COVID-19 Key EU Developments, Policy & Regulatory Update No. 57

The unique EU State aid control law requires, in principle, prior notification by Member States and approval by the Commission of all State aid. During a time of crisis, like the COVID-19 pandemic,...

Since the start of the pandemic, the Belgian government has taken several measures in order to protect the population from the effects of the Covid-19 virus.

COVID-19 is a moving feast and none of us can escape the need to understand its trajectory as well as we can

Technology and the gig economy continue to drive major changes to the way we work, disrupting the traditional employment relationship. In this episode of our ‘Coffee Break' series...

With effect as of 13 March 2020, the regime of temporary unemployment due to force majeure has been extended and broadened.

The European Court of Justice case of CCOO v Deutsche Bank in the summer of 2019 made it clear that employers must have objective, reliable and accessible systems for recording and measuring the duration of time worked ...

On May 8, 2020, the Commission published an important new communication aimed at relaxing State aid rules for COVID‑19‑related equity injections by States into non‑financial companies. While previous initiatives...

On 17 Nov. 2021, the Belgian government introduced additional COVID-19 protective measures.

This regular update expands from the previous COVID-19 Key EU Developments – Policy & Regulatory Updates (last issue No. 99).

The government of Belgium will reduce the validity of the accepted COVID-19 vaccination certificates from 270 days to 150 days beginning 1 March 2022.

The Code is voluntary, but it will likely become an important reference point for demonstrating compliance with Article 50 of the AI Act.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a preliminary injunction against Perplexity AI, determining that when an AI agent acts at a user's direction, it is the user—not the AI company—who "accesses" computer systems under federal and California computer fraud statutes. This landmark appellate decision addresses how existing computer-access laws apply to agentic artificial intelligence and has significant implications...

A federal court has struck down New York's Climate Change Superfund Act, which sought to recover $75 billion from fossil fuel companies based on historical emissions. The ruling found the Act preempted by the Clean Air Act, marking the first judicial decision on state climate superfund legislation and establishing that EPA's rescission of the endangerment finding does not alter preemption analysis.

The Situation: Surging interest in digital tokens has caught the attention of regulators in Hong Kong.

China has recently taken several actions showing its commitment to counter trade restrictions imposed by other countries. In March 2025, it released regulations implementing the 2021 Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law.

On April 9, 2018, the PDPC issued new advisory guidelines on in-vehicle recordings by transport services for hire.

On December 3, a federal court in the Central District of California granted plaintiffs' request for preliminary approval of a proposed $22 million settlement ...

On July 16, plaintiffs in a putative class action filed a motion for preliminary approval of their settlement agreement with a video game ...

The European Commission has adopted final Guidelines on exclusionary abuses of dominance under Article 102 TFEU, introducing a "workable effects approach" that narrows presumptions while expanding guidance on objective justifications and recognizing sustainability benefits as valid efficiencies for the first time. These Guidelines replace the 2008 Enforcement Priorities Guidance and are expected to significantly impact enforcement practices across EU Member States and beyond, particularly for digital market

On May 22, 2025, the EU Commission adopted an implementing regulation to the EU's Deforestation Regulation ("EUDR") in which it identified the risk classification of countries...