EU Regime Research Articles

EU's “three-in-seven” road haulage cabotage rule – Impact imbalances across member states and the geography

Road cabotage within the EU, as a share of domestic transport of goods, varies greatly across member states. This can partly be attributed to EU's regime for consecutive cabotage. In addition to economic factors that reflect incomplete market integration, spatial factors appear to affect the impact of the current regime. The impact seems stronger for geographically large and centrally located countries with interregional homogeneity in trade. This may reflect that foreign hauliers under such conditions can utilize the characteristics of their standardized long-range trucks better, or because the likelihood of successfully fixing three favourable long-distance cabotage assignments within the seven days limit increases. Potential amendments to regulations in order to equalize the impact of EU's consecutive cabotage regime across member states' spatial characteristics include removing the limits to the number of trips within the seven days' time frame or shortening the time frame for carrying out the current maximum of three trips.

EU’s sustainable finance disclosure regulation: does the hybrid reporting regime undermine the goal to reorient capital to climate action?

ABSTRACT Disclosure and reporting are cornerstones of the European Union’s sustainable finance agenda with the goals of reorienting capital flows towards climate and other sustainable investments and minimizing greenwashing. A key component of the regulatory framework is the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), which requires fund managers to calculate and disclose a ‘sustainable investment’ (SI) percentage, aggregating exposure to activities contributing to climate mitigation and adaptation and the other environmental and social sustainability objectives of the European Union. In turn, financial advisors must use SI percentages when advising customers under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II. Defining ‘sustainable investments’ in a robust and consistent way is crucial to the effectiveness of SFDR. Based on a review of the regulatory texts and financial sector participant observations this policy analysis article explores the overlapping guidelines framing how market participants are allowed to define sustainable investments, and the implications for achieving the goals of the sustainable finance agenda. The analysis suggests that the ‘unintentionally hybrid’ SFDR regime may perversely incentivize fund managers to forgo the use of the highly detailed EU Taxonomy rules-based approach that precisely defines climate-related ‘substantial contributions’ and apply the vague principles-based approach found in SFDR Article 2.17. This would allow each financial actor to define and determine independently what constitutes a sustainable investment, circumventing the robust, if imperfect, climate-related rules of the EU Taxonomy. The SFDR regime therefore risks undermining the European Commission’s stated goals of increasing capital allocation to sustainable activities and eliminating greenwashing. Key policy insights: A sustainability disclosure regime allowing the choice between robust rules and vague principles risks creating opportunities for greenwashing and reduced comparability. Fund managers are likely to select definitions that are least difficult to apply and maximize Sustainable Investment percentages. The current EU regime risks tacitly sanctioning the use of weak metrics, in turn slowing the reorientation of capital towards climate-related and other sustainable investments. The EU must at a minimum provide binding guidance on interpreting Article 2.17, require equal prominence for both SI percentages and EU Taxonomy-alignment scores, as well as address the usability issues of the existing Taxonomy.

The new EU and UK regimes for regulating competition in digital markets: we finally see what’s on the plate—but do we know how to eat it?

The new EU and UK regimes for regulating competition in digital markets: we finally see what’s on the plate—but do we know how to eat it?

The ecological sustainability of the energy transition in EU law: pro et contra hydropower

This article explores the trade-offs in the decarbonisation of the energy sector by analysing the legal arguments in favour of and against hydropower in EU law. It contends that the EU regimes in climate, energy and environmental law each value the advantages and disadvantages of energy production in different ways. In contrasting the approaches in these three areas of EU law, the article analyses how EU law governs the decarbonisation process in the context of hydropower. The analysis reveals a promising opportunity to reconcile the friction among climate, energy and environmental law while improving the ecological sustainability of hydropower production.

Sustainability Clauses in ‘Public’ Contracts

Abstract Under the Public Sector Directive, public buyers are allowed to include sustainability considerations in their purchasing decisions within the limits of the principles of procurement. This framework allows criteria linked to the subject matter to be contractualised. Though different criteria are widely employed in public procurement within the umbrella of sustainable public procurement, the literature mostly focuses on stages leading to the contract award instead of considering the public contract as a document incorporating contractual obligations. On the other side, green and social commitments in (business) contracts are considerations that are not necessarily linked to the subject matter. Though their value is acknowledged, their enforcement proves to be challenging due to the restraints of contract law. By using European contract law as a reference point, this paper compares sustainability clauses in business contracts to sustainability clauses in public contracts – to determine whether the EU regime applicable to public contracts offers solutions to these hurdles.

