Regulatory Blog

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 26 September 2024, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued its judgement in case C-432/23 in which it reinforced the principle of client-attorney privilege in the context of the exchange of information with the tax administration, limiting the extent to which lawyers can be compelled to disclose confidential client information under the Administrative Cooperation Directive (Directive 2011/16), commonly referred to as DAC.

On 31 July 2024, the European Securities and Markets Authority published an opinion addressing the risks presented by various brokerage models to be adopted by EU crypto-asset service providers seeking to be licensed under Regulation 1114/2023 on markets in crypto-assets, while relying on other non-EU entities in their group for their operations.

On 26 September 2024, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission issued a circular addressed to Cyprus Investment Firms providing essential guidance regarding the provision of services in relation to fractional shares under the Investment Services and Activities and Regulated Markets Law 2017, in line with EU Directive 2014/65.

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.

From 12 November 2024, all individuals that are registered or to be registered in the Luxembourg trade and companies register in any capacity whatsoever (for example as managers, shareholders, and partners) will have to be identified by a Luxembourg national identification number.

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.