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Recent Articles

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  18/07/2025

  Europe

  European Medical Device Regulatory Framework: Competent authorities call for reform and cent­ral­isa­tion

  On 14 July 2025, the Competent Authorities for Medical Devices (CAMD) and the Head of Medicines Agency (HMA) – including those from Germany and the Netherlands –, together with representatives from 17 EU and EEA Member States, the European Commission (participating as an observer), issued a joint statement advocating for significant reforms to the EU regulatory framework for medical devices. The statement highlights the need for improved coordination, governance, and centralisation of regulatory activities in the EU to address fragmentation and enhance harmonisation across the EU. It...

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  18/07/2025

  Europe

  Frozen Out: Iceland Foods Loses EU Trade Mark

  In a chilling ruling for Iceland Foods, the General Court has upheld a decision invalidating the “ICELAND” trade mark in the EU.The GC held that the relevant public would perceive the mark “ICELAND” as indicating that all of Iceland Foods’ registered goods and services came from Iceland, and the mark was therefore descriptive of geographical origin in its entirety.Remarkably, this conclusion even extended to goods like coffee, cocoa and rice. While the GC accepted that these products are incapable of being grown in Iceland, it concluded that they could feasibly be...

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  16/07/2025

  International

  Offshore CCUS: A Key Component in the Global De­car­bon­isa­tion Strategy?

  As we enter the second half of 2025, with EV sales waning, countries rethinking their path to decarbonisation and the geopolitical events that dominate the news, has the need to mitigate the effects of the global climate crisis changed? In short, no. Certain forecasts have us missing our target of limiting an increase in global average temperature by less than 1 oC above pre-industrial levels. We are already at 1.1oC, and staying below 1.5 oC is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve. If we are to minimise the rise in temperature, we will need to use all the tools in the global decarbonisation...

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  16/07/2025

  Europe

  New mechanism for reviewing State aid for access to environmental justice

  FR

  On 12 May 2025, the European Commission adopted a reform of the rules on State aid to strengthen public access to justice in environmental matters. This reform, in response to the conclusions of the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee, introduces a new mechanism allowing non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to request the Commission to review certain State aid decisions that may violate EU environmental law.As part of this reform, the Commission has amended Commission Regulation (EC) No 794/2004 of 21 April 2004 implementing Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 laying down detailed rules for the application...

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  11/07/2025

  International

  China retaliates against EU by limiting procurement of EU medical devices

  On 6 July 2025, China’s Finance Ministry published the Notice on Taking Relevant Measures Against Medical Devices Imported from the European Union in Government Procurement Activities in response to the European Commission’s 20 June 2025 decision to exclude Chinese companies from EU public procurements of medical devices exceeding EUR 5 million. For details of the EU decision, please refer to our previous Law-Now article: here.The Notice, which also went into force on 6 July 2025, has significantly impacted stakeholders in the life science sector. This article outlines the Notice’s...

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  08/07/2025

  Europe

  Titanium Dioxide (E171) – EU Court Challenges Titanium Dioxide De­clas­si­fic­a­tion as Carcinogen

  Since our previous article regarding titanium dioxide and the EU’s ban on its use as a food additive in August 2022, the regulatory landscape for titanium dioxide (TiO₂, or E-number E171) has continued to evolve, particularly within the EU where there has been renewed judicial scrutiny and disagreement among the EU’s institutions on whether it should be classed as a carcinogen and regulated accordingly. Potted history of titanium dioxide as a food additiveTitanium dioxide is a naturally occurring oxide of titanium. It is a white opaque powder which has a wide range of...

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