Maritime transport is a large, and growing, source of greenhouse gas emissions. As a result, from 1 January 2024, the European Union (‘EU’) extended its Emissions Trading System (‘ETS’) to also cover carbon dioxide emissions from large ships of 5000 gross tonnage entering EU ports, regardless of the flag that they fly. The EU’s ETS - How Does it Work? Set up in 2005, the ETS operates via a cap and trade principle. The EU has placed a cap on the amount of greenhouse gases that can be emitted by operators falling within the ETS and this limit is reduced…
The regulatory landscape for investment fund management within the EU underwent an evolution with the enactment of ‘Directive (EU) 2024/927 on Delegation Arrangements, Liquidity Risk Management, Supervisory Reporting, the Provision of Depositary and Custody Services and Loan Origination by Alternative Investment Funds’, commonly referred to as AIFMD II (or the “Directive”). The legal regime regulates alternative investment funds (“AIFs”) and their fund managers. AIFMD II replaces the first AIFMD. The publication of the AIFMD II in the EU's Official Journal on the 26th of March 2024 marked the commencement of this new phase in European fund regulation, with the Directive…
Introduction to the Payments Insights Series The European Commission is currently in the process of updating the EU’s legal framework for payment services. These proposals include: A proposed Third Payment Services Directive (the ‘PSD3’) which is a directive on payment services and electronic money services in the EU’s internal market which will repeal the Second Payment Services Directive (the ‘PSD2’) and the Second Electronic Money Directive (the 'EMD2’); and A proposed new Payment Services Regulation (the ‘PSR’). The proposed legal amendments aim to: Strengthen the protection of users and enhance confidence in payments and electronic money services; Improve the competitiveness…