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 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).

BLOMSTEIN has advised Zoom Video Communications Inc. (Zoom) on the German foreign direct investment aspects of the direct acquisition of 100% of the shares of the language processing software and services company Karlsruhe Information Technology Solutions – kites GmbH (kites).

As of 1 July 2021, BLOMSTEIN has appointed Florian Wolf as the firm’s first counsel.

Florian Wolf (36) has been an integral part of the BLOMSTEIN team since the firm was founded in spring 2016. He advises international clients on all public procurement and foreign trade issues. Highlights of his public procurement practice to date include advising the successful bidding consortium Kapsch TrafficCom and CTS EVENTIM in the public procurement procedure of the German Federal Ministry of Transport for the collection of car tolls as well as representing German Naval Yards Kiel and FSG in various maritime procurement review proceedings. He has also represented one of the largest European construction companies before various higher regional courts. His foreign trade law practice is characterised by advising various IT, high-tech and industrial companies on sanctions and export control law with regard to the import and export of goods and technology as well as the provision of services abroad.