Specialization in climate technologies at the regional level in Europe: relatedness and the moderating role of policy direction

This study focuses on the influence of related and unrelated variety on specialization in climate change mitigation technologies on a regional level in Europe. We consider two dimensions of specialization: the degree of specialization and being specialized or not. We also investigate the moderating role of public policy direction towards climate change mitigation at regional, national, and EU regime level. Based on a fixed effect specification of patent data relating to climate technologies in 194 regions during the period 2008–2017, we find that related variety positively influences the degree of specialization in climate technologies, but only in regions with a low degree of specialization. We also report a weakening effect of national policy level environmental taxation and of the European Regional Development Fund for related variety. Regarding being specialized as a region in climate technologies, our study reveals a positive role played by unrelated variety and a negative moderating effect exerted by both national policy level environmental taxation and European Regional Development Fund policy support. We discuss implications for policymaking in the field of climate change mitigation technologies.

The Evolving Protection of Geographical Indications Against Services: “Brand” New World?

AbstractThe EU regime for protecting geographical indications (GIs) is the most advanced – and at the same time the most debated – model of this sui generis intellectual property right in the world. The current reform is introducing innovations in many aspects of this regime, including that of digital markets. However, one very important aspect stemming from the evolution of EU case-law is missing – the extension of GI protection against services. EU case-law leaves open significant questions about this multi-faceted issue: not only how to construe the “front” side of directly excluding the (even evocative) use of a geographical name for services, but also, and mostly, how to deal with the “reverse” side of actively exploiting the same name on the market, following an authorization model resembling that for trademarks, as indeed the reform seems to admit elsewhere for the first time. There is also the “other” side of market services, where GIs act as intellectual property rights that affect the free movement of goods: here, ever more frequent references to “prestige” as a justification for protecting GIs further complicate the picture. This has potential implications for freedom of competition in the resale of typical products under the principle of exhaustion in terms of foreseeable legitimate reasons for opposition, again following the trademark model. This article aims to set out a more balanced approach tackling such new challenges, in order to make the EU regime fit for the future but still consistent with the founding principles of GIs as special intellectual property rights.

Dissonance in Climate Disclosure: the SEC, EU, California, and ISSB Regimes

Dissonance in Climate Disclosure: the SEC, EU, California, and ISSB Regimes

The Regulation on Deforestation-Free Products: When the EU Takes on Deforestation’s Corrupted Roots

Traditional science has long examined the causes of deforestation and forest degradation. Yet, it has often overlooked one of its main roots: corruption. As more recent research shows the intrinsic link between corruption and deforestation, this relationship deserves to be considered by the (legal) community in and of itself. For this reason, the present contribution analyses how the EU tackles the issues of corruption and deforestation through its legislative framework. It looks at the new Deforestation-Free Products Regulation (EU) 2023/1115, adopted on 31 May 2023. In particular, this paper identifies whether the new EU regime on deforestation effectively addresses corruption in the field. This includes a critical review of the Deforestation-Free Products Regulation, and more particularly, its context of adoption, its main features, its improvements, and its structural limitations. In addition, this newRegulation should not be cloistered fromthe broader legislative landscape.Thenew proposals foraDirective onCombatingCorruptionandfora revision of the Environmental Crimes Directive have the potential to mitigate some of the identified limitations and to playarole intackling thecorruption rootsofdeforestation. European Union, Deforestation, Corruption, Deforestation-Free Regulation, Due Diligence, Environmental Crimes

Consumer Collective Redress in Turkey: The Need for Reform in Light of the EU Regime

Consumer Collective Redress in Turkey: The Need for Reform in Light of the EU Regime

From Bad to Worse: The Continuous Dilemma Facing Parliaments in European Economic and Fiscal Governance

