On 19 April, the European Parliament approved the Regulation on deforestation-free products, which prohibits the placement of a number of agricultural and livestock products originating from deforested or degraded forest areas on the EU market (text will be available here). The Regulation aims to block imports associated with deforestation, particularly cattle (whether live, meat or leather), cocoa, coffee, palm oil, soy, timber and rubber (read our briefing from November 2021).

Mit Urteil vom 9. März 2023 in der Rechtssache C-571/21 hat der EuGH klargestellt, dass Stromproduzenten für eine Vielzahl von Vorgängen, die der eigentlichen Stromerzeugung vor- und nachgelagert sind, gemäß unionsrechtskonformer Auslegung des nationalen Rechts Anspruch auf Stromsteuerbefreiung haben. Damit setzt der EuGH der bisher vorherrschenden Auffassung in der Zollverwaltung und Rechtsprechung Grenzen.

After a reportedly heated debate among EU leaders, the EU has adopted its long announced tenth package of sanctions at the anniversary of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. The latest package introduces yet another set of comprehensive sanctions, including additional financial sanctions on individuals, companies, and three additional Russian banks, the expansion of export and import bans, measure aimed at strengthening enforcement and preventing circumvention, as well as further measures. No additional measures were taken with respect to Belarus. Here are the details:

At the beginning of February, the European Commission (Commission) presented its Green Deal Industrial Plan, a package of measures designed to help the EU industry to make progress in the transition to climate neutrality and strengthen its position in global competition.

Die 12. Auflage von Getting the Deal Through: Foreign Investment Review ist erschienen. Roland Stein und Leonard von Rummel haben wieder, wie für die vorherigen Jahresausgaben, das Kapitel zur deutschen Investitionskontrolle beigesteuert.

After 6 years of a loud silence, Germany has re-established its relationship with Brazil. Chancellor Olaf Scholz paid an official visit to Brazil on 30 January 2023 with a bag of 200 million euros in investments on environmental / sustainability initiatives in Brazil, and a clear interest on fostering sustainable agriculture, the production of green hydrogen and to advance trade agreement between the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) and EU.

Kurz vor Weihnachten hat der EuGH am 22. Dezember 2022 in der Rechtssache C-553/21 ein wegweisendes Urteil gesprochen. Auch in den Fällen, in denen die Antragsfrist für verbrausteuerrechtliche Entlastungsanträge abgelaufen ist, kann es gerechtfertigt sein, einen solchen Antrag dennoch zuzulassen. Die Rechtsprechung bestätigt eine mittlerweile gefestigte Meinung des EuGH in Bezug auf den Verhältnismäßigkeitsgrundsatz. Untenstehend finden Sie die Einzelheiten zu dem Fall:

Germany is moving forward with its tender structure for purchasing Green Hydrogen (GH2) subproducts, such as ammonia, methanol, and aviation fuel from countries outside the EU. It is the first time that this unique scheme is being implemented, aiming to foster the international market of GH2. Although the deadline is approaching, there is still time to take part of it. Nevertheless, these are the first tenders of a recurrent and regular purchase procedure, in order to bring the necessary security on the demand side, so that the new projects on the supplier side can be structured.

The latest sanctions package, adopted on 16 December 2022, constitutes the EU’s ninth round of sanctions since the beginning of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. As in the case of previous packages, the EU has sanctioned further individuals and entities as well as introduced additional trade and sector-specific restrictions. These new measures are effective as of 17 December 2022. We highlight the most important aspects of these latest changes below.

As the Russian aggression against Ukraine continues, the EU has consistently expanded its sanctions against Russia. Whereas legal action by the EU has so far been limited to the extension of individual and sector-related sanctions, plans have ripened to increase the effective implementation of these sanctions. The EU Commission has now presented a draft Directive to harmonize the definition of criminal offences and penalties for violations of the restrictive measures within the EU. In addition, the EU member states, together with the other G7 states, have agreed on an oil price cap, which is meant to reduce Russian revenues. Finally, the imposition of further restrictions is currently under discussion. It would be the ninth package of sanctions against Russia since the beginning of the war in early 2022. We have summarized these three crucial developments in EU sanctions law below.