companies and individuals. The economic partners concerned include The European Union Directive 2011/8/EU enters into force on March 1, 2011. It contains an important provision for protecting the health of the most vulnerable group of consumer, infants, because it prohibits the manufacturing of baby On February 2, 2011, the European Commission made public a proposal for a new European Union directive aimed at fighting serious crime and terrorism through uniform regulation of Passenger Name Record (PNR) sharing between airline carriers The European Union recently announced its ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (adopted on Dec. 13, 2006), United Nations On December 21, 2010, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs launched a new website devoted to combating trafficking in human beings. According to a press release on the event, On December 22, 2010, it was reported that the European Commission had turned down a request from six Eastern European states to treat Soviet crimes "according to the same standards" as those of Nazi regimes and On December 10, 2010, the European Union and India agreed to enhance cooperation against terrorism, in order to deny safe havens to members of extremist groups, among other measures. Western countries are bracing for Islamist extremist On November 9, 2010, 11 air cargo carriers were fined by the European Commission for maintaining a six-year cartel over surcharges for fuel and security costs. The airlines involved, Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, Cathay On November 18, 2010, the European Union and the United States concluded the Implementing Arrangement for Cooperative Activities in the Field of Homeland/Civil Security Research. The plan was signed by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano In a November 9, 2010, report on the progress made by nations applying for European Union membership, the European Commission praised Iceland's recent reforms. The report was a follow-up to the February 2010 recommendation by the On November 9, 2010, the European Union's Directorates-General for Justice and Home Affairs decided to enhance existing air cargo security rules. The decision was in response to recent events involving the discovery of two package-bombs in On November 8, 2010, the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee of the European Parliament adopted a report on the impact of advertising on the behavior of consumers. Philippe Juvin, the French Member of the European On November 4, 2010, the European Commission made public a proposal for a regulation to introduce a ban on the use of phosphates and phosphate compounds in laundry detergents, in order to limit the amount of On November 2, 2010, at the request of the Greek government, the European Union border management agency (Frontex) gathered patrols from all EU Member States except Ireland and Great Britain and from two non-EU member states, The recent financial crisis, which unfolded in Europe and elsewhere, coupled with a variety of other emerging issues including climate change and resource efficiency which entail certain financial obligations, led the three institutions, the European Commission, Under European Union legislation, access to documents issued by the EU institutions, the European Commission, the Parliament, and the Council, is a basic right of EU citizens. While the European Parliament has urged that access to On September 21, 2010, the European Commission adopted a Communication on exchange of data on passenger name records (PNR) with third countries. It also contains recommendations for the adoption of new PNR agreements with the United On September 16, 2010, the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union authorized the signing of the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and its provisional application as of July 1, 2011, provided that the European Parliament On September 13, 2010, the European Commission introduced new rules to improve the safety performance of seagoing vessels. The Commission will establish and operate a public database that will publish the names of shipping companies On September 13, 2010, the European Commission announced its intention to follow the new rules on higher capital standards, adopted recently by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, a group of regulators from 27 countries, including On September 8, 2010, the European Parliament, after lengthy negotiations, supported the adoption of revised rules on the use of animals for scientific experiments proposed by the EU Commission. The European Union institutions (the Commission, the On August 3, 2010, the European Commission published the 2009 annual report on the performance and activities of EURODAC. EURODAC was established to compare fingerprints in the Common Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), in furtherance of On July 26, 2010, the Council of the European Union issued a decision authorizing the establishment of the European External Action Service (EEAS) and defining its organization and functions. (Council Decision of July 26, 2010 Establishing In July 2010, the European Union adopted a Council Decision to expand its existing sanctions regime against Iran. In the last few years, the EU has put in place a series of restrictions against Iran, either... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Mon, 09 Aug 2010 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402146_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402126_text Environment - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU Radio Frequency Identifications (RFIDs), or smart tags, are small, affordable circuits that communicate with a portable device (the reader) and are attached to goods and other consumer products. Smart tags have certain practical applications including their On March 31, 2011, the U.S.-based Microsoft Corporation filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission alleging violation of European Union competition rules by Google, on the ground that Google's "pattern of actions" inhibits competition. Google In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the European Union set in motion a number of measures in an effort to assist the Japanese government to deal with the unfolding Although the threat of the European Union taking legal action against Member State Hungary for its controversial new Media Law has subsided, the European Parliament passed a resolution on March 10, 2011, that criticizes the Law On March 10, 2011, the European Commission published its first Report on Trade and Investment Barriers; it is designed to generate opportunities in exports and investment for European companies and individuals. The economic partners concerned include The European Union Directive 2011/8/EU enters into force on March 1, 2011. It contains an important provision for protecting the health of the most vulnerable group of consumer, infants, because it prohibits the manufacturing of baby On February 2, 2011, the European Commission made public a proposal for a new European Union directive aimed at fighting serious crime and terrorism through uniform regulation of Passenger Name Record (PNR) sharing between airline carriers The European Union recently announced its ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (adopted on Dec. 13, 2006), United Nations On December 21, 2010, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs launched a new website devoted to combating trafficking in human beings. According to a press release on the event, On December 22, 2010, it was reported that the European Commission had turned down a request from six Eastern European states to treat Soviet crimes "according to the same standards" as those of Nazi regimes and On December 10, 2010, the European Union and India agreed to enhance cooperation against terrorism, in order to deny safe havens to members of extremist groups, among other measures. Western countries are bracing for Islamist extremist On November 9, 2010, 11 air cargo carriers were fined by the European Commission for maintaining a six-year cartel over surcharges for fuel and security costs. The airlines involved, Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, Cathay On November 18, 2010, the European Union and the United States concluded the Implementing Arrangement for Cooperative Activities in the Field of Homeland/Civil Security Research. The plan was signed by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano In a November 9, 2010, report on the progress made by nations applying for European Union membership, the European Commission praised Iceland's recent reforms. The report was a follow-up to the February 2010 recommendation by the On November 9, 2010, the European Union's Directorates-General for Justice and Home Affairs decided to enhance existing air cargo security rules. The decision was in response to recent events involving the discovery of two package-bombs in On November 8, 2010, the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee of the European Parliament adopted a report on the impact of advertising on the behavior of consumers. Philippe Juvin, the French Member of the European On November 4, 2010, the European Commission made public a proposal for a regulation to introduce a ban on the use of phosphates and phosphate compounds in laundry detergents, in order to limit the amount of On November 2, 2010, at the request of the Greek government, the European Union border management agency (Frontex) gathered patrols from all EU Member States except Ireland and Great Britain and from two non-EU member states, The recent financial crisis, which unfolded in Europe and elsewhere, coupled with a variety of other emerging issues including climate change and resource efficiency which entail certain financial obligations, led the three institutions, the European Commission, Under European Union legislation, access to documents issued by the EU institutions, the European Commission, the Parliament, and the Council, is a basic right of EU citizens. While the European Parliament has urged that access to On September 21, 2010, the European Commission adopted a Communication on exchange of data on passenger name records (PNR) with third countries. It also contains recommendations for the adoption of new PNR agreements with the United On September 16, 2010, the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union authorized the signing of the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and its provisional application as of July 1, 2011, provided that the European Parliament On September 13, 2010, the European Commission introduced new rules to improve the safety performance of seagoing vessels. The Commission will establish and operate a public database that will publish the names of shipping companies On September 13, 2010, the European Commission announced its intention to follow the new rules on higher capital standards, adopted recently by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, a group of regulators from 27 countries, including On September 8, 2010, the European Parliament, after lengthy negotiations, supported the adoption of revised rules on the use of animals for scientific experiments proposed by the EU Commission. The European Union institutions (the Commission, the On August 3, 2010, the European Commission published the 2009 annual report on the performance and activities of EURODAC. EURODAC was established to compare fingerprints in the Common Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), in furtherance of On July 26, 2010, the Council of the European Union issued a decision authorizing the establishment of the European External Action Service (EEAS) and defining its organization and functions. (Council Decision of July 26, 2010 Establishing In July 2010, the European Union adopted a Council Decision to expand its existing sanctions regime against Iran. In the last few years, the EU has put in place a series of restrictions against Iran, either On July 14, 2010, the Climate Change Committee of the European Commission endorsed the Commission's proposal for a regulation that establishes rules governing the auctioning of emissions allowances under the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) and... