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Good morning from the GLE Editorial desk. This fortnight the action sat in Europe's deal and disputes machinery rather than its employment desks. France hardened its grip on foreign investment, the Commission moved to modernise how it judges mergers, the UK reopened the taxation of cross-border structures, and the EU's copyright and white-collar enforcement edges both sharpened. For counsel running M&A, tax and contentious work across Europe, the ground shifted in several places at once.
Joel Gordon, Editorial · Global Law Experts
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Quick digest
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France's foreign-investment screening is shifting from blocking deals to extracting governance and shareholding remedies, after a record run of filings to the Treasury.
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The European Commission's draft new Merger Assessment Guidelines would modernise the test, giving more weight to efficiencies, scale, resilience and sustainability.
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The UK is reforming the foreign permanent-establishment exemption and has opened a consultation, running from 10 June, on taxing UK members of US LLCs and other reverse hybrids.
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The AI-and-copyright reckoning is building: the CJEU's Like Company v Google reference and the AI Act's 2026 training-data disclosure and opt-out duties are reshaping rights holders' leverage.
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Europe's white-collar enforcement edge is hardening, with the EPPO's remit widening and the EU AML Package raising the bar for corporate criminal and compliance exposure.
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Jurisdictions covered
France · United Kingdom · European Union · Norway · Greece · Portugal · Austria · Baltics
Lawyers featured in this edition
Dr. Alexander Petsche · Wojciech Deja · Katja Halonen · Vincenzo Iacovazzi · Helena Palhota Simões · Bruno Ledrappier · Evelyn Tjon-En-Fa
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What mattered this fortnight
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France Stops Vetoing Deals and Starts Taking Seats: FDI Screening Turns to Governance Remedies
France's foreign-investment regime has become a central instrument of economic-sovereignty policy, with a record run of filings to the Treasury and a marked shift in how deals are cleared. Rather than simply authorising or blocking transactions, the State increasingly anchors itself through shareholding and governance remedies, such as preference shares, board seats or French co-investors, and a draft "proxy board" bill and the EU's proposed Industrial Accelerator Act would push further in the same direction.
Why it matters for counsel: A deal involving French strategic assets is now less likely to be blocked outright and more likely to clear with governance strings attached, so buyers must price in board-level and shareholding conditions from the outset. Deal timelines, control assumptions and post-closing governance all need rethinking before signing, not at clearance.
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The UK Reopens Cross-Border Structuring: Foreign-PE Exemption Reform and a New US-LLC Consultation
The government has confirmed that profits and losses of foreign permanent establishments of UK-resident companies will be mandatorily exempt from corporation tax for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027, with an earlier 1 September 2026 start for oil and gas, closing off asymmetric loss planning. Alongside it, HMRC opened a consultation running from 10 June to 31 July on how UK-resident members of US LLCs and other reverse hybrids are taxed.
Why it matters for counsel: Groups that have relied on foreign-PE loss relief need to model the impact before the 2027 switch, and anyone advising UK individuals invested through US LLCs should engage with the consultation now while the rules are still being shaped. Both changes reward early restructuring over wait-and-see.
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EU-WIDE · COMPETITION & M&A |
Brussels Redraws the Merger Test: Efficiency, Scale and Resilience Move to the Foreground
The European Commission's draft new Merger Assessment Guidelines mark a significant modernisation of its analytical toolkit, signalling greater willingness to weigh claimed efficiencies, including scale, resilience and sustainability benefits, alongside the traditional competition analysis. The shift acknowledges the role merger control can play in the EU's broader industrial and security objectives, and reframes how acquirers can argue a deal's upside.
Why it matters for counsel: Efficiency and resilience arguments that once carried little weight may now be worth building into the deal narrative from the start, including for EEA-based acquirers whose transactions touch the single market. Counsel should revisit how clients frame strategic rationale in merger filings rather than treating efficiencies as an afterthought.
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EUROPEAN UNION · COPYRIGHT |
The AI-and-Copyright Reckoning Reaches the CJEU as the AI Act's Disclosure Duties Bite
Europe's first real test of generative AI against copyright is moving through the CJEU in Like Company v Google, which asks whether AI systems can reproduce protected press content and on what terms models may be trained, with an Advocate General opinion expected in September. In parallel, the AI Act's 2026 obligations require AI developers to disclose training-data sources and honour rights holders' copyright opt-outs, shifting practical leverage back toward creators and publishers.
