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The European Commission proposed a revision of Directive 2008/99/EC on the protection of the environment through criminal law in December 2021. The proposal intends to clarify some of the terms contained in the directive and includes an updated list of environmental crime offences, harmonised sanction types and levels, measures to strengthen international investigation and prosecution, improvements to the collection of statistical data and measures to improve national enforcement chains. Ultimately ...

On 11 March, Europe honours all those who have lost their lives or loved ones to terror. The European Day of Remembrance of Victims of Terrorism was inaugurated after the 2004 Madrid bombings. Protection of victims of terrorism is an essential part of the EU's efforts to address all dimensions of the terrorist threat. In response to the wave of attacks that has hit Europe in recent years, rules and sanctions related to terrorist activities have been strengthened. Ongoing action at EU level, meanwhile ...

On 8 March 2023, the European Commission is set to adopt an update of its first EU maritime security strategy from 2014. The EU is a one-of-a-kind maritime actor, a fact that brings both opportunities and responsibilities. It has been argued that, if the EU-27 were to combine the capacities and capabilities of their navies, they would form one of the world's largest maritime powers. There is therefore space for better integration of capabilities and greater coherence among the EU's tools to promote ...

L’égalité des rémunérations pour un même travail est l’un des principes fondateurs de l’Union européenne, inscrit à l’article 157 du traité sur le fonctionnement de l’Union européenne. Toutefois, la mise en œuvre et l’application de ce principe demeurent problématiques. Faute de transparence sur les rémunérations, les discriminations en la matière passent souvent inaperçues et les victimes se heurtent à des difficultés pour faire valoir un droit à réparation. Le 4 mars 2021, la Commission européenne ...

Directive 2009/138/EC – also known as Solvency II – sets out the prudential regulatory framework for the insurance sector in the EU. The framework aims to establish the single market for insurance services further, while strengthening policyholders' protection. On 22 September 2021, the European Commission tabled a proposal for a directive that would amend Solvency II in essentially three ways: i) lowering regulatory obligations on small and low-risk profile insurance companies, ii) taking into account ...

The crypto-asset sector, while still relatively new, has already changed the world of payments and investment forever. The fast-changing, mobile nature of the sector and its growing market prominence poses challenges, however, for tax authorities, which are not always able to track the capital gains made from trading crypto-assets. On 8 December 2022, the European Commission proposed to set up a reporting framework which would require crypto-asset service providers to report transactions made by ...

In December 2022, Japan announced important changes to its defence policy, including a strong rise in its defence expenditure in the period up to 2027. Although Japan had already introduced some changes to its foreign policy-making process under late Prime Minister Abe, the new security and defence strategies, together with the planned strong rise in defence spending – if implemented – would constitute the most drastic changes to Japan's post-war order since at least 1960 (US-Japan Security Treaty ...

Based on a 2018 (REFIT) evaluation, the IA defines the main problems, the objectives and the policy options to address them with a clear intervention logic. It is based on solid internal and external expertise and various consultations to compensate for a considerable (and acknowledged) lack of data. While it is transparent about methods, uncertainties and limitations, additional quantification and/or substantiation would have been useful in some areas, namely when it comes to potential impacts on ...

This study - commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the Committee of Inquiry to Investigate the Use of Pegasus and Equivalent Surveillance Spyware (PEGA) – analyses the proliferation of new and emerging technologies usedfor repression and social control. While these technologies still have the potential to positively enhance democratic values and human rights, repressive regimes actively deploy these tools for ...

Directive 2011/36/EU on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims is the benchmark legislation on the fight against trafficking in human beings (human trafficking) at EU level. It is part of a broader policy framework that entails a range of measures aimed at the prevention and prosecution of trafficking in human beings, as well as protection from and establishment of partnerships against this practice. Despite progress in implementing those measures, trafficking ...