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402126_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402124_text Terrorism - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU Radio Frequency Identifications (RFIDs), or smart tags, are small, affordable circuits that communicate with a portable device (the reader) and are attached to goods and other consumer products. Smart tags have certain practical applications including their On March 31, 2011, the U.S.-based Microsoft Corporation filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission alleging violation of European Union competition rules by Google, on the ground that Google's "pattern of actions" inhibits competition. Google In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the European Union set in motion a number of measures in an effort to assist the Japanese government to deal with the unfolding Although the threat of the European Union taking legal action against Member State Hungary for its controversial new Media Law has subsided, the European Parliament passed a resolution on March 10, 2011, that criticizes the Law On March 10, 2011, the European Commission published its first Report on Trade and Investment Barriers; it is designed to generate opportunities in exports and investment for European companies and individuals. The economic partners concerned include The European Union Directive 2011/8/EU enters into force on March 1, 2011. It contains an important provision for protecting the health of the most vulnerable group of consumer, infants, because it prohibits the manufacturing of baby On February 2, 2011, the European Commission made public a proposal for a new European Union directive aimed at fighting serious crime and terrorism through uniform regulation of Passenger Name Record (PNR) sharing between airline carriers The European Union recently announced its ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (adopted on Dec. 13, 2006), United Nations On December 21, 2010, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs launched a new website devoted to combating trafficking in human beings. According to a press release on the event, On December 22, 2010, it was reported that the European Commission had turned down a request from six Eastern European states to treat Soviet crimes "according to the same standards" as those of Nazi regimes and On December 10, 2010, the European Union and India agreed to enhance cooperation against terrorism, in order to deny safe havens to members of extremist groups, among other measures. Western countries are bracing for Islamist extremist On November 9, 2010, 11 air cargo carriers were fined by the European Commission for maintaining a six-year cartel over surcharges for fuel and security costs. The airlines involved, Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, Cathay On November 18, 2010, the European Union and the United States concluded the Implementing Arrangement for Cooperative Activities in the Field of Homeland/Civil Security Research. The plan was signed by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano In a November 9, 2010, report on the progress made by nations applying for European Union membership, the European Commission praised Iceland's recent reforms. The report was a follow-up to the February 2010 recommendation by the On November 9, 2010, the European Union's Directorates-General for Justice and Home Affairs decided to enhance existing air cargo security rules. The decision was in response to recent events involving the discovery of two package-bombs in On November 8, 2010, the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee of the European Parliament adopted a report on the impact of advertising on the behavior of consumers. Philippe Juvin, the French Member of the European On November 4, 2010, the European Commission made public a proposal for a regulation to introduce a ban on the use of phosphates and phosphate compounds in laundry detergents, in order to limit the amount of On November 2, 2010, at the request of the Greek government, the European Union border management agency (Frontex) gathered patrols from all EU Member States except Ireland and Great Britain and from two non-EU member states, The recent financial crisis, which unfolded in Europe and elsewhere, coupled with a variety of other emerging issues including climate change and resource efficiency which entail certain financial obligations, led the three institutions, the European Commission, Under European Union legislation, access to documents issued by the EU institutions, the European Commission, the Parliament, and the Council, is a basic right of EU citizens. While the European Parliament has urged that access to On September 21, 2010, the European Commission adopted a Communication on exchange of data on passenger name records (PNR) with third countries. It also contains recommendations for the adoption of new PNR agreements with the United On September 16, 2010, the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union authorized the signing of the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and its provisional application as of July 1, 2011, provided that the European Parliament On September 13, 2010, the European Commission introduced new rules to improve the safety performance of seagoing vessels. The Commission will establish and operate a public database that will publish the names of shipping companies On September 13, 2010, the European Commission announced its intention to follow the new rules on higher capital standards, adopted recently by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, a group of regulators from 27 countries, including On September 8, 2010, the European Parliament, after lengthy negotiations, supported the adoption of revised rules on the use of animals for scientific experiments proposed by the EU Commission. The European Union institutions (the Commission, the On August 3, 2010, the European Commission published the 2009 annual report on the performance and activities of EURODAC. EURODAC was established to compare fingerprints in the Common Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), in furtherance of On July 26, 2010, the Council of the European Union issued a decision authorizing the establishment of the European External Action Service (EEAS) and defining its organization and functions. (Council Decision of July 26, 2010 Establishing In July 2010, the European Union adopted a Council Decision to expand its existing sanctions regime against Iran. In the last few years, the EU has put in place a series of restrictions against Iran, either On July 14, 2010, the Climate Change Committee of the European Commission endorsed the Commission's proposal for a regulation that establishes rules governing the auctioning of emissions allowances under the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) and On July 20, 2010, the European Commission adopted a communication that summarizes the major accomplishments of the European Union Counter-Terrorism Strategy since its establishment in the aftermath of the terrorist events in the United States on... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402124_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402125_text Criminal law and procedure - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU Radio Frequency Identifications (RFIDs), or smart tags, are small, affordable circuits that communicate with a portable device (the reader) and are attached to goods and other consumer products. Smart tags have certain practical applications including their On March 31, 2011, the U.S.-based Microsoft Corporation filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission alleging violation of European Union competition rules by Google, on the ground that Google's "pattern of actions" inhibits competition. Google In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the European Union set in motion a number of measures in an effort to assist the Japanese government to deal with the unfolding Although the threat of the European Union taking legal action against Member State Hungary for its controversial new Media Law has subsided, the European Parliament passed a resolution on March 10, 2011, that criticizes the Law On March 10, 2011, the European Commission published its first Report on Trade and Investment Barriers; it is designed to generate opportunities in exports and investment for European companies and individuals. The economic partners concerned include The European Union Directive 2011/8/EU enters into force on March 1, 2011. It contains an important provision for protecting the health of the most vulnerable group of consumer, infants, because it prohibits the manufacturing of baby On February 2, 2011, the European Commission made public a proposal for a new European Union directive aimed at fighting serious crime and terrorism through uniform regulation of Passenger Name Record (PNR) sharing between airline carriers The European Union recently announced its ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (adopted on Dec. 13, 2006), United Nations On December 21, 2010, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs launched a new website devoted to combating trafficking in human beings. According to a press release on the event, On December 22, 2010, it was reported that the European Commission had turned down a request from six Eastern European states to treat Soviet crimes "according to the same standards" as those of Nazi regimes and On December 10, 2010, the European Union and India agreed to enhance cooperation against terrorism, in order to deny safe havens to members of extremist groups, among other measures. Western countries are bracing for Islamist extremist On November 9, 2010, 11 air cargo carriers were fined by