Estonian lawmakers are balking at a proposed directive coming out of the European Union that would require large companies to disclose non-financial and diversity information. The directive, put forward as an amendment to accounting rules, calls on large companies with over 500 employees to provide the additional information as a way to provide more transparency […]
Roberta Holland
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Last-Minute Lobbying by Germany Squashes EU Cap on Auto Emissions
After months of debate and compromise, a proposed law to cap auto emissions by 2020 was punted at the last minute by European lawmakers last week. It was widely reported that the surprise turnabout came after lobbying from German chancellor Angela Merkel, looking to protect German luxury brands like BMW. The Guardian newspaper also reported British […]
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OECD Says Portugal Weak on Enforcing Anti-Bribery Laws
Portugal has been slacking when it comes to enforcement of its foreign bribery laws, characterized by unsuccessful or cursory investigations or an outright failure to investigate allegations in other cases, according to a report released this week by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The OECD’s Working Group on Bribery completed the review as […]
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SFO Wins Conviction in Torex Retail False Accounting Case
Britain’s Serious Fraud Office announced this week the conviction of a group accountant in the culmination of its fraud conspiracy case against executives of software firm Torex Retail plc. Mark Gavin Woodbridge, 42, was convicted of two counts of conspiracy to defraud and one count of false accounting. Woodbridge was sentenced in Oxford Crown Court […]
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Italy Implements New Investment Fund Regulations
Italian investment funds must comply with new regulations taking effect this week, which cover risk management and investment activities. Assogestioni, the Italian association of asset managers, said the regulations stem from the country’s implementation of guidelines from the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). Those collective asset management regulations take effect as of June 14, […]
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Small Companies Facing Lighter EU Accounting Requirements
Small companies in the European Union will be allowed to file pared-down annual financial statements, under a measure approved last week by the European Parliament. Parliament voted during its June 12 meeting in Strasbourg to streamline the accounting rules for smaller companies as part of an overhaul of two existing accounting directives. The intended goal […]
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European Commission Helping Victims of Antitrust Violations to Seek Damages
Companies and individuals seeking damages from antitrust violations soon will find it easier to do so under a new proposal adopted by the European Commission this week. The commission’s proposed directive will remove several procedural hurdles that victims – whether corporate or individual – currently face when seeking claims from antitrust violations, including cartels and […]
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SFO Head Says Companies Should Be Criminally Liable for Employee Theft, Fraud
The head of the United Kingdom’s Serious Fraud Office is calling for new legislation that would make companies criminally liable for failing to prevent employee theft or fraud. The U.K. Bribery Act already holds companies liable for failure to prevent bribery by employees if it can be proven the companies lacked adequate procedures in place […]
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European Parliament Panel Approves Revisions to Clinical Trial Regulations
Legislators this week endorsed revamped regulations that would streamline clinical trials of new medicines, making such trials both cheaper and faster while still ensuring patient safety. European Parliament’s Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee unanimously approved the proposal, which backers say provides simpler reporting procedures and would encourage research. The law would replace the […]
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European Parliament Looking to Boost Ranks of Women on Boards of Listed Companies
Members of European Parliament are pushing a proposal to force listed companies to improve gender balance in their boardrooms through mandatory quotas backed by sanctions. A directive to improve gender balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges is being studied in two committees, the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Committee on […]