Why it matters for counsel: Rights holders can now act rather than wait for the case law: reserving rights against AI training is a concrete step that changes a client's negotiating position today. Counsel on both sides should be auditing how content is licensed, reserved and ingested before the CJEU ruling lands.
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EUROPEAN UNION · WHITE-COLLAR CRIME |
A Tougher Enforcement Era: EPPO Widens Its Reach as the EU AML Package Raises the Bar
The European Public Prosecutor's Office is now an established cross-border player on fraud, corruption and money laundering affecting EU funds, while the EU's AML Package and a wave of expanded corporate-criminal-liability reforms across member states this spring sharpen exposure for companies. The combined effect is a more active, more coordinated enforcement environment than European businesses faced even a year ago.
Why it matters for counsel: Compliance programmes built for the old, nationally fragmented enforcement picture are no longer enough. Counsel should pressure-test internal controls, AML procedures and internal-investigation readiness against a regime where a cross-border prosecutor and a tougher AML standard now operate together.
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FRANCE – FOREIGN INVESTMENT
A "Proxy Board" Bill and the EU Industrial Accelerator Would Tighten FDI Screening Further
Beyond the shift to governance remedies, a French "proxy board" bill and the European Commission's proposed Industrial Accelerator Act would condition certain foreign investments on value-added criteria, and the screening scope now reaches French branches of foreign entities and critical-raw-materials activity. Acquirers eyeing French strategic assets should map screening exposure at the term-sheet stage.
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AUSTRIA / EU – COLLECTIVE REDRESS
The Representative Actions Directive Is Driving a Steady Rise in Consumer Class Actions
As member states bed in the EU Representative Actions Directive, qualified entities can bring collective redress for consumers across more sectors, and the pipeline of cross-border consumer actions continues to build. Companies with consumer-facing operations should stress-test products, terms and disclosures against a live class-action risk.
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POLAND – PRODUCT & CONSUMER
Poland to Transpose the Right to Repair and a New Defective-Products Liability Regime in 2026
Poland is set to transpose both the EU Right to Repair directive and the revised defective-products liability directive this year, widening repair obligations and extending liability to software and digitally connected goods. Manufacturers and distributors selling into Poland should reassess warranty terms, repair commitments and product liability exposure now.
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POLAND – TAX & INVOICING
KSeF Mandatory E-Invoicing Moves Toward Go-Live for Businesses Operating in Poland
Poland's National e-Invoicing System (KSeF) continues its phased rollout in 2026, moving structured e-invoicing from optional to mandatory and reshaping how invoices are issued, received and archived. Finance and tax teams should confirm ERP readiness and the applicable go-live date for their turnover band well ahead of the mandate.
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NORDICS – M&A
Nordic Dealmakers Eye the Commission's Redrawn Merger Test for New Clearance Arguments
With the draft EU Merger Assessment Guidelines giving more room to efficiency, scale and resilience arguments, Nordic acquirers whose deals touch the single market have a fresh lever to justify transactions on strategic grounds. Build the efficiency and resilience case into the filing narrative rather than bolting it on later.
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BALTICS – DIGITAL & FINANCIAL REGULATION
The MiCA Transition Window for Existing Crypto Operators Closes on 1 July
CASPs authorised under national regimes before the end of 2024 may keep operating only until 1 July 2026, or until their MiCA authorisation is granted or refused. Finland and Sweden have already closed their transition periods, while Estonia ran the full eighteen-month runway now expiring. Any crypto-asset operator still relying on a legacy national licence must confirm its MiCA authorisation status before the window shuts.
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ITALY – EMPLOYMENT
Italy's Labour Decree 62/2026 Tightens Gig and Platform Rules and Rewards Permanent Conversions
In force since 1 May, Decree-Law 62/2026 tightens classification and contracting rules for platform and gig workers and offers temporary incentives to employers that convert fixed-term contracts into permanent roles. Operators running gig models in Italy should review contractor classification now and weigh the conversion incentives while they last.
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PORTUGAL – IMMIGRATION & NATIONALITY
Portugal Lengthens the Road to Citizenship as Golden Visa Routes Narrow Further
Portugal's president approved Nationality Law amendments raising the residency requirement for citizenship to ten years for most nationals and seven for EU and CPLP citizens, while permanent residency stays at five. Remaining Golden Visa routes now run through venture capital funds, job creation and cultural donations. Advisers should reset client expectations on the citizenship timeline and steer investment toward the surviving routes.
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Member spotlight
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Dr. Alexander Petsche
Baker McKenzie · Austria · Commercial Litigation
"As the EU Representative Actions Directive drives more collective redress, Dr. Alexander Petsche helps companies in Austria and the wider region stress-test products, terms and disclosures against a live class-action risk."
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Wojciech Deja
TodayLegal · Poland · Dispute Resolution
"As Poland absorbs product-liability, repair and e-invoicing reforms at once, Wojciech Deja helps businesses operating there sequence the compliance work and handle the disputes that the new rules will inevitably generate."
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Katja Halonen
Magnusson Law · Finland · Labour
"As pay-transparency and broader employment reforms bed in across the Nordics, Katja Halonen advises Finnish and international employers on moving past quick wins to the deeper, data-heavy compliance work that follows."
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Vincenzo Iacovazzi
Tonucci & Partners · Italy · Real Estate
"Years ago, if you could prove sustainability you had a better valuation than the others. Now, if you haven't got the LEED gold or platinum or BREEAM certification, you are off-market before you even complete the building."
On ESG and real-estate value, at a recent GLE real estate roundtable.
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Helena Palhota Simões
Helena Palhota Simões, Sociedade de Advogados · Portugal · Family
"As Portugal lengthens its road to citizenship and reshapes residency, Helena Palhota Simões advises families and private clients navigating the new timelines and the personal side of relocation decisions."
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Bruno Ledrappier
Charles Russell Speechlys · Switzerland · Criminal Law
"The company itself is prosecuted in parallel and independently from the individuals, and senior management and board members can face personal criminal liability if they have failed to comply with a specific duty to act."
On corporate criminal liability, at a recent GLE roundtable.
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Evelyn Tjon-En-Fa
Bird & Bird · Netherlands · Class Action Litigation
Co-Managing Partner of Bird & Bird's Dutch offices. Evelyn joined a GLE LinkedIn Live on why the Netherlands has become Europe's venue for class-action litigation.
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What we're tracking next
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31 July: the UK consultation on taxing members of US LLCs and other reverse hybrids closes, ahead of the foreign permanent-establishment exemption becoming mandatory for accounting periods from 1 January 2027. |
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September: the Advocate General's opinion is expected in Like Company v Google, the EU's first major test of generative AI against copyright, with the CJEU ruling to follow later in the year. |
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Through the autumn: the Commission's draft Merger Assessment Guidelines move through consultation toward adoption, and formal Council sign-off on the AI Act Omnibus is expected before 2 August, locking the new high-risk timeline of 2027 and 2028. |
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Open calls for commentary
Every edition of this briefing reaches senior lawyers across the global legal community, together with the in-house counsel and business decision-makers who turn to Global Law Experts for verified intelligence on the developments shaping their markets.
When you contribute, your reading of a development becomes the practitioner voice that audience reads, published under your name, your firm and your jurisdiction. It is a direct way to be seen by your peers and by prospective clients as a leading authority on the issues moving in your market.
If a legal or regulatory development in your jurisdiction is worth flagging for the next edition, reply to this email with your jurisdiction and your take. We attribute every contributor by name, firm and country.
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Contributors this fortnight
Dr. Alexander Petsche, Baker McKenzie, Austria
Wojciech Deja, TodayLegal, Poland
Katja Halonen, Magnusson Law, Finland
Vincenzo Iacovazzi, Tonucci & Partners, Italy
Helena Palhota Simões, Portugal
Bruno Ledrappier, Charles Russell Speechlys, Switzerland
Evelyn Tjon-En-Fa, Bird & Bird, Netherlands
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