the European Commission for maintaining a six-year cartel over surcharges for fuel and security costs. The airlines involved, Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, Cathay On November 18, 2010, the European Union and the United States concluded the Implementing Arrangement for Cooperative Activities in the Field of Homeland/Civil Security Research. The plan was signed by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano In a November 9, 2010, report on the progress made by nations applying for European Union membership, the European Commission praised Iceland's recent reforms. The report was a follow-up to the February 2010 recommendation by the On November 9, 2010, the European Union's Directorates-General for Justice and Home Affairs decided to enhance existing air cargo security rules. The decision was in response to recent events involving the discovery of two package-bombs in On November 8, 2010, the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee of the European Parliament adopted a report on the impact of advertising on the behavior of consumers. Philippe Juvin, the French Member of the European On November 4, 2010, the European Commission made public a proposal for a regulation to introduce a ban on the use of phosphates and phosphate compounds in laundry detergents, in order to limit the amount of On November 2, 2010, at the request of the Greek government, the European Union border management agency (Frontex) gathered patrols from all EU Member States except Ireland and Great Britain and from two non-EU member states, The recent financial crisis, which unfolded in Europe and elsewhere, coupled with a variety of other emerging issues including climate change and resource efficiency which entail certain financial obligations, led the three institutions, the European Commission, Under European Union legislation, access to documents issued by the EU institutions, the European Commission, the Parliament, and the Council, is a basic right of EU citizens. While the European Parliament has urged that access to On September 21, 2010, the European Commission adopted a Communication on exchange of data on passenger name records (PNR) with third countries. It also contains recommendations for the adoption of new PNR agreements with the United On September 16, 2010, the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union authorized the signing of the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and its provisional application as of July 1, 2011, provided that the European Parliament On September 13, 2010, the European Commission introduced new rules to improve the safety performance of seagoing vessels. The Commission will establish and operate a public database that will publish the names of shipping companies On September 13, 2010, the European Commission announced its intention to follow the new rules on higher capital standards, adopted recently by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, a group of regulators from 27 countries, including On September 8, 2010, the European Parliament, after lengthy negotiations, supported the adoption of revised rules on the use of animals for scientific experiments proposed by the EU Commission. The European Union institutions (the Commission, the On August 3, 2010, the European Commission published the 2009 annual report on the performance and activities of EURODAC. EURODAC was established to compare fingerprints in the Common Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), in furtherance of On July 26, 2010, the Council of the European Union issued a decision authorizing the establishment of the European External Action Service (EEAS) and defining its organization and functions. (Council Decision of July 26, 2010 Establishing In July 2010, the European Union adopted a Council Decision to expand its existing sanctions regime against Iran. In the last few years, the EU has put in place a series of restrictions against Iran, either On July 14, 2010, the Climate Change Committee of the European Commission endorsed the Commission's proposal for a regulation that establishes rules governing the auctioning of emissions allowances under the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) and On July 20, 2010, the European Commission adopted a communication that summarizes the major accomplishments of the European Union Counter-Terrorism Strategy since its establishment in the aftermath of the terrorist events in the United States on On July 20, 2010, the European Commission adopted a draft directive designed to ensure that European Union citizens suspected or accused of a criminal offense have the right during criminal proceedings to be informed in their... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402125_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402123_text Labor - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU Radio Frequency Identifications (RFIDs), or smart tags, are small, affordable circuits that communicate with a portable device (the reader) and are attached to goods and other consumer products. Smart tags have certain practical applications including their On March 31, 2011, the U.S.-based Microsoft Corporation filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission alleging violation of European Union competition rules by Google, on the ground that Google's "pattern of actions" inhibits competition. Google In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the European Union set in motion a number of measures in an effort to assist the Japanese government to deal with the unfolding Although the threat of the European Union taking legal action against Member State Hungary for its controversial new Media Law has subsided, the European Parliament passed a resolution on March 10, 2011, that criticizes the Law On March 10, 2011, the European Commission published its first Report on Trade and Investment Barriers; it is designed to generate opportunities in exports and investment for European companies and individuals. The economic partners concerned include The European Union Directive 2011/8/EU enters into force on March 1, 2011. It contains an important provision for protecting the health of the most vulnerable group of consumer, infants, because it prohibits the manufacturing of baby On February 2, 2011, the European Commission made public a proposal for a new European Union directive aimed at fighting serious crime and terrorism through uniform regulation of Passenger Name Record (PNR) sharing between airline carriers The European Union recently announced its ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (adopted on Dec. 13, 2006), United Nations On December 21, 2010, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs launched a new website devoted to combating trafficking in human beings. According to a press release on the event, On December 22, 2010, it was reported that the European Commission had turned down a request from six Eastern European states to treat Soviet crimes "according to the same standards" as those of Nazi regimes and On December 10, 2010, the European Union and India agreed to enhance cooperation against terrorism, in order to deny safe havens to members of extremist groups, among other measures. Western countries are bracing for Islamist extremist On November 9, 2010, 11 air cargo carriers were fined by the European Commission for maintaining a six-year cartel over surcharges for fuel and security costs. The airlines involved, Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, Cathay On November 18, 2010, the European Union and the United States concluded the Implementing Arrangement for Cooperative Activities in the Field of Homeland/Civil Security Research. The plan was signed by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano In a November 9, 2010, report on the progress made by nations applying for European Union membership, the European Commission praised Iceland's recent reforms. The report was a follow-up to the February 2010 recommendation by the On November 9, 2010, the European Union's Directorates-General for Justice and Home Affairs decided to enhance existing air cargo security rules. The decision was in response to recent events involving the discovery of two package-bombs in On November 8, 2010, the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee of the European Parliament adopted a report on the impact of advertising on the behavior of consumers. Philippe Juvin, the French Member of the European On November 4, 2010, the European Commission made public a proposal for a regulation to introduce a ban on the use of phosphates and phosphate compounds in laundry detergents, in order to limit the amount of On November 2, 2010, at the request of the Greek government, the European Union border management agency (Frontex) gathered patrols from all EU Member States except Ireland and Great Britain and from two non-EU member states, The recent financial crisis, which unfolded in Europe and elsewhere, coupled with a variety of other emerging issues including climate change and resource efficiency which entail certain financial obligations, led the three institutions, the European Commission, Under European Union legislation, access to documents issued by the EU institutions, the European Commission, the Parliament, and the Council, is a basic right of EU citizens. While the European Parliament has urged that access to On September 21, 2010, the European Commission adopted a Communication on exchange of data on passenger name records (PNR) with third countries. It also contains recommendations for the adoption of new PNR agreements with the United On September 16, 2010, the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union authorized the signing of the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and its provisional application as of July 1, 2011, provided that the European Parliament On September 13, 2010, the European Commission introduced new rules to improve the safety performance of seagoing vessels. The Commission will establish and operate a public database that will publish the names of shipping companies On September 13, 2010, the European Commission announced its intention to follow the new rules on higher capital standards, adopted recently by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, a group of regulators from 27 countries, including On September 8, 2010, the European Parliament, after lengthy negotiations, supported the adoption of revised rules on the use of animals for scientific experiments proposed by the EU Commission. The European Union institutions (the Commission, the On August 3, 2010, the European Commission published the 2009 annual report on the performance and activities of EURODAC. EURODAC was established to compare fingerprints in the Common Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), in furtherance of On July 26, 2010, the Council of the European Union issued a decision authorizing the establishment of the European External Action Service (EEAS) and defining its organization and functions. (Council Decision of July 26, 2010 Establishing In July 2010, the European Union adopted a Council Decision to expand its existing sanctions regime against Iran. In the last few years, the EU has put in place a series of restrictions against Iran, either On July 14, 2010, the Climate Change Committee of the European Commission endorsed the Commission's proposal for a regulation that establishes rules governing the auctioning of emissions allowances under the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) and On July 20, 2010, the European Commission adopted a communication that summarizes the major accomplishments of the European Union Counter-Terrorism Strategy since its establishment in the aftermath of the terrorist events in the United States on On July 20, 2010, the European Commission adopted a draft directive designed to ensure that European Union citizens suspected or accused of a criminal offense have the right during criminal proceedings to be informed in their On July 13, 2010, the European Commission, as part of a package of measures proposed in 2005 and endorsed in 2008 to regulate legal migration, adopted a draft directive designed to establish common minimum standards for... