The EU has adopted the Packaging Regulation. After the European Parliament adopted the Commission’s draft on April 24, 2024, the EU member states also approved it on December 16, 2024. The new regulation will come into force after publication in the Official Journal of the EU, which is expected at the beginning of 2025. A […]

An EU regulation will soon come into force that will regulate crypto assets uniformly throughout Europe. It contains significant new obligations for issuers and crypto service providers. At the same time, it also offers them some advantages and opportunities. The European Union regulates the trading of crypto assets. The so-called MiCA Regulation (Markets in Crypto […]

Anyone who trades in or uses the raw materials soy, oil palm, cattle, coffee, cocoa, rubber and wood and certain products made from them should take action as soon as possible. This is because the EU’s Deforestation Regulation imposes a number of new due diligence obligations on companies. As things stand, the regulation will apply […]

Can showering be working time? The Federal Labor Court had to decide on this question (BAG, judgment of April 23, 2024 – 5 AZR 212/23). The answer is: Body cleansing is part of working time if employees get so dirty during their work that they cannot otherwise be expected to put on their private clothes […]

The very name of the regulation is misleading. “Deforestation Ordinance” sounds more like a set of rules for agriculture or forestry. But it is not, at least not only that. In fact, it affects traders and manufacturing companies in all sectors. In particular, it affects those who trade in raw materials and products that have […]

On August 5, 2024, the Federal Ministry of Finance published the draft bill for the Act to Strengthen the German Fund Market and Implement Directive (EU) 2024/927 (“Fund Market Strengthening Act” – “FMSG”). The draft essentially aims to implement Directive (EU) 2024/927 of March 13, 2024, which entails significant changes to the UCITS Directive (2009/65/EC) […]

Companies collect and store personal and sometimes sensitive employee data: age, length of service, salary, sick days and much more. According to European and German data protection regulations, certain requirements must be observed – this also applies if it is the works council that stores the data. If works councils do not adhere to the […]

In the latest issue of the retail magazine stores+shops , KPMG Law experts Simon Meyer and Sandro Köpper present the new EU packaging regulation. “The new EU Packaging Regulation fits seamlessly into a series of new regulations (e.g. the EU Ecodesign Regulation) that aim to prevent waste and – where this is not possible – […]

The charging station infrastructure sector is currently undergoing regulatory change. Strict unbundling requirements apply to distribution system operators in particular in accordance with Section 7c EnWG, from which, however, exceptions also apply to the operation of charging points for distribution system operators that fall within the scope of the de minimis rule in Section 7 […]

The German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) has published questions and answers (FAQ) on the Remuneration Ordinance for Institutions (InstitutsVergV). They replace the previous interpretation aid. The FAQs are now directly applicable. The design of remuneration systems at credit institutions and financial services institutions is an increasingly complex task that is based on a large […]