As part of the second European Payment Services Directive (i.e. Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of 25 November 2015 on payment services in the internal market) (PSD2), which entered into force in…
The Flemish government already announced on 29 May 2020 that they would provide a commercial lease loan (‘handelshuurlening’ / ‘prêt de bail commercial’) to tenants who were forced to…
As part of some new measures that aim to reduce the further spread of the Covid-19 virus, the Belgian government has recently imposed a new record keeping obligation upon…
The Belgian Parliament introduced the prohibition on abuse of economic dependence in an Act of March 2019 to protect undertakings that are economically dependent on their suppliers or buyers.[1]…
The volume of credit in Belgium has risen over the past few years. Despite the increased attention given to alternative finance methods, banks remain the main suppliers of credit in…
In our blogpost of 30 April 2019, we discussed the legal dispute between festival and concert organisers, on the one hand, and SABAM, on the other hand, regarding SABAM’s tariffs…
The provision of payment services is a licenced activity in the EU. Payment services providers are regulated by the European Directive (EU) 2015/2366, better known as PSD2. In Belgium PSD2…
In Trendsetteuse (C-828/18), the Court of Justice of the EU held that in order to be protected under the Commercial Agency Directive, it is not required that the commercial agent…
In 1974 the Court of Justice of the EU (“CJEU”) concluded in its famous Walrave and Koch case that sport is subject to EU law as far as it constitutes…
Following the recent legislative amendment obliging hospitals to establish and be part of a loco-regional hospital network,[1] the Belgian Competition Authority (‘BCA’) published on 22 July 2020 a note setting…
Check whether your merger or acquisition needs prior clearance from competition authorities. Our experts Carmen Verdonck and Nina Methens give an overview of the Belgian merger control rules, the recent trends and developments in…
The European Commission (“EC”) is collecting data and feedback from stakeholders about the European Union’s (“EU”) current rules on packaging and packaging waste. Based on these insights, it will propose…
With the Act of 12 June 2020, Belgium is implementing EU Directive 2018/957 amending Directive 96/71/EC on the posting of workers, by providing, amongst others things, adjustments to the…
The Act of 4 May 2020 suspended the ongoing social elections procedure due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The procedural steps up and including day X + 35 still had…
The Court of Justice has recently decided that Flemish rules establishing a framework for the development consent for wind turbines infringe the EU rules on prior environmental assessment. The Flemish…
Within the agricultural and food supply chain, significant imbalances in bargaining power between suppliers and buyers of agri-food products are frequent. Those imbalances in bargaining power are likely to lead…
Since the third quarter of 2018, the National Social Security Office (NSSO) has substantially broadened its interpretation of what is to be understood as ‘salary’ subject to social security contributions.…
With the exit from the lockdown now in full force, more companies are bringing their staff back to their work premises. We have listed 10 quick-but-key questions that every…
In an opinion of 4 June 2020, Advocate General Kokott has advised the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) to uphold a 2013 fine imposed by the European…
Updated on Monday 15 June- 2pm Up until now, there has been no suspension of a notice period served upon an employee who has been made temporarily unemployed under…
In the past months, many events including concerts, sports competitions, festivals, plays and musicals, have been cancelled or postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic and the related measures taken by…
On 23 April 2020, the Court of Justice of the EU (‘CJEU’) clarified earlier case law that obliges each airline to indicate in its initial online price offer(s), the airfare…
The controversial issue of whether employers can check their employees' temperatures has been much debated. Both the Employment Ministry and the Data Protection Authority (DPA) have recently changed their…
On 5 March 2020, the Constitutional Court annulled the extension of Doel 1 and Doel 2 because this extension infringed EU legal provisions concerning environmental assessments. Nevertheless, the Belgian energy…
Article 222 of EU Regulation n°1308/2013, which establishes a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products, gives the European Commission the power to adopt temporary derogations from the cartel…
To limit the spread of Covid-19, all indoor and outdoor private and public cultural, festive, recreational, leisure and sport activities /events are prohibited until at least 10 May 2020…
COVID-19 is having a massive impact on the retail sector. How will this develop in the short and long term? What is the future of brick-and-mortar retailers? Will the…
Queen’s song was clearly not about COVID 19 but the message remains the same: even if the music industry is struggling, the show must go on! It is undeniable…
On 16 April 2020, a new Act was adopted by the Belgian parliament to increase the transparency of managed entry agreements (‘MEA’) concluded between pharmaceutical companies and the National Institute…
Updated on Thursday 7 May 2020 -6pm On 23 March 2020, a Ministerial Decree on special measures in the context of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the basis of Book XVIII…
