Search Results for: Belgium

As jurisdictions worldwide prepare for an imminent assessment by FATF or regional FATF-style bodies under a fifth round of scheduled mutual evaluation reports (MER), their governments will be parsing how these will differ from the fourth round of MERs

In short, according to a note from the Luxembourg office of international law firm Allen & Overy, FATF’s latest MER guidance, released in February (2024) (1), noted that MER5s will take six years, rather than earlier rounds’ average of 10.…

Romania uncovered EUR419 million’s worth of fraud associated with European Union (EU) spending programmes in 2023, detailed reports issued by the European Commission have revealed. The major spike in swindles, far above levels reported by other EU member states, were inflated especially by two sets of swindles associated with the EU Cohesion Fund, the bloc’s main regional development scheme, each accounting for around EUR168 million (2).…

Although the low countries boom in the paints and coatings markets of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg (Benelux) during the Covid-19 pandemic is easing, and the industry has been hit by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis, the sector is holding up well.…

Automakers selling battery electric vehicles (BEVs) into the 27-country European Union (EU) market are working hard to fulfill EU regulatory requirements to provide digital battery passports using a unique serial number and QR code from February 2027.  https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2023/07/10/council-adopts-new-regulation-on-batteries-and-waste-batteries/

The law was only adopted in July 2023, creating a compliance challenge for EU market automakers, many of them US-owned, said Beatriz Ildefonso, circularity and materials manager at the European Association of Automotive Suppliers (CLEPA), the suppliers representative body.…

The launch of European Sustainably Reporting Standards (ESRS), guiding mandatory European Union (EU) sustainability reports, coming progressively into mandatory force across the EU from 2025 (1), is pushing EU auditors to expand their skill sets.

They are already having to audit comprehensive EU sustainability reports for major companies, focused on double materiality concerns of a company’s impact on the environment and society as well as its financial exposure to such social and environmental trends.…

The development of artificial intelligence (AI) in Europe could help its long-established and highly regarded textile sector to boost its sustainability and ability to recycle materials. With the European Union (EU) generating some 12.6 million tonnes of textile waste per year, (1), the European Commission has been pushing the sector to improve its recycling, just as the EU has passed a groundbreaking regulation, in force from July 12, law designed to encourage AI and its ethical use (2).…

BEV sales are stalling in the European Union (EU). After growth in 2021 and 2022, sales figures (https://www.acea.auto/pc-registrations/new-car-registrations-3-in-may-2024-battery-electric-12-5-market-share/) released July 18 by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) for the year through May 2024 show BEVs taking 12.5% of the EU car market, a decrease from 13.8% the previous year.…

European Union (EU) member states have been adapting to the new legal guidance on access to their national registers of ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) following the November 2022 ruling (1) at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and a new EU directive published June 19 (2024).…

Budget constraints are threatening the ability of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) to continue investigating VAT fraud, especially as it expands to take on newcomers Poland and Sweden this year, the Luxembourg-based office is warning. The EPPO College (1), a management board composed of the European Chief Prosecutor, Laura Kövesi, and prosecutors from the now 24 participating member states – has been pushing for a much bigger budget as the agency’s workload rises.…

European Union (EU) tariffs of up to 38.1% on China-built BEVs effective July 5 (2024), likely will not stall progression of Chinese automakers onto Europe’s markets but could steer them towards producing or assembling cars in the bloc, say auto industry experts.…