EU

On 5 August 2019, the Nordic Council of Ministers released a report entitled “Designing plastics circulation – electrical and electronic products”. The purpose of the report is to drive the electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) sector towards a circular economy. This can be done, it states, by encouraging companies to take on board circular design principles, improve material markings and identifications and by introducing legislation. More

Spanish retail giant Inditex, best known for its brand Zara which accounts for 70% of the group’s sales, recently announced concrete initiatives within the framework of its commitment to ethical and sustainable fashion. The initiative comes at a time when green schemes are a trend within the fashion industry and when the European Commission has announced its intention to focus on textiles as a priority product category within the circular economy. More

In a Special Report published in July, the European Court of Auditors has examined the EU’s new rules on e-commerce which are scheduled to enter into force by 2021. The report raises various issues and concludes that many challenges surrounding the collection of VAT and customs duties remain yet to be resolved. More

This report offers guidelines and contains practical examples for securing compliance with data protection rules in the framework of trade defence investigations conducted in the European Union. It may, therefore, assist those exporting from the Chinese mainland to the EU to comply with data protection rules if and when they face trade defence investigations. More