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402123_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402101_text Consumer protection - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU Radio Frequency Identifications (RFIDs), or smart tags, are small, affordable circuits that communicate with a portable device (the reader) and are attached to goods and other consumer products. Smart tags have certain practical applications including their On March 31, 2011, the U.S.-based Microsoft Corporation filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission alleging violation of European Union competition rules by Google, on the ground that Google's "pattern of actions" inhibits competition. Google In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the European Union set in motion a number of measures in an effort to assist the Japanese government to deal with the unfolding Although the threat of the European Union taking legal action against Member State Hungary for its controversial new Media Law has subsided, the European Parliament passed a resolution on March 10, 2011, that criticizes the Law On March 10, 2011, the European Commission published its first Report on Trade and Investment Barriers; it is designed to generate opportunities in exports and investment for European companies and individuals. The economic partners concerned include The European Union Directive 2011/8/EU enters into force on March 1, 2011. It contains an important provision for protecting the health of the most vulnerable group of consumer, infants, because it prohibits the manufacturing of baby On February 2, 2011, the European Commission made public a proposal for a new European Union directive aimed at fighting serious crime and terrorism through uniform regulation of Passenger Name Record (PNR) sharing between airline carriers The European Union recently announced its ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (adopted on Dec. 13, 2006), United Nations On December 21, 2010, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs launched a new website devoted to combating trafficking in human beings. According to a press release on the event, On December 22, 2010, it was reported that the European Commission had turned down a request from six Eastern European states to treat Soviet crimes "according to the same standards" as those of Nazi regimes and On December 10, 2010, the European Union and India agreed to enhance cooperation against terrorism, in order to deny safe havens to members of extremist groups, among other measures. Western countries are bracing for Islamist extremist On November 9, 2010, 11 air cargo carriers were fined by the European Commission for maintaining a six-year cartel over surcharges for fuel and security costs. The airlines involved, Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, Cathay On November 18, 2010, the European Union and the United States concluded the Implementing Arrangement for Cooperative Activities in the Field of Homeland/Civil Security Research. The plan was signed by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano In a November 9, 2010, report on the progress made by nations applying for European Union membership, the European Commission praised Iceland's recent reforms. The report was a follow-up to the February 2010 recommendation by the On November 9, 2010, the European Union's Directorates-General for Justice and Home Affairs decided to enhance existing air cargo security rules. The decision was in response to recent events involving the discovery of two package-bombs in On November 8, 2010, the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee of the European Parliament adopted a report on the impact of advertising on the behavior of consumers. Philippe Juvin, the French Member of the European On November 4, 2010, the European Commission made public a proposal for a regulation to introduce a ban on the use of phosphates and phosphate compounds in laundry detergents, in order to limit the amount of On November 2, 2010, at the request of the Greek government, the European Union border management agency (Frontex) gathered patrols from all EU Member States except Ireland and Great Britain and from two non-EU member states, The recent financial crisis, which unfolded in Europe and elsewhere, coupled with a variety of other emerging issues including climate change and resource efficiency which entail certain financial obligations, led the three institutions, the European Commission, Under European Union legislation, access to documents issued by the EU institutions, the European Commission, the Parliament, and the Council, is a basic right of EU citizens. While the European Parliament has urged that access to On September 21, 2010, the European Commission adopted a Communication on exchange of data on passenger name records (PNR) with third countries. It also contains recommendations for the adoption of new PNR agreements with the United On September 16, 2010, the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union authorized the signing of the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and its provisional application as of July 1, 2011, provided that the European Parliament On September 13, 2010, the European Commission introduced new rules to improve the safety performance of seagoing vessels. The Commission will establish and operate a public database that will publish the names of shipping companies On September 13, 2010, the European Commission announced its intention to follow the new rules on higher capital standards, adopted recently by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, a group of regulators from 27 countries, including On September 8, 2010, the European Parliament, after lengthy negotiations, supported the adoption of revised rules on the use of animals for scientific experiments proposed by the EU Commission. The European Union institutions (the Commission, the On August 3, 2010, the European Commission published the 2009 annual report on the performance and activities of EURODAC. EURODAC was established to compare fingerprints in the Common Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), in furtherance of On July 26, 2010, the Council of the European Union issued a decision authorizing the establishment of the European External Action Service (EEAS) and defining its organization and functions. (Council Decision of July 26, 2010 Establishing In July 2010, the European Union adopted a Council Decision to expand its existing sanctions regime against Iran. In the last few years, the EU has put in place a series of restrictions against Iran, either On July 14, 2010, the Climate Change Committee of the European Commission endorsed the Commission's proposal for a regulation that establishes rules governing the auctioning of emissions allowances under the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) and On July 20, 2010, the European Commission adopted a communication that summarizes the major accomplishments of the European Union Counter-Terrorism Strategy since its establishment in the aftermath of the terrorist events in the United States on On July 20, 2010, the European Commission adopted a draft directive designed to ensure that European Union citizens suspected or accused of a criminal offense have the right during criminal proceedings to be informed in their On July 13, 2010, the European Commission, as part of a package of measures proposed in 2005 and endorsed in 2008 to regulate legal migration, adopted a draft directive designed to establish common minimum standards for July 1, 2010, marked the entrance into force of new rules adopted by the European Union on organic food labeling, along with the mandatory display of a new organic logo, the "Euro-leaf." The new logo, which... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Fri, 09 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402101_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402102_text Banks and financial institutions - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU Radio Frequency Identifications (RFIDs), or smart tags, are small, affordable circuits that communicate with a portable device (the reader) and are attached to goods and other consumer products. Smart tags have certain practical applications including their On March 31, 2011, the U.S.