President-elect Biden’s victory has been met with relief by many in the international trade community. Despite a plethora of obstacles he faces, Biden is expected to conduct U.S. international trade policy in a different way, including the use of multilateral approaches rather than “going it alone,” diplomacy instead of taunts and insults, collaboration not flying…
Introduction In an earlier post on this blog (here), I commenced my analysis of the recognition of professional qualifications of migrants at work in the EU by describing and reflecting upon those provisions of EU migration and asylum law governing such recognition. In this blog post, I complete my analysis of qualification recognition by describing…
On 22 June 2020, the European Social Partners released their Autonomous Framework Agreement on Digitalisation.The Social Partners signing this agreement were: BusinessEurope, SMEunited, CEEP, ETUC and the liaison committee EUROCADRES/CEC, The Agreement is welcome (particularly in the midst of a pandemic) as an acknowledgement of the continuing movement towards a predominantly digital means of working…
Introduction In two blog posts (here, here) I have commented on the recognition of professional qualifications between the EU and UK post-Brexit. Yet to be described and reflected upon, however, is the more general scheme of legal regulation of the recognition of professional qualifications which applies to third-country nationals coming to the EU, be they…
Are exploitative contracts part of innovation? 2020 has not only been a year of pandemic. The year has also provided additions to the growing tome of ‘gig economy’ litigation; case law that has largely (though not exclusively) centred around Uber. Employment status has been the focal point of this discussion. Attention should be drawn to…
In the aftermath of the Eleventh WTO Ministerial Conference held at Buenos Aires in December 2017, four groups of WTO Members launched negotiations, agreeing to advance discussions on four vital trade issues – investment facilitation, domestic regulations in services, electronic-commerce (E-Commerce), and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). These joint initiatives were launched through independent…
Introduction The European Union (EU) and China signed a bilateral agreement for the reciprocal protection of Geographical Indications (GIs) against usurpation and imitation.[1]On 23 November 2020, the Council adopted a decision on the conclusion of the agreement between the EU and the government of the People’s Republic of China on GIs, namely the Agreement between…
1. Introduction On 20 October 2020, the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority (“PTS”) decided to approve Hi3G Access AB, Net4Mobility HB, Telia Sverige AB and Teracom AB as participants in auction proceedings regarding the granting of licenses to use radio transmitters in the frequency bands 3,5 GHz and 2,3 GHz. In laying down the requirements…
President-elect Biden’s victory has been met with relief by many in the international trade community. Despite expected obstacles he faces, Biden is expected to conduct U.S. international trade policy in a different way, including the use of multilateral approaches rather than “going it alone,” diplomacy instead of taunts and insults, collaboration not flying “solo,” and…
On 17 November 2017 the ‘European Pillar of Social Rights’ (“EPSR”) was officially proclaimed by the EU leaders at the occasion of the Social Summit held in Gothenburg, Sweden. Three years later, the European Union is set to deliver an action plan. In a Communication of 14 January 2020, the European Commission launched a communication[1] to…
India imposed a ban on 247 Chinese mobile application including TikTok, PubG, Helo, and WeChat on the basis that these applications are involved in activities which are detrimental to the sovereignty and security of India. The Government stated that it has received complaints from many sources regarding the misuse of these apps to steal and…
Introduction Free Trade Zones and Special Economic Zones (‘zones’) have a unique character in international law. They are very much part of the geographical territory of a sovereign State. At the same time, they are deemed to be generally outside the customs territory. Such a unique character of these zones has been successfully used by…
We wanted to draw your attention to some interesting articles about the topics of the Regulating for Globalization blog that appeared in the European Review of Private Law, Volume 28, Issue 3, 2020, edited by André Janssen and Matthias E. Storme. Kahraman Altun, Ll.M. (Edinburgh), Anti-Suit Injunctions in European Transnational Litigation: Past, Present and…
The European Commission has finally disclosed its intention to challenge the Apple judgement delivered by the General Court on the 15th of July.[1]General Court, 15 July 2020, Apple Sales International and Apple Operations Europe v Commission, Cases T-778/16 and T-892/16, ECLI:EU:T:2020:338. Although it has been a difficult choice, considering the highly political implications of the matter,…
Since December of last year, the WTO Appellate Body has been unable to hear new appeals[1]. Some WTO members have created the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA). It offers a path forward, but how does it work and what is its future? Who are the MPIA parties? In April, a group of WTO Members…
I. Introduction In Part 1 of this post, we examined the draft amendment to the Polish Act on the National Cybersecurity System [“Polish National Cybersecurity Act”] introduced by the Polish Minister for Digitization on 7 September 2020.[1] We explained that Draft Article 66a of the Polish Act sets out new regulations for the Polish telecommunications…
I. Introduction On 7 September 2020, the Polish Minister for Digitization presented a draft amendment to the Act on the National Cybersecurity System [“Polish National Cybersecurity Act”].[1] Apart from a series of amendments related to cybersecurity issues, the newly introduced Draft Article 66a sets out new regulations applicable in the Polish telecommunications market. The new…
Global trade is slowing at an unprecedented rate, as illustrated in the chart below. This trend had started long before COVID-19 had made its inroads. This may appear surprising as firms are more networked and increasingly rely on global supply chains. In recent times, the efforts for time-bound compact trade deals have received great attention….
The popular video-sharing mobile app TikTok has been in the news of late. President Trump signed an executive order on August 6, banning TikTok unless it is acquired by a U.S. company by September 15th.[1] This order comes on the heels of similar action taken by India, which banned 59 applications owned by companies in…
Introduction Among its countless repercussions, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic had disastrous consequences on the economy, affecting both supply chains and the demand curve in numerous markets. Market conditions changed abruptly due to anti-COVID restrictions and the health emergency caused the demand for numerous products and services to decline, whereas the request for others,…