Updated on Monday 10 August 2020 -10am The National Security Council has taken numerous measures in the fight against COVID-19 that were most recently updated through the Ministerial Decree of…
On 19 February 2020, the European Commission released its White Paper on Artificial Intelligence (“AI”), which sets out policy options on how to achieve the double goal of (1)…
On 8 April 2020, the Belgian federal agency for medicines and health products (‘FAMHP’) adopted a consolidated version of its decision (the ‘Decision’) taking the following urgent measures for…
With national governments scrambling to take measures in order to counter the Covid-19 pandemic, we are again confronted with the fact that a EU common policy in the healthcare…
As announced in our yesterday newsflash, it has now been confirmed that the social partners have reached an informal consensus to postpone the 2020 social elections. In the coming days,…
In its ruling of 30 January 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union (‘CJEU’) has clarified for the first time the criteria governing whether a reverse payment settlement…
Updated on Monday 11 May 2020- 11am As already announced in our previous newsflashes, the social partners have decided to suspend the current social election procedure because of the…
Advocate General Sánchez-Bordona has concluded in a recent legal opinion that several Flemish rules regarding wind turbines infringe the EU rules on prior environmental assessment. If the Court of…
On X+35 at the latest (i.e. between 17 and 30 March 2020 depending on the chosen election day), the candidates’ lists per category of personnel (blue- and white collar…
A company (debtor) involved in reorganisation proceedings is in principle not protected against new claims that originate after the reorganisation proceedings have been opened (for further details please see "Reorganisation…
The Belgian data protection authority (DPA) has approved a draft Act that prohibits life and health insurers from processing the health sensor data of their insurance holders. The Belgian…
Working on an offshore wind power project in the Atlantic Ocean for the Japanese government but headquartered in Belgium? Flying over from Russia to construct Belgian railways by order…
The Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (“FSMA”) has published a new questionnaire on the professional integrity and adequate expertise of candidates for the regulated functions of investment funds…
With e-commerce growing at an unprecedented rate all over the globe, in the past few years the Belgian legislator has taken several measures - both temporary and permanent -…
In the run-up to the entry into force of specific rules on country of origin labelling (“COOL”) for primary ingredients, the CJEU has recently clarified both the concept of…
On 30 January 2020, the new Book III on Goods was approved by the Belgian parliament (hereafter “Book III”). The new updated Belgian Civil Code will consist of nine…
On day X, i.e. between 11 and 24 February 2020, depending on the chosen election day, the Works Council and/or the CPPW, or, in their absence, the employer, must…
Following the Belgian Competition Authority’s decision to impose a one million euro fine on the Belgian Order of Pharmacists for restrictive practices towards MediCare-Market, the Belgian Order of Pharmacists…
IAM and WTR hosted the Global IP Awards, recognising the outstanding achievements of patent and trademark attorneys and law firms from over 50 countries.
On 23 January 2020, the Constitutional Court annulled the law introducing a mobility allowance. This law allows an employee to exchange his/her company car for cash compensation, called the…
On 3 February 2020, the Belgian Act of 20 December 2019 amending various legal provisions concerning shortages of medicinal products (‘Act’) was published in the Belgian State Gazette. The…
The Social Information and Investigation Service (“SIOD/SIRS”) has published its 2020 Action Plan “Fight against Social Fraud and Social Dumping”. This plan reveals the strategy and the top priorities…
Cunina has released their reportage covering Haïti, ten years after the earthquake. Our managing partner Sylvie Dubois explains why we support this charity with all our hearts. Watch…
Brussels – The sports departments of full service law firm ALTIUS and the tax law firm Tiberghien have joined forces to establish a new legal service provider in the…
The “hidden protection period” is one of the most remarkable features of the social elections process. The hidden protection period is the period during which candidates already benefit from…
While much has been written already regarding blockchain and its many exciting applications for the future, not much has been said on how you can adequately and legally protect…
Opportunities to support and develop energy projects in the DRC are abundant. To create a more stable environment, energy is the DRC’s first economic priority. Any company active in the…
CEPANI, the Belgian Center for Arbitration and Mediation, has issued a revised version of its Arbitration Rules (“Rules”). The 2020 Arbitration Rules mark CEPANI’s 50th anniversary and enter into force…
On X – 60, i.e. between 13 and 26 December 2019, depending on the chosen election day, the employer must provide the Works Council and/or the CPPW, or, in…
This article reflects on some of the options offered under Belgian law by the actio pauliana, commonly referred to in English as the 'clawback' rules (for further details please see…
