Recent Articles

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  28.09.2023

  United Kingdom

  DCMS Select Committee Final Report on Draft Media Bill: significant changes to the prominence regime

  On 22 September 2023, the DCMS Select Committee (the “Committee”) published its final report on the draft Media Bill (the “draft Bill”). The report follows on from the Committee’s interim report on the draft Bill’s radio measures (which was back in July), focusing on the remainder of its provisions. In this article, we explore the Committee’s findings in respect of the new prominence regime (set out in Part 2 of the draft Bill).In the report, the Committee makes four recommendations: 1. The draft Bill should be revised to provide that regulated television...

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  27.09.2023

  United Kingdom

  Long-awaited field development approval for Rosebank field

  The owners of the Rosebank field have today obtained regulatory consent for the development of the field.Rosebank BackgroundThe Rosebank field was discovered in 2004 and is the UK’s largest undeveloped discovered oilfield. The field is located 130 kilometres west of the Shetland Islands.The field’s development has been delayed several times with both technical and economic viability cited as one of the key reasons. In 2013, Chevron (the operator at the time) stated that the field did not offer “an economic value proposition that justifies proceeding with an investment of this...

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  27.09.2023

  EU

  DAC 8 Proposal approved by the European Parliament

  BackgroundIn recent years, the crypto-asset landscape has steadily grown and has reshaped the world of payments and investments. Today such assets have an estimated market capitalization of USD 1.09 trillion (Forbes, 2023). This highlights the relevance of these types of assets and the tax authorities’ interest in obtaining more information to carry out appropriate controls. It also makes it possible to propose tax rules adapted to this new paradigm and technology which allows the transfer of important amounts of money, in certain cases with opacity.Recently, on 13 September 2023 the European...

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  27.09.2023

  United Kingdom

  Collaborating with competitors? The CMA issues final guidance on horizontal agreements

  Competition authorities have long sought to strike the right balance between preventing illegal forms of collaboration and allowing businesses to cooperate in a way that will foster innovation and promote competition. Two recent developments have increased the need for greater clarity on permitted forms of so-called ‘horizontal agreements’, specifically: (i) the ‘cost-of-living’ crisis increasing pressure to meet consumer demands for lower prices; and (ii) calls for better ESG and innovation.Horizontal agreements, for example for research & development, can deliver a...

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  27.09.2023

  United Kingdom

  BGC extends IGRG Code to digital media

  The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), which represents the UK regulated betting and gaming industry, has announced that it is updating the safer gambling requirements it requires its members to comply with. These changes will be contained in the Seventh Industry Code for Socially Responsible Advertising (IGRG Code), building on the existing requirements. The changes follow recommendations in the Gambing White Paper and focus on limiting the exposure of under-18s to betting and gaming marketing content and on increasing safer gambling messaging in the digital sphere. The BGC worked alongside BACTA,...

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  27.09.2023

  Europe

  The European Commission launches a consultation on the implementation of SFDR

  BackgroundThe European Union’s (the EU) Sustainable Finance Disclosures Regulation (SFDR) came into force in March 2021 and has kept the industry busy (and sometimes frustrated) since then with myriad updates and guidance.This landmark regime was designed as a transparency regulation, setting detailed disclosure requirements for financial market participants,  financial advisers and financial products in relation to sustainability issues. However, the widespread market sentiment is that SFDR is not functioning as intended for many reasons.Consequently, as SFDR approaches its third anniversary,...

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