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There are approximately 16 million international couples (either of different nationalities and/or living abroad) in the EU. They face legal difficulties and high procedural costs due to uncertainties over which national laws apply to their property. This is particularly the case when one of them dies, or when a couple separates (around 650 000 cases per year).

On 6 June 2013, articles in the Guardian and Washington Post based on information from former US National Security Agency employee Ed­ward Snowden stoked up the debate on inter­net data surveillance. Further allegations that US and UK intelligence agencies had accessed and stored large quantities of data followed.

Lobbying the EU institutions

Briefing 18-06-2013

Lobbying at EU level has very specific characteristics. It can be assessed on both access to the decision-making process as well as the success of the lobbying activity. Besides the European Commission and Parliament's code of conduct for the Transparency Register, lobbying organisations have developed their own professional codes of conduct to regulate their activities. The main criticism of the current situation regarding lobbying is the lack of transparency. Meanwhile lobbying is considered a ...

Online gambling in the EU

Briefing 02-05-2013

The online gambling market is growing rapidly with betting being the biggest sector. Gambling is regulated by the Member States (MS). Frameworks vary with some MS having no specific regulation, some employing licensing systems and others imposing complete bans. The independence of MS has also been underlined by EU case law. Gambling is considered an economic activity which falls under the free movement of services and establishment, but several restrictions have been considered justified. Moreover ...

Money laundering has many different forms, and is a permanent threat within and outside the EU. In recent years, the EU has strengthened its anti-money-laundering framework. The Anti-Money-Laundering Directive (AMLD), which incorporates the main provisions for fighting money laundering and terrorist financing, is complemented by the Funds Transfers Regulation, which improves the traceability of actors and their assets.

With the financial crisis, "conflict of interest" has become a buzzword. Not a day passes without the press uncovering another case of unethical behaviour from holders of public office. The introduction of new ethical rules and standards has become a political topic.

The Commission proposed in July 2012 a Directive which contains general provisions on collective rights management for all sectors, and specific provisions for multi-territorial licensing of online music. Looking at the current state of the digital music market, although it is growing steadily, consumers still generally do not have broad access to different repertoires.

The unitary patent

Oversigt 06-12-2012

Harmonising patent law in Europe has been a constant goal since the 1960s. However significant challenges, particularly relating to languages and litigation of patent cases, have repeatedly blocked attempts. Now, 25 Member States have signed up to a compromise under enhanced cooperation. Spain and Italy abstained because of objections to the language rules.

Switzerland and the EU are linked via more than 120 bilateral agreements, which concern the single market and other sectors. Binding obligations to implement EU law are enshrined in the various bilateral agreements, but mostly they do not extend to take account of changes in EU law. The EU is trying to convince Switzerland to put relations into a more systematic framework with effective institutions.

Orphan works

Oversigt 07-09-2012

Large-scale initiatives to digitise the collections of libraries have raised the problem of rights related to "orphan works" - those for which rights-holders cannot be identified or found. The Commission has proposed a Directive which seeks to find a balance between protecting potential rights-holders and facilitating certain uses of orphan works in the internal market.