July 17, 2017, Global Policy Watch

Brexit and Elections in the UK and France The legislative elections in the UK on June 8 resulted in what few observers expected: Theresa May, who was hoping to increase her majority in the house of Commons, instead lost it.  In order to ensure a majority for the confidence vote in her new minority government,...… Continue Reading

July 7, 2017, Global Policy Watch

Summary Next week will be a committee week in the European Parliament.  Next week will also be the last week of parliamentary activities before the Summer break.  There will be interesting votes in committee, as well as public hearings, as the Parliament seeks to “clear the decks” before the summer. The Parliament will resume its...… Continue Reading

June 30, 2017, Global Policy Watch

Summary Next week Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”) will gather in Strasbourg for the last plenary sitting before the Summer break. Interesting votes and debates will take place. On Tuesday, MEPs will vote on the own-initiative report voted in the Parliament’s Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (“IMCO”) on European Standards.  ...

June 23, 2017, 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 groups to prepare the plenary session, to be held from July 3 to 6, 2017, in Strasbourg. A few interesting discussions will take place in...… Continue Reading

June 16, 2017, Global Policy Watch

Next week will be very busy in the European Parliament as it is a committee week. On Tuesday, the Committee on International Trade (“INTA”) will vote on a draft report prepared by Salvatore Cicu (European People’s Party, Italy) on EU trade defence tools. The report proposes reforms of EU anti-dumping measures, which aim to safeguard...… Continue Reading

June 9, 2017, Global Policy Watch

Summary Next week, there will be a plenary sitting of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. Several significant debates, votes and committee meetings will take place. On Monday, the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (“ECON”) and the Committee on Legal Affairs (“JURI”) will jointly vote on an opinion regarding the taxation of multinationals ...

June 9, 2017, Global Policy Watch

Elections in Europe, Brexit, and a Presidential Visit On June 7th, 2017, the UK went to the polls in a “snap” general election called by the Prime Minister, Theresa May.  The outcome was inconclusive, a “hung Parliament” with no single party holding a majority of the seats. The Conservative Party holds the largest number of...… Continue Reading

June 2, 2017, Global Policy Watch

Summary Next week will be a political group week in the European Parliament.  Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”) will hold meetings with their political parties in preparation for the plenary week, to be held from June 12 to 15, in Strasbourg, France. Nevertheless, a few parliamentary committee meetings will take place. On Thursday, the...… Continue ...

May 26, 2017, Global Policy Watch

Summary Next week will be a committee week and a mini-plenary in the European Parliament, during which some interesting votes will take place. On Tuesday, the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (“ENVI”) is expected to vote on its report on Binding annual greenhouse gas emission reductions.  The report seeks to set...… Continue Reading

May 19, 2017, Global Policy Watch

Summary Next week is a constituency week for Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”).  MEPs will go back to their home countries to handle national issues, or convene in their parliamentary delegations to work on matters related to non-EU Member States. However, this past week, the European Parliament held a plenary session.  A number of...… Continue Reading

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 this continuation through legislation in the form of the “Great Repeal Bill.” At the same time as removing the legal supremacy of EU law and the formal influence of EU laws in the UK, the Great Repeal Bill will convert the body of existing EU law into UK domestic law. The effect will be that on day one of Brexit, “wherever practical and appropriate,” the same rules and laws of the EU will apply in the UK. Thereafter, the UK Government will review those laws derived from EU law and seek to either amend, repeal, or maintain those laws. Today’s White Paper sets out the UK Government’s plans. The scope of the Great Repeal Bill will likely change once it is proposed as a draft Act of Parliament later this year and after it is debated and reviewed by the UK Parliament.

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 finalized. If no agreement is reached—and if there is no unanimous agreement among all other EU Member States to extend the two-year period—the UK will cease to be a member of the EU with no replacement or transitional arrangement in place. The letter triggering Article 50 has been described by Prime Minister May as “one of the most important documents in [the UK’s] recent history and will start to deliver the result of the referendum and set the tone for [the UK’s] new relationship with Europe and the world.”

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.”

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 ...

2017

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 issues pertaining to:

• Employment and Immigration: the employment status of EU nationals in the UK, and UK nationals in the EU; workforce planning and minimizing the impact of the Brexit vote on both employee relations and the wider business;
• Corporate: deal opportunities created by the fall in the value of the British pound; the likely effect of Brexit on a number of corporate structures established in EU legislation; how to structure EU-UK joint ventures or projects to protect against the likely consequences of Brexit for EU-specific corporate structures;
• Data Protection: the UK's regulatory framework, including UK implementation of the GDPR; data flows after Brexit between (i) the UK and EU and (ii) the UK and other third countries (e.g., the U.S.); status of UK corporate “main establishments;" and EU Model Clauses and Binding Corporate Rule programs post-Brexit;
• Regulatory Integration: risks to business of regulatory fragmentation; the likelihood of securing bespoke agreements for specific sectors, such as pharmaceuticals, air transport, and financial services; strategies to advocate EU-UK regulatory integration in specific fields with UK and EU decision makers;
• Cross-border Supply Chains and EU-UK Trade: the likely form of an EU-UK Free Trade Area and its implications for trade, manufacturing, and supply chains; work to protect the free flow of goods by region (e.g., special economic zones, sectorial agreements in the free trade area), including public policy and regulatory advice to secure such arrangements;
• International Trade: the likely effect of the models adopted for Brexit on future UK trading relationships with the EU, U.S. and other jurisdictions; the consequences of the UK’s likely position outside the EU Customs Union on rules of origin; restructuring trade flows to minimize disruption and identify opportunities in the models for post-Brexit UK-EU trade arrangements; support and outreach in UK-EU trade negotiations.

We are also advising clients on sector-specific issues in:

• Life Sciences: models for the integration or mutual recognition of EU and future UK medicines and medical devices regulatory systems;
• IT and Technology: data protection; copyright and the UK’s recognition or implementation of pending proposals, and e-commerce and consumer rights;
• Financial Services: assessing the impact of Brexit on the business and planning the response; advising on the restructuring of businesses and corporate reorganizations; advising on cross-border corporate relocation issues; assisting with major document and contractual reviews impacted by Brexit and the response; lobbying the Government and responding to Consultations; assisting industry associations as a member of task force committees and working groups; and advising on the likely impact on the implementation of major EU Directives and Regulations, such as MiFID II.

Resources

Below is a compendium of resources that outline key points about Brexit and its potential impact on industry.

• Theresa May’s position as PM cannot be secured: Lord Maude, CNBC, June 12, 2017 
• Lord Maude: Theresa May needs to offer 'outward-looking Britain, Sky News, June 7, 2017
• UK Government Outlines Plan for Initial Continuation of EU Law in Post-Brexit UK Law, Covington Alert, March 30, 2017
• Brexit's Impact on Businesses, Bloomberg, March 29, 2017
• UK Triggers Brexit Process, Covington Alert, March 29, 2017
• Expect clear Brexit negotiating positions by the summer, CNBC’s Squawk Box, March 29, 2017

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 seeks with the EU in the future. That will not become clear for some time as it will likely take at least two years for the UK to negotiate an exit from the EU.

Covington has formed a Brexit Task Force staffed by senior lawyers and advisors linking its offices in London, Brussels and Washington to monitor events and to keep clients apprised of legal, regulatory and policy developments. We will send you regular updates over the coming days and beyond to explain what this result means for your business operations in Europe and/or your trading relationships with 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

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, former EU Parliament member Wim van Velzen ...