By Gillian Sproul and Addiped Cheng on Posted in Government,InvestmentsWithin the last few weeks, both the EU and the UK have published proposals for greater screening and control of foreign direct investments (FDI) into their territories. In both cases, these proposals seek to balance the protection of critical national infrastructure and technology on the one hand and an open foreign investment environment on the… Continue Reading
By Christopher Ives* and Kate Eades on Posted in GovernmentOn 27 February 2013 the UK Government launched a consultation, the ‘Consultation on the Company and Business Names 2013’ (the “2013 Consultation“) to review the list of ‘sensitive’ names that companies must get approval for before they can be used. Following the 2013 Consultation, the UK Government has decided to relax the rules restricting company… Continue Reading
By Stephen C. Tupper and Stephen Abram on Posted in GovernmentThe new Public Sector Directive 2014/24 (the New Public Sector Directive) on public procurement entered into force on 17 April 2014. This replaces Directive 2004/18. The New Public Sector Directive is accompanied by two other new directives, those for utilities and concession contracts respectively. Member States have two years to implement the New Public Sector… Continue Reading
By Aonghus Heatley on Posted in GovernmentA new consultation document has proposed that the Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes (DOTAS) rules should be widened so that more tax schemes will be caught by new powers requiring accelerated payments of tax. Under the DOTAS regime, the promoters of certain kinds of tax schemes are required to notify HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)… Continue Reading
By Kate Eades on Posted in GovernmentWritten by Jacob B. Pankowski and Stephen C. Tupper As a general rule, high-value government contracts in the EU must not be awarded by public authorities without first complying with the detailed EU procurement rules designed to ensure non-discriminatory access to such contracting opportunities and “value-for-money” for public authorities and, ultimately, EU taxpayers. However, due… Continue Reading
By Kate Eades on Posted in GovernmentWritten by Jacob B. Pankowski and Stephen C. Tupper Two recent announcements indicate a desire by the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MOD) to rely more heavily on the private sector in the coming years — thus creating potential new markets for U.S. defense contractors. First, on July 5, 2012, the MOD announced the creation of… Continue Reading
By Kate Eades on Posted in Competition Law,GovernmentWritten by Simon Harms and Lisa Navarro On 15 March 2012, the UK’s Department for Business Innovation and Skills (“BIS”) announced its plans for the reform of the UK competition regime. These proposals were crystallised on 23 May 2012 in the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill (the “Bill”). The proposals set out in the Bill… Continue Reading
