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, January 14, MEPs will debate the non-legally binding Report on the Union’s authorization procedure for pesticides prepared by the Special Committee on the Union’s authorization procedure for pesticides (“PEST”).  This report seeks to address perceived shortcomings in the authorization system for pesticides.  The co-rapporteurs stress the importance…

In December, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) fined an investment adviser $100,000 for violating the SEC’s pay-to-play rule.  The SEC’s rule effectively prohibits investment adviser executives and other “covered associates” of an investment adviser from making political contributions in excess of de minimis amounts ($350 per election if the contributor is eligible to vote for the candidate; $150 if not) to officials of a government entity with which the investment adviser does or may…

In November 2018, following an in-depth Phase 2 investigation, the European Commission (“Commission”) unconditionally approved the acquisition of Tele2 NL by T-Mobile NL, respectively the fourth and third largest players in the Dutch retail mobile telecoms market. The merged entity remains the third largest player in this market after KPN and VodafoneZiggo. This transaction is the first “four-to-three” telecom merger approved without remedies under Commissioner Vestager’s term, following earlier Commission decisions on four-to-three mergers in (i) H3G/Wind…

A recently proposed rule would update the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) to incorporate statutory changes to limitations on subcontracting that have been in effect since 2013. The U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) has long since revised its own regulations to implement these changes, but some contracting officers have been reluctant to follow these changes in the SBA regulations because the FAR contains contradictory provisions. The proposed rule is a sign of progress. In particular, it…

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 78 abstentions.  The budget will provide additional funds to, among others, research, climate protection, and the fight against youth unemployment. …

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 President Jean-Claude Juncker.  This is the fourteenth discussion in a series between MEPs and EU leaders on the future of the…

On December 1, during a working dinner meeting in Buenos Aires following the G20 Summit, U.S. President Donald J. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to temporarily ease trade tensions as both sides continue negotiating over longer-term solutions to U.S. concerns about bilateral economic relations. According to a White House press release, for a 90-day period, the U.S. will maintain the 10 percent tariffs on its list of $200 billion in Chinese imports…