December 14, 2018, Global Policy Watch

Summary This week, the last plenary session of the year took place before the European Parliament’s Christmas break. The next Week Ahead in the European Parliament will therefore be sent to you on January 7, 2019. On Wednesday, December 12, the European Parliament approved the EU’s budget for 2019 by 451 votes to 142, with...… Continue Reading

December 13, 2018, Covington Alert

The first EU-level rules on the screening of foreign direct investment (FDI) are about to be agreed. These do not provide for the direct screening of FDI by the institutions of the Union, but rather create a framework for national initiatives and the exchange of information, and impose certain obligations on Member States to ensure a certain harmonization of any ...

December 7, 2018, Global Policy Watch

Summary Next week, there will be a plenary sitting of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. This will be the final plenary session of the year. Several significant debates, votes and committee meetings will take place. On Tuesday, MEPs will debate the Future of Europe together with Cyprus’ President, Nicos Anastasiades, and European Commission ...

December 3, 2018

BRUSSELS—Alexis Lautenberg has joined Covington’s Public Policy practice as a Senior Advisor. Ambassador Lautenberg is a long-serving Swiss diplomat whose career has been focused on European financial services and trade policy. His forty years of public service included postings as Swiss Ambassador to the EU, Italy and the UK. In 2013, he co-founded the Swiss ...

November 30, 2018, Global Policy Watch

Friday, November 30, 2018 Summary Next week will be a committee and political group week in the European Parliament. MEPs will spend a good portion of their week with their political groups, where they will prepare for the plenary session in Strasbourg, scheduled for December 10-13, 2018. They will discuss, among other topics, the EU-Japan...… Continue Reading

November 26, 2018, Global Policy Watch

Summary Next week will be a mini-plenary and a committee week in the European Parliament. On Tuesday, the Parliament’s Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (“ENVI”) will vote on its report on the European Commission’s Proposal for a Regulation on Transparency and Sustainability of the EU Risk Assessment in the Food Chain.  The...… Continue ...

November 16, 2018, Global Policy Watch

Summary This past week, the European Parliament held a plenary session in Strasbourg. On Tuesday, November 13, Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”) approved the report on the proposal for a Directive on the promotion of the Use of Energy from Renewable Resources prepared by the Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (“ITRE”).  The...… ...

November 15, 2018

The proposed withdrawal agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom was published by the European Commission on November 14 (see here). The text runs to 585 pages, and represents a tentative agreement reached between the UK and EU negotiating teams. It is accompanied by an eight-page outline of the proposed political declaration on the future ...

November 9, 2018, Global Policy Watch

Summary Next week, Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”) will gather in Strasbourg for the plenary session. Interesting votes, debates and committee debates will take place. On Monday, November 12, the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (“ECON”) will debate on a draft report supporting the Commission’s proposal on Sovereign Bond-Backed Securities ...

October 29, 2018, Global Policy Watch

Summary This past week, the European Parliament held a plenary session in Strasbourg. On Tuesday, 23 October, Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”) approved the amendments on the proposal for a Directive on the quality of water intended for human consumption.  The amendments call for increasing consumers’ confidence in drinking water from the tap.  To...… ...

October 19, 2018, Global Policy Watch

Summary Next week, there will be a plenary sitting of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. Several significant debates and votes will take place. On Monday, MEPs will vote on the proposal for a Single-Use Plastics Directive.  The purpose of the proposal is to prevent and reduce the impact of certain plastic products on the...… Continue Reading

October 12, 2018, Global Policy Watch

Summary Next week will be a political group week and a committee week in the European Parliament.  Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”) will hold meetings with their respective political group to prepare the plenary session, to be held from October 22 to 25, in Strasbourg. On Monday, members of the Committee on Civil Liberties,...… Continue Reading

October 5, 2018, Global Policy Watch

Summary This past week, the European Parliament held a plenary session in Strasbourg. On Wednesday October 3, Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”) approved the report prepared by the parliamentary Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (“ENVI”) on the proposal for a Regulation on Health Technology Assessment (“HTA”). HTA is a ...