Abstract Analysing how the roles of national parliaments and the European Parliament have changed in European economic governance since the euro crisis, this article argues that their situation has deteriorated in the post-Next Generation EU regime. It identifies structural factors impeding more effective parliamentary engagement, relates these to empirical evidence about the role of domestic legislatures and the European Parliament and mirrors these practices against constitutional interpretations concerning the democratic role of parliaments in budgetary matters. The broader Economic and Monetary Union architecture has grown to encompass a variety of rules and mechanisms, many of which are located outside of the treaties and the budget of the Union. As a result, parliaments lack formal powers that would guarantee them meaningful participation rights in European economic and fiscal governance. The key to more effective parliamentary involvement is ensuring that the parliaments can genuinely shape policies and that a strong link is established between elections and budgetary politics.

Liabilities of virtual world developers as intermediary service providers: the case of Second Life

Through a review of the EU and the US regulation and case law, this article discusses the extent to which virtual world developers can be held liable as intermediary service providers with regard to potentially infringing user-created and user-uploaded virtual items. Among many virtual worlds, this study focuses on Second Life, developed by Linden, as it allows user-created and uploaded contents, and offers services such as the Marketplace and LindeX exchange, which enable users and the developer to financially benefit from these contents. The article argues that, beyond mere game developers, virtual world developers such as Linden are intermediary service providers and may be liable with regards to user-created and uploaded content on their services. Within the scope of the EU regime, Linden is too active to benefit from the E-Commerce Directive’s safe harbors. However, it should not be considered as an online content-sharing service provider within the scope of the DSM Directive because Second Life does not compete with other online content services for the same audiences. According to the comprehensive protection brought by the DMCA in the US, Linden can benefit from the safe harbors if it takes the necessary steps after becoming aware of specific infringing activity and fulfills the procedural measures listed in the act.

A new dawn? The United Kingdom’s new competition law regime for vertical agreements

On 1 June 2022, competition law practitioners in the UK were placed in the unenviable position of having to assimilate two new regimes for the treatment of vertical agreements under, respectively, European Union and UK competition law. Despite the long lead-up, which in the case of the EU reforms had lasted since October 2018, practitioners had less than a month to assimilate the final text of both the new EU Vertical Agreements Block Exemption Regulation and the UK’s Vertical Agreements Block Exemption Order before they entered into force. Indeed, the Competition and Markets Authority’s Guidance on the new UK regime was only available six weeks after the new Order came into effect. Despite the new UK regime being promoted as being based on ‘bespoke rules better suited to the UK’, the reality is that its final form reflects a carefully balanced review by the CMA that prioritized close alignment with the EU over divergence for its own sake. Although there are some notable differences between the two regimes, which are reviewed in this article, the overall outcome is one of dynamic alignment with an EU regime that provided the original model for modern UK competition law and looks likely to have a dominant influence on its development for the foreseeable future, despite Brexit.

Beyond hegemony, world order as domination: Iran’s Green Movement and the nuclear sanctions regimes

Contributing to neo-Gramscian IR and debates regarding world order, this article puts forward Gramsci’s domination as a framework for better understanding the dynamics of a so-called ‘western liberal order’. It shows how Gramsci can be used to explore the power relations of world order that moves beyond Eurocentrism by highlighting the agency of the ‘non-West’ or ‘Global South’. In so doing, it illustrates the contradictions of a liberal world order. To make its case, it examines the relationship between Iran’s Green Movement, and the EU, US and UN sanctions regimes imposed on Iran in response to its nuclear programme. It is argued that domination, rather than hegemony, allows for a better understanding of the power relations in this case.

Impact of European Union Tariff Preferences on International Human Rights Treaties

Tariff preferences of the EU seek to, inter alia, incentivize third countries through more beneficial scheme of preferences to act in accordance with international human rights standards and other values prioritized by the EU. The aim of this contribution is to assess whether this motivation has real impact on third countries as regards their approach to core international human rights treaties and provide answer to the question whether improved tariff preferences influenced conduct of those countries, as regards accession to the said treaties and expansion of their territorial applicability. Through this assessment, the research seeks to analyse impact the positive conditionality had on acceptance and ratification of human rights treaties by countries that have not showed previous inclination to ratifications without the prospect of obtaining tariff preferences by the EU. The central method is to consider the international human rights treaty ratification years of all states benefitting from the EU regime of tariff preferences. By comparing the time of ratifying the required human rights treaties, and the year in which the respective states became beneficiaries of tariff preferences, the study confirms that, safe for several specific cases, the states receiving tariff preferences had little to no new obligations in terms of ratifying human rights conventions they were previously not bound by.