Pests threaten plant health. To fight the increased risks owing to the further globalisation of trade and climate change, the European legislature has adopted measures concerning the determination and reduction…
On 1 January 2020, the new Incoterms® 2020 as published by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) will come into force. The Incoterms 2020 remain global standards that, if they…
The era of cryptocurrencies has come: whilst they were initially used as a specific means of payment and as a source of investments other functions are now being explored, such…
On 7 October 2019, the EU Council approved the Directive on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law. This Whistleblower Directive seeks to introduce effective whistleblower…
On 16 October 2019, the Belgian Competition Authority (“BCA”) imposed a fine of 225,000 EUR on the Order of Pharmacists (“Order”) for disciplinary sanctions restricting the pharmacists’ possibility to advertise…
More and more employees structurally work from home (with fixed homeworking days). Assuming the social elections date falls on an employee’s regular homeworking day, such an employee no longer needs…
Recently, the VREG started authorizing direct lines for electricity more easily. This brings new opportunities for companies near an electricity production site, such a wind farm or solar park. However,…
On 1 October 2019, the Belgian Competition Authority (“BCA”) published its new Guide on the exchange of information in the framework of associations of undertakings (“Guide”). With this Guide, the…
On 31 January 2009 the Belgian Business Continuity Act (BCA) was passed into law. The BCA'sobjective is to protect companies in financial difficulty from their creditors so that a reorganisation…
Since the European Court of Justice’s ruling C-300/07 of 11 June 2009, hospitals and other health institutions must abide by public procurement law to the extent that they are at…
Carmen Verdonck and Nina Methens have written the Belgian chapter in the Merger Control Review, tenth edition (edited by Ilene Knable Gotts). The chapter provides an overview of the latest trends…
In the life-sciences industry, many companies still make a distinction between the blue-collar and white-collar members of their workforce, often with significant differences in the applicable employment terms and conditions.…
The Anti-Money Laundering Act of 18 September 2017 (hereafter the “Belgian AML Act”), which transposes the fourth European Anti-Money Laundering Directive, has put in place the Register of Ultimate Beneficial…
On 19 December 2017, the legislative package on the implementation of the UPC was approved by Belgian Parliament. While the entry into force of this new legislation has been delayed…
A website operator who has embedded a Facebook “like” button on its website qualifies as a “joint controller” together with Facebook and so can be held liable for the collection…
In recent years, a significant part of the case law relating to state aids in the sport sector have revolved around infrastructures. Belgium has been a trendsetter on this topic,…
In a previous blogpost, we announced that the European authorities were in the process of developing EU-wide rules and procedures for operating civil drones. Recently, these rules were adopted in…
In June 2017, the European Commission opened formal investigations into Nike's, Sanrio's and Universal Studios' licensing and distribution practices to find out whether they restricted traders from selling licensed merchandise…
The general data protection regulation (GDPR) just celebrated its first anniversary. Although it seems that EU businesses and individuals are well aware of its existence, some controllers and processors are…
The Flemish Government has introduced new rules regarding sports agents, which introduce important obligations for agents active in Flanders, such as necessary registration and a mandatory guarantee deposit, and that…
In September 2018, the National Social Security Office (NSSO) caused a ‘minor earthquake’ by substantially broadening its interpretation of what is to be understood as ‘salary’ subject to social security…
After years of ‘blood, sweat and tears’, the European Parliament finally adopted the highly-controversial Directivee on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (“DSM Directive”) on 26 March 2019. Whoever thought…
On 28 May 2019, the Competition College of the Belgian Competition Authority (“BCA”) imposed a fine of one million euros on the Order of Pharmacists (l’Ordre des pharmaciens – Orde…
The long-awaited entry into force of the Belgian law of 11 July 2013 on security interests over movable assets on 1 January 2018, which introduces a new title XVII in…
The EU adopted the Second Payment Services Directive (PSDII) to level the playing field in the payment services industry by introducing the principle of “open banking”. The underlying idea of…
In a case with significant precedent value, the Ghent Commercial Court, under Article 7.1 of the 1980 Rome Convention, applied Turkish Agency Law to a dispute between a Turkish agent…
On 13 March 2019, the Mayor of Ghent decided to close Kompass Klub, which in 2018 was voted the best nightclub in Belgium, because of drug-related incidents. The club successfully…
As insurance coverage will be profoundly different when (all) cars on the road are autonomous, a lot of strategic and legal insight is required to overcome the challenges and grasp…
An Act of 7 April 2019 has introduced new measures in Belgium to deal with the unavailability of medicinal products on the Belgian market. The first measure is that a…
