Virtual currencies pose a serious threat to be used for money laundering, weakening the European Union's financial system. Directive (EU) 2018/843 (the fifth anti-money laundering Directive) intends to mitigate these risks by introducing a definition of virtual currencies within Union law. Some...

For more than two decades, the European Union has been experimenting with forms of policy coordination as a means of seeking influence in domains of policy that more typically fall within the competence and political authority of its Member States. Across economic, employment and social...

An “invention,” as used in the United States patent laws, refers to anything made by man that employs or harnesses a law of nature or a naturally occurring substance for human benefit. A watermill, for instance, harnesses the power of gravity to run machinery. But legal methods, such as tax...

In accordance with Directive 2003/87/EC of October 13, 2003, trade in greenhouse gas emissions commenced in the European Union (EU) on January 1, 2005. The EU-Emissions Trading System (EU-ETS) was born. The EU has a Value Added Tax (VAT). VAT is a transaction-based levy on all trade in goods and...

Technological advancements facilitate the transition to a decentralised and smart distributed generation electricity system where active customers will have a key role. Such a transition can contribute to making the electricity systems cleaner, more secure, more efficient and less expensive....

The apolitical nature of the monetary policy is a myth. As far as the ECB secondary objectives (Article 3(3) TEU) are concerned, it is worth mentioning the CSPP´s bias in favour of polluters, as firms whose securities are purchased under the CSPP have a disproportionate carbon footprint. Such...

The main objective of the European economical community treaty was to remove the economical barriers between the European member states. For this purpose, the treaty established the single market which has at the base of its function the fourth liberties: the free movement of goods, persons,...

In explaining the concept of centre of main interests (COMI) within the UK Cross-Border Insolvency Regulations 2006 (CBIR), the Englush court in Re Stanford International Bank over-emphasised third-party ascertainability due to an apparent lack of appreciation of the different functions...

In 2016 and 2017, states continued their engagement with international investment law. A small minority of states displayed scepticism or tried to disengage themselves from their investment law obligations. This chapter addresses select institutional developments in international investment law...

Global convergence has been a central theme in competition law for more than two decades. It has provided a way of understanding where competition law is and where it is going. Until very recently, most observers have assumed it would continue to play that role. Brexit, Trump and other...