Development of capital pension funds in the Czech Republic and Bulgaria and readiness to implement PEPP

Unfavourable demographic trends are exerting more pressure on public pension systems in all European countries, and the need for alternative sources of pension provision is increasing. Personal pension products can be considered as a possible solution to the problem of providing adequate pensions. The pan-European personal pension product (PEPP) is the first standardised pension product subject to a uniform EU regime. Now that the regulatory framework for PEPP has been established at the EU level, it is up to the Member States to create an appropriate legal environment in order to promote the successful development of PEPP. This article examines the role of voluntary pension funds and the readiness to implement PEPP in the selected countries. We focus on the Czech Republic and Bulgaria, where the role of private pension funds is growing. We examine how PEPP can fit into the national pension systems and make some proposals regarding regulatory measures to be taken in order to ensure that PEPP is not at a competitive disadvantage against national pension products. We find that PEPP may fill the pension gap in countries where public pensions are the main source of retirement income and the role of occupational pension schemes is insignificant.

Inside insider trading regulation: a comparative analysis of the EU and US regimes

Inside insider trading regulation: a comparative analysis of the EU and US regimes

Cascading opt-outs? The effect of the Euro and migration crises on differentiated integration in the European Union

Do integration crises reinforce legal differentiation in European integration? Are differentiated EU policies under stress prone to cascading opt-outs? We argue that integration crises as such are unlikely to cause further fragmentation in already differentiated EU regimes. If the EU decides to adopt new treaties and laws in response to the crises, however, these are likely to reproduce and extend pre-existing patterns of differentiation. Empirically, this study offers within-case counterfactual analyses of differentiation in the Euro and the migration crises. Whereas the Euro crisis triggered a major institutional change in the Eurozone, the member states could not agree on a thorough reform of the asylum system. Correspondingly, we observe excess differentiation in the Euro crisis but stable differentiation in the migration crisis.

Doing Safe by Doing Good: Non-Financial Reporting and the Risk Effects of Corporate Social Responsibility

We compare the effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on firms' equity risk under two different (non-)financial reporting regimes: the risk-based U.S. and the content-based EU system. We observe a strongly negative CSR-risk relation in the EU, but a much weaker general impact in the U.S. In correspondence with goal-framing theory, we find several moderating effects on this association, depending on the reporting regime: (i) A highly volatile market environment unfolds the risk-reducing effect of CSR in the U.S. system, but has no moderating effect in the EU; (ii) Rising CSR awareness buttresses the risk-reducing effect of CSR in the EU, but has an opposing effect in the U.S.; (iii) Risk reductions are most strongly associated with social and governance rather than environmental activity in the EU regime, while there are no such individual effects in the U.S.

Regulation (EU) 2019/880 and the 1970 UNESCO Convention – A Note on the Interplay between the EU and UNESCO Import Regimes

The 1970 UNESCO Convention is the key international instrument to protect movable cultural heritage. States Parties to this treaty undertake to adopt measures to prohibit and prevent the illicit trade in such objects, as well as those designed to stop the import of unlawfully exported cultural goods. The EU, as an important UNESCO partner and a powerful regional organization, has been urged since the 2000s by many international actors as well as its own institutions to curb the illicit transfer of cultural goods within its boundaries, especially in the light of the influx of cultural material illicitly removed from conflict-ridden territories. Regulation (EU) 2019/880 on the introduction and the import of cultural goods may be seen as providing a long-awaited legal framework that would promote and strengthen the operation of 1970 UNESCO Convention, both in Europe and globally. Thus, there is a significant interplay between the UNESCO and the EU cultural goods import regimes, which this note endeavours to analyse.