-based Microsoft Corporation filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission alleging violation of European Union competition rules by Google, on the ground that Google's "pattern of actions" inhibits competition. Google In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the European Union set in motion a number of measures in an effort to assist the Japanese government to deal with the unfolding Although the threat of the European Union taking legal action against Member State Hungary for its controversial new Media Law has subsided, the European Parliament passed a resolution on March 10, 2011, that criticizes the Law On March 10, 2011, the European Commission published its first Report on Trade and Investment Barriers; it is designed to generate opportunities in exports and investment for European companies and individuals. The economic partners concerned include The European Union Directive 2011/8/EU enters into force on March 1, 2011. It contains an important provision for protecting the health of the most vulnerable group of consumer, infants, because it prohibits the manufacturing of baby On February 2, 2011, the European Commission made public a proposal for a new European Union directive aimed at fighting serious crime and terrorism through uniform regulation of Passenger Name Record (PNR) sharing between airline carriers The European Union recently announced its ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (adopted on Dec. 13, 2006), United Nations On December 21, 2010, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs launched a new website devoted to combating trafficking in human beings. According to a press release on the event, On December 22, 2010, it was reported that the European Commission had turned down a request from six Eastern European states to treat Soviet crimes "according to the same standards" as those of Nazi regimes and On December 10, 2010, the European Union and India agreed to enhance cooperation against terrorism, in order to deny safe havens to members of extremist groups, among other measures. Western countries are bracing for Islamist extremist On November 9, 2010, 11 air cargo carriers were fined by the European Commission for maintaining a six-year cartel over surcharges for fuel and security costs. The airlines involved, Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, Cathay On November 18, 2010, the European Union and the United States concluded the Implementing Arrangement for Cooperative Activities in the Field of Homeland/Civil Security Research. The plan was signed by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano In a November 9, 2010, report on the progress made by nations applying for European Union membership, the European Commission praised Iceland's recent reforms. The report was a follow-up to the February 2010 recommendation by the On November 9, 2010, the European Union's Directorates-General for Justice and Home Affairs decided to enhance existing air cargo security rules. The decision was in response to recent events involving the discovery of two package-bombs in On November 8, 2010, the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee of the European Parliament adopted a report on the impact of advertising on the behavior of consumers. Philippe Juvin, the French Member of the European On November 4, 2010, the European Commission made public a proposal for a regulation to introduce a ban on the use of phosphates and phosphate compounds in laundry detergents, in order to limit the amount of On November 2, 2010, at the request of the Greek government, the European Union border management agency (Frontex) gathered patrols from all EU Member States except Ireland and Great Britain and from two non-EU member states, The recent financial crisis, which unfolded in Europe and elsewhere, coupled with a variety of other emerging issues including climate change and resource efficiency which entail certain financial obligations, led the three institutions, the European Commission, Under European Union legislation, access to documents issued by the EU institutions, the European Commission, the Parliament, and the Council, is a basic right of EU citizens. While the European Parliament has urged that access to On September 21, 2010, the European Commission adopted a Communication on exchange of data on passenger name records (PNR) with third countries. It also contains recommendations for the adoption of new PNR agreements with the United On September 16, 2010, the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union authorized the signing of the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and its provisional application as of July 1, 2011, provided that the European Parliament On September 13, 2010, the European Commission introduced new rules to improve the safety performance of seagoing vessels. The Commission will establish and operate a public database that will publish the names of shipping companies On September 13, 2010, the European Commission announced its intention to follow the new rules on higher capital standards, adopted recently by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, a group of regulators from 27 countries, including On September 8, 2010, the European Parliament, after lengthy negotiations, supported the adoption of revised rules on the use of animals for scientific experiments proposed by the EU Commission. The European Union institutions (the Commission, the On August 3, 2010, the European Commission published the 2009 annual report on the performance and activities of EURODAC. EURODAC was established to compare fingerprints in the Common Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), in furtherance of On July 26, 2010, the Council of the European Union issued a decision authorizing the establishment of the European External Action Service (EEAS) and defining its organization and functions. (Council Decision of July 26, 2010 Establishing In July 2010, the European Union adopted a Council Decision to expand its existing sanctions regime against Iran. In the last few years, the EU has put in place a series of restrictions against Iran, either On July 14, 2010, the Climate Change Committee of the European Commission endorsed the Commission's proposal for a regulation that establishes rules governing the auctioning of emissions allowances under the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) and On July 20, 2010, the European Commission adopted a communication that summarizes the major accomplishments of the European Union Counter-Terrorism Strategy since its establishment in the aftermath of the terrorist events in the United States on On July 20, 2010, the European Commission adopted a draft directive designed to ensure that European Union citizens suspected or accused of a criminal offense have the right during criminal proceedings to be informed in their On July 13, 2010, the European Commission, as part of a package of measures proposed in 2005 and endorsed in 2008 to regulate legal migration, adopted a draft directive designed to establish common minimum standards for July 1, 2010, marked the entrance into force of new rules adopted by the European Union on organic food labeling, along with the mandatory display of a new organic logo, the "Euro-leaf." The new logo, which The European Parliament and the Member States of the European Union reached a political agreement on June 30, 2010, on draft legislation that imposes limits on bankers' bonuses and links them to their banks' overall performance.... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Fri, 09 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402102_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402087_text Politics and government - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU Radio Frequency Identifications (RFIDs), or smart tags, are small, affordable circuits that communicate with a portable device (the reader) and are attached to goods and other consumer products. Smart tags have certain practical applications including their On March 31, 2011, the U.S.-based Microsoft Corporation filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission alleging violation of European Union competition rules by Google, on the ground that Google's "pattern of actions" inhibits competition. Google In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the European Union set in motion a number of measures in an effort to assist the Japanese government to deal with the unfolding Although the threat of the European Union taking legal action against Member State Hungary for its controversial new Media Law has subsided, the European Parliament passed a resolution on March 10, 2011, that criticizes the Law On March 10, 2011, the European Commission published its first Report on Trade and Investment Barriers; it is designed to generate opportunities in exports and investment for European companies and individuals. The economic partners concerned include The European Union Directive 2011/8/EU enters into force on March 1, 2011. It contains an important provision for protecting the health of the most vulnerable group of consumer, infants, because it prohibits the manufacturing of baby On February 2, 2011, the European Commission made public a proposal for a new European Union directive aimed at fighting serious crime and terrorism through uniform regulation of Passenger Name Record (PNR) sharing between airline carriers The European Union recently announced its ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (adopted on Dec. 13, 2006), United Nations On December 21, 2010, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs launched a new website devoted to combating trafficking in human beings. According to a press release on the event, On December 22, 2010, it was reported that the European Commission had turned down a request from six Eastern European states to treat Soviet crimes "according to the same standards" as those of Nazi regimes and On December 10, 2010, the European Union and India agreed to enhance cooperation against terrorism, in order to deny safe havens to members of extremist groups, among other measures. Western countries are bracing for Islamist extremist On November 9, 2010, 11 air cargo carriers were fined by the European Commission for maintaining a six-year cartel over surcharges for fuel and security costs. The airlines involved, Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, Cathay On November 18, 2010, the European Union and the United States concluded the Implementing Arrangement for Cooperative Activities in the Field of Homeland/Civil Security Research. The plan was signed by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano In a November 9, 2010, report on the progress made by nations applying for European Union membership, the European Commission praised Iceland's recent reforms. The report was a follow-up to the February 2010 recommendation by the On November 9, 2010, the European Union's Directorates-General for Justice and Home Affairs decided to enhance existing air cargo security rules. The decision was in response to recent events involving the discovery of two package-bombs in On November 8, 2010, the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee of the European Parliament adopted a report on the impact of advertising on the behavior of consumers. Philippe Juvin, the French Member of the European On November 4, 2010, the European Commission made public a proposal for a regulation to introduce a ban on the use of phosphates and phosphate compounds in laundry detergents, in order to limit the amount of On November 2, 2010, at the request of the Greek government, the European Union border management agency (Frontex) gathered patrols from all EU Member States except Ireland and Great Britain and from two non-EU member states, The recent financial crisis, which unfolded in Europe and elsewhere, coupled with a variety of other emerging issues including climate change and resource efficiency which entail certain financial obligations, led the three institutions, the European Commission, Under European Union legislation, access to documents issued by the EU institutions, the European Commission, the Parliament, and the Council, is a basic right of EU citizens. While the European Parliament has urged that access to On September 21, 2010, the European Commission adopted a Communication on exchange of data on passenger name records (PNR) with third countries. It also contains recommendations for the adoption of new PNR agreements