Business Law and Corporate Law

The European Commission's proposed EU Kids Act introduces sweeping new requirements for digital service providers, establishing a harmonised age threshold of 15 for social media access and mandating safety-by-design principles across online platforms. This comprehensive regulatory framework fundamentally reshapes how providers must verify ages, design interfaces, and protect minors in the digital space, with sanctions reaching up to 6% of worldwide annual turnover for non-compliance.

La Audiencia Provincial de Barcelona analiza un caso sobre patentes que establece criterios relevantes sobre la transmisión del derecho a solicitar una patente y la cesión de cuotas de titularidad. El tribunal examina la validez de transmisiones parciales en contextos societarios y precisa cuándo procede el derecho de retracto en situaciones de cotitularidad.

Malta's Companies Act now addresses usufruct over shares through Article 117A, but significant gaps remain in disclosure requirements and exit procedures. This analysis examines how the new provision allocates voting rights and dividends between bare owners and usufructuaries, while highlighting critical uncertainties that affect family business succession planning and third-party transactions.

A digital acquisition can face serious competition concerns even where the buyer and target are not close rivals. The General Court's September 2026 ruling in Booking Holdings v Commission demonstrates how a target may give an already powerful platform another way to reach customers and make it harder for competitors to challenge its position. This analysis examines the practical implications for deal teams evaluating cross-border transactions.

The European Commission has released comprehensive guidelines on applying Article 102 TFEU to exclusionary conduct by dominant firms, modernizing EU competition policy while codifying existing case law. These guidelines introduce analytical frameworks for assessing various types of anticompetitive behavior, including predatory pricing, margin squeeze, exclusive dealing, and tying arrangements, while addressing the role of presumptions and efficiency defenses in establishing abuse of dominance.

Financial analysis has evolved beyond traditional metrics to examine the underlying economic performance and sustainability of businesses. Quality of Earnings analysis, revenue disaggregation...

Liguria has allocated €10 million through the POR FESR 2021-2027 program to support startups and MSMEs via equity and quasi-equity investments. The Fund operates through two distinct lines targeting different enterprise categories, requiring mandatory public-private co-investment with specific participation thresholds. Applications open September 22, 2026, and will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis until resources are exhausted.

The Dutch government has unveiled its Tax Plans 2027, introducing significant changes for corporate taxpayers including retroactive implementation of the Side-by-Side package and modifications to participation exemption rules for foreign currency hedging. The proposals emphasize innovation through enhanced tax benefits for SMEs and improved treatment of employee share options in start-ups, though their adoption faces uncertainty given the government's lack of parliamentary majority.

Our Immigration & Tax Law combo Briefing brings together key immigration and tax considerations for non-EU individuals, exploring investment and relocation opportunities in Greece.

La cour administrative d'appel de Nancy examine une affaire fiscale complexe impliquant la cession de titres d'une holding de franchisé à leur valeur nominale. L'administration fiscale a qualifié l'écart entre le prix de cession et la valeur vénale de distribution occulte, mais la cour devait déterminer si un engagement contractuel antérieur justifiait ce prix minoré et excluait ainsi toute libéralité imposable.

De Ondernemingsrechtbank Antwerpen bevestigt dat arbitragebedingen in internationale franchiseovereenkomsten ook geschillen over de Belgische Wet Precontractuele Informatie kunnen omvatten. Deze uitspraak volgt de lijn van het Hof van Cassatie en markeert een belangrijke verschuiving in hoe Belgische beschermingswetten worden toegepast in een internationale context.

A Belgian court has ruled that arbitration clauses in international franchise agreements can override local franchisee protections, even when disputes involve Belgium's Pre-Contractual Information Act. This landmark decision extends earlier Supreme Court precedent and fundamentally shifts how protective legislation interacts with contractual dispute resolution mechanisms in cross-border franchise relationships.