August 8, 2018, Covington Alert

On August 6, 2018, President Trump issued Executive Order 13846 (the “Executive Order”) that re-imposes -- and to a limited extent broadens the scope of -- certain U.S. secondary sanctions targeting Iran that had been suspended in January 2016 pursuant to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA”) with Iran.

June 15, 2018, Covington Alert

As described in our May 9, 2018, alert, the United States determined on May 8, 2018, to end its participation in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA”) and re-impose sanctions against Iran that had been suspended as part of this 2015 nuclear agreement between the United States, Iran, Germany, France, the UK, and China.

May 15, 2018, Covington Alert

On May 8, 2018, the United States announced the decision to end its participation in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA”) and re-impose sanctions against Iran that had been suspended as part of this 2015 nuclear agreement between the United States, Iran, Germany, France, the UK and China.

May 9, 2018, Covington Alert

On May 8, 2018, President Trump announced his decision to end U.S. participation in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA”) and re-impose sanctions against Iran that had been suspended as part of this 2015 nuclear agreement between the United States, Iran, and certain other governments. This action will have far-reaching effects for both U.S. and ...

May 9, 2018, Covington Alert

On May 8, 2018, President Trump announced his decision to end U.S. participation in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA”) and re-impose sanctions against Iran that had been suspended as part of this 2015 nuclear agreement between the United States, Iran, and certain other governments. This action will have far-reaching effects for both U.S. and ...

March 14, 2018, Covington Alert

In our March 9 client alert we outlined the proclamations issued by President Trump announcing tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum in the United States, which will go into effect on March 23. The European Union—which is the second-largest foreign supplier of steel and aluminum to the United States, after Canada—has expressed concern about the imposition of ...

September 15, 2017

BRUSSELS—Sir Michael Leigh has joined Covington’s Global Public Policy and Government Affairs practice as a Senior Advisor. Dr. Leigh was Director-General of DG Enlargement at the European Commission from 2006 to 2011 and as such served as chief European Union negotiator with candidate countries. From 2003 to 2006, he was Deputy Director-General of External ...

May 10, 2017, Financial Times

Sebastian Vos is quoted by the Financial Times in an article which examines Brussels' resistance to its EU counterparts' request for the European Commission to create additional hurdles for foreign investment, particularly in China.  Vos indicates that an EU mechanism to monitor foreign investment "would be an interesting tool for the commission to have in ...

March 30, 2017, Covington Alert

Today, the UK Government published a White Paper envisaging an initial continuation of EU law in the UK “wherever practical and appropriate” on withdrawal from the EU (“Brexit”). Today’s White Paper comes one day after the UK notified the EU of its intention to leave which triggers the two-year Brexit negotiation period. The UK Government intends on achieving ...

March 29, 2017, CNBC

Following the triggering of Article 50, Sebastian Vos was interviewed by CNBC to discuss the Brexit negotiation process. According to Vos, “It’s a very compressed timeline.” He adds, “The aim is to achieve a mutually beneficial post-Brexit relationship between the EU and UK, but…the various member states have to take account of differing national interests.”

March 29, 2017, Covington Alert

Today, the UK Prime Minister, Theresa May, formally triggered the process of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU (“Brexit”) by invoking Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. This is the first time an EU Member State has used the Article 50 mechanism. This marks the beginning of the two-year period in which an arrangement for Brexit must be agreed and ...

January 6, 2017, Law360

Sebastian Vos is quoted in a Law360 article regarding the launch of a Global Blockchain Business Council at this year’s World Economic Forum by Covington and The Bitfury Group. “Blockchain has the potential to be the next great technological innovation, revolutionizing areas from cross-border payments, trade finance and land registries to government records,” ...

October 10, 2016

LONDON—Lord Francis Maude, the former UK Minister for Trade and Investment in Prime Minister David Cameron’s government, has joined Covington as a Senior Advisor in the firm’s Public Policy and Government Affairs practice. With a political career spanning almost 40 years, Lord Maude has held a number of high profile government positions, including Financial ...