with the United On September 16, 2010, the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union authorized the signing of the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and its provisional application as of July 1, 2011, provided that the European Parliament On September 13, 2010, the European Commission introduced new rules to improve the safety performance of seagoing vessels. The Commission will establish and operate a public database that will publish the names of shipping companies On September 13, 2010, the European Commission announced its intention to follow the new rules on higher capital standards, adopted recently by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, a group of regulators from 27 countries, including On September 8, 2010, the European Parliament, after lengthy negotiations, supported the adoption of revised rules on the use of animals for scientific experiments proposed by the EU Commission. The European Union institutions (the Commission, the On August 3, 2010, the European Commission published the 2009 annual report on the performance and activities of EURODAC. EURODAC was established to compare fingerprints in the Common Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), in furtherance of On July 26, 2010, the Council of the European Union issued a decision authorizing the establishment of the European External Action Service (EEAS) and defining its organization and functions. (Council Decision of July 26, 2010 Establishing In July 2010, the European Union adopted a Council Decision to expand its existing sanctions regime against Iran. In the last few years, the EU has put in place a series of restrictions against Iran, either On July 14, 2010, the Climate Change Committee of the European Commission endorsed the Commission's proposal for a regulation that establishes rules governing the auctioning of emissions allowances under the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) and On July 20, 2010, the European Commission adopted a communication that summarizes the major accomplishments of the European Union Counter-Terrorism Strategy since its establishment in the aftermath of the terrorist events in the United States on On July 20, 2010, the European Commission adopted a draft directive designed to ensure that European Union citizens suspected or accused of a criminal offense have the right during criminal proceedings to be informed in their On July 13, 2010, the European Commission, as part of a package of measures proposed in 2005 and endorsed in 2008 to regulate legal migration, adopted a draft directive designed to establish common minimum standards for July 1, 2010, marked the entrance into force of new rules adopted by the European Union on organic food labeling, along with the mandatory display of a new organic logo, the "Euro-leaf." The new logo, which The European Parliament and the Member States of the European Union reached a political agreement on June 30, 2010, on draft legislation that imposes limits on bankers' bonuses and links them to their banks' overall performance. July 1, 2010, marks the beginning of Belgium's assumption, for the next six months, of the rotating Presidency of the European Union, taking over that office from Spain. Belgium, one of the original six founding members... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Fri, 02 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402087_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402072_text Aviation - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU Radio Frequency Identifications (RFIDs), or smart tags, are small, affordable circuits that communicate with a portable device (the reader) and are attached to goods and other consumer products. Smart tags have certain practical applications including their On March 31, 2011, the U.S.-based Microsoft Corporation filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission alleging violation of European Union competition rules by Google, on the ground that Google's "pattern of actions" inhibits competition. Google In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the European Union set in motion a number of measures in an effort to assist the Japanese government to deal with the unfolding Although the threat of the European Union taking legal action against Member State Hungary for its controversial new Media Law has subsided, the European Parliament passed a resolution on March 10, 2011, that criticizes the Law On March 10, 2011, the European Commission published its first Report on Trade and Investment Barriers; it is designed to generate opportunities in exports and investment for European companies and individuals. The economic partners concerned include The European Union Directive 2011/8/EU enters into force on March 1, 2011. It contains an important provision for protecting the health of the most vulnerable group of consumer, infants, because it prohibits the manufacturing of baby On February 2, 2011, the European Commission made public a proposal for a new European Union directive aimed at fighting serious crime and terrorism through uniform regulation of Passenger Name Record (PNR) sharing between airline carriers The European Union recently announced its ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (adopted on Dec. 13, 2006), United Nations On December 21, 2010, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs launched a new website devoted to combating trafficking in human beings. According to a press release on the event, On December 22, 2010, it was reported that the European Commission had turned down a request from six Eastern European states to treat Soviet crimes "according to the same standards" as those of Nazi regimes and On December 10, 2010, the European Union and India agreed to enhance cooperation against terrorism, in order to deny safe havens to members of extremist groups, among other measures. Western countries are bracing for Islamist extremist On November 9, 2010, 11 air cargo carriers were fined by the European Commission for maintaining a six-year cartel over surcharges for fuel and security costs. The airlines involved, Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, Cathay On November 18, 2010, the European Union and the United States concluded the Implementing Arrangement for Cooperative Activities in the Field of Homeland/Civil Security Research. The plan was signed by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano In a November 9, 2010, report on the progress made by nations applying for European Union membership, the European Commission praised Iceland's recent reforms. The report was a follow-up to the February 2010 recommendation by the On November 9, 2010, the European Union's Directorates-General for Justice and Home Affairs decided to enhance existing air cargo security rules. The decision was in response to recent events involving the discovery of two package-bombs in On November 8, 2010, the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee of the European Parliament adopted a report on the impact of advertising on the behavior of consumers. Philippe Juvin, the French Member of the European On November 4, 2010, the European Commission made public a proposal for a regulation to introduce a ban on the use of phosphates and phosphate compounds in laundry detergents, in order to limit the amount of On November 2, 2010, at the request of the Greek government, the European Union border management agency (Frontex) gathered patrols from all EU Member States except Ireland and Great Britain and from two non-EU member states, The recent financial crisis, which unfolded in Europe and elsewhere, coupled with a variety of other emerging issues including climate change and resource efficiency which entail certain financial obligations, led the three institutions, the European Commission, Under European Union legislation, access to documents issued by the EU institutions, the European Commission, the Parliament, and the Council, is a basic right of EU citizens. While the European Parliament has urged that access to On September 21, 2010, the European Commission adopted a Communication on exchange of data on passenger name records (PNR) with third countries. It also contains recommendations for the adoption of new PNR agreements with the United On September 16, 2010, the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union authorized the signing of the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and its provisional application as of July 1, 2011, provided that the European Parliament On September 13, 2010, the European Commission introduced new rules to improve the safety performance of seagoing vessels. The Commission will establish and operate a public database that will publish the names of shipping companies On September 13, 2010, the European Commission announced its intention to follow the new rules on higher capital standards, adopted recently by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, a group of regulators from 27 countries, including On September 8, 2010, the European Parliament, after lengthy negotiations, supported the adoption of revised rules on the use of animals for scientific experiments proposed by the EU Commission. The European Union institutions (the Commission, the On August 3, 2010, the European Commission published the 2009 annual report on the performance and activities of EURODAC. EURODAC was established to compare fingerprints in the Common Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), in furtherance of On July 26, 2010, the Council of the European Union issued a decision authorizing the establishment of the European External Action Service (EEAS) and defining its organization and functions. (Council Decision of July 26, 2010 Establishing In July 2010, the European Union adopted a Council Decision to expand its existing sanctions regime against Iran. In the last few years, the EU has put in place a series of restrictions against Iran, either On July 14, 2010, the Climate Change Committee of the European Commission endorsed the Commission's proposal for a regulation that establishes rules governing the auctioning of emissions allowances under the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) and On July 20, 2010, the European Commission adopted a communication that summarizes the major accomplishments of the European Union Counter-Terrorism Strategy since its establishment in the aftermath of the terrorist events in the United States on On July 20, 2010, the European Commission adopted a draft directive designed to ensure that European Union citizens suspected or accused of a criminal offense have the right during criminal proceedings to be informed in their On July 13, 2010, the European Commission, as part of a package of measures proposed in 2005 and endorsed in 2008 to regulate legal migration, adopted a draft directive designed to establish common minimum standards for July 1, 2010, marked the entrance into force of new rules adopted by the European Union on organic food labeling, along with the mandatory display of a new organic logo, the "Euro-leaf." The new logo, which The European Parliament and the Member States of the European Union reached a political agreement on June 30, 2010, on draft legislation that imposes limits on bankers' bonuses and links them to their banks' overall performance. July 1, 2010, marks the beginning of Belgium's assumption, for the next six months, of the rotating Presidency of the European Union, taking over that office from Spain. Belgium, one of the original six founding members On June 18, 2010, the European Commission and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) signed a memorandum of cooperation in the areas of civil aviation research and development and on interoperability between the EU and U.S.... The Global Legal Monitor from the Law Library of Congress covers legal news and developments worldwide. Mon, 28 Jun 2010 12:00:00 EDT http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402072_text http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205402073_text Immigration - On June 5, 2013, a press release presented the conclusion of the European Commission's Convergence Report on Latvia that Latvia "has achieved a high degree of The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has endorsed draft legislation that requires companies involved in gas, oil, and mineral extraction as well as logging, to provide full disclosure of payments made to national governments. In a statement issued on April 30, 2013, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Karel De Gucht,the Commissioner for Trade, expressed the EU's commitment to assisting Bangladeshi authorities On April 24, 2013, Members of the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of Europe reached a provisional agreement to allow national police authorities and Europol officers access to the fingerprints of individuals over the age The current banking crisis in Cyprus sparked debate at the European Union (EU) level as to whether bank depositors should be immune from bail-ins for troubled banks or whether only deposits in excess of 100,000 (about On February 28, 2013, the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of the European Union reached a political agreement to put limits on bankers' annual bonuses and to adopt new rules on bank capital requirements. On February 28, 2013, the European Commission put forward two proposals to introduce two major innovations in the European Union's border control system. The first is the establishment of an Entry/Exit System (EES) to create a On January 1, 2013, Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Council, a postion that rotates among the European Union (EU) Member States every six months. This is the seventh time that Ireland has held the On January 11, 2013, the Cyber Crime Center (EC3), whose establishment had been planned by the European Commission since 2010, became a reality. The EC3 is located in the European Police Office (Europol) in On December 12, 2012, the European Union (EU) Finance Ministers made progress towards a closer banking union by approving a legislative package designed to establish a single supervisory mechanism (SSM). The SSM will be composed of On December 2, 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the accessibility to all individuals of government websites. (Press Release, European Commission, IP 12/1305, Digital Agenda: Commission Proposes Rules to Make On December 11, 2012, the European Union, after several unsuccessful attempts over a period of 30 years, finally succeeded in creating an EU-wide patent, following the European Parliament's approval of a three-part package of legislative measures On November 28, 2012, the European Commission adopted the Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which serves to provide guidance to the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure that their budgetary and economic policies are in line On October 22-24, 2012, representatives of Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the European Union met in London to discuss the sustainable management of mackerel In March 2012, the European Parliament established a Special Committee on Organized Crime, Corruption, and Money Laundering (COCCML) with the mandate of making recommendations to tackle organized crime across the European Union. On October 1, 2012, On July 24, 2012, the European Commission, in its annual report, released statistics indicating an increase in counterfeit goods entering the European Union. In 2011, national Customs authorities detained close to 115 million products deemed as On July 20, 2012, the European Commission announced that it will soon publish a communication addressing the issue of cloud computing in a comprehensive manner. The communication deals with three major and interrelated issues in that On July 18, 2012, the European Commission requested that the Council of the European Union give the required mandate to open negotiations with Japan for a free trade agreement. (Press Release, IP/12/810, Commission Proposes to On July 4, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) voted against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that had been negotiated between the European Union, its Member States, and other countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, On July 1, 2012, Cyprus, itself on the brink of a bailout and still divided, with Turkish forces occupying 37% of its northern territory, assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union On June 28, 2012, the European Commission published the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Concrete Ways to Reinforce the Fight Against Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion Including in Relation On June 1, 2012, Directive 2012/13/EU on the Right to Information in Criminal Proceedings entered into force. (2012 OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (142/1) (May 22, 2012), EUR-LEX.) Directive 2012/13/EU establishes rules pertaining Based on the European Union (EU) Council Decision No. 2012/279/EU of May 14, 2012 (EURLEX database), the representatives of Member States approved the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement with Vietnam. (EU States On April 26 and 27, 2012, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union convened in Luxembourg, where it adopted a set of conclusions on handling the twin issues of promoting On April 4, 2012, the European Commission referred the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality and compatibility of ACTA with certain fundamental rights. The rights On March 23, 2012, the European Commission released some data and information related to the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), which was initially proposed through a directive issued on September 28, 2011. If the FTT is adopted, On March 28, 2012, the European Commission re-introduced a 2010 proposal to create a European Cybercrime Center (ECC), designed to protect the interests of individuals and businesses from ever-increasing cyber threats. (Press Release, European Commission, A new regulation adopted by the European Parliament on March 15, 2012, establishes rules to settle inheritance disputes if someone dies and his/her heir raises questions about the estate in more than one Member State of On February 16, 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered an important judgment on the illegal downloading of songs by Internet users. The ECJ held that online social network sites cannot be forced to adopt On March 8, 2012, the European Union (EU) adopted a new Regulation to ratify the UN Protocol on Firearms. (UN Protocol General Assembly Resolution A/RES/55/255, June 8, 2001, UN website.) The Commission had signed the On March 13, 2012, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Women in Political Decision-Making Quality and Equality (Resolution (Mar. 13, 2012), European Parliament website.) As the EP explains, the impetus On December 20, 2011, the European Commission came up with a proposal to reform the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM), established in 2001, "from the current ad-hoc co-ordination to a pre-planned and predictable system," in st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } On January 26, 2012, the European Union and 22 of its member countries signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a controversial pact designed to tighten international controls On January 30, 2012, in the midst of Greece's desperate attempts to avert fiscal default, the European Union (EU) Members except the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic agreed on a new Treaty on On January 17, 2012, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission (EC) announced the initiation of legal action against Hungary by means of three Letters of Formal Notice, regarding three issues in new Hungarian legislation On December 15, 2011, in response to a request made by Libyan authorities, the European Union adopted a package of assistance for Libya, in an effort to assist civil society and facilitate the stabilization process in It was reported on December 1, 2011, that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the European Union's European Patent Office (EPO) had signed an agreement on the use of Chinese-English machine-translations for patents, "in an On December 1, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution granting its consent to Croatian membership in the European Union, with 564 votes in favor, 38 against, and 32 abstentions. The accession treaty is expected to On November 28, 2011, during their annual summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., the leaders of the European Union and the United States met at the White House and issued a joint declaration. Both partners On November 29, 2011, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested stakeholders, such as museums, libraries, archives, and cultural or customs authorities, to submit their ideas on a possible revision of Directive 1993/7/EEC on On November 21, 2011, the European Union (EU) introduced a proposal to ban shark finning, a widespread practice across the globe that involves the cutting off by fishermen of the fins of sharks while the sharks On October 28, 2011, the European Commission released the findings of two independent evaluations of the European Union's general legal framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). GMOs are defined under EU law as those plants or On October 12, 2011, the European Commission published its annual overview of the enlargement policy and the progress made by candidate countries in their efforts to join the European Union. The Report on Turkey is composed On October 18, 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) adopted a landmark decision in the case of Oliver Brustle v. Greenpeace e.V. and held that a process that involves the removal of a stem cell On September 20, 2011, the European Commission adopted a communication that establishes the new legislative authority of the Commission, granted by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, to introduce directives regulating what are called Euro-crimes, including fraud, terrorism, On September 7, 2011, following the publication of a green paper and a public consultation, the European Commission announced that it intends to draft a communication on a proposal regulating online gambling. It is anticipated that In May 2011, an agreement was signed between the European Union and Serbia in an effort to strengthen security cooperation between the two partners. The agreement is designed to establish security procedures for exchanging classified information On August 11, 2011, the European Commission allowed Spain to temporarily restrict the access of Romanian workers to its labor market. (2011/503/EU: Commission Decision of 11 August 2011 Authorising Spain to Temporarily Suspend the Application The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg is the main court defending human rights in Europe and applying the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHRFF). On July 20, 2011, Directive 2009/48/EC on the Safety of Toys, which repeals Directive 88/368/EEC on toy safety rules, entered into force in the European Union. (Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the On July 4, 2011, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Framework Regulation for Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to third countries. According to a Commission press release, MFA is "a financing instrument under which exceptional financial The European Union is composed at present of 27 dissimilar tax systems, in which each Member State has its own rules for computing the tax base for associated enterprises. As a result, companies seeking to start On April 29, 2011, the Council of the European Union, within the framework of its multi-annual European e-Justice Action Plan of 2009-2012, adopted its conclusions on the introduction of the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) and The question of net neutrality, that is, whether access to Internet services or content should be regulated or should be unfettered and provided pursuant to the principle of "best effort," has moved to the forefront of In early April 2011, the European Union adopted Directive 2011/36/EU on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Its Victims, 2011 (OFFICIAL JOURNALOF THE EUROPEAN UNION (L101) 1 (Apr. 15, 2011)). The Directive One of the essential requirements in order for the European Monetary Union (EMU) to function properly is that the EU members must avoid excessive budget deficits. The Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure provides that EU Radio Frequency Identifications (RFIDs), or smart tags, are small, affordable circuits that communicate with a portable device (the reader) and are attached to goods and other consumer products. Smart tags have certain practical applications including their On March 31, 2011, the U.S.-based Microsoft Corporation filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission alleging violation of European Union competition rules by Google, on the ground that Google's "pattern of actions" inhibits competition. Google In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, the European Union set in motion a number of measures in an effort to assist the Japanese government to deal with the unfolding Although the threat of the European Union taking legal action against Member State Hungary for its controversial new Media Law has subsided, the European Parliament passed a resolution on March 10, 2011, that criticizes the Law On March 10, 2011, the European Commission published its first Report on Trade and Investment Barriers; it is designed to generate opportunities in exports and investment for European companies and individuals. The economic partners concerned include The European Union Directive 2011/8/EU enters into force on March 1, 2011. It contains an important provision for protecting the health of the most vulnerable group of consumer, infants, because it prohibits the manufacturing of baby On February 2, 2011, the European Commission made public a proposal for a new European Union directive aimed at fighting serious crime and terrorism through uniform regulation of Passenger Name Record (PNR) sharing between airline carriers The European Union recently announced its ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (adopted on Dec. 13, 2006), United Nations On December 21, 2010, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs launched a new website devoted to combating trafficking in human beings. According to a press release on the event, On December 22, 2010, it was reported that the European Commission had turned down a request from six Eastern European states to treat Soviet crimes "according to the same standards" as those of Nazi regimes and On December 10, 2010, the European Union and India agreed to enhance cooperation against terrorism, in order to deny safe havens to members of extremist groups, among other measures. Western countries are bracing for Islamist extremist On November 9, 2010, 11 air cargo carriers were fined by the European Commission for maintaining a six-year cartel over surcharges for fuel and security costs. The airlines involved, Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, Cathay On November 18, 2010, the European Union and the United States concluded the Implementing Arrangement for Cooperative Activities in the Field of Homeland/Civil Security Research. The plan was signed by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano In a November 9, 2010, report on the progress made by nations applying for European Union membership, the European Commission praised Iceland's recent reforms. The report was a follow-up to the February 2010 recommendation by the On November 9, 2010, the European Union's Directorates-General for Justice and Home Affairs decided to enhance existing air cargo security rules. The decision was in response to recent events involving the discovery of two package-bombs in On November 8, 2010, the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee of the European Parliament adopted a report on the impact of advertising on the behavior of consumers. Philippe Juvin, the French Member of the European On November 4, 2010, the European Commission made public a proposal for a regulation to introduce a ban on the use of phosphates and phosphate compounds in laundry detergents, in order to limit the amount of On November 2, 2010, at the request of the Greek government, the European Union border management agency (Frontex) gathered patrols from all EU Member States except Ireland and Great Britain and from two non-EU member states, The recent financial crisis, which unfolded in Europe and elsewhere, coupled with a variety of other emerging issues including climate change and resource efficiency which entail certain financial obligations, led the three institutions, the European Commission, Under European Union legislation, access to documents issued by the EU institutions, the European Commission, the Parliament, and the Council, is a basic right of EU citizens. While the European Parliament has urged that access to On September 21, 2010, the European Commission adopted a Communication on exchange of data on passenger name records (PNR) with third countries. It also contains recommendations for the adoption of new PNR agreements with the United On September 16, 2010, the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union authorized the signing of the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and its provisional application as of July 1, 2011, provided that the European Parliament On September 13, 2010, the European Commission introduced new rules to improve the safety performance of seagoing vessels. The Commission will establish and operate a public database that will publish the names of shipping companies On September 13, 2010, the European Commission announced its intention to follow the new rules on higher capital standards, adopted recently by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, a group of regulators from 27 countries, including On September 8, 2010, the European Parliament, after lengthy negotiations, supported the adoption of revised rules on the use of animals for scientific experiments proposed by the EU Commission. The European Union institutions (the Commission, the On August 3, 2010, the European Commission published the 2009 annual report on the performance and activities of EURODAC. EURODAC was established to compare fingerprints in the Common Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), in furtherance of On July 26, 2010, the Council of the European Union issued a decision authorizing the establishment of the European External Action Service (EEAS) and defining its organization and functions. (Council Decision of July 26, 2010 Establishing In July 2010, the European Union adopted a Council Decision to expand its existing sanctions regime against Iran. In the last few years, the EU has put in place a series of restrictions against Iran, either On July 14, 2010, the Climate Change Committee of the European Commission endorsed the Commission's proposal for a regulation that establishes rules governing the auctioning of emissions allowances under the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) and On July 20, 2010, the European Commission adopted a communication that summarizes the major accomplishments of the European Union Counter-Terrorism Strategy since its establishment in the aftermath of the terrorist events in the United States on On July 20, 2010, the European Commission adopted a draft directive designed to ensure that European Union citizens suspected or accused of a criminal offense have the right during criminal proceedings to be informed in their On July 13, 2010, the European Commission, as part of a package of measures proposed in 2005 and endorsed in 2008 to regulate legal migration, adopted a draft directive designed to establish common minimum standards for July 1, 2010, marked the entrance into force of new rules adopted by the European Union on organic food labeling, along with the mandatory display of a new organic logo, the "Euro-leaf." The new logo, which The European Parliament and the Member States of the European Union reached a political agreement on June 30, 2010, on draft legislation that imposes limits on bankers' bonuses and links them to their banks' overall performance. July 1, 2010, marks the beginning of Belgium's assumption, for the next six months, of the rotating Presidency of the European Union, taking over that office from Spain. Belgium, one of the original six founding members On June 18, 2010, the European Commission and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) signed a memorandum of cooperation in the areas of civil aviation research and development and on interoperability between the EU and U.S. On June 24, 2010, the European Commission issued a reasoned opinion in th