The European Commission has proposed on the 17th of November 2021 the “Proposal for a regulation on deforestation-free products” (Draft Deforestation Regulation, relevant documents here), a regulation to prevent the entrance into the European Union’s market of cattle (live cattle, meat and leather), cocoa, coffee, oil palm, soya and wood and certain products that either contain or are made using these together Relevant Products), associated with deforestation and forest degradation. The Relevant Products are set out in Article 1 of the Draft Deforestation Regulation, while its Annex I list the full range of by-products that are subject to its rules.

The common rules of origin and cumulation of the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean (PEM) Convention are a central instrument in the facilitation of trade and the integration of supply chains by way of preferential tariff treatment within the PEM zone, which stretches across the European Union to the other 24 contracting parties (EFTA countries, the Faroe Islands, Turkey and the Mediterranean countries of the Western Balkans, North Africa and the Middle East, including some of their neighbouring countries). The Contracting Parties have been negotiating a revision of the convention since 2012, in order for it to better reflect changing economic realities.

BLOMSTEIN advises German defense AI company Helsing on its EUR 102.5 million Series A financing round with regard to German investment control law. As part of this financing round, the European investment company Prima Materia has invested around EUR 100 million in the company. Helsing was founded in 2021 with offices in Munich, Berlin and London. The software startup plans to provide AI technology to different defense and national security agencies of liberal democratic states.

BLOMSTEIN has represented Vodafone in a successful challenge to a merger clearance of a joint venture between Deutsche Telekom and EWE AG. Following an appeal by Vodafone and complex court proceedings, on 22 September 2021 the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf annulled the 2019 clearance decision issued by the Federal Cartel Office for “Glasfaser Nordwest”, a joint venture to expand the fibre network in the north-western part of Germany.

BLOMSTEIN is advising ADTRAN, Inc. (ADTRAN) on the German foreign direct investment and merger control aspects of its business combination with the network technology company ADVA Optical Networking SE (ADVA). By entering into the business combination, the companies seek to become a leader in providing end-to-end fiber networking solutions.

Roland M. Stein was one of the speakers of the webinar: The Importance of Compliance Programs in World Bank Projects, hosted by the Brazilian Association of Infrastructure and Basic Industries (ABDIB) on 26 July 2021. The panel also had as key speaker Lisa Miller, Integrity Compliance Officer at The World Bank and as a mediator Thiago Jabor Pinheiro, partner at the Brazilian law firm Mattos Filho.

Roland Stein and Bruno Galvão will be editing a column at the Brazilian legal journal JOTA. JOTA is a leading specialised legal journal in Brazil, with an average of one million readers each month.

The World Bank has published the first consultative resource on exclusion systems, giving insights about how different jurisdictions worldwide employ exclusion mechanisms to prevent certain suppliers from accessing public funds. “The Global Suspension & Debarment Directory” is based on the 2020 Global Suspension & Debarment Survey and the input of numerous experts. BLOMSTEIN Counsel Florian Wolf has contributed to the chapter on Germany.

Brazilian exporters of steel and iron, aluminium, fertilisers, and cement will have to adapt to a new export regulation in Europe. The European Commission has proposed its final draft to a new tax with major consequences for Brazilian exports, the world’s first carbon border tax called “Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism” (CBAM).

Exportadores brasileiros de aço e ferro, alumínio, fertilizantes e cimento deverão se adequar a novas regras de exportação para a Europa. A Comissão Europeia acaba de apresentar sua proposta final de uma nova taxação que trará grandes consequências a exportadores, o primeiro imposto aduaneiro de carbono do mundo – o mecanismo de ajustamento das emissões de carbono nas fronteiras, em inglês Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).