trade

March 1, 2019

Battle Resumes – The Copyright Directive is Back

The Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (the “Directive”) is back. The issues with the Directive were described in our September 2018 briefing The Copyright Directive – The EU Battles the Internet.
January 1, 2019

Commission Consulting on Move to Qualified Majority Voting (QMV) on Taxation

On 20th December, the European Commission launched a (relatively brief) consultation on moving from unanimity to qualified majority voting (QMV) in the Council on certain tax issues. The public consultation closes on the 17th January, with “indicative planning” to be carried out this quarter.
January 1, 2019

Free to Work: Employment Regulations in 2019

The Employment Flexibility Index of LFMI quantifies a great divergence in employment regulations between EU countries. Of the 41 countries included in the index (EU and OECD countries), Denmark and the United States were ranked as having the most flexible labour regulations, while France and Luxembourg were ranked last.
December 1, 2018

Credit Day: Improving Appetite for Fiscal Responsibility

13 December marks Credit Day across the European Union. This is the day when, on average, European countries’ central governments exhaust their annual tax revenue and start relying on borrowed money to fulfil their functions – 18 days before the end of the year. According to a study by the Institut Économique Molinari, this is 7 days later than last year, which is a substantial improvement.
December 1, 2018

Paranoid Android. Everything the Commission Got Wrong in Its War on Google

The Commission’s decision to fine Google for unfair practice was based on a misunderstanding of the Android ecosystem and a mistaken definition of the relevant market. This allowed Google’s activities to be wrongly cast as those of a monopoly abusing its position.
November 24, 2018

The Economic Damage Inflicted by Production Taxes

Production taxes in France have long been a contentious issue closely linked to employment and wage growth. France currently sets one of the highest levels of production taxes in the EU, which can be seen as an example of the government’s habitual over-taxation.
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