2018

Our Brexit Task Force is staffed by senior lawyers and advisors across London, Brussels, and Washington to monitor events and to keep clients apprised of legal, regulatory, and policy developments. We are advising clients across a wide range of businesses and industries on the impact and implications of Brexit, including on strategic policy and regulatory ...

June 24, 2016, Covington Alert

The UK has voted to leave the European Union in an advisory referendum. 52% leave - 48% remain. Were the UK to leave the EU, this would have significant implications for the UK and for international businesses operating in the UK. The longer term impact of the decision on the regulatory framework for the UK will depend, in part, on the relationship that the UK ...

June 6, 2016

BRUSSELS—Ambassador Péter Balás, the former Deputy Director-General of DG Trade at the European Commission between 2005 and 2014, has joined Covington as a Senior Policy Advisor. Recently Ambassador Balás also held the position of Head of the Support Group for Ukraine at the European Commission. He was previously Ambassador and Permanent Representative of ...

May 23, 2016, CDR News

Timothy Hester, Carl Bildt, and Sebastian Vos are quoted in a CDR News article regarding the arrival of Carl Bildt as a Senior Policy Advisor in the firm’s global Public Policy and Government Affairs practice. According to Vos, “In ever more complex regulatory regimes, the implementation of such regulation will often be very important. In this context, what the ...

May 19, 2016

BRUSSELS — Carl Bildt, the former Prime Minister of Sweden, has joined Covington as a Senior Policy Advisor in the firm’s global Public Policy and Government Affairs practice. Most recently, Mr. Bildt served as Sweden’s Minister for Foreign Affairs between 2006 and 2014. As Prime Minister of Sweden, Mr. Bildt led the government that negotiated and signed ...

February 8, 2016

BRUSSELS — Erika Mann, a former Member of the European Parliament and policymaker with over 20 years of experience, has joined Covington in its Brussels office as a senior European policy advisor in the firm’s global Public Policy and Government Affairs practice. Most recently, Ms. Mann served as Managing Director of Public Policy for Facebook in Brussels from ...

December 21, 2015, Covington Alert

On December 15, the EU institutions finally agreed the text of the new EU data protection law, the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), completing a process that began in January 2012. The LIBE committee has published the consolidated version of the GDPR text. The GDPR heralds a new era of data protection. It replaces the existing data protection ...

December 17, 2015, Covington Alert

October 1, 2015, Covington Alert

September 14, 2015

BRUSSELS, September 14, 2015 — Ambassador Karel Kovanda has joined Covington’s global public policy and government affairs practice as a Senior European Policy Advisor. He will be based in the firm’s Brussels office. Ambassador Kovanda served as Deputy Director General of External Relations (now the European External Action Service) at the European Commission ...

August 25, 2015, Covington Alert

6/25/2015, Covington Alert

June 1, 2015, Law360

May 6, 2015, Covington E-Alert

September 22, 2014, Commercial Dispute Resolution

Covington's Peter Camesasca, Johan Ysewyn, Melissa Van Schoorisse, Jennifer Boudet, Miranda Cole, Henriette Tielemans, Sebastian Vos, and Jean De Ruyt are mentioned in this article on the growth of Covington's Brussels office: "April was a busy month for Covington & Burling’s competition lawyers, marking, as it did, the welcome return of Peter Camesasca – who ...

June 16, 2014, Bloomberg

International public policy professional Sebastian Vos is joining Covington & Burling LLP to lead the European division of the firm’s global public policy and government affairs practice in Brussels. Vos, who works for Fipra International, will focus on competition and technology-related public policy issues and continue his public policy work involving emerging ...

June 12, 2014, The Lawyer

Sebastian Vos is feautured in this article regarding his recent move to Covington in the firm's Brussels office.

June 12, 2014, Politico

"The law firm Covington & Burling has brought on European public policy expert Sebastian Vos as a partner in the firm’s Brussels office. In his new role, he’ll lead the European division of the firm’s global public policy and government affairs practice. He’ll lead a team that includes former Ambassador Jean De Ruyt. “It’s a firm that has a very good reputation ...