European Sites meaning

The European Commission’s determination on whether buyers depend on domestic packaging suppliers, or whether the arena is EEA‑wide, will dictate if the merger triggers competition issues for regulators evaluating cross‑border supply dynamics. In earlier probes, the watchdog has increasingly suggested the market is heading clearly towards the latter as the prevailing direction of travel in recent years. Folding cartons are a form of cardboard pack used for everything from beer bottles and frozen pizzas to tobacco and medicines across consumer sectors. How straightforward the parties’ route to clearance proves could also rest on whether officials see a single cartons market, or one divided by end use and application. Ireland’s paper packaging group Smurfit Kappa and US competitor WestRock agreed last September to combine in an US$11bn transaction they say will forge a “global leader in sustainable packaging.” They have not yet filed with the Commission, but have indicated they expect to close in the second quarter of this year. When unveiling the tie‑up last year, the firms called it “geographically...

In this issue: Data protection Financial sanctions AML, CTF & counter-proliferation financing Other financial crime Other Risk & Compliance updates this week LexTalk®Risk & Compliance: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Data protection EDPB launches website auditing tool to analyse legal compliance The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) has introduced a free, open-source website auditing tool designed to assess compliance with the law. Within the tool, users can plan, conduct and review audits directly, import the audits’ results for appraisal, and create reports. It supports preparation and evaluation. Legal and technical auditors at data protection authorities, as well as controllers and processors, can use it to test their own sites. A second release is expected later in 2024. See: LNB News 30/01/2024 10. Financial sanctions Government updates Russian sanctions guidance to include Schedule 3DA The government has revised its Russian sanctions guidance to add...

In this issue: New technologies Internet Advertising, marketing and sponsorship LexTalk®TMT: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information New technologies General-purpose AI rules under EU AI Act start to apply on 2 August The European Commission has put the principal governance arrangements for the EU AI Act in place ahead of the 2 August 2025 implementation deadline. The European AI Board, made up of EU Member States, is now in operation. By 2 August, Member States must appoint national competent authorities to implement, oversee and enforce AI system requirements, investigate compliance, nominate notified bodies for pre-market approvals, and create regulatory sandboxes. The Commission has also set rules for a Scientific Panel of independent specialists and opened applications for both the Panel and the EU AI Act Advisory Forum. A dedicated webpage will list the designated national authorities. See: LNB News 01/08/2025 16...

The Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 2015 (COMAH 2015), SI 2015/483, seeks to avert major workplace accidents and establish controls so that, if an incident does occur, the consequences for people and the environment are limited. COMAH 2015 operates by defining core duties for all obligated sites/businesses and also sets a tiered regime, imposing tighter controls on businesses handling dangerous substances above stated thresholds. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) issues guidance on applying the COMAH regime, and operators are urged to follow it, and to review and update, where necessary, risk assessments and emergency arrangements under COMAH. This supports ongoing compliance and risk reduction. Legislative framework COMAH 2015 received Royal Assent in March 2015 and came into force on 1 June 2015. COMAH 2015 implemented the requirements of Directive 2012/18/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2012 on the control of major accident hazards involving dangerous substances, amending and subsequently repealing Directive 96/82/EC (Seveso III), which was published in July...

Protected areas and protected sites Under section 55(1) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (TCPA 1990), development is taken to include carrying out building, engineering, mining or other works in, on, over or beneath land, as well as any material change to the use of buildings or other land. Anyone who has acquired, or is considering acquiring, land for development, or who plans to undertake development activity, must first assess whether the land is a protected site or supports protected species. It is the developer’s duty to establish whether proposed works could impact a protected area or site. They should check, in advance, whether their proposals are likely to affect any such areas or sites at all. Protected areas and protected sites include: national parks—areas designated for their natural beauty and for the opportunities they provide for open-air recreation, with regard to their character and their relationship to centres of population. See Practice Note: Biodiversity and nature—protected sites Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty—tracts...

Nuclear energy in the EU As at September 2023, 12 of the 27 EU Member States (Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Finland, France, Hungary, Netherlands, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden) operate nuclear power stations on their soil, while Germany shut its last reactors in April 2023. Nuclear power usage fell by 16.7% between 2021 and 2022, yet it still supplied over a fifth (21.8%) of the EU’s total electricity generation in 2022. Nuclear safety is treated as a priority at EU level, due to the potential for cross-border consequences should a nuclear accident occur. This Practice Note introduces the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (the Euratom Treaty), which provides the foundation for EU-wide nuclear rules and standards, and sets out principal EU legislation pertinent to the nuclear industry. It addresses rules on nuclear safeguards, installation safety and licensing, protection of human health and the environment from radiation, impact assessments for proposed nuclear installations, the management of radioactive waste, and the decommissioning of sites. Euratom Treaty The...