May 25, 2018, Global Policy Watch

Summary The coming week will see the European Parliament hold a plenary setting in Strasbourg, France.  Besides important votes, debates and committee meetings, this week will see visits from two Presidents and a Prime Minister. The first session on Monday focuses on fisheries.  Members of European Parliament (“MEPs”) will debate the multi-annual plan for ...

May 25, 2018, Global Policy Watch

Introduction Health technology assessment (“HTA”) is a multidisciplinary assessment process that seeks to evaluate the added therapeutic value of health technologies (i.e., drugs, certain medical devices, medical treatments including surgical procedures, and measures for disease prevention and diagnosis) based on both clinical and non-clinical elements.  Until ...

May 25, 2018, Global Policy Watch

In light of increasing discussion about the public policy implications of encryption, opinions among EU Member States on how best to tackle the issue are split.  Certain Member States, such as the UK, have repeatedly called for uninhibited access by national authorities to encrypted messages for national security purposes.  Others recognize the legitimate ...

May 25, 2018, Global Policy Watch

Four major issues dominated the EU agenda in the first quarter of 2018: institutional adaptations in view of next year’s elections and appointments; a threat by the United States to impose tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium; a proposal for a tax on technology companies; and the beginning of the second phase of the...… Continue Reading

May 25, 2018, Covington Competition

On 15 May 2018, Johan Ysewyn and Maria Jaspers (DG COMP) presented on recent major developments in the area of EU cartel enforcement at the Advanced Competition Law Conference in London. Their annual dual-presentation covered the traditional three pillars of enforcement, policy and court review. The topics covered in this latest instalment included: A review...… ...

May 25, 2018, Inside EU Life Sciences

The “Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity” is an international agreement which aims at sharing the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources in a fair and equitable way. It entered into force on 12...… Continue Reading

May 25, 2018, Inside Privacy

The much discussed and long-awaited General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) applies from today, May 25, 2018.  It will update and harmonize data protection laws across the EU, and sets out comprehensive rules in relation to personal data handling, as well as the rights of individuals over their personal data. It is unclear how aggressively the...… Continue ...

May 25, 2018, Inside Privacy

Having received Royal Assent on May 23, 2018, the UK Data Protection Bill is now an Act of Parliament. The Data Protection Act 2018 (the “Act”) implements the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) and replaces the UK Data Protection Act 1998. Notable provisions that make use of the ability of Member States to implement different...… Continue Reading

May 25, 2018, Inside Tech Media

The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection held a hearing this week to discuss the State of Modern Application, Research, and Trends of IoT Act (SMART IoT Act). This proposed legislation would direct the Secretary of Commerce to conduct a comprehensive study of the IoT industry and Federal agencies...… ...