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New federal parliament elections are due to be held in Germany on 23 February 2025. In light of the multiple international challenges, national security and defence is one of the key issues. This briefing provides an overview of the content of the election manifestos of the main political parties on the topics of the Bundeswehr, its financing and the defence industry.

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Last week it became official: Germany’ will not implement the Directive (EU) 2022/2555 (known as the NIS-2 Directive) to improve cybersecurity in the EU under the current administration. See below for some guidance on what that means:

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The European economy is under mounting pressure from China's rapid technological advances and industrial policy, trade uncertainties linked to the new Trump administration in the USA, and growing geopolitical instability, which impact the competitive landscape in several global markets and increase disruption risks in supply chains. In this challenging economic and political climate, enhancing the competitiveness of European businesses and reinforcing the resilience of the Single Market have become key political priorities, as outlined in the European Council's Budapest Declaration on the New European Competitiveness Deal.

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Donald Trump is once again president of the United States. Reactions and expectations range from optimism, driven by hopes for an anti-regulatory agenda, to fears of a trade war with China. While it is a common refrain that uncertainty is bad for business, Trump has practically made unpredictability his trademark. In some cases, events can happen so quickly that they pass each other by the hour; a rate announced one day may be temporarily suspended the next. He has made it clear repeatedly that one of his priorities during his second term would be to protect the US economy and combat the US trade deficit. Time and again, the newly sworn-in president has publicly emphasised that he will not shy away from using trade policy measures to achieve domestic and foreign policy goals.

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Reporting obligations under foreign trade law often place substantial bureaucratic burdens on companies and individuals. The changes and clarifications that took effect on 1 January 2025 are therefore particularly welcome: for instance, reporting thresholds have been significantly raised and reporting deadlines harmonised. In addition, the Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance (Außenwirtschaftsverordnung – AWV) now explicitly stipulates that the transfer of crypto assets constitutes a reportable payment once the thresholds are met; moreover, new classification numbers for crypto assets have been introduced. We provide a summary of the key changes.

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On 21 November, the European Court of Justice (CJEU) issued a far-reaching ruling on the legal treatment of production relocations under the Union Customs Code (Harley-Davidson Europe – C-297/23 P). The decision has been rendered against the backdrop of globally growing protectionist tendencies in international trade policy.

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In our series of briefings, we highlight some of the key issues of International Investment Law (IIL). In this fourth edition, we focus on the complex relationship between IIL and foreign direct investment (FDI) screening laws.

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Der russische Angriffskrieg auf die Ukraine hat eine regelrechte Aufbruchsstimmung in der europäischen Sicherheits- und Verteidigungsindustrie (SVI) ausgelöst: Die Nachfrage nach militärischen Gütern, Dienstleistungen und Innovationen ist rasant gestiegen, und auch private Investoren richten ihren Blick verstärkt auf Unternehmen in diesem Sektor (siehe hier).

In dieser Ausgabe unserer Briefingreihe werfen wir einen genaueren Blick auf die regulatorischen Fallstricke, die bei der Beschaffung von Finanzmitteln lauern. Ein brandaktuelles Thema, das insbesondere für Start-ups und KMU angesichts der „Zeitenwende“ und eines zunehmend positiven Geschäftsklimas von Bedeutung ist. Erfahren Sie, wie Sie trotz der Vielzahl an nationalen und europäischen Vorgaben sicher durch den Regulierungsdschungel navigieren können.

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In this third briefing on International Investment Law (IIL), we examine how IIL and in-vestor-state arbitration may be used in response to the so-called countersanctions adopted by the Russian government in retaliation to sanctions imposed by the EU and its Western partners.

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Government-to-government (G2G) contracts represent a popular tool among EU Member States to procure defence equipment and other sensitive goods as well as related works and services, such as capacity training or maintenance and logistical support. In particular, many EU countries frequently purchase equipment from the US through its Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. Intra-EU defence trade is also common, with France and Germany being the Union's two largest sellers of defence and security goods and services. While such G2G contracts hold many advantages from a security policy point of view, they may negatively affect competition in the defence and security market for private operators. Nevertheless, such G2G transactions can be exempted from compliance with EU public procurement law.

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