The European Council on Dec. 4 adopted decisions for two trade agreements with Chile, which together would create an updated version of the EU-Chile Association Agreement currently in force. The new agreements -- which the bloc is calling an advanced framework agreement and an interim trade agreement -- contain political, trade and investment components and trade and investment liberalization, respectively.
The European Council on Dec. 4 extended by three years, until Dec. 8, 2026, its EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime pertaining to individuals and entities responsible for perpetrating human rights abuses around the world, the council announced. The sanctions cover 67 people and 20 entities and include a travel ban and asset freeze. The council said that "[e]xisting restrictive measures (sanctions) will continue to be reviewed annually."
The U.K.'s Solicitors Regulation Authority fined British law firm Ashfords LLP about $128,000 for violating the country's anti-money laundering and terrorist financing regulations. The U.K. said Ashfords, in helping a property investment company conduct a transaction, failed to discover or act on a potential link between the company and one of its sanctioned beneficial owners.
The EU General Court on Nov. 29 accepted the second application from Alexander Pumpyanskiy, son of Russian oligarch Dmitry Pumpyanskiy, to annul his sanctions relisting, according to an unofficial translation. The court rejected his claim for damages. Pumpyanskiy was sanctioned in March 2022 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, because of his relationship to Dmitry Pumpyanskiy, and because he was president and board member of the Sinara Group.
The European Commission on Dec. 1 sent the European Council the deal it reached with Japan on cross-border data flows to be included in the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement. If the council authorizes it, the amendment to the EPA will be sent to the European Parliament for consent, after which it would take effect, the commission announced.
The U.K. amended one entry under its Russia sanctions regime and five entries under its Libya sanctions regime in a pair of Nov. 30 notices from the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation. The listing for Mihajlo Perencevic under the Russia restrictions was altered to reflect that he is the former, not current, president of construction, energy and extractive firm Velesstroy. Under the Libya restrictions list, OFSI amended the entries for Osama Al Kuni Ibrahim, Abd Al-Rahman Salim Ibrahim Al-Milad, Mohammed Al Amin Al-Arabi Kashlaf, Saadi Qadhafi and Sayyid Mohammed Qadhafi.
Two months away from the first reporting requirements for carbon intensity of certain imports into the EU, not only do many importers not understand how to comply, but even the customs authorities aren't ready, said Vassilis Akritidis, a partner at Crowell who offered a webinar on the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism last week.
The EU General Court on Nov. 29 rejected Russian oligarch German Khan's challenge to his sanctions listing, according to an unofficial translation. The listing criteria had a proper legal basis and were not disproportional, the court said.
The European Council on Nov. 29 passed a negotiating mandate for the council president to start talks with the European Parliament on new rules for the "import, export and transit of firearms into and from the EU," the council announced. The mandate says the rules must look to close the loopholes for firearm trafficking while easing trade of firearms for "legitimate purposes."
The French government didn't pressure the European Commission to launch the countervailing duty investigation on electric vehicle batteries from China announced in October (see 2310040012), said Martin Lukas, who heads the commission's trade defense directorate. Lukas, speaking on the commission’s Trade-Off podcast released Nov. 28, said the commission had been studying China’s increasing share of the EU’s EV battery market and said the investigation wasn’t brought because of urging from any single EU member state, despite some media reports.