Regulatory Blog

On 14 November 2024, the final components of the Listing Act package were published in the Official Journal of the EU. The Listing Act is a legislative package aimed at making EU public capital markets more accessible and attractive, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. The package is designed to simplify regulations, reduce administrative burdens and lower listing costs, encouraging more companies to seek funding on European stock exchanges.

On 8 October 2024, the Council of the European Union issued a press release condemning Russia's escalating hybrid activities, which target EU member states and their partners. These actions, which include cyber-attacks, misinformation, sabotage, arson, and disruptions to critical infrastructure, are seen as part of a coordinated effort by Russia to destabilise the EU, weaken its unity and undermine support for Ukraine.

The European Union introduced a new sanctions framework aimed at addressing Russia’s destabilising actions abroad. The EU will now be able to impose restrictive measures on individuals and entities involved in activities by Russia that threaten the security, independence, and democratic values of the EU, its member states, international organisations and third countries.

On 25 October 2024, the EU Commission released the final Delegated Regulation that supplements Regulation (EU) 2015/760 of the European Parliament and the Council, which pertains to regulatory technical standards known as the "ELTIF RTS." The regulation outlines critical requirements for European Long-Term Investment Funds, particularly concerning the matching of transfer requests, pricing, investor disclosures, and asset valuations.

On 18 October 2024, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) opened a survey to gather insights on potential alternatives to the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) for financial reporting and record-keeping. This initiative is part of ongoing discussions about introducing alternative identification methods for legal entities, particularly in light of recent opinions from European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs).

On 8 October 2024, the EU updated the list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions, removing Antigua and Barbuda from Annex I (the blacklist) after a supplementary review by the Global Forum on Tax Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes. However, the country remains on Annex II (a watchlist) pending further improvements in tax transparency.

On 10 September 2024, the Court of Justice of the European Union upheld the European Commission’s decision in 2016 that Ireland granted unlawful tax advantages to Apple, amounting to €13 billion. This judgement overturns the earlier 2020 decision by the General Court, which had annulled the findings of the European Commission due to insufficient evidence of selective advantage.

On 13 September 2024, the Council of the European Union (EU) has issued a number of important notices regarding restrictive measures under Council Decision 2014/145/CFSP and Regulation (EU) No 269/2014, as amended and implemented (EU Sanctions), targeting individuals, entities and bodies involved in actions undermining the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.

On 25 September 2024, the European Commission announced that over 100 companies, including multinational corporations and European small and medium enterprises from various sectors like IT, healthcare, banking, and automotive have signed the EU's Artificial